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Does Ring Alarm Call Police

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Does The Ring Alarm 2nd Gen Outpace The Original

Monitor & Protect Your Home from Work or Anywhere | Victoria’s Alarming Story (Nevada)

When it comes to Rings products, theres a second generation for almost everything. What that tells us is that Ring listens to customer feedback and tries to improve the user experience. In the Ring Alarm 2nd Gen exemplified this for us with its newer, sleeker design and the clearer separate buttons for authorities on the keypad. We also liked the fact that placing each component around our apartment was easier than the first time, and the components werent as fragile when we constantly moved them around. And, last of all, we loved that the cost for professional monitoring remained affordable. With a traditional security system like ADT, or even with a no-contract plan from Frontpoint, professional monitoring can cost $60 and up. So its nice to have a more affordable option with Ring.

Who Wed Recommend the Ring Alarm For
  • Anyone on a budget: The five-piece kit costs $199.99 plus $10 per month for optional professional monitoring, which was a bargain we couldnt pass up on.
  • Someone who wants a robust security system: Rings selection of cameras, video doorbells, smart lighting, and sensors supplement the Ring Alarm 2nd Gen, including components from the first generation.
  • Amazon aficionados: If you own an Echo Show device or a Fire TV, Alexa is your go-to voice assistant since there are more commands than Google Assistant.
  • Someone who prefers DIY installation: No need to bust out the toolbox or handbooks when setting up the Ring Alarm.

Is It Possible To Hack The Ring Alarm System

Ascertain that you have a safe password for both your Ring account and Wi-Fi network. According to Ring, the hacker gained access to the Ring account as a result of the owners reusing their credentials from other platforms. Ring now requires two-factor authentication, which provides an additional degree of security.

Is Rings 24/7 Monitoring Worth It

So, yes and no. There are a few things to consider before springing for professional monitoring. First, it costs $20. This is one of the best price points in the industry, but it still stings a little when you consider it used to be half that. Oh well, the times they are a changing.

Now also consider Ring wont alert authorities until at least 30 seconds after an alarm triggers. When seconds might count, 30 seconds sure sounds like a lot. While it will certainly cut down on false alarms, were not sure waiting is the best solution.

Pro Tip: If you have Ring monitoring, youll need to give a verbal passcode to the Ring agent when your alarm goes off. Its easy to forget your code when they put you on the spot, so make it memorable! Your emergency contacts will have to remember this passcode, too. So drill, drill, drill!

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Flaws But Not Dealbreakers

One of the bonus features of the Ring Alarm Pro is its built-in Eero Wi-Fi 6 router. That said, to set up and manage the Eeros features, you need to download the Eero app. So this one product uses two appsplus the Alexa app, if you plan to add a smart speaker to your system. However, once you set it up, you probably wont be consulting the Eero app much.

Ring Edge is a new feature that allows you to store videos locally to a microSD card thats inserted to the base station. However, its limited to Ring Alarm Pro users with a Pro subscription plan, which means youll need to pay for a feature thats typically free with other systems.

And finally, Ring doesnt offer as much integration with third-party smart-home devices as our other picks, since it supports only Alexa and everything under the Works with Ring umbrella. SimpliSafe also supports Alexa and Google Assistant, but it doesnt allow you to disarm the system using voice commands. If you want more integration and the ability to arm, disarm, and check the status of the system by voice, we recommend our also-great pick, the Abode Smart Security Kit.

How Can I Use These Customizable Police Response Options

Ring Alarm 5

Its up to you! Weve seen our neighbors use these options in many ways, such as:

  • Using Only When I Say So police response for their empty vacation home during the winter.
  • Switching their home to If No One Cancels police response whenever they go out of town for the weekend.
  • Using Only When I Say So when their teenagers are home alone so they can check in on the kids first before requesting police in order to avoid false alarms.

These settings can be used in a variety of situations, and you can toggle between them at any time without disabling your professional monitoring service.

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Police Dispatch Settings For Ring Alarm Response

If you want to change your police dispatch settings, you can go to settings in the app to modify alarm responses.

The two options are:

  • If No One Cancels: Police will be dispatched if the call from the monitoring center is not answered.This makes getting emergency services easy in a true emergency.
  • Only If I Say: Police will not be dispatched if you do not pick up. The monitoring center will only send out an officer if you specifically request them to on the phone.

Please note that these are only options for the Burglar Alarm Plan. The Duress, SOS, and Panic Alarm Plans cannot be altered in any way.

Does Ring Work With Z

Yes, Ring Alarm has a built-in Z-Wave radio, but third-party devices do not work with Rings professional monitoring service.

Ring Alarm should work with most Z-Wave devices. Still, its a good idea to check the companys lists of compatible devices and locks compatible with Ring Alarm before you purchase additional Z-Wave equipment for your system.

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Ring Doorbells And The Police: What To Do If Surveillance Has You Worried

Rings partnerships with local police have some privacy advocates concerned about a potential surveillance state. Heres what you can do if you have concerns of your own.

Megan Wollerton

Senior Writer/Editor

Megan Wollerton has covered technology for CNET since 2013. Before that, she wrote for NBCs Dvice.com . Megan has a masters degree from the University of Louisville and a bachelors degree from Connecticut College, both in international relations. She is a board member of the Louisville chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. When Megan isnt writing, shes planning far-flung adventures.

