Ring is practically synonymous with smart doorbells, and the $59.99 Ring Video Doorbell Wired is its smallest, most affordable model yet. As the name implies, it requires wiring, but it’s still fairly easy to install. It supports Amazon Alexa voice control and IFTTT applets, but access to recorded video and a handful of other features require a Ring Protect subscription. For around $30 more, the Ezviz DB1C (also a wired doorbell) is a much better deal. It offers free intelligent alerts, local video storage, and a higher-resolution image, retaining our Editors’ Choice award for affordable video doorbells.
Ring’s Smallest Doorbell
At 3.9 by 1.8 by 0.8 inches (HWD), the Video Doorbell Wired is a bit shorter than the Ring Video Doorbell Pro (4.5 by 1.8 by 0.8 inches) and the Ezviz DB1C (5.0 by 1.8 by 0.8 inches), but still a hair thicker than the Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro (4.6 by 1.5 by 1.3 inches). It has a matte black finish with a glossy black face, and there’s a Ring logo at the bottom of the enclosure.
The front of the doorbell contains a 1080p camera, a microphone, and a round 0.75-inch-wide call button surrounded by an LED ring that spins white during setup, glows solid white during normal operation, and spins blue when the button is pressed. The camera uses two infrared LEDs for black-and-white night vision and has a 155-degree horizontal field of view. Connectivity comes by way of a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio.
The bottom edge of the doorbell holds a speaker and an opening for a security screw, and the back panel has two wiring terminals. Included in the box are two Torx security screws, a Torx screwdriver, mounting screws and anchors, a user guide, a quick start card, and a jumper cable for bypassing your chime box. This doorbell doesn’t work with your existing chime, so if you want to hear in-house audio alerts, you’ll have to pair it with an Amazon Alexa device or purchase a Ring Chime ($29.99). Alternatively, you can purchase a Ring Video Doorbell Wired + Chime bundle for $79.99.
Live video, motion alerts, two-way talk, and lifetime theft protection are free, but you need a Ring Protect plan to view and share recorded video, capture snapshots, and use the People Only Mode feature that filters out all motion and only sends alerts when a person is detected. The Basic plan costs $3 per month or $30 per year and gives you 60 days of video history for a single camera, while the Plus plan costs $10 per month or $100 per year and gives you 60 days of video history for all of your Ring devices.
The Video Doorbell Wired works with Alexa voice commands and will interact with numerous smart home devices via IFTTT applets, but it doesn’t support Apple HomeKit or Google Assistant.
You use the same mobile app (for Android and iOS) to control the doorbell as you do for all other Ring devices. The Video Doorbell Wired appears in its own panel on the home screen, along with any other Ring products you have installed. The panel displays the name of the doorbell and a still image of the last captured motion event. Tapping the panel takes you to a screen where you can view live video by hitting the Go Live arrow. Tap the box in the lower right corner of the video screen to view it in full-screen mode.
Just below the video panel is a timeline of motion and doorbell events that you can scroll through to watch footage of a specific event, and below that are speaker mute and two-way talk buttons. The gear icon in the upper right corner takes you to the doorbell settings screen where you can enable or disable ring alerts, motion detection, and motion alerts. Here you can also view your event history, configure Home, Away, and Geofencing settings, link the doorbell to other Ring devices to have them record when motion is detected, configure motion sensitivity and motion schedules, and change device settings including ringer volume and video recording length.
Relatively Easy to Install and Use
Installing the Video Doorbell Wired is easy, but if you’re not comfortable working with low-voltage doorbell wiring, you might want to find someone who is or hire a pro. I started by turning off the power to my doorbell at the breaker box and removing my old doorbell unit. I pried the cover off of the Ring doorbell, connected the two doorbell wires, and used the included mounting screws to attach the doorbell to the door frame. I then snapped the cover back onto the doorbell and restored power to the circuit.
If this is your first Ring device, you’ll have to download the app and create an account. To pair the doorbell with the app, I tapped Set Up A Device in the menu, selected Doorbells, and used my phone’s camera to scan the QR code on the quick start card. I entered my address, gave the device a name, and verified that I didn’t need to install the jumper cable. If you do require a jumper to draw power from your existing chime box, you can view installation instructions at this time. Next, I verified that the setup light was spinning and within seconds the doorbell confirmed that it was connected. I selected my Wi-Fi SSID, entered my Wi-Fi password, and the doorbell was paired with the app and automatically added to my Alexa device list.
The Video Doorbell Wired delivered solid results in testing. Daytime video was sharp, with good color quality, while black-and-white night vision showed solid contrast and uniform lighting. There was some barrel distortion, but this is fairly common with doorbell cameras and doesn’t distort the overall image.
The doorbell responded instantly to button presses and the internal chime was adequately loud. Motion detection worked well once I tweaked the sensitivity settings, and the People Only Mode feature worked as intended. Alerts arrived immediately, and I had no trouble viewing video from the doorbell on an Amazon Echo Show using Alexa voice commands.
Is the Most Affordable Ring Doorbell Worth It?
At $59.99, the Ring Video Doorbell Wired provides an affordable way to see who is at your door without getting up from your couch. It’s easy to install and delivers sharp 1080p video, and it works with lots of other smart devices. That said, you’ll have to pay for a subscription to view, save, and share recorded video and to use the People Only Mode feature. Our Editors’ Choice winner for affordable doorbells, the Ezviz DC1B, may cost a few dollars more, but it offers a much sharper UHD image, dual-band Wi-Fi, cloud and local video storage, and support for Google Assistant in addition to Alexa and IFTTT. If you want to go wireless, meanwhile, the Ring Video Doorbell (2020) offers similar functionality to the wired model but with a built-in battery for $99.99.
