Ring Security Camera Review

Installing Ring Cameras

Ring Stick Up Cam

Our first impressions of Ring equipment right out of the box? These aren’t the sleekest cameras on the market, but they’re far from the clunkiest. And allowing us to pick a color helped them match our home’s style. Most are available in black or white with a few also available in bronze and graphite.

Even more important to us than style is how easy it is to install home security equipment. We had no problems with Ring on that score. The company made its name by offering DIY-installed systems, and it knows what it’s doing. Everything went smoothly. Note that smoothly isn’t the same as quickly. It took us a full 30 minutes, for instance, to install our hardwired floodlight camera.

Hardwired requires turning a few screws and figuring out which wires go where. Always shut off your electricity first, or you might get zapped. It happened to us once years ago and we haven’t made that mistake since. Then, take the time to position your outdoor camera to maximize its coverage otherwise you might need two cameras to cover an area that should only need one.

And, we can report that Ring’s simpler cameras were simpler to set up. In fact, all three of the other models took us fifteen minutes, total.

The Ring Outdoor Cam (pictured above), for instance, was ready to go right out of the box. Since we opted for the battery-powered version, we didn’t need to place it near an outlet either. You also have choices when it comes to placement – hang the camera on a wall or simply place it on a flat surface.

Ring offers several iterations of their Outdoor Cam, as well, including battery-powered models, solar models, a plug-in version with Pan-Tilt functionality, and the Outdoor Cam Elite, which, with an available adapter, works through PoE (Power over Ethernet).

>> Related: The Best PoE Security Cameras

Ring Outdoor Cam (left) compared to Ring Indoor (right)

Ring’s indoor camera is almost identical to the Outdoor Cam, as you’ll see in the image above, with two notable exceptions: The Indoor Cam is smaller and requires a power cord so it’s not as resistant to the elements.

The power cord is pretty short at only 6.5 feet. That limits how far away you can place the camera from a power outlet – without an extension cord, anyway.

Ring Floodlight

Those are the only drawbacks we ran into installing Ring cams; otherwise, you’re going to get the same easy setup and installation as many wireless security cameras available today.

Beyond installation, let’s explore the ins and outs of each camera in Ring’s suite, starting with the Outdoor Cam.

Ring Spotlight

Living With the Outdoor Cam

Ring Outdoor Cam

While Ring doesn’t have the feature set of Google Nest’s Cams (see our full Google Nest Cam review here), their cameras are reliable across the board. Ring’s focus on dependability over bells and whistles has earned them lots of positive user feedback. The Ring Outdoor Cam is a great example.

In our experience, the Outdoor Cam delivers consistent performance in any weather. It doesn’t have an official IP rating, but it had no problem working during sunny days and rainy days. It also worked indoors just as well as it did outdoors. It’s not perfect; we didn’t find any AI-powered detection features that competitors like the Arlo Pro 5S and Nest Cam (battery) offer at similar price points. But it’s a dependable workhorse of an outdoor camera.

You can count on it to detect movement, provide you with real-time alerts, and give you access to live audio and video feeds any time you want. It can record footage when it detects movement if you opt for one of Ring’s cloud storage plans, too. In short, it has all the core features you could want in a home security camera.

Ring Outdoor Cam live view

Freedom of Movement

This camera can work either as a battery-operated device or a plug-in device. That gave us enormous flexibility when it came to positioning this camera. You always want to take time to get the best vantage point, and if your power options are limited, that can limit your mounting choices.

Ring Indoor Cam Night View

Weather Resistant

As the name implies, Ring’s Outdoor Cam is weather resistant. That’s one of the upgrades they made when they changed its name from the Stick Up Cam to the Outdoor Cam. While it doesn’t have an IP rating, which is used to assess the dust and water resistance of electronic devices, ours survived outdoors through several rainstorms.2

Narrow Field of Vision

We were less impressed with the Outdoor Cam’s field of view. Sure, 110 degrees is enough to see a small room if you put it in the right place. We have an open floor plan, though, so we couldn’t find a position to capture everything. If that’s going to be an issue for you as well, we recommend the Plus version with a 140-degree horizontal and 80-degree vertical viewing angle. It provides 30 percent more coverage than the basic Outdoor Cam.

Smart Home Integration With Alexa

Ring dashboard on the Alexa Show

Ring’s deep integration with Amazon’s ecosystem goes beyond basic compatibility. We’ve been able to create sophisticated automations that trigger multiple devices based on camera events. As a member of the Amazon family, Ring performs smoothly with the Echo. The Ring app even includes an Alexa tab for easy setup (check out our Ring home automation page for the details).

Once you’ve done that, you have access to a full range of voice commands, like “Alexa, arm my driveway cam.” Plus, the Stick Up is versatile enough to work with the Google Home ecosystem as well.

