Facing troubles with your Ring doorbell's all-in-one charging setup might feel overwhelming at first. But, spotting the key problem often makes fixing things much easier. Basically, four main culprits could mess with your doorbell's charging: low voltage, bad connections, broken parts, or power outages.
In this article, we are going to show you how you can fix these issues on your own with only a couple of extra tools!
Disclaimer
At SmartHomePerfected we always advise readers not to undertake any work they are not competent in performing and if in any doubt, it is best to seek the assistance of a professional.
As some of the below troubleshooting steps deal with electrical wiring, if you are not comfortable or competent in that respect, we urge you to seek the services of a qualified electrician.
Why Is My Hardwired Ring Doorbell Not Charging?
A Ring doorbell is a versatile product and can come in both wired and wireless forms. The installation process for a new doorbell that runs on batteries is fairly easy. However, setting up a wired system with a new transformer can be quite difficult for some, especially when you have no experience in electrical work.
So, even after you have set up a new doorbell, you might still experience some issues with charging. These are mostly due to network issues but you should consider power issues as well.
In this guide, we are going to show you how you can diagnose any power-related issue in your new/existing doorbell that is hardwired into your home.
Troubleshooting Steps
Troubleshooting your wired doorbell may not be easy at first, some may say it is not beginner-friendly. But, with the proper tools and a bit of knowledge, anybody can easily install/troubleshoot a wired doorbell.
In this section, we are going to breeze through some common power issues found in most Ring video doorbells that are hardwired.
Power Interruptions: Sometimes, there can be issues with the electrical wiring. The power cables can be damaged and there could be loose wires/connections.
Low Voltage Supply: These video doorbells require 16 V (30 A) transformers, so if the previous transformer – used to power the old traditional-style doorbell – is not able to provide this voltage, there can be power-related issues. We recommend that you hire an electrician to fix this.
Connectivity Problems: When the doorbell is having trouble connecting to the Wi-Fi, this can cause problems where you are not able to connect to the doorbell. When you cannot connect to the doorbell, it's impossible to diagnose most errors. In these circumstances, we recommend getting a Wi-Fi extender such as Ring's “Chime” feature which doubles as a Wi-Fi extender for your video doorbell network.
Faulty Doorbell Battery: Although it's not directly related to hardwired doorbells, there can be issues with the battery as well. So, make sure that the batteries are fully charged and working appropriately, even if you've hardwired the device.
Diagnosing the Ring Doorbell’s Charging Issues
In the previous section, we talked about some common power issues in a broader sense. These include Wi-Fi connectivity issues, problems with the transformer, and defects within the doorbell itself.
Moving on from that, we want to talk about how you can identify potential power issues, or more specifically, charging issues with your wireless or wired doorbell.
Device Status Via the App: The first thing you can do when diagnosing a hardwired Ring doorbell that's not charging is to check the device status via the Ring’s mobile app. Go to “Settings” and then select “Device Health”. If there are no issues, it will display the status as “Good”.
Weak Connectivity Issues: If you're certain that the doorbell is not too far from your home’s Wi-Fi router; there could be power fluctuations when the doorbell is trying to find a strong Wi-Fi signal, as it consumes a lot of power for this task. For issues with live view not activating click here.
Shutting Down After an Event: Another situation where the doorbell can have power issues is when it shuts down or freezes up whenever it has to ring, open the camera, or perform any function that demands a lot of power.
Lack of Night Vision Mode: setting up night vision can also draw a lot of power especially when switching on the infrared cameras. When there is an electrical power bottleneck, most of these features will not be available or they will function very poorly.
How to Fix Ring Doorbell Wiring Issues?
After you've set up your new wired Ring video doorbell, you might face some issues where the doorbell doesn't charge properly or doesn't power up at all.
Whenever this happens, it's best to troubleshoot the electrical wiring of your doorbell first, especially if the doorbell doesn't receive any power.
Follow these steps to fix the wiring issues with your doorbell.
- First, try to access the doorbell via the smartphone app. If it doesn't respond, move on to step 5.
- Go to “Settings” and click on “Device Health”.
- You can confirm if the device is receiving enough power as the app will display the device as “Good”.
- However, if the doorbell is having power issues despite this, you will have to perform a reset or contact Ring for assistance.
