How to Check Battery Level on Ring Doorbell? (Ultimate Guide)

Ever wonder if your Ring doorbell battery has become dangerously low? Well, you’re on the right page!

Here, I’ll teach you how to check the battery level on the Ring doorbell – so that you don’t have to worry about it giving up on you when you need it the most.

Let’s begin!

Tools Needed

• Ring app (on a mobile device)
• Recharging: Screwdriver, Micro-USB charging cable

How to Check Ring Battery Life

The Ring doorbell is the flagship product of the Ring Company, which was founded by Jamie Siminoff in 2013 as Doorbot.

Fun fact: Siminoff appeared in the popular TV show ‘Shark Tank,’ where he declined an investment offer from Canadian businessman Kevin O’Leary.

Ever since its founding, Ring Cameras have been the doorbell of choice for many homeowners worldwide. After all, it is a smart doorbell that comes with a high-def camera, motion sensor, microphone, and two-way audio speaker.

Given these features, it requires a reliable battery pack. And while it works for months on end, the question for most owners remains:  how do you know if the camera’s battery needs recharging?

According to the Ring Community support page, you can easily check your doorbell’s battery level by accessing the Ring app on your mobile device. Here’s how to do it:

1. Open the Ring app on your phone/tablet.
2. Tap on the menu lines, which are located at the top left corner of the screen.
3. Tap Devices on the main menu.
4. Select the Ring Video Doorbell you want to check from the list of devices.
5. Click on ‘Power Settings’. Choose ‘Battery Status’ to see the device’s ‘Battery Level.’
6. If the ‘Power Settings’ don’t appear on your app, you may see the tile named ‘Device Health.’ Click on this to check the camera’s remaining battery life. If the prompt says ‘Ok’ or ‘Good,’ just tap on the word and the battery percentage should reflect.

Low Battery Notifications

If you find it cumbersome (or if you often forget) to check your camera battery on the app, you don’t have to worry because you’ll be notified once the battery life falls below 30%. You’ll see these low-battery notifications as:

• Messages similar to the motion notices
• Red ‘low battery’ notification on the app dashboard
• Red dot battery tip on the event timeline

Speaking of battery tips, this will help you determine which aspect takes up most of your camera’s juice. More often than not, the culprits are these three features: capture frequency, motion frequency, and advanced motion detection.

For example, when your camera detects motion, it will record a 20-second clip to notify you. Doing so repeatedly will surely drain your battery.

The good news is you have the option to make adjustments, such as:

• Reducing the frequency with which the spotlight cam takes snapshots
• Decrease motion frequency sensitivity.
• Modify motion detection settings

As such, the company recommends doing the following as they will help conserve battery life:

• Set Light Sensors to 0/1 (or turn it on only if it’s very dark)
• Turn the brightness setting to the lowest possible measure.
• Change Group auto shut-off time to 30 seconds.

You can also reduce the Live View time and turn off certain Ring features to maintain your device’s battery life.

Why Your Ring Doorbell Battery is Draining Fast

Let’s say that you’ve just charged your doorbell weeks ago. To your surprise, its capacity has gone below 30% again. Clearly, it’s far below the recommended – as Ring estimates you’ll only need to charge the batteries every 6 to 12 months.

Unfortunately, a fast drain can happen because of two main reasons:

1. Weak Wi-Fi Signal

When you have poor Wi-Fi connectivity, your device will try to disconnect and reconnect repeatedly. Not only will this drain the battery quickly, but this can also lead to:

• Reduced or distorted audio/video
• Notification delays
• Missing motion sensitivity events
• Difficulty connecting to ‘Live View’

To avoid such Wi-Fi issues, you can:

• Reboot the router by unplugging it, waiting for 30 seconds, and plugging it back in.
• Remove materials that block the connection between the router and your Ring device. These may include moving smart appliances, baby monitors, game consoles, TVs, bookcases, mirrors, and fish tanks away from the router or the camera.
• If the router is located behind heavy-duty walls, consider moving it closer to your Ring device.
• Move detachable devices (such as the Ring Stick Up Cam) closer to the router.
• Replace your router if it is 4 years old (or more.)

