Ring Battery Doorbell Plus in the test: Is the smart video doorbell worth it?

The Amazon subsidiary Ring has now expanded its product family to include a number of devices with relatively similar-sounding names, which range in price between 50 and 250 euros. With a current retail price of 149.99 euros on Amazon, the battery-operated Ring Battery Doorbell Plus is in the upper midfield of the selection. You can read how easy it is to install, set up and use the device in this Netzwelt test report.

1. Installation: Accompanied in an exemplary manner

2. Setup: A dry spell

3. Operation: Full functionality costs extra

4. Who is the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus worth for?

5. Conclusion

Installation: Accompanied in an exemplary manner

Anyone who unpacks the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus quickly realizes that everything that is necessary to install the smart video doorbell has actually been thought of here. Only a cordless drill for preparatory work for wall mounting is understandably not included in the scope of delivery.

What is particularly pleasing is that the Ring app provides installation assistance that points out step-by-step possible pitfalls during self-assembly. The surface on which the work is to be carried out is queried and the installation instructions are adapted accordingly. This exemplary service should certainly give some users with limited DIY skills a good feeling.

Setup: A dry spell

While installing the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus is relatively easy, even away from any doorbell wire, thanks to the parts supplied and the digital instructions, people with limited digital skills in particular are likely to struggle when setting up the device using the app.

First, the app can be easily obtained by scanning the QR code on the back of the device and the device can be easily connected by using the code again. The process then becomes a test of patience for those who do not yet have a user account with Ring. Connecting the smart video doorbell to your smartphone and smart home then requires the Alexa app, for which an Amazon user account is of course essential.

Ring Battery-Doorbell Plus in pictures

Here you can see the first impressions.

It is also difficult to explain the fact that there was simply no on-screen keyboard for some input fields when setting up the app in the test. Less resourceful users who cannot solve such a puzzle with copy-paste games are faced with an impossible task. This may well have been a software error, but if it occurs it could represent an enormous obstacle for many users.

The usual also applies: If you are annoyed by the hunger for data in terms of location, mobile phone number and email address, you should not even target systems like Ring and have a classic solution with wiring installed. Especially where there is no WiFi – because the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus is virtually unusable outside of a local network.

However, if you have a good hand and experience with smart homes and setting up the appropriate devices, you won’t have any major problems installing and connecting the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus – it just takes a little while until all the installation steps are completed.

When purchasing clever technology for the home and garden, experienced customers are happy to spend more money because quality has its price. What will probably annoy buyers of the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus, however, are the running costs for the full range of functions of the device, which is not exactly cheap to purchase at around 150 euros.

If the video feeds reliably recorded during the recording of movement activity in the area around the camera are to be saved permanently, additional costs of at least 3.99 euros per month will be incurred. The videos are initially saved free of charge when you start using them, but only as part of a free trial period of four weeks.

A clear pattern emerges: Where even children’s entertainment via the Echo Kids leads to ongoing costs, the operation of the doorbell is also tied to a subscription. To argue with the cloud capacity used by the recordings would be hypocritical – after all, many users already have a subscription to online storage, which would also be suitable for saving recordings.

If you are not particularly bothered by the cost trap in addition to the purchase costs, the Ring Battery Doorbell, with its practically externally rechargeable battery pack, offers everything that can be asked for from a device of this size.

The video recordings work reliably and, thanks to the fisheye lens, allow the area being filmed to be completely identified. Approaching people can be fully seen and are clearly visible and shown in color even in poor lighting conditions.

Who is the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus worth for?

What is particularly impressive about the Ring system is the expandability of a setup and the compatibility with Amazon’s Alexa devices and the smartphone app. The setup can therefore easily be supplemented with a digital doorbell inside the house, additional camera feeds or a signal generator for remotely opening the door.

The paid RingProtect membership opens up the full range of functions of the devices and is actually essential for anyone who wants to use a Ring Battery Doorbell Plus as a surveillance camera, otherwise the recordings cannot be saved.

Anyone who is now willing to accept ongoing costs for smart and convenient monitoring of their home and is not afraid of the device prices of the Ring fleet will be given various options, especially as an Alexa user. The Ring Battery Doorbell Plus model is particularly suitable for locations where there is a WiFi signal but no option for a cable connection.