The “Event History” feature of the Ring Doorbell allows users to securely store brief video clips in the cloud.
If this is not working, it is usually down to issues such as poor Wi-Fi connectivity, a faulty battery, or restrictions that come with the subscription plan you’re on.
If not rectified quickly, this problem can result in serious lapses in your home security.
In this article, I break down some of the common reasons why this issue occurs and the steps to resolve them.
Why Is My Ring Doorbell Event History Not Working?
There can be several reasons why the Ring app won't display your previous footage. These include:
- Ring App or Server Issues
- An Expired Ring Protect Subscription
- A Network Issue
- A Hardware Failure
Additionally, your video doorbell might have not recorded any footage, to begin with. This could be because it's the first time you're setting the camera up or the motion detection hasn't triggered when it should have because of incorrect settings. I recently wrote an article on this which you can read here.
In any case, I'll cover each of these situations, in a simple process of elimination, and show you how to resolve it.
Step 1: Check Event History Via the Browser
The first thing you should do is make sure the Ring app is not at fault.
So if you can't view the video history on your doorbell via the Ring mobile app, I recommend heading over to Ring's website and checking if you can access your footage from there.
Here's how:
- Navigate to Ring.com.
- Click “Log In”. You'll spot this on the top right.
- Type in your details and submit.
- Select your Home/Location. This lands you on your Ring cameras' location dashboard.
- Pick your camera by clicking on the snapshot of the camera you're aiming to access.
- Choose “History”. This option can be found at the top.
If you can easily access your old footage from the browser, you can be certain that the issue is with the Ring app and not your subscription or video doorbell hardware.
On the flip side, if the Ring website is not working properly, it could also be a server issue. In that case, you'll have to wait it out while checking Ring.com Status for updates.
Step 2: Restart or Reinstall the Ring App
If the problem is indeed with the Ring mobile app, you can try to fix the app through several methods:
- Force-closing the App
- Restarting your Smartphone/Smart device
- Updating the app
- Clearing the cache of the Ring app
- Reinstalling the Ring App
- Setting up the Ring app on a different smart device
So try carrying out these steps and see if the Ring app starts responding.
Step 3: Check Your Ring Protect Subscription
One of the most common reasons why the event history stops working accidentally is because of expired subscriptions.
Ring usually renews your subscription automatically, but in cases where you've switched your payment card or depleted the balance on your cards or accounts, it will not renew itself. So make sure you check for this and update your payment information as necessary.
Also, the video doorbell might not be covered under your current subscription. If so, you'll have to switch your subscription over to this device or expand your Ring Protect plan to cover the video doorbell as well.
In any case, follow these steps to set up or adjust the particulars of your Ring Protect Plan:
- Open a web browser and log into your Ring account.
- Look for the “Subscribe” or “Protect Plan” tab at the top and click on it.
- Here, decide if you want to pick a new subscription or attach the doorbell to an already existing plan.
- Consider whether a monthly or an annual plan suits your needs best.
- Then, promptly enter your payment information to get your desired plan.
- After reviewing your order, click “Purchase”.
- An email confirmation will follow.
Remember, choosing Basic for multiple devices means you will be charged for each, individually. Instead, you can opt for Ring Protect Plus and Pro, which offers a single cover price for all devices at one location.
Step 4: Reconfigure Storage Time for Your Footage
To make sure your Ring footage stored on the cloud doesn't get deleted frequently, you can adjust the time they're allowed to sit in storage.
Although you won't be able to recover deleted footage, this precautionary step will ensure any videos recorded after this change won't get deleted so soon.
To adjust the storage time via the App:
- Open the Ring app.
- Select the three-line icon (≡) on the left of your Dashboard.
- Find “Control Center” and tap.
- Navigate to Video Management.
- Select “Video Storage Time”
- Beside each Ring device, there's an Edit option, tap it.
- Pick a video storage time option.
Via a Browser:
- Log into your Ring.com account.
- Go to Account then “Control Center.”
- Like in the app, select Video Management then Video Storage Time.
- Tap on “Edit” beside your Ring device and choose your storage option.
Step 5: Re-adjust the Motion Settings and Privacy Screens
When the mobile app or your subscription is not the issue, the problem may lie because the Ring video doorbell is not recording any footage. If that's the case, heading outside and making sure it detects your motion and records footage will help you dig deeper into the problem.
So if possible, take your smartphone with the Ring app and check the motion of the Ring video doorbell. You can try walking in front of it, pressing the Ring button, and checking if the doorbell responds via the app as usual.
If the video doorbell is not detecting your motion or recording footage, it might be due to incorrect settings.
To make sure your Ring video doorbell starts recording, you can check for these settings and reset or readjust them:
- Motion Zones: Try clearing out all motion zones or readjusting them to fit your location
- Bird's Eye Zones (if you have a Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2): Make sure the bird's eye zones have enough distance to detect your location and it has a wide enough coverage area.
