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Ring builds some of our favorite video doorbells and security cameras / outdoor lighting mashups. Now, the company recently acquired by Amazon is moving into the home with a strong and inexpensive home security system: Ring Alarm. This is a fantastic product today, and Ring says it will only improve with time.
Ring Alarm is positioned as a traditional home security system, and although there is not much innovation here (nothing like the Nest) Detect the sensor supplied with the Nest Secure system, much more expensive, for example), it is already equipped with everything it needs to become a complete smart home system.
Ring Alarm does not work support smart lighting controls, door locks, thermostats, garage door openers or other common products of smart home today, and there is a very short list of third-party products supported. But nothing is missing to support these and similar devices on the road. And in an interview with Ring Solutions President Mike Harris earlier this week, I learned that it's exactly what Ring intends to do
Each of the key components of the Ring Alarm home security system is powered by a Z-Wave Plus chip (but the base station also has a ZigBee radio).
But back on what she can do today, first. The very affordable starter kit ($ 199) includes a wireless base station, a keypad for arming and disarming the system, a door / window sensor, a passive infrared motion detector and a range extender Z-Wave. You can monitor the system yourself, but at the price that Ring requires for professional follow-up – only $ 10 a month ($ 100 a year if paid annually) without a long-term contract – it would be stupid not to s'. to register. This will double for people who already have other Ring devices because this includes video storage in the cloud for an unlimited number of Ring Cameras.
How it works
If an alarm is triggered, not very loud (105dB) the base station sounds, and an alert is sent to your smartphone that launches the Ring application (a more powerful siren of Dome is on the short list of supported third-party devices). The app will tell you which sensor has triggered the alarm, but you are alone from there.
Michael Brown / IDG Ring Alarm will send a notification to your smartphone, informing you of the status of the system and the sensor that triggered the alarm .
If you have Ring Cameras, you can navigate to this part of the application to see what you can see – it is worth noting that Ring has no in the cameras – you can call the police, or you can disarm the system if it turns out to be a false alarm (you can also disarm at the keypad if you are in the house).
With a professional monitoring subscription (Ring Protect Plus), someone will call you (or your designated secondary contact if he can not reach you directly) to make sure everything is fine . They will send the first responders to your request or if they can not reach you.
The caller of the monitoring service will identify as being of Ring, since it is with him that is your business relationship, but they actually work for a third company with which Ring has a contract with: Rapid Response Monitoring Services. This is a common arrangement for home security systems. Nest, for example, contracts with MONI Smart Security (now known as Brinks Home Security). Alarm.com is another important third party monitoring service.
Z-Wave, Wi-Fi, LTE and more
The Ring Alarm Keyboard can run on AC power through its Micro-USB port, or it can work on its rechargeable battery .
The decision to separate the brain from the system – the base station – from the keyboard is smart: it allows you to place the largest base station somewhere and place the smallest keyboard close to one. door entry, where it is easy to access. You can also deploy more than one keyboard, for example one at the front door, one at the back and one on your bedside table. Placing the base station somewhere as close to an entry gate also enhances the overall security of the system: if burglars can not find it quickly, they can not disable the system.
Both components can be hung on the wall or on a table or counter, but the keyboard is particularly well designed. It comes with a holster that you can hang on the wall and slide the keyboard into. A channel at the back routes the power cable below the keyboard
An easy-to-use system
The keyboard has 12 backlit buttons on the left side and three on a circle on the right. You create a four-digit PIN code during installation, which you press on the keyboard when you arm and disarm the system (you can also do it from the Ring application, available for Android devices and iOS for the Video Doorbell and Ring Security Cameras, although there is currently little integration between the cameras and the security system.)
![Alarm Keypad [19659026] Michael Brown / IDG </small><figcaption>
<p> Keyboard Buttons </p>
</figcaption></figure>
<p> There is currently no support for system control with voice commands, but it is not surprising that Ring is developing a skill Alexa. Once you can arm your security system using a voice command, you will not want to do it in any other way (disarming it that way is another matter). Harris was a little more cautious about Google Assistant support. "We remain committed to being open to all the different pieces that are important to our customers.We will continue to walk the path of trying to support everything we can." I received a similar response when I asked for help for Apple's HomeKit technology: "We gave it a lot of time. Again, we remain focused on supporting HomeKit across the product line, but it will not be available at launch with Alarm products specifically. "</p>
<p> The buttons on the keyboard are hard plastic easy to clean and provide nice tactile, visual and audio feedback when it's in a hurry. These are not the rubber buttons found on many other security keypads that will accumulate and slowly deteriorate into a sticky mess. </p>
<figure class=](https://images.idgesg.net/images/article/2018/06/ring-keypad-100762597-large.jpg)
Michael Brown / IDG Alarm with Ring cameras, but that's about the extent of integration between the two classes of products.
Ring's two-part sensors are not surprising: they are quite bulky and will not blend easily into your decor. . The same sensors are used for doors and windows, but you designate the application used for each system when you register it to the system.
For doors in particular, I much prefer the sensors that can be integrated in the door and the jamb, so they are completely hidden. As I mentioned earlier, Nest has really innovated on this front by integrating track lights and secondary motion sensors into its Nest Detect sensors. Annular sensors have an LED that turns on when they are turned on, and the base station (but not the keypad) beeps when a sensor is activated, but this Is almost everything. But it's worth noting that a basic Nest Secure system costs $ 499 for Ring Alarm detectors at $ 199 and Nest Detect detectors cost $ 59 each, while Ring only costs $ 20 (detectors Ring movements are charged $ 30 each). the system, the keyboard and the base station emit a female voice that informs you of the system status (the keyboard speaker is unfortunately attenuated). The LEDs on both devices also provide visual feedback, although only the base station gives you a constant visual indication of system status: Blue for unarmed, red for armed.
