When it comes to innovative smart home improvements, few make as much sense to use as the ‘Ring Doorbell’.
Essentially, if you know how to work this thing it’s like the stuff of the future. We would suppose that the best way to think of it is like a hybrid between a home security system and a hugely evolved video doorbell system.
A major cause for their growing success in the market, however, is that they are just hugely convenient. Pretty much any feature you would want to have on a device like this, the Ring Doorbell has it.
Among the best bits are that you can set it up so that you will receive a notification to your phone any time someone shows up at your door.
If this actually turns out to be someone you actually want to talk to, you can then communicate with them using a two-way mic and speaker system.
So, this means that you can also just use the camera to have a look at what’s happening outside your house, in real time, anytime you want. Think you might have forgotten to take the trash out?
Not a problem. Check the camera! Better yet, you can do this no matter where you are! As an added not for security, you can also choose to record whoever is at your door, in case you don’t like what you see.
So, that’s how all of this is meant to work. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? However, we are well aware that you wouldn’t be reading this unless something wasn’t quite right.
Having trawled the forums and boards to see what kind of issues that Ring Doorbell users are having, one quite unusual one kept rearing its head.
Of course, we’re talking about the issue where some of you can’t seem to get the doorbell to keep a charge, even if it is hardwired. Well, we are here to help you get to the bottom of it.
We have tried a few things out, and we’re about to share what we have come up with.
Two Different Ways to Wire the Ring Doorbell
Before we get into how to fix the issue, it is best that you understand and acknowledge which way your doorbell has been wired up.
The thing is, there are 2 different ways, each of which will have a bearing on how the doorbell works. In our minds, the best way to do it is to hardwire it in – that is, to connect it straight to your electrical system.
This way, it will never run out of charge. Better yet, your mains will charge the battery in your Ring Doorbell so that it can be used for a while, even if there’s a power outage.
If the Ring Doorbell isn’t hardwired, your doorbell will on the battery alone, meaning that you will occasionally need to charge it by means of a charger.
It’s a bit of an inconvenience, but it is much easier to wire up if you don’t have experience with electronics. So, whether or not you are using a live wire to power it can make all the difference. Or it should, at least.
On rare occasions, there can be a reason why your battery won’t charge, even if it is wired in. But, we would suggest that you make doubly sure that you know exactly which way the device was installed.
If you establish that it is hardwired and the battery isn’t charging, here is what you do.
Ring Doorbell Hardwired Not Charging
In most cases, this issue is relatively easy to fix from the comfort of your own home. Just follow the tips below and everything should be working again soon.
1. Try Restarting the Doorbell
Though this fix might sound a little too simple to ever be effective in this case, you might well be surprised. Restarting any high tech device is great for clearing out any bugs that might have cropped up over time.
In fact, a simple restart works so often that IT pros frequently joke that they would be out of a job if everyone just tried this first. So, let’s give it a try. It will only take a minute and is pretty easy to do.
In fact, it can be done using the power button in the App you have for your device. If you don’t want to do it that way, you can also switch it off manually.
However, if you do it this way, remember to leave it off for a while before powering it on again. Doing either of these will reboot everything you need on the doorbell and most likely make a difference to the way it performs.
With a bit of luck, this will have been the only tip that you need. If not, don’t worry, we have a few more suggestions to go through.
2. Check for Faulty Wiring
There is one thing that we should say before we explain this one further. Moving forward with this tip isn’t a good idea unless you have the relevant experience in wiring.
After all, if you don’t, it is quite easy that a mishap can happen. There are multiple wires at play here too, so you need to know what you are doing.
So, if you don’t know this stuff, it is a far better idea to get the help of someone who does.
Once you have assistance (or know what you are doing), checking the wiring won’t be all that difficult. First up, you will need to check the obvious – that the battery is connected to the wiring.
It is rare, but it may have been overlooked by mistake. Any technician worth their salt will be able to spot this straight away.
There might be a twisted or frayed wire in the mix, a clear malfunction with the battery itself, or maybe just a broken connection.
Beyond this, there isn’t really anything left to check here. Again, do not check any of this stuff yourself if you are not sure how.
3. Bring it in for Repairs
Unfortunately, if it turns out that the wiring is fine and you have tried restarting your Ring Doorbell, the news isn’t all that good.
This would indicate that there is something wrong that is much more serious than we had anticipated. At this point we would recommend that you ask someone experienced to uninstall it for you.
After this is done, the only logical course of action is to send it to an authorized technician or to a warranty center. The reason for this is that if they somehow make it worse, your warranty won’t be made null and void.
Most likely, it could be that the problem could be fixed by as little as replacing the battery. Whatever it is, at this point it is in better hands with the professionals.