amazon ring alarm pro virtual guardetheringtontechcrunch

You can get notifications when things happen, see the states of various sensors such as when a door was opened or closed, see battery levels of the various bits, and change settings such as brightness of LEDs or volume level of alerts. You can control the whole thing from the Ring app, which means you can arm and disarm it remotely. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The GuardianĪs a basic, easy-to-install wireless alarm, the system excels, but it’s also a little bit smarter than most. The Ring app handles all the setting up, settings, alerts and monitoring with ease. You can also tailor the motion sensor sensitivity to stop it being activated by pets – though as my home is pet-free, I couldn’t test how well this works with cats or dogs. The motion sensors weren’t errantly triggered by flashes of light, as some can be. The alarm worked faultlessly in my two-month test, going off when it should and not when it shouldn’t. I stuck it to the wall behind the front door for convenience. The keypad charges via microUSB and can be mounted practically anywhere. The LED ring on the base station shines red when the alarm is set or blue when it’s off. There’s also a “Home” mode for when you’re staying in, which arms only the contact sensors by default. When you come home, simply punch in your pin and hit the “Disarm” button before the entry delay timer runs out. Both the keypad and the base station make a noise and flash to let you know what’s going on during arming or disarming. Type in your four-digit pin and press the “Away” button, which triggers a 60-second timer accompanied by a red light and what sounds like a game-show countdown tone for you to get out the door.

The keypad arms and disarms the system like any traditional alarm. Punch in your pin on the keypad and hit the away or disarm buttons to use it like any other alarm. It can also be left plugged into the microUSB power adapter if you have a plug socket where you want it mounted.

The user-replaceable 3V lithium batteries in the contact and motion sensors should last about three years, while the rechargeable battery in the keypad lasts between six and nine months. A range extender is included in the kit, but each device works as its own range extender, so unless you live in a really big house or have thick walls and obstructions, you probably won’t need it. The system uses the Z-Wave wireless protocol, not wifi, to connect to the various different components, reaching up to 76 metres from the base station. The whole lot can be done in about 15 minutes if you know where you want everything to go. Then it’s simply a process of pulling the battery tabs out of the various bits one by one and choosing where to put them. Plug the base station into power and hook it up to your home network via ethernet or wifi. You’ll need a Ring account, and its app on your smartphone, which guides you through the whole process. Installation was surprisingly straightforward and easy. You can screw everything in place if you want or, as I did, simply stick the various bits in place with foam fixers. The Ring Alarm is a DIY, wireless solution, which makes it rental-friendly.

Note: Plug-in Adapter (sold separately) is not designed to be plugged into an outdoor electrical socket.Installing the contact and motion sensors was a doddle using either screws, the included foam fixing mounts or my personal favourite, Command strips. When using the Dusk to Dawn feature, the Quick Release Battery life is approximately 3 weeks, so we recommend hardwiring Outdoor Siren, connecting Plug-in Adapter, or adding a Ring Solar Panel to keep your Quick Release Battery Pack charged. Quick Release Battery Pack (sold separately) You can manually recharge your Quick Release Battery Pack, or keep it continually charged with a Ring Solar Panel (also sold separately). Outdoor Siren’s terminal block also supports Ring Plug-in Adapter (2nd Generation) for continuous power from an internal electrical socket. Hardwiring Hardwiring your Outdoor Siren for non-stop, reliable power and the activation of the Dusk to Dawn feature.

With typical use these batteries should last 3 years. These need to be installed into the device, even if additional power options are used. D Batteries (included) Outdoor Siren comes with 3 x D batteries.

Amazon ring alarm pro virtual guardetheringtontechcrunch