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The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.

• Rated 4 out of 5 stars

  Good hardware, software still needs refinement

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 25 Contributor

  Great Fast response Quickly adjusts IR to prevent blowout Simple install Can describe events AI descriptions allow to search for specific events Loud microphone Very clear speech if there is not noise pollution No ghosting even when poorly lit Includes a wedge in the box Simple install Doorbell rings can now be like phone calls Doesn’t have the cooldown time between events like previous models Not so great Birds eye view not working Doorbell screw locations changed from previous generations Audio muffled with certain background noises Chime mini sounds distorted AI event description delays previews Announcements on Echo devices inconsistent Viewing angle reduced from 150 to 140 degrees Limited functionality without a subscription Fully dependent on internet No local storage or AI capability No Alexa Greetings capability Installation mounting position is different than previous generations The design is more rounded than previous generations. Ring has also redesigned the IR ring. Instead of a ring that appears to be a single light, the new version you can see distinct LED strips arrange to be somewhat circular. This latest doorbell no longer works with existing hardwired chimes. Instead, it includes a Chime Mini in the box. Consistent with their product lineup, the Wired Doorbell Plus has no local storage and AI processing is done via the cloud. Functionality is limited without a paid subscription. While it can answer with certain predefined responses, Alexa Greetings capability is limited to the Pro doorbell Installation 7/10 Installation is easy if you are mechanically inclined. It is very similar to previous generations of Ring doorbells. Strangely, like the past 3 Ring doorbells our family has had the mounting screw locations have been moved again. After years of owning ring doorbells our brick now has multiple holes drilled in it. It would be nice if Ring standardized the mounting holes between doorbell design changes. The most significant difference is when you install the Chime Mini you bypass your existing doorbell chime. It has double sided tape so you can stick it inside your existing chime to take its place. It sounds horrible and distorted but does offer one benefit. The doorbell no longer uses just phantom power from your chime which creates limitations in performance. Instead, the doorbell gets full power at all times. Video 8/10 The latest version of the doorbell does have some better specs, but some have been downgraded. The resolution has been increased to 2K but the viewing angle has been reduced from 150 in previous generations to 140 degrees. It is not very noticeable but it is unusual to see a previous version having better specifications. Video quality has been improved where faces are sharper. There are signs of compression but Ring has done a respectable job minimizing the effects. With it fully hardwired it means preroll is full quality and the entire video is clear with no ghosting. No more viewing blurry or pixelated preroll. However, dynamic range seems to have decreased. Faces during the daytime are often dark and not very clear even if there is a modest amount of daylight in the area. Night vision is the opposite. Ring really seems to have improved IR exposure. Faces typically blown out by IR up close are not an issue. Even if their face starts out overexposed the camera quickly adjusts. Audio 7/10 The speaker on the doorbell is certainly loud enough. In fact, on full volume your neighbors across the street could easily hear talking. However, understanding is a whole different story. When listening through the app and there is any noise such as traffic, speech sounds blown out. It is like the microphone sensitivity is turned up too high. However, during normal sounds of nature it does a much better job of picking up speech clearly. In fact, during this scenario the audio quality is possibly the best Ring has ever done and conversations feel more natural. Performance 8/10 With the fully hardwired setup, response time is greatly improved. No more waiting for the camera to wake from low power mode. Events are quickly announced on any Amazon Echos you have around your house. However, every once in a while, it seemed to stop announcing and showing events. After the doorbell had been installed for a few days it seems to have improved. With updates being automatic it could be that this improved after an overnight update. What will slow things down consistently is turning on AI recognition. When the AI recognition is turned on there is a long delay from when an event happens and when it shows up on the timeline for viewing. App Notifications and Answering 5/10 It seems like Ring is trying out some new features that haven’t been fully optimized yet. Notifications are usually pretty fast to Echo devices in the house and only delayed by a second or two, but the app is less consistent. Initially it seemed to be due to a new feature where you can receive a call when someone rings the doorbell. When our family tried to use it the phone and app would ring and when you answered it would just spin. We turned that feature off thinking it would help, but currently the phone only rings half of the time when someone presses the button. This is when using the latest app on an iPhone 17 Pro Max with the app set to allow critical alerts. Two different phones had the same experience. When the app did notify of a doorbell press, answering was much quicker than previous Ring doorbells. Final Thoughts The Wired Doorbell Plus is a solid product from a hardware perspective disregarding the Chime Mini. However, the software feels like Ring needs time to optimize. For those of you who have had Ring products in the past, this should not be a surprise. If their track record continues, this doorbell will likely improve over time and maybe add a new feature or two. For those unsure, you may want to wait a little bit for Ring to iron things out a bit. For those familiar with the way Ring handles new products and are confident the software will continue to improve, this new fully hardwired version eliminates the compromises of the previous generations.