Testing the Ring Indoor Cam

Ring Indoor Camera

Let’s shift gears and talk about Ring’s Indoor Camera. At less than three inches tall without its support stand, it’s the smallest camera in Ring’s lineup. That makes it easy to install, since it fits practically anywhere. Yet, it’s still packed with features and provides the same video resolution as larger cameras. That’s one reason why it’s among our favorite indoor cameras.

Video Performance and Clarity

We were happy with the Indoor’s video feed. Every Wi-Fi security camera is prone to its share of glitches and delays, and the Indoor is no exception to the rule. That said, Ring cameras are designed to work with Wi-Fi, and the Indoor’s video stream was clearer and more reliable than most.

Ring Indoor Cam Video Quality

As for the technical specs, the Indoor’s resolution is right at the industry standard of 1080p HD. Are there cameras with higher resolution? Sure. Both Loex and Vivint offer 2K and 4K models. However, they’re also subject to the whims of WI-Fi signals, and when the signal drops, they revert to…what do you know, 1080p HD. (For more on Vivint, check out our Vivint Home Security analysis.)

Short Power Cord

We found the 6.5 foot power cord that comes with the Ring Indoor restrictive. It meant we either needed to get creative with our camera placement or run an extension cable over to the camera. Definitely not a dealbreaker for us, but you’ll want to make sure you plan to either use the camera near an outlet or are ready to buy an extension cable to go with your camera.

A Quick Note on Cost

The word “cheap” has negative connotations. When you buy a product that doesn’t work right, you might call it “cheap.”

At $49.99, the Ring Indoor Cam is the cheapest camera in Ring’s lineup. You’re still getting industry-standard 1080p video quality and access to Ring’s powerful cloud-based network. Don’t expect premium features like 4K video quality or facial recognition, but for the price, it’s hard to beat.

For context, let’s take a look at the Ring Indoor Cam’s price against some of its leading competitors.

Indoor Camera Pricing Lineup

Ring Spotlight Cam Features and Performance

Ring Spotlight Camera at Night

The Spotlight Cam combines security lighting with surveillance. It features dual LED spotlights that produce 300 lumens each. We measured the output; it illuminated a radius of about 30 feet. It lit up every time the camera detected movement. The light was soft and gentle. It can help deter crime, but it’s mostly designed to provide ambient lighting at night.

It’s still built like Ring’s other cameras with 1080p HD resolution, advanced motion detection, and two-way audio. We found the spotlight particularly handy to see what was going on at night on our property. For instance, we thought the neighbor’s dog was getting into our trash, but it turned out to be a couple of raccoons. After we signed up for Ring’s Neighbors app, we found out those raccoons were causing issues for others, too.

Using the Spotlight Cam at Night

Ring Spotlight Night View

The Spotlight Cam provides great nighttime images, so long as the spotlight itself is on. We were able to see well beyond our front porch. Without the spotlight activated, the camera relied on infrared night vision that provided clear black-and-white footage up to 30 feet away. Thankfully, we didn’t need to worry about the light bothering our neighbors. Unlike the Ring Floodlight, the Spotlight only illuminates the area directly in front of it.

Adjusting Motion Settings

Ring’s motion detection algorithms have improved significantly during our last test. It reduced false alerts by up to 40 percent compared to earlier models we tested. We still recommend fine-tuning the motion settings of your Spotlight Cam. Depending on its positioning, the device’s motion detection will alert you to every passing pedestrian and car. You can eliminate these false alarms by drawing privacy zones over active areas outside of your property.

Ring Motion Activation

You can also adjust the camera’s sensitivity. There’s a slider in the Ring app that makes this easy. We were able to eliminate most unwanted alerts with the sensitivity setting and privacy zones. But, sometimes you want to know about the traffic passing by your house. That’s why Ring lets you turn these settings off with ease or even put them on a schedule.

Ring Motion Sensitivity Slider

A Note on Pricing for Spotlight Cam Plus

The Spotlight Cam costs $149.99 if you order the battery-powered, plug-in, or solar model. However, the solar panel itself costs an additional $60. The wired version costs $179.99. There’s also a Pro version of the Spotlight Cam that starts at $229.99. It adds 2K resolution and advanced 3D motion detection.

The Floodlight Cam Experience

Ring Floodlight Cam

Nestled firmly between two super-powerful LEDs, the Ring Floodlight Camera was the almost-perfect fixture to complement my outdoor decor. Ring also offers this model in a variety of finishes, including graphite and bronze, if you’re looking to get away from the more standard black or white design.

It’s important to note, though, that Ring is not the only company to make a floodlight camera. When it hit shelves in early 2020, the Arlo Floodlight Camera became a solid contender, but Arlo is battery-powered, while Ring’s floodlight camera is wired.

For our home, however, Ring’s hardwired setup worked best. It was the perfect opportunity to replace an old light fixture that was a little past its prime, with a shiny new floodlight-camera-in-one.

