Ring Doorbell has been a convenient product in our household. We know when people are coming and going, and we can choose to speak to them through the doorbell without physically going to the door.
A lot of the time, we’re too distracted even to hear the doorbell, but fortunately, the app alerts us. Unfortunately, we recently discovered that our Ring Doorbell was offline. This meant we couldn’t receive our live alerts and even missed a delivery that needed to be signed for. This just wasn’t working for us. For us, it was a simple fix.
If your Ring Doorbell isn’t connecting to WiFi, ensure your WiFi is turned on and your credentials are correct. You can simply reset your router and modem if your network isn’t operating properly. You should also keep your Ring Doorbell within range of your router. If your router isn’t close enough to your Ring Doorbell, it won’t work as it should.
For some, resetting their router and modem may not fix the issue. The usual culprit is the Wi-Fi connection or settings, which is why we also had issues with Ring not ringing inside the house.
Check The Wi-Fi Channels To Which The Device Is Connected
Most Ring Doorbells can operate properly on a 2.4 or 5 GHz network, but some may only connect to the 2.4 GHz network.
Most people are inclined to try to connect their Ring Doorbell to the 5 GHz network because the device works faster, there’s less network congestion, and there’s more room for devices. Unfortunately, not all Ring Doorbell models are capable of connecting to the 5GHz network.
All routers will offer a 2.4 GHz network. If you log into your network router, you can choose which network to connect to. This will vary from router to router. For example, if you have a Netgear router, you will input routerlogin.net or http://192.168.1.1 in the address bar.
Additionally, you should try to configure your 2.4 GHz networks to run at 802.11 rather than 802,11. A strange trick we figured out as well was to only have letters and numbers in the WiFi network name. This means don’t use characters such as $ or #.
It’s important to note that Ring Doorbells don’t support channels 12 or 13. Your router broadcasts your WiFi network on one of 13 channels.
It does this to avoid interference of different signals. If your Ring Doorbell is trying to connect to channel 12 or 13, it won’t work. Some WiFi routers will automatically switch to the most efficient connection.
Check If Other Devices Are Able To Connect To That Network
Before you go changing anything around, we suggest checking to see if any of your other devices can connect to the network the Ring Doorbell is on.
Sometimes it may just be an issue with the Ring Doorbell itself and not your WiFi. If other devices can’t connect either, then it’s time to do some simple troubleshooting.
Check Your Connection Type
As mentioned earlier, there are 2.4GHz and 5GHz connection types. If your devices can only support 2.4GHz but your internet is set at 5GHz, then you’ll need to log into your router and change the connection type to 2.4GHz and try to reconnect your devices and your Ring Doorbell.
You can change it by following these steps:
- Enter the IP address of your router through a webpage on your computer
- Log in with your username and password if you have one
- Open Advanced Settings
- Enable the 2.4GHz band
Check If Your WiFi Is Hidden
If your WiFi network is hidden, your Ring Doorbell can’t connect to it. You may have accidentally turned on hidden WiFi when you were in your settings. We’ve done it quite a few times. When the hidden network WiFi is turned on, the router won’t broadcast their SSID.
This will cause the network to become invisible to any device connected to that WiFi network. Simply go back into your router and turn off the hidden WiFi option and check your Ring Doorbell connection again.
Reset Your Wireless Router/Network
Sometimes your router can get stuck in limbo with information being sent to and from it. This could be caused by an incomplete firmware update or an outage in your area. We like to power cycle our router when things get foggy within the system. Here’s how we reset our router which ultimately resets the network:
- Unplug your router and/or modem
- Unplug all wires connected to them
- Wait 2 minutes
- Plug all your wires back in
- Plug the router and/or modem back in
- Wait for the system to reboot
Once these steps are performed, attempt to connect to the WiFi again. If you can’t, you may need to reach out to customer support for your network.
Improve WiFi Signal
If your WiFi signal isn’t strong enough where your Ring Doorbell is placed, it’s not going to connect well.
You obviously can’t put the Doorbell next to the router, so the next best solution would be to either move the router closer to the Doorbell or purchase an extender to place near the Doorbell. The extender will connect to your regular WiFi and allow the signal to reach farther than normal.
