When it comes to protecting your home, Ring’s security sensors are an excellent option. With these sensors, you can stay on top of everything from a window opening to a flood in your basement, even if you don’t have a traditional home security system.
This technology, however, is only as good as its ability to connect to the internet. There is no useful information to be found if these sensors are disconnected from your home. In other words, how can you bring them back quickly?
If your Ring sensors keep going offline, the first thing to check is their batteries. Double-check that they are all within range of the Ring Alarm Base Station, and only then should you proceed. The Ring Alarm Base Station, Ring app, and individual Ring sensors can all be reset to factory defaults after that.
Taking a closer look at these Ring sensors, let’s see what’s going on.
Overview of the ring alarm system, its sensors, and their use
Box for the Ring Security Alarms
A smart home firm with a foot in the home security market has always been Ring’s primary business model. In addition to being a fantastic convenience, their Ring Doorbells are also a strong element of home protection. With the inclusion of the Ring alarm base station, Ring Contact Sensor, and Ring Alarm Motion Sensor, Ring improved their security game.
The Ring Motion Sensor 2nd gen is seen here from the front.
In most cases, the Ring Alarm Base Station includes all of these sensors. Additionally, you may purchase extra touch sensors and motion sensors. If you have a lot of windows or doors in your house, this modular security system can cover them all.
When it comes to this technology, we need to speak about how these devices link to each other.
How Do Ring Sensors Work?
Z-Wave technology allows these Ring alarm sensors to remain linked to the base station. Smart gadgets can communicate with each other via Z-Wave, a radio wave. Your home’s Wi-Fi network will be relieved of part of the bandwidth stress while the Ring security system will be able to operate without interruption.
How Ring’s alarm system communicates with one another.
But what happens when the disruptions occur?
Why Your Ring Sensors Disappear, and How to Restore Them.
A fix is available for Ring sensors that are sometimes losing connection. Prior to going on to more complex remedies, we’ll begin with the most straightforward adjustments first.
Batteries are the techie’s best buddy, so let’s get started with that first.
Batteries are low or completely depleted.
Ring Motion Sensor battery compartment after removal of rear cover
As a rule of thumb for those in the electronics industry, “When in doubt, check your battery.”
“Is it plugged in?” is essentially the battery-powered counterpart of this question.
Batteries power these Ring sensors, therefore they will ultimately need to be replaced with new ones.
Ring claims that these sensors can last “up to” three years on a single charge. There is a lot going on with the “up to.” Most users should expect their batteries to last close to three years before needing to be replaced, however some users may have to do it more often.
When batteries are subjected to high or low temperatures, physical damage, or just an outdated battery that came with your device, they might degrade faster. Connectivity issues may not begin to occur until your battery is almost dead.
You may need to change out your batteries if other remedies aren’t working.
Another brief tech suggestion is in need. Try out any gadgets that aren’t working properly with a new battery. As a result, you can rapidly rule out the possibility of a dead battery as a possible source of the problem.
You Can’t Use Z-Wave With Them! (Or Close to It)
Z-Wave technology is used to keep the Ring contact and motion sensors linked to each other and their base station. Wi-Fi and other communication technologies do not utilize this wavelength of radio waves. Z-Wave is available to all smart devices, making this a fantastic option if you want to reduce your Wi-Fi traffic.
However, Z-range Wave’s is limited, similar to that of Wi-Fi or analogue radio. With the little battery in your Ring devices, a signal can only go so far before it runs out of juice. This implies that your gadgets may go offline if they are taken out of range.
The Ring app indicates that one Ring Motion Sensor is now unavailable.
This is the core of Ring’s security systems: the Ring Alarm Base Station (RABS). All of the sensors are connected to this one central hub. In order to keep your Ring devices online, the Ring Alarm Base Station has a few limitations.