Like most security systems, Ring Alarm has two armed modes: Home activates the door / window sensors, but leaves the motion detector disabled. This allows you to walk around your secure home without triggering the alarm. Absence Mode wields all sensors, so if intruders enter through an entry point that is not protected by a sensor, the motion detector triggers the alarm when They walk in range. A motion sensor can do the job of many door / window sensors.
Arming the Away system starts a countdown of 60 seconds, delaying the armed state to give you time to leave the house without triggering any of the sensors. Opening a protected door while the system is armed also triggers a 60-second countdown, this one gives you time to reach the keypad to disarm the system. If a sensor installed on a window is triggered while the system is armed, the alarm will sound instantly. It makes sense: no one should enter or leave the house through a window while the system is armed.
Michael Brown / IDG The Ring Alarm base station can connect to your home network either Wi-Fi or wired Ethernet.
You can also disarm the system of the application, but in case of breaking convention, Ring does not offer keychains to arm and disarm the system. Geofencing that automatically arm and disarm when you leave and return is not supported either. Harris said that they were conscious design decisions. "What has come to safety," said Harris. People said "Hey, I want this to automatically disarm my security system when I get close." The question then becomes: how far? And is it really you with your phone? Or did anyone pick it up at the park, find your address, drive to your home and let it in? "
If a door or a guarded window remains open when you arm the system, Ring Alarm will warn you, but gives you the option to press a lighted button on the keypad to bypass this sensor. You will get a warning and a similar opportunity when using the application to arm the system.The sensor will remain ignored until you disarm the system again.This is a practical function: if you leave the first floor window open, for example, but you are in too much of a hurry to close it and close it, you can take a calculated risk and secure the rest of the house.
experience
Hats off to Ring for the installation process as smooth as silk.This system was easier to set up than anything I've seen.Although there is no video d & # 39; Installation integrated in the application, such as Ring provides with its other products, I did not miss them at all. The app takes you through each step with pictures and a brief explanation, just enough information so that you do not feel as if you are learning the system by heart. A printed instruction manual is also provided.
Michael Brown / IDG If you attempt to arm the system while a door or window is open, the door will open. application will inform you. you have the option to bypass this sensor and arm the system anyway.
Each device receives a name and is assigned to a room in your house. Suggestions are provided in both cases where you can create custom names. When you add a door / window sensor, you tell the system that it is one or the other, so the entry delay describes more top will work properly.
When you add the keyboard, you must -digit PIN that you will use to arm and disarm the system. If you opt for professional supervision, you will also need to provide a verbal password that you will use to identify yourself as an authorized user when the monitoring service calls you (so be sure to provide this information to your contact Secondary,
Motion and door / window sensors can be mounted with screws or with Velcro strips (provided) I am happy that the sensors have not come out of the factory with the bands already attached I have never seen an adhesive tape that has not finally failed, so I prefer to use screws – and taking off these strips so you can use screws is a major pain. preinstalled, then you only need to remove a plastic tab when the application asks you.This allows the battery to touch the electrical contact inside the sensor, l 'al
The Z-Wave range extender and the kit's sensors are pre-paired with the base station, so just register them in the app. Ring m has also sent some additional door / window sensors so that I can experience the full integration process. This simply involves scanning a QR code on the device, verifying that the PIN code printed under the QR code matches what is displayed in the application, and then pulling the tab of the battery.
Harris said, "We will be able to pair these devices [to your Ring Alarm system] when they are shipped in. The base station will be there waiting for their arrival, and when they do, all you have to do is to pull the tab of the battery. "
What the alarm can not do – at least for the moment
Michael Brown / IDG The Ring Alarm application keeps a detailed history of events recorded by the system.
Ring Alarm touches almost all good notes for a basic DIY home security system. I've already mentioned some of its weaknesses – including the lack of support for smart speakers – but closer integration with Ring's own cameras would be another positive development. When an alarm is triggered, the cameras should start recording to perhaps get a glimpse of what triggered it – potentially valuable medico-legal evidence that you could provide to police investigating a burglary . And if Ring Alarm could control the smart lighting of your home, it could turn on all the lights if the alarm went off after dark, which could convince an intruder to retreat.
a thermostat that will turn off your HVAC system if a fire is detected, so that smoke does not flow into your home. Another common fire safety feature is to unlock all your smart locks in case of fire, so that everyone can get out more easily.
The call alarm has the electronics needed to do all this now, and Harris said that the features will be activated at some point. "You will see all these things," he said. "We will take care of the color change lights, so that in a smoke situation, the lights will turn to a darker color to make it easier to see at night.You will see door locks with security [Z-Wave’s] S2 that will disarm the security system when you use the keypad to unlock the door because we know you did it in a secure manner. "
When I asked how much" Harris has replied, "It will not be nearly so long. Not in years, but in months. We are not announcing any of this, but everything is underway.
Should you buy an alarm tone?
Getting this home security equipment for $ 199 is an absolute boon (the system has become available for purchase today). Adding door / window sensors for $ 20 each and motion detectors for $ 30 is an absolute boon. Pay $ 10 a month for professional surveillance and video storage in the cloud for an unlimited number of security cameras Ring is an absolute boon. Ring Alarm will be a huge hit with people looking for a simple and easy-to-use home security system.
The picture is not quite rosy if you are also looking for a full-fledged smart home system. Ring Alarm is positively capable of being a great smart home controller . But it is not that today. And to be fair, Ring does not promise that she will ever be, at least not officially. But they would not have integrated Z-Wave, ZigBee, and whatever third mysterious radio they had not intended to follow that path.
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