Change The Battery or Verify Power If Hardwired
On your Ring Doorbell, you should see a solid white light, this means the power is OK. If there’s no light, then you have a power issue.
If your device is battery-operated, it may not connect to the WiFi if the battery level is low. You will need to replace the batteries if this is the case. If you aren’t sure if it’s the battery, change them anyway and try to connect again.
If your Ring Doorbell is hardwired, check to make sure the external wiring is still connected. You should also check to make sure it wasn’t torn, stripped, or disconnected from where it was plugged in.
If the Doorbell has no power, it’s not going to work or connect to the WiFi. If all wires seem intact then you should check the breaker to which the outlet is connected. If the breaker blew, you will have to reset it and your Ring Doorbell should be working again.
Use Force Setup Mode (Hard Reset)
Forcing setup mode is going to factory reset your Ring Doorbell. This may be a necessary step if all other troubleshooting methods have failed. When you factory reset your Ring Doorbell all of its data is going to be erased as well as settings for WiFi and passwords associated with it.
Certain generation Ring Doorbells will have different methods of forcing setup mode:
1st Generation
- Remove the doorbell from its bracket
- Press and hold the orange setup button on the back of the device for 10 seconds
- When the light stops flashing, the reset is complete
2nd Generation
- Remove the doorbell from its bracket
- Press and hold the orange setup button on the back of the device for 10 seconds
- The doorbell will enter setup mode once the reset is complete
Ring Video Doorbell 2
- Remove the doorbell from its bracket
- Locate the setup button just below the camera (it may be an orange dot)
- Press and hold the setup button for 10 seconds
- When the light is finished flashing, reset is complete
Ring Video Doorbell 3, 3 plus, and 4
- Remove the faceplate
- Locate the setup button just below the camera (it may be an orange dot)
- Press and hold the setup button for 10 seconds
- The doorbell will enter setup mode once the reset is complete
Video Doorbell Wired, Pro, Pro 2, and Elite
- Remove the faceplate
- Locate the setup button on the right side of the doorbell
- Press and hold the setup button for 10 seconds
- Once the reset is complete, the doorbell will enter setup mode
After you have performed these steps, the doorbell will have to be set up as if it were new.
Try Changing The Wi-Fi Network
If you have multiple networks, you may have to switch to one of the alternatives you have. This may be temporary or permanent. One of the networks the doorbell works with may be the 2.4GHz whereas the one it won’t connect to is 5GHz.
We mentioned earlier that some of the Ring Doorbells won’t work on the 5GHz networks. Simply switching from your 5GHz network to the 2.4GHz network may solve your problem. You can change the WiFi network on your doorbell by performing the following steps:
- Open the Ring App
- Click on Menu>Devices
- Select Device Health
- Choose Change Wi-Fi Network
- Press the Setup button on your Doorbell
- Choose the network you want to connect with
- Enter your network credentials and follow the prompts to finish
Smart Network Switch Is Enabled On Android
Some users may face a different issue with their Ring Doorbell. Some users have an issue where the setup of their Ring Doorbell on their Android devices fails to complete or it gets stuck in the middle of the process. The likely issue is due to Smart Network Switch.
Smart Network Switch will choose the best network possible for data transfer. If one of the networks is unstable, your Android will connect to a different one. If this happens in the middle of the Ring Doorbell setup, it will stop.
You can turn this off by swiping down from the top of your Android screen and turning it off. Other devices may require you to go into the Advanced WiFi Settings screen and turn it off from there. Once you turn it off, you can proceed with the setup process.
Resetting The Ring Doorbell
Resetting the Ring Doorbell requires the same steps as forcing it into setup mode. It also may or may not reset it to factory defaults, resulting in a loss of data. Here’s how to reset a Ring Doorbell:
Ring Doorbell 1
- Locate and hold the orange Reset button on the back of the Ring Doorbell for at least 15 seconds
- Release the button
- The light will flash to indicate it’s resetting
- The light will go out once the reset is complete
Ring Doorbell 2
- Press and hold the black button on the front side of the camera
- Release the button
- The light will flash to indicate it’s resetting
- The light will go out once the reset is complete
Ring Doorbell Pro & newer models
- Press and hold the black button on the right side of the camera
- Release the button
- The light will flash to indicate it’s resetting
- The light will go out once the reset is complete
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