What is the reason behind the poor video quality of your Ring Doorbell? How about how to fix it? If you want to know the answers to these questions, you are on the right page.
Ring Doorbell Devices Video Quality
Usually, Ring Video Doorbells are pretty reliable. They often operate without significant problems. However, there are some instances when the video quality isn’t any good. It’s supposed to be 1080p HD, but it keeps on freezing and stutter among other things.
Now, before we talk about the possible reason for this and the solution, let’s take a quick look at the different Ring Video Doorbells. We have:
- Ring Video Doorbell
- Ring Video Doorbell 2
- Ring Video Doorbell Pro
- Ring Video Doorbell Elite
- Ring Video Doorbell 3
- Ring Video Doorbell 3 Plus
These are the most popular video doorbells from Ring. Let’s start with the base model – Ring Video Doorbell. It has the basic features of video, two-way talk, and motion detection.
Ring Video Doorbell 2 is an upgrade from this with more features. Both have rechargeable battery power. As for Ring Video Doorbell Pro and Elite, you have the same features as Ring Video Doorbell 2.
However, Pro has to be hardwired while Elite must be connected to your Ethernet (PoE). The latter is ideal for a newly built home where you don’t have an existing doorbell. They both are excellent video doorbells capable of alerting you of a visitor right away.
Ring Doorbell 3 is also an upgrade. It comes with better night vision, dual-band Wi-Fi, noise cancellation, and other features. On the other hand, Ring Doorbell 3 Plus has the same features as the former with the addition “Pre-Roll” function.
All of these video doorbells have 1080p HD video quality, except the base model. If you have a Ring Doorbell, it should definitely have a clear video of what’s outside your door unless it is night time.
See more: Ultimate Guide to Ring Video Doorbell: Everything you need to know
Ring Doorbell Poor Quality – Here’s the Truth
If your Ring Doorbell’s video quality is far from clear, it is often related to your Wi-Fi. For the 720p video cameras, you need at last a 1Mbps upload and download speeds if you want optimal performance.
If your Internet connection is faster, then that would be beneficial for getting a much clearer picture. Of course, 1080p video cameras will need more than 1 Mbps upload and download speed to give you clear footage.
You can find out if your network is fast enough by running an online speed test. If you learn that your Internet is not fast enough, whether it’s the download or upload speeds, you should definitely upgrade.
Things that Affect Ring Video Quality
There are a few things that could cause the poor picture quality of your Ring Video Doorbell. First, there’s the Wi-Fi signal as mentioned. So, that means you want to make sure your device gets a stronger signal.
Received Signal Strength Indicator
Also known as RSSI, its meaning is pretty straightforward. It tells you how strong the Wi-Fi signal your Ring Doorbell is receiving. You can check out the RSSI when you open your Ring app then tap the Device Health section.
Free of Obstruction
If your device isn’t getting a strong signal, there are a few things you can do. For one, ensure nothing obstructs between the Wi-Fi router and your Ring Video Doorbell. Move the router to an open place, like a table, if its previous location is blocked.
Number of Devices Connected
Are your phone, laptop, PC, and other devices also connected to your Wi-Fi? They also affect your Ring doorbell’s video quality. If you use the same network for the Ring doorbell and others, don’t be surprised if your video doorbell’s resolution is bad.
A good solution is to use Ethernet cable for devices that can utilize it, like your PC and Ring device. With Ring Doorbell, that will also help with some power issues. If you connect your Ring device to Ethernet, you can clean the network clutter.
Updated Wi-Fi Router
Have you been using the same Wi-Fi router for years? Then, it is probably time to upgrade. Contact your Internet service provider to have your router updated to a newer model with better upload and download speeds.
If it is not possible to upgrade with your current Internet service provider, consider switching to a different one. You need an Internet connection with good coverage if you want your Ring Doorbell’s video quality to be clearer.
Troubleshooting Ring Doorbell Poor Video Quality
Let’s try to find the reason for the poor video quality of your Ring device.
Test for Wi-Fi Signal Strength
If you suspect it is the Wi-Fi signal strength that is causing the poor video quality, you need to bring the router near. This way, you can eliminate or minimize the interference to the signal. It
- Remove Ring device from being mounted.
- Bring the device near the Wi-Fi router.
- Open your Ring application on your Smartphone or tablet.
- Turn off your cellular data first.
- Connect your phone to the Wi-Fi network your Ring device is using.
- Select the specific Ring device you want to check.
- Try ringing the Ring device to trigger an event.
- Answer it on your phone and see if the video is clear or not.
There are several results that this test will show. The video can be:
Get a Clear Footage
After the test, you get a clear video quality. It means the problem is the distance between where your Ring doorbell was mounted and the router. You can fix this by moving your Ring device or your router near each other, or use a Wi-Fi extender.
Heavily Pixilated Video
Heavy pixilated footage, even though the Ring device is right next to the router, means slow Wi-Fi speed. You should do a Wi-Fi speed test to be sure. The upload and download speeds must at least be 1 Mbps.
If the upload and download speeds are below 1 Mbps, you should consider upgrading your router. You may also contact your Internet service provider for anything that can be done to bump up your Wi-Fi speed.
Stuttering, Frozen, or Pausing Video
After the test, the Live Video suffers from severe pauses. The audio also stutters, and the feed freezes. Try checking your Wi-Fi speed too. Is it below the minimum 1 Mbps minimum standard? That contributes to the problem as well.
You can try fixing this by rebooting the router. Unplug it, wait 30 seconds, then plug it back again. Wait a few minutes as the router restarts. Try to test your Ring doorbell again. Hopefully, it is working fine now.
Delayed Video Start
If your video takes a long time to start, it is also because of slow Wi-Fi speeds. If, after checking, you see that you meet the minimum 1 Mbps, try to reboot your router as well as the device you are using the Ring app on – check when both devices are back.
Test for Traveling Signal Strength
This test aims to figure out where your Wi-Fi loses signal between the Ring device and the router. Like the first test, bring your video doorbell near the router so there won’t be any interference to the signal.
- Remove Ring device from being mounted.
- Bring it near the Wi-Fi router.
- Open the Ring app on your device.
- Ring the doorbell or activate the motion sensor to start an event.
- Answer the event on your phone.
- Check the resulting video.
- With the Ring doorbell and smart device, walk slowly throughout your home.
- Examine the footage while moving towards the Ring device’s original location.
- Make sure to note the video quality as you move around.
- Close the door when you move to the original location.
While moving from location to location, you will likely notice some differences in the video quality. The poorer the quality of the footage means the signal of the Wi-Fi drops significantly. Take note of this for when you move the router to fix the problem.
Did you lose the signal after bringing the Ring doorbell outside your home? If that’s it, the problem is the material used to make up your walls. Brick, stone, concrete, aluminum, stucco, and security often block Wi-Fi signals.
In cases like this, the solution is to move your Ring Video Doorbell closer to the router. You can also move the router near the doorbell if moving the latter is inconvenient or not possible. Also, a Wi-Fi extender may do the trick.
Try checking this video for a solution to the poor video quality of your Ring device.
Conclusion
Has a problem with a Ring Doorbell poor video quality? – it’s often just the Wi-Fi signal. If not, you should check your device’s warranty. It could be the cause of the poor video quality is hardware, which means you need to replace it.
References:
- Arch, How to Make Your Ring Doorbell Picture Clearer, Techjunkie.com
- Poor Video Quality Troubleshooting, Support.Ring.com