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  Posted 1 week ago by CraigB

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  Lots of improvements and high rez 2K video

  • Tech Insider Network Member

  We’ve been using Ring products for several years now, including Ring video doorbells, several outdoor cameras, some with solar panels, and a wired floodlight. All were purchased from Best Buy and all have been 100% reliable. The Ring Wired Doorbell Plus in this review is a second-generation product, with overall improvements not only in resolution, but also in several aspects related to video quality…hence the 2K Retinal in the name. Given the opportunity to upgrade, I chose this to replace my Ring Doorbell Pro, whose video recording was full HD as opposed to the higher 2K resolution of the Plus. I immediately noticed improved sharpness, clarity and color, even in low light and backlit situations. Ring has also made improvements in subject recognition with help from AI. I haven’t had a chance to see those kinds of improvements, but even the older version seemed to do a good job, noticing things like packages left at the door, etc. I see Ring now offers a 3rd generation 4K doorbell, but 2K seems more than adequate when viewing on a smartphone or tablet. In my case, installation basically involved replacing the older doorbell. As is often the case these days, detailed installation instructions required scanning a QR code with my smartphone. The first thing I noticed when removing everything from the box was the doorbell’s physical size…it’s noticeably larger than the Pro, not that it really matters much. I used the corner mount to angle the camera slightly, and it did require drilling one new tiny screw hole as they didn’t line up exactly with the old mount. Otherwise, everything went as expected, simply swapping out the wires from old unit to the new one anchoring it with a single screw to the wall plate, and reattaching the cover by snapping it on. Ring has changed how the cover attaches. Instead of using a torx head screw as in their earlier models, the new one uses a recessed plastic clip, which to me seems a little less secure. A little tool to poke the clip open to remove the cover is included, but it seems a simple small flat blade screwdriver could probably accomplish the same thing. At least now I don’t have to worry about losing the orange screwdriver that came with the older units. Adding the device in the Ring app was quick and easy. The other aspect of installation (which should be done first) has to do with the existing mechanical doorbell chime in your house, usually near the entry somewhere. The Wired Doorbell Plus will not work with these chimes, so it will require a little effort to completely disconnect the two wires attached to the chime and connecting them together with an included wire nut. Since I already had a previous Ring doorbell, I needed to remove a small power adapter device from the earlier installation. Ring does include a “Chime Kit Mini” which can be attached to those same two wires instead, and I did go ahead and do this. However, I personally found it to be a little harsh sounding and loud (I couldn’t figure out how to control the volume) and with smartphones and Amazon Alexa devices throughout the house, I didn’t really need to install it in the first place. At least it’s included if you need it. If necessary, I would recommend spending a little more and purchasing the separate Ring Chime or Chime Pro. They are quite affordable and highly configurable. I ended up disconnecting the mini chime. Ring requires a free smartphone app (excellent 4.7 star-rating) to use the doorbell’s video capabilities, but a paid subscription is necessary (and recommended) to access many of its desirable features like video storage, subject recognition, and various alert options. With several Ring devices in our home, we went with the Standard Ring Plan, and I find it works well and is worth the additional expense. I am quite satisfied with the new Ring Doorbell Plus and highly recommend it for anyone looking for a high quality and reliable video doorbell.

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  Posted 2 weeks ago by MikeyLikesIt

• Rated 4 out of 5 stars

  Adequate Video with Faster Response times

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 250 Contributor

  I’ve had Ring Doorbells through multiple generations and this one responds faster at a higher resolution so it was a worthwhile upgrade. The app is mostly intuitive and easy to manage especially if you just want the basics. Ring has added several new options including Ai interpretation of the motion but all that comes at an additional cost and subscription. The integration with Alexa allows us to check the door using our Echo Show without having to open the door. The video quality is a slight improvement over my older camera but its still not clear enough to recognize facial features at night or if the individual is moving quickly. It is good enough however to see if it’s a delivery person carrying a package or if someone is on the porch fairly close to the camera. Overall I think the 2k video quality is adequate, it’s the app and the features available that make this Ring Doorbell a better option than most out there today. Pros: - Established brand and mature app - Much faster response time than older Ring Doorbell - Lots of options in the Ring App for customization - Remote Chime devices available – I have one on each floor of the house - Easy linked with Alexa for notifications and video display Cons: - Physical install can be problematic – see below - Customization options can get overwhelming - Subscription cost can be expensive - Fairly large for a video doorbell - Included Chime Kit mini has poor sound at best Setup: Once I had the unit installed it was quickly recognized by the Ring app and after adding my wireless network it was ready to use. I personally like the Ring dashboard but there are so many options it takes some time to work your way through all of them to make sure you have exactly what you want. The app supports Modes (Disarmed, Home, Away), GeoFencing and Alexa Routines. You have to link your Amazon account with the Ring App to get the Alexa Routines but once you do notifications and video can be sent to your Alexa devices. Now the kids use the Alexa show to see who is at the door without having to open it. The app has quick control buttons for Alerts, Motion detection and Motion alerts which is really nice when you want to shut down the notifications when they aren’t needed. Installation: I had an older Ring doorbell pro already installed so my installation should have been fairly easy but it wasn’t. The Ring app does a good job of walking you through each step of the installation in detail. It recognized that I already had a Ring doorbell installed and showed me how to deinstall the first one prior to installing the new one. My issue was that my doorbell wire had very little slack so I had to solder on the two wire extensions included with the new doorbell. This is something most people might not be able to do. Secondly, my surface mount is flat and the mounting bracket is nearly flush with the surface which doesn’t leave you any room to hide/store any excess wire. Connecting the actual doorbell to the mounting bracket was a pain because I had to keep tucking the excess wire under the doorbell while trying to tighten down the security screw. To resolve this I had to put small spacers/washers under the mounting bracket to give me enough room to store the wires without crimping them. If Ring would have used Wago style connectors instead of screws or included a slightly thicker bracket this would have been much easier.

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  Posted 1 week ago by explore42