Installing the Ring Floodlight Cam

After spending about an hour hardwiring the Ring Floodlight Cam, we quickly realized it was time well spent. We got unprecedented night vision range, a wide field-of-view, and two-way audio. However, the light itself is what made it really stand out. It’s so bright it could scare the daylights out of even an experienced burglar.

Ring Floodlight Cam Video Quality

There are a few more things you should know about this camera before making your final decision, though, starting with that previously mentioned audio feature:

Two-Way Talk

When it comes to audio on the Floodlight Cam, all was well with the exception of some interference due to background noise, usually on the outdoor end of the conversation.

It’s not the first time we’ve encountered this issue. Ambient – you know, the kind that happens outside that you can’t control or predict – can make communication difficult at times. But frankly, the issue is minor, and it shouldn’t affect the overall performance.

Durable Hardware

Ring Floodlight Cam Box

Ring’s Floodlight Cam is durable and protected from the elements – naturally, since it’s meant for the outdoors. Good thing, too. While we were testing it, we had one of those late-wind snowstorms that Ohioans like to call “second winter.” No problem. The Floodlight Cam performed seamlessly even in high winds and frigid temperatures. No damage.

Using the Camera With Ring App

Ring App Homescreen

The best way to get acquainted with any wireless camera is to learn everything it can do through the mobile app. With Ring, you know that’s going to be easy – and it will also help you prepare for the unexpected.

Occasionally, you might find a few rare instances of delay between the time the camera captures motion and the time you receive an alert. Again, that is standard in cameras that work with Wi-Fi, and a bit more common in outdoor cameras than indoor ones. But with a stable Wi-Fi connection, you should have no problem securing your home with a Ring Floodlight.

Ring Floodlight Cam Motion Detection

After successful sales of Ring’s first-generation Floodlight Cam, the brand recently added Floodlight Cam Wired Plus and Floodlight Cam Wired Pro. The Pro, I learned, has a couple of advanced features over the original, like 3D motion detection and two-way talk with audio+, as well as a few subtle design upgrades. With a base price of $249.99, it’s one of Ring’s most expensive cameras, but it’s definitely one of the best, too.

Speaking of price, it’s worth mentioning that the Ring Floodlight Cam Plus is another one we’ve seen marked down frequently throughout the year. It regularly retails for $199.99 (you’ll see a bigger breakdown below), but it happens to be a very popular device to snag around Prime Day, too.

Ranking Ring’s Cameras

After extensive testing of Ring’s expanded camera lineup, we’ve evaluated each model based on value, features, and real-world performance to help you choose the right camera for your specific needs. Here are our recommendations.

Snapshot of Ring Equipment Pricing

“You get what you pay for.” You’ve surely heard that expression many times, especially if you’ve ever bought home security equipment before. Like buying a car, adding security cameras can be a very personal experience – so you want to get the product that’s right for you.

Luckily, Ring cameras are for the masses. They’re made for the everyday DIY user, and generally not recommended if you’re looking for wall-to-wall home security or 24/7 monitoring. For that, we’d go with a fully wired system like Frontpoint Home Security, or even something from SimpliSafe, a super-DIY setup.

For now, let’s break down how much you should expect to pay for each Ring camera. We also recommend checking out our comprehensive Ring camera package and pricing page for more cost considerations.

Snapshot of Ring Equipment Costs

Ring Video Storage

Ring lets you self-monitor your cameras if you want, and that’s entirely free. You still get real-time alerts and access to live footage through Ring’s app. That’s perfect if you’re on a tight budget. If you do want to record and review footage, Ring Home Basic costs $4.99 monthly for one camera or doorbell. The Plus plan at $10 monthly covers unlimited devices at one location.

Ring has also introduced the Premium plan that offers 180 days of event history (just like Basic and Plus), but also comes with 14 days of continuous recording. It costs $20 per month, making it competitive with Nest Aware Plus (60 days event history + 10 days continuous recording).

Ring’s Subscription Model: A Breakdown

Ring also offers a premium monitoring service that’s similar to SimpliSafe’s Intruder Intervention. They call it their Virtual Security Guard service. It enables Ring’s monitoring agents to actively review your live video feeds during events and use your camera’s two-way talk to deter criminals. That service comes at a hefty price of $99 per month which is more than SimpliSafe ($31.99 monthly) charges but less than Deep Sentinel (starts at $100 monthly)

Ring Cameras: Final Thoughts

So let’s bottom line all of this. Ring makes great cameras. That should come as no surprise, given that the company’s Ring Video Doorbell completely revolutionized the industry. Ring makes a wide range of devices, enough to suit virtually any home security need, and all of them can go toe-to-toe with the best offerings from companies like Arlo and Google Nest. They’re reliable, they come with a range of features, and they’re all offered at an affordable price. Best of all, with monitoring options and a responsive app, they give you control over your home security.

Ring Cameras Lineup

Ring Security Cam FAQs