Since the covid lockdowns being able to see who is at the front door when at home or at work has become important and Ring are the market leaders in video doorbells. In our last review, we covered the Ring Video Doorbell 3 Plus we have now been given the chance to review the latest offering from Ring the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 which became available to buy in March this year.
This offering from Ring has taken the technology from the 3 Plus model and improved it for example the Pro 2 now comes with a square aspect ratio that offers a 160-degree view that allows you via the app to view vertically and horizontally. This gives you the chance to view more than just your front door ideal for when the Amazon driver drops off that parcel away from the front door.
The Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 is one of the top of the range Video Doorbells from Ring and also comes with the following features:
- 3D Motion Detection
- HDR Setting
- Custom Motion Zones
- Pre Roll Video
- Two Factor Authentication
- Smart Responses via Alexa
Design
The Ring Video Doorbells have kept a similar design for the last few models and they have kept the design similar to other models with its rectangular shape with the camera at the top and the lighted button underneath. The Pro 2 unlike the 3 Plus we reviewed previously comes with a more slimline design due to the lack of battery. The Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 needs a wired connection.
Finally, the doorbell comes with a silver faceplate as standard but you can find up to 16 other faceplate designs that can be purchased via Amazon for about £10 each.
Installation
The Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 measures in at the following size – 4.49in x 1.9in x 0.87in (HxWxD) the doorbell comes with the standard satin nickel finish but when you set up the doorbell the lovely people at Ring also offer you a free faceplate you wise to replace the cover.
As mentioned the Pro 2 needs to be installed via a wired connection but you will still need to invest in a Ring Chime Pro not only will this amplify the sound of the doorbell it will also enhance the Wi-Fi network needed to use the Doorbell as it will need to be connected to your home internet.
Installing this doorbell was a little more tricky than the battery option as it’s the wired version so you will need to drill a hole to run the cable from the outside in or you can use the wire you have from your current doorbell. In the review, I had the Plug-in option which was handy as we removed the old doorbell in a recent refurb of the house.
All I needed to do was connect the wire to the doorbell and tac the cable around my downstairs DC to get to the power socket. It was a very simple set up and in the box, you get most of what you need apart from the tacks which you can buy from your local DIY store.
Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 Unboxed – Credit: gearbrain.com
Once set up what I did notice was this model also offers dual-band Wi-Fi which offers a better connection which means faster notifications. This is ideal if you have placed your router away from your router.
Once you have installed the doorbell you need to connect it to the app. So first up download the Ring app and then follow the steps on the screen to connect it directly to your Wi-Fi. This process is very easy to do and the steps make this possible for anyone no matter their technical expertise.
Video Quality & Features
As we discussed at the start of the review one of the main is the 160 Degree Field of Vision which is paired with a square aspect ratio that allows you to view more of your field of vision compared to previous models. The benefit of this is when a delivery driver drops off a parcel at the front of your door you will be able to view its location if it’s placed at the foot of the door but it’s limited to 18 inches from the front door. With this camera extended field of view, some video doorbells suffer a fisheye effect which distorts the visitors faces but with the Pro 2 the curving of the image does not impact the image quality you get with this doorbell.
Moving on to the video quality from pro 2 offers a decent video quality with the help of the HDR setting even in locations of continuous sunshine or shade it picked up all the notifications when someone came to the front door. The image quality at night although in colour is not great but it will still pick up when someone comes to the front door but could offer a better level of quality.
Other features with the Ring Pro 2 include 3D Motion Detection & Bird’s Eye View both features work to prevent unwanted notifications and when you do get a notification it will do a better job of tracking people who come into the distance of your property. The 3D Motion detection can pick someone up from 30ft away using radar. This is paired with the Bird’s Eyeview that creates an overhead map of your property so when the camera detects a person it will show a track of where that person was walking.
The use of this was very good it picked up every notification of something coming into the line of vision. The only issue I have with my property a corner plot and this feature can even pick up people walking past but this can be amended by customising the motion zones.
When you set up the custom motion zones this can be done with ease via the Ring app and you can reduce the area that is picked up and this did help reduce unwanted notifications like dog walkers or my neighbours going into their respected houses. However, even with custom motion zones, you do still get the odd notification in error such as a car approaching the shared drive.
Last but not least you also have the pre-roll video feature which offers a 4-second loop when motion is detected. If you got a delivery it takes them 4 seconds to the front of that motion event so you get a better view of who is approaching the door.
Privacy Features
Most recently concerns have been raised in regards to the security features and the Pro 2 Ring has addressed these concerns. For example, you now have a two-factor authentication keeping your account safe. All footage uploaded to the cloud is encrypted adding an extra layer of security. Ring is looking at more improvements but they are expected to land later in the year.
Smart Home Features
As Ring is owned by Amazon it will come as no surprise that your Ring Video Doorbell can be integrated into your smart home set-up. You can link this to your Alexa or Google set up (Limited functionality) and it could display who is at the front door when using your Amazon Echo Show or Google Alternative. It will provide a live feed from its doorbell camera on your Echo Show. This feature is useful for those whose Kitchen might be at the back of the house if that is where your Echo Show is and you want to see who is out front. Personally, it was not a feature I found overly useful as my Kitchen at the front of the house and I can view the front door from the window. You can also set this up on your TV if you’re using an Amazon Fire TV device useful when in bed and the doorbell goes on a lazy Sunday morning. When someone does ring the bell you will get a notification to allow you to view the footage in real-time.
What I really did like with the Pro 2 is the fact you can use Alexa to provide a smart response. You can use Alexa to tell to a delivery guy where to leave the parcel or even take a message when someone arrives but you’re not home. You can 6 prerecorded messages. That will play if you don’t answer the doorbell within a certain period of time up to a 20-second window. Perfect for when the delivery driver turns up and you’re in the bath having a well-needed break. If you wanted to take advantage of Smart response from Ring you would need to buy the Ring Protect Subscription (Add Cost)
Verdict
Having reviewed the Ring Video Doorbell 3 Plus and now the Pro 2 there are some obvious improvements such as the 160-degree field of view and the Square aspect ratio which allows you to see more of the area around the front door.
I really like the 3D motion detection and Bird’s eye view features that allow for a more detailed view of outside your house. I felt the improvements to security were also welcomed and the option to use Alexa Smart Responses.
The slight negatives were I would have preferred the battery option over the wired option for install and felt you were pushed towards the Alexa smart home set up and using Google home offered limited functionality. Apart from that if they could improve the night vision quality you would have a 5-star review. It’s a great product but with room for improvement.
Product Rating:
Design: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Features: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0
Security: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0
Smart Home Features: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
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