- Privacy Screens: Try removing any privacy screens and checking if the video doorbell detects your motion. If so, try rearranging the privacy screens as necessary.
- Motion Sensitivity and Frequency: Set the motion sensitivity to “frequent” (highest frequency) and retest it.
For a detailed guide on configuring these settings, make sure to check out my article on troubleshooting a Ring doorbell that doesn't detect motion.
Step 6: Check Your User Access
Direct access to the event history or certain cameras can be disabled for Guest and Shared Users
So if you're not the “Owner” of the Ring doorbell, you won't be able to check footage or access the settings of the device.
In that case, you can ask the owner to allow you access to check the event history.
However, if you've just come across the Ring video doorbell when you moved in, you can ask the previous owner to revoke access or try contacting Ring to verify your current ownership.
Step 7: Make Sure the Wi-Fi is Working
When there's a lag or low Wi-Fi signal, the Ring app won't notify you directly about Wi-Fi issues.
So in this case, it's up to you to figure out if your Ring video doorbell has a strong Wi-Fi signal and whether it has access to the internet uninterrupted from firewalls or VPNs.
To check the Wi-Fi signal strength of your Ring Video Doorbell:
- Open your Ring app
- Click the three lines at the top left corner.
- Select the ‘Devices' category.
- Pick the Ring device you want to test.
- From the device dashboard, tap on the “Device Health” tile.
- Then, check ‘Signal Strength' under the Network section.
If the Signal Strength (RSSI value) is in the red or below -60 (-60 to -100) your video doorbell might be struggling to maintain a stable Wi-Fi connection.
To remedy this, you can:
- Reposition the Wi-Fi router
- Switch to the 2.4GHz Band
- Clear out any obstructions that may be blocking the Wi-Fi signal
- Log out any unwanted smart devices from the Wi-Fi network
Alternatively, the signal strength may be high but the Wi-Fi might be slow or disconnected from the internet.
In that case, you can carry out a quick speed test and make sure the upload and download speeds are well above 2Mbps. If not, you'll have to get help from your ISP or take out other devices that might be hogging all the bandwidth.
To learn more about troubleshooting network issues on your Ring doorbell, check out this article.
Step 8: Check the Power to the Doorbell or Recharge its Batteries
Although rare, power issues can also cause the Ring video doorbell to go haywire So if the batteries are running critically low or there's a loose connection in the doorbell transformer wiring, the Ring device will not record footage properly and it will constantly run into connectivity issues.
You can check for any power issues via the “Device Health” tile on the camera's dashboard:
- Open the Ring app
- Select your device from the menu icon (≡) → Devices
- Tap on the “Device Heath” tile
Here, you can check the battery level and whether the voltage is low in the doorbell wiring.
So to make sure you cover this, it's best to recharge the batteries (if your video doorbell runs on batteries) or make sure the voltage is not too low.
Step 9: Restart or Reset the Doorbell
A quick restart can also get your Ring video doorbell a quick refresh and get it back up and recording footage as usual.
Additionally, it can also restart its connection with the Wi-Fi network, resolving any issues and granting you proper access to the event history on the Ring app.
You can restart your Ring doorbell via the app or by simply taking out the batteries or disconnecting the circuit breaker.
To restart via the app:
- Open the app and head over to your device dashboard
- Tap on the “Device Health” tile
- Scroll down to “Reboot this Device”
- Confirm your selection
- Wait a couple of minutes for your Ring doorbell to boot up.
However, if a restart won't fix the issue, you can also try factory resetting your video doorbell. It's kind of a last resort option so make sure you go through all the steps I've laid above before you carry out a factory reset.
To learn how to factory reset your specific model of Ring video Doorbell, check out this article.
Step 10: Call in Ring Customer Support
Maybe your video doorbell is defective or there's some issue with the Ring app, your subscription, or the Ring website. In that case, I recommend getting in touch with Ring customer support and explaining the situation.
They will let you know what's wrong and provide you with instructions on how to proceed.
Wrapping Up
The video history section is important since it allows you to review old events and log them down for security reasons.
So losing access to old footage on your Ring doorbell is not to be taken lightly.
However, as long as you’ve maintained your Ring Protect Subscription and carried out the troubleshooting steps I’ve laid out above, you should be able to fix the issue and get your event history feature back up and running.
Sources
- https://support.ring.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001197003-Managing-Payments-for-a-Ring-Protect-Subscription
- https://support.ring.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005235186-Controlling-Ring-Devices-With-Shared-Users-and-Guest-Users
- https://support.ring.com/hc/en-us/articles/360020638172-Test-Your-Wifi-Connections
- https://support.ring.com/hc/en-us/articles/115001757766-Understanding-Your-Ring-Device-s-Device-Health-Page
- https://support.ring.com/hc/en-us/articles/7438395032980-Rebooting-your-Video-Doorbell-or-Security-Camera