- Now, if the app doesn’t respond or it shows a lower voltage, you will have to whip out the orange screwdriver and unscrew the two screws at the bottom of the doorbell.
- After that, remove the doorbell from its mounting bracket.
- Make sure that the connections between the wall and the mounting bracket are not too tight or too loose. When it's too tight, the mounting bracket can get deformed. Also, when it's too loose, you won't have a strong connection.
- After that, fix everything back up and check the “Device Health”.
How to Check Ring Doorbell’s Voltage Issues
If the power issue isn’t resolved, there might be voltage fluctuations due to a bad transformer, chime, or the cables.
So in this guide, we are going to show you how to diagnose voltage issues on your hard-wired Ring doorbell.
- First, gather the necessary tools: the orange screwdriver, provided by Ring, and a multimeter.
- Now, switch the head of the screwdriver to the star-shaped Torx head.
- After that, unscrew the screws at the bottom of the doorbell.
- Keep the screws in a safe place and then, pull out the doorbell from the mounting bracket. You might need to shake it a little bit to release the tabs.
- Now, take out your multimeter, switch it on, and configure it to measure the voltage.
- After that, connect one terminal of the multimeter to one of the two cables that power the doorbell and the other terminal to the other cable.
- Check the voltage reading. If the reading is lower than 16 V, then you've got an issue with the step-down transformer.
- If the voltage is greater than 16 V – and the doorbell is still having power issues – then there is an issue with the chime or the doorbell itself.
How to Check Ring Doorbell Wi-Fi Connection
After you've fixed all power-related issues in your doorbell, the next step in troubleshooting is to check whether the doorbell is getting a solid Wi-Fi signal.
If your router is too far away to connect to the doorbell, we recommend that you try to move the router closer. If not, you can always get a Wi-Fi extender. Also, Ring provides its own “Chime” gadget which doubles as a Wi-Fi extender, specifically for doorbells provided by Ring.
The following guide will show you how to check your doorbell's Wi-Fi strength.
- First, open up Ring’s mobile app.
- Select “Devices” and tap on the appropriate device.
- After that, tap on “Device Health”.
- A list of information will pop up, including transformer voltage and signal strength.
- The “Ring” app uses a measurement called RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) to measure the Wi-Fi signal.
- If this RSSI value is between -40 and 0, then the Wi-Fi connection is strong enough.
- If it's in between -65 to -45, then you're in the mid-range where the Wi-Fi signal starts to lose its strength.
- Finally, if the RSSI value is less than -65 (-90 to -66), then the Wi-Fi signal is very low, and you might need to extend it or bring the router closer.
Other Possible Ring Doorbell Hard-Wiring Issues/Solutions
To ensure that your hardwired Ring video doorbell will not experience power issues in the future, here are several handy tips and tricks to improve the performance/battery life of your video doorbell.
Weak Wi-Fi Signals: If your Ring doorbell is not getting a Wi-Fi signal, you will not be able to sync your smartphone with the device. It will also consume a lot of power searching for a Wi-Fi signal.
Also, if the Wi-Fi is weak, you will face issues such as poor video recording quality and frequent buffering/stutters. We recommend switching over to a 2.4 GHz network (if you already use a 5 GHz network), getting a mesh router, or buying the Ring Chime Pro.
Bypassing the Internal Doorbell: If you've set up your Ring doorbell over an existing traditional doorbell system, there might be issues with the mechanical/digital chime where it is not able to provide enough current for the doorbell.
You can resolve this situation with the help of a “Pro Power Kit”, which is a device used to bypass the doorbell. It's very easy to set up, and all you need to do is reconnect the “Front” and “Trans” cables on the chime into the Pro Power Kit.
Replacing the Step-Down Transformer: If the voltage level of the existing doorbell wiring is less than 16 V (older traditional doorbells may use 12 V), you will have to replace the transformer. This task requires a solid knowledge of electrics, so we always recommend hiring an electrician to do this.
The Verdict
Power issues on your Ring doorbell can be frustrating and can be a prime reason for your device not to be charging properly. Knowing how to troubleshoot your doorbell using the app or with a multimeter is essential because it helps you resolve any issue as soon as possible. Even if you won't get notified, it's always best to check the “Device Health” data from time to time and make sure that everything is running smoothly.