The first is Ring’s alarm technology, which uses Z-Wave technology. The claimed Z-Wave range of the Ring Alarm Base Station is 250 feet. Things may actually get in the way of this range, which seems like it would be adequate for any household. Any obstruction that prevents a straight, uninterrupted passage between your sensor and the base station might cause this range to be disrupted.
The range extender may be used to expand the range between the sensor and the base station. Ring Alarm kits typically come with one range extender, but you may buy more ones for $24.99 each.
Ring Alarm’s Range Extender was plugged in
It’s likewise restricted to 100 devices per base station with the Ring Alarm Base Station. This implies that each base station can only handle 100 sensors. A base station overflow is unlikely, but if you’re going to have more than 100 sensors it could be worth investing in a second base station.
Bugs in the Alarm Clock and the App
The first-generation Ring Alarm Base Station’s pairing button
Your software might also be causing your Ring devices to disconnect and reconnect often. In the same way that your smartphone or laptop might develop its own faults and problems, these devices execute simple computer applications.
The good news is that Ring technology faults are rather simple to remedy. Simply doing a factory reset and connecting the device to your smart home’s network are often all that is required to resolve the issue. Resetting any Ring device, including the Ring app, should simply take a few minutes and bring your smart home back online.
The Ring Base Station may be reset.
We’ll begin by going over the basics of how to reset the Ring base station. Resetting this gadget is a piece of cake.
Using a paperclip or a reset button tool, press the reset button on the back of the base station.
For at least 10 seconds, press and hold the reset button.
When the device is done resetting, the LED light on the front will turn red.
In order to reset the second-generation ring sensors,
Removing the Ring Motion Sensor’s rear cover
Resetting Ring contact sensors and motion sensors is next on our list. Due to the fact that these sensors come in first and second generation iterations, there are two methods for doing a factory reset.
This is how you re-calibrate Ring contact sensors from the first generation. In many ways, it’s the same thing as resetting the base station.
Remove the Ring contact sensor’s lid.
Use the reset button tool or a paperclip to reset the device.
Hold the button for at least 10 seconds.
When the gadget is restarted, the LED light will become red.
Resetting the Ring Sensors of the First Generation
The first generation of Ring alarm sensors may now be reset. This method is a little more time-consuming, but it’s still a simple solution.
Remove the Ring sensor’s lid.
Battery should be removed
Wait 10 seconds.
So, here’s what you do:
The sensor is connected to the network if it emits a single flash of the LED light.
The sensor is out of network if the LEDs flash three times quickly.
You need a new battery if you don’t see the LED flash.
Restoring the Ring App to its default state.
This is the last reset we need to do on the Ring app. Even when the app is set to update automatically, you may not be able to access the most recent version. Uninstalling and reinstalling the program from the app store of your choosing will reset the app.
There’s an issue with the hardware
Opening up a Ring Contact Sensor to reveal the Z Wave logo and its associated pin
This one is a little trickier, but it’s not impossible. A issue with your Ring sensors may not be caused by a malfunctioning battery, software, or app. They might be the result of an issue with the device’s internal hardware.
Users can’t truly address Ring hardware issues. As long as your Ring devices are still covered under warranty, you’re free to swap them out for new ones. Even if you choose the Ring Protect Plus or Ring Protect Pro plan, your device’s warranty will be extended for an additional year.
Returning your equipment to the merchant where you bought it may be an option if it is still within the warranty period.
Interference with Z-Wave Waves May Occur
The lone issue that may arise with these gadgets, although it is quite unusual, is the last item on our list.
These devices may not be able to connect to the base station because to Z-Wave interference.
At a frequency of 908.42 Mhz, these devices are almost uncontested in the radio frequency market. Devices that utilise this signal are few and far between.
Ring sensors, on the other hand, may cause Z-Wave interference if you have a lot of them in your house or if your neighbors have a lot of them.
Talk to your neighbors about their smart gadgets if you’ve tried all of the above methods and are still experiencing problems connecting. There is no harm in getting to know your neighbors in any case!