Five Reasons You Should Buy a Smart Doorbell

Or, ‘Why would I want to spend $250 on a doorbell, anyway?’

Well, I’m glad you asked that. I’ll give you five reasons why a smart doorbell might be a highly worthy investment. The particular model that we’re reviewing today is the Ring Doorbell Pro. It is essentially the same as the Ring Doorbell, but it’s slimmer and has a higher-quality resolution. These are some of the features and what you can do with them:

                     
1)    A motion detector at your front door means you’ll be notified that there is someone at your door on your phone or desktop, or tablet before the person knocks. If a delivery person comes to the door, you’ll know it, even if they don’t knock. You can set the motion detector to be close to the door, or a little further away, depending on your needs and how close traffic is to your door. It won't pick up a bug or a bird.

2)    A camera shows you what is going on at your front door. The lag between the time the motion detector alerts you and the camera comes on is very short. If that deliveryman fails to knock, you’ll be able to see that. Not only that, but you can see other things, too. You can see if it’s raining, for example.  With a wide-angle (160 degree) 1080p resolution, you get a pretty clear picture of what is happening. 

3)    Two-way talk capability, plus, if someone else in your family opens the front door, say, your child, you’ll be able to see and interact in the conversation. The sound quality is excellent. There is no way for your visitor to know if you’re on the other side of the door, or on the other side of the country. 

4)    For an extremely reasonable price, you can use Cloud service to store recordings, so if you need to turn the notification off, you’ll be able to review what happened later. The price is currently $3 per month or $30 per year. 

5)    Night vision means your security isn’t compromised even after dark. 

This model comes with four finishes: satin black, pearl white, satin nickel, and Venetian bronze.  You can share users and revoke users. Only the primary user can delete the recordings, though. 

Some caveats:  

You must have a fairly high-speed internet for this unit  to work properly. You also must have certain power requirements. This is non-optional. Professional installation is what we always recommend if you need a range extender or a transformer upgrade, but if you don't this is fairly easy to do.

The Summary of The Ring Doorbell Pro—if you want to spend $250 on a doorbell:

What you’re really getting in this $250 doorbell is a complete miniature security system for your front door. Some users report being so happy with them that they actually mount one on their back door, as well. This is ideal for someone who has limited mobility, or just wants to keep a better eye on their property. The manufacturers of Ring currently offer a lifetime and purchase protection, which means that if it gets stolen, they will replace the unit if you file a police report.

 This unit works in conjunction with other wireless systems, so users report being able to successfully integrate it into their existing wireless technology, especially in tandem with the Kevo lock, which makes it possible for you to see someone come to your front door and unlock it for them remotely. 

Lastly, this company has also made stick-up cameras so you can view other parts of your property with the same system. 

That’s a lot of security for one little doorbell.

Be safe, everybody!