I loved my Ring Video Doorbell Pro.
I installed it myself 2 years ago and was very pleased with the quality of video and audio recordings it captured. In addition, the $30 subscription seemed very reasonable to me compared to other solutions.
Especially with the extras it came with, besides 30 days of video storage, it was advertised with a free replacement if it would break down and even if it was stolen – as long as you had a subscription.
I was pleased with Ring until that point and the easiness of the installation process.
Then one week out of the official warranty, it broke down.
My Ring doorbell was dead, and there was no power it would detect anymore.
So I played around with voltmeters, reset button, wi-fi router, the wi-fi connection, plugged it into my friend’s house, and read all sorts of solutions and “tips and tricks” on the internet and in the manual.
But this device just went entirely dead from one day to the next.
It was just beyond repair. It just stopped working completely.
I contacted customer support and had to send them several pictures. One noticeable thing was that the doorbell button was also showing some signs of wear and tear (but it wasn’t broken, it still worked that way).
At least that’s what I think.
As you see here, I had the “Protect Plus” plan.
So I sent Ring’s Support Desk several photos of the device and basically got the reply that since I didn’t have the $99 plan – which you basically only need if you have multiple Ring devices – I wasn’t eligible for a replacement.
Either way, it was clearly misleading advertising, AND/OR they changed their terms along the way.
So anyway, my “Protect Plus” plan wouldn’t cover it, even though I had the subscription.
Take a look at their Protect plans here on the website:
You see it clearly says “Extended warranties for all devices 6“. And when we look at the fine print:
So it clearly states:
For extended warranty coverage to apply to your Ring device, the device must be within its original warranty period when you subscribe to Ring Protect Plus. Once the original warranty expires, the device will be covered under Ring Protect Plus until you discontinue your subscription. Non-Ring and other third-party devices are not eligible for the extended warranty.
Ring.com Customer Support (?)
I subscribed to the Plus plan from the moment I got the device, but they wouldn’t honor their own terms because I only had the $30 subscription Protect Plus plan and not the $99 Protect Plus plan.
Though in the above-shown table clearly shows otherwise.
So I guess I was unlucky with a faulty device + false advertising + a bad customer service rep?
Meanwhile, of course, I now didn’t have a doorbell that worked at all!
Which is extremely annoying, especially if you’re used to your new video doorbell convenience. I had to post a note because people couldn’t use a doorbell to ring if they wanted to. “Please knock.
The doorbell doesn’t work.” Back to the Stone Age.
After I emailed back and forth with customer support services, they suddenly stopped addressing the problem and simply said, ” You don’t have the $99 Protection Plan; you “only” have the $30.
But I clearly had the Plus plan, yet they left me out to dry.
The $99 plan was only useful if you wanted to connect more than 1 Ring device (e.g., indoor video cameras, outdoor floodlights, etc.). At least that was the case when I bought the device, but I see they’ve changed their policy now.
Then, a few days later, Ring customer support suddenly sends me a 30% discount code, valid for 2 months on their Ring.com website. And that was it from their end. Case closed.
Of course, that was nonsense because the prices on Ring.com are already the maximum prices, often 30% higher than other retailers or if you search for deals on Amazon.
This left a bitter taste in my mouth. I knew the product Ring was good, it has always served me flawlessly, but I felt screwed by their changes in terms and awkward customer support and started looking for an alternative.
Enter: Eufy Video doorbell
So I started looking around quickly because this situation of people having to knock and basically having no security at my front door was getting really annoying.
So I discovered this brand that I had never heard of before, Eufy, which turned out to be a brand of the well-known company Anker.
The eufy Security, Video Doorbell (Battery-Powered), 2K – 180-Day Battery Life, Encrypted Local Storage, No Monthly Fees.
What? No monthly fees and local storage? Interesting features for me as a privacy concerned person and the technical specifications looked good, and it had one main special feature: local storage, no more subscriptions.
Interesting.
Main technical comparison chart
I’m listing here the most important technical chart differences vs. the Eufy 2K doorbell and the Ring Pro:
| Eufy Video Doorbell 2K | Ring Video Doorbell Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Power options | Battery (180 days) and Power Supply | Power Supply Only |
| Storage option | Store on included Homebase | Subscription |
| Video quality | 2k (2560x1920) | 1080p HD-video |
| Activity zones | yes | yes |
| Alexa support | yes | yes |
| IP65 Weatherproof | yes | yes |
Ring’s $99 annual subscription can also be seen as an additional guarantee you’re buying into.
Nothing more. Assuming you take the subscription for 3 years, you might as well buy a brand new video doorbell every 2-3 years.
It also turns out that there is a wide selection of Eufy accessories that you can use to build a complete home security system: smart locks, indoor cameras, outdoor cameras, floodlight cameras, baby monitors, and there’s even a Eufy Cat Water Fountain.
So you’re not locked into any ecosystem, for example, for solar panels, chargers, mounts, All these are more affordable than their Ring counterparts, and it feels great not to be locked into anything.
In addition, this means I can swap/re-use parts when time evolves and perhaps move to another security system. Great.
As I said, I was in a hurry to get a new video doorbell ASAP and figured that with Amazon’s generous return policy, I couldn’t really go wrong. So I would send it back if it didn’t work well.
One day later, my Eufy video camera arrived.
It, like the Ring, feels very much like “Apple quality.” You know what I mean by that: quality packaging, wrapping, instructions, etc., the whole shebang. Like it was an Apple product.
And it came with this new weird device they call “Homebase,” which is the central functional organ of Eufy and your local hard drive for videos.
It also lets you quickly charge all your other micro USB devices—a small but handy detail.
10 minutes later, it had the same easy installation process as the Ring, and the Eufy video doorbell was installed and working.
I’ve been using it for almost a year now and haven’t had any problems with it. There are regular firmware updates and software improvements, and I have purchased 2 additional outdoor cams with it.
It is compatible with Apple’s Homekit and Amazon’s Alexa.
I’ll do an in-depth review of the Eufy video security system soon.
Conclusion
The Ring cameras are excellent, but they changed their policy, didn’t keep their replacement promises, and I am now delighted with my Eufy setup.
If you are doubtful and looking for a secure (the videos are hosted on Eufy Homebase at your home, not in the cloud) security device and are sick of all the subscriptions on top of your Netflix, Hulu, and what not subscriptions.
Give the Eufy Video Doorbell a chance. You will not be disappointed.
Sources:
- Ring.com
- eufylife.com