2. Cold Weather

Ring door cameras are equipped with lithium polymer batteries. Unfortunately, they can’t efficiently hold charges at temperatures below 36° F or 3° C.

At 32° F or 0° C, the battery may not charge at all – even if it is hardwired.

And when the temperatures hit -5° F  or -20.5° C, you can expect your Ring doorbell to stop functioning altogether.

Expectedly, you will find yourself charging your device more often during the colder seasons. The good news is this is not permanent. Once the weather warms up, your camera will regain its charge efficiency.

Pro tip: In extremely cold temperatures, the best option is to bring your Ring doorbell inside. Charge it as you would normally in order to ‘warm up’ the device so that it would function normally again.

Pro tip 2: Your Ring doorbell may not hold much charge in hotter temperatures as well. Just like dealing with the cold, you will need to bring your device inside (when it’s extremely hot) to charge it.

Recharging Your Ring Battery Pack

Whether you’ve determined your camera’s battery life through the Ring App – or through low-battery push notifications – you must charge it right away. If not – and the battery goes all the way out – then you will have to reinstall your entire doorbell once again.

You don’t want this to happen, of course. Although it’s easy to set up a Ring camera, it will take some of your precious time.

And. granted that charging instructions differ according to Ring Spotlight cam model, I will discuss each of them:

1st and 2nd Generation

1. Remove the security screws found at the doorbell base.
2. Detach the doorbell by lifting it up and away from the mounting bracket.
3. Insert the micro-USB cable into the device’s port and plug it into the 2.1 amp wall outlet (for a faster charging time.)
4. Wait for the battery to charge completely – a solid green light will tell you this. Make sure the battery is charged 100% before you use it!
5. Unplug the charger and reattach the camera back to the mounting plate. Don’t forget to reattach the screws!

Versions 2, 3, 3 Plus, and 4

1. Remove the screws affixed on the faceplate base.
2. Squeeze both the faceplate ridges to lift it off.
3. Obtain the battery by pressing the silver metal release tab.
4. Connect your micro-USB port and charge the device until only the solid green light remains (an indication that it is fully charged.) Make sure that the battery is at 100% before reinstalling it.
5. Insert the newly-charged battery. You should hear a click once you have it securely in place.
6. Place the faceplate back and reattach the security screws.
7. Do a test ring of your doorbell to reset the camera’s battery percentage.

Stick-Up Cam

1. Twist the battery cover counterclockwise to unlock the compartment.
2. Detach the Stick-up cam.
3. Press the release tab to remove the battery.
4. Plug the orange micro-USB port into the battery and charge it until it reaches 100% capacity.
5. Return the battery to the compartment. You should hear a click once it is securely placed within the chamber.
6. Reattach the battery to the Stick-up cam.

Pro tip: If your camera’s battery life has fallen below 20%, it may take you 6-8 hours to get a full charge – so be patient!

Hardwiring Your Ring Device

Let’s say you live in an area where it’s always cold (or hot.) As I’ve mentioned, extreme temperatures will drain your battery faster than usual.

And, if you find it cumbersome to charge your doorbell over and over again, then I recommend hardwiring your Ring device to supply a trickle charge to the battery.

In a nutshell, it’s all about connecting your doorbell to the following:

• A low-voltage transformer (8-24 VAC, 40VA max, 50/60Hz) or a 2nd-Gen Ring Plug-in Adapter
• An internal doorbell chime or an existing doorbell system

If you want to know how to hardwire a Ring device on your own, make sure to follow this video tutorial here.

Conclusion

To check your Ring doorbell’s battery level, all you need to do is:

• Open the Ring app on your mobile device.
• Tap on the menu lines (top left corner).
• Click ‘Devices’ and select the Ring doorbell you wish to check.
• Tap on Power Settings > Battery Status > Battery Level. If there are no Power Settings on your app, go to ‘Device Health’ to check the camera’s battery life.

It’s easy to check your doorbell’s battery capacity, isn’t it? But if you need more help, I’m more than willing to answer your questions – just post a comment below!