Ring, which sells video doorbells, outdoor cameras and other security devices, also offers a Neighbors app that it pitches as the new neighborhood watch. While the Neighbors app is voluntary, some people, communities and advocacy groups have expressed concerns about how Ring, which is owned by Amazon, is using data from the app as part of its partnerships with law enforcement agencies particularly issues related to privacy.

The Neighbors app connects local residents to help them find lost pets, view crime alerts in the area, share details of thefts or whatever people might deem suspicious activity.

There are 661 partnerships between Ring and police departments across the US, all viewable on and updates regularly.

Ring has 661 partnerships with police departments in the United States.

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Ring Alarm Setup Process

Ring Alarm Home Security Kit (4K) Generation 2

The setup is pretty fast and easy. To start, Ring will ask you to download the Ring Always Home app. After that, just click on Set Up a Device. Youll want to choose the fourth option down: Security Devices.

Ring Alarm App Device Setup

Rings step-by-step instructions are dialed-in. In the app, be sure to check out the two-minute videos that walk you through each part of the setup process. Theyre great.

Pro Tip: If you have little ones in the house, dont set up your new alarm system while theyre napping. False alarms happen, chimes go off, etc. It never ends well

Now, they say setup only takes 10 minutes but thats not true. It took almost five minutes just for the base station to connect to the Wi-Fi and do a software update. So, set aside 30 minutes for installation. Setup is easy, but take your time.

Ring Alarm Pairing

One of the first things youll notice about the second generation Ring Alarm system is the sensor redesign. Its a major improvement, and you can tell Ring put some thought into it. Theyre smaller and way more streamlined than the original sensors. They also go up easily using double-sided tape, which saves your walls from yet another hole youll have to fill in later. Check out the side-by-side photo below of the new and old Ring Alarm sensors.

Ring Alarm Sensors 1st Gen vs 2nd Gen

Note that the old sensors have tiny notches that you have to line up. But not the new ones! That gives you more flexibility when it comes to mounting them.

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Which Countries Dont Get Professional Monitoring

Rings professional monitoring is currently available in all 50 American states and throughout Canada, but excluding:

  • The U.S. Virgin Islands
  • In Canada, Quebec is excluded

Sadly the rest of the world doesnt have the option of professional monitoring. Instead, features such as assisted monitoring is offered however this is literally just automated calls to listed emergency contacts.

Whilst you can list people who arent signed up to the Ring app, its still nowhere near the same level of service that youd get with professional monitoring.

So in this case, you may want to decide whether to go with an alternative alarm system , or just sign up with Ring anyway and accept that you dont get as good monitoring as Americans and Canadians.

More Than 2000 Law Enforcement Agencies Enrolled In Amazon Public Safety Service

Huseman wrote that Amazon has a Neighbors Public Safety Service that connects users to safety information, and in early July, 2,161 law enforcement agencies and 455 fire departments were enrolled.

He said all agencies that use NPSS, where footage requests are made, have a public profile. Users can review all posts and requests for information made by agencies.

In a statement to USA TODAY, Markey said the privacy of Ring customers, their neighbors and the public is in jeopardy because of Amazons growing surveillance network and quiet collaboration with law enforcement.

Congress needs to take action to rein in Big Tech, which consistently puts profit over privacy, he said.

A Ring spokesperson said customer privacy, security and control are foundational to Ring, and the company does not give anyone unfettered access to customer data or video.

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAYs NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginiathe 757 and loves all things horror, witches, Christmas, and food. Follow her on Twitter at or email her at .

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Who Pays For False Alarms

The City of Seattle bills the alarm company for the false alarm. To recover the cost of a false alarm fee, the alarm companies commonly pass this fee onto the subscribers. Alarm company customers that disagree with their billing should dispute this with their alarm company. Alarm companies have an option to obtain a one-time waiver from the City of Seattle, including switching to Private Guard response.

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Ring Monitoring Plans & Prices

Top 10 Scout Security System  Surveillance Video Recorders  Maercsi

Similar to our top-rated security system SimpliSafe, Ring is all about keeping things simple and affordable. We appreciate the straightforward options, and we had no problems finding a plan that worked for us.

So whats it going to be? Do you have a new Ring Alarm that you want monitored by the pros? We recently spent close to 100 hours testing the Ring Alarm system powered by Rings monitoring, and although we didnt get the fastest response times, we thought it was a steal for only $10 a month.

That being said, we have bad news for you: Ring recently launched a new plan tier, the Ring Protect Pro plan, that costs $20 a month. They moved some of the features of the Ring Protect Plus plan to the Protect Pro plan, including professional monitoring. So now, if you want professional monitoring, the price youll have to pay is $20 a month. Its still affordable, but not as affordable as it was.

However, if youre just looking to get video support for a Ring Video Doorbell or a couple of Ring Cams, then Ring Protect Basic will do the trick for only $3 per month. Thats half the price of a Pumpkin Spice Latte in exchange for home protection . Heres a rundown of your options, along with the most up-to-date Ring prices.

Ring Subscription
$200

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Ring Alarm Technology And Equipment

Ring kept its actual security equipment pretty simple. It functions much the same way a SimpliSafe system does, with a single hub that communicates with all the various sensors, and a keypad you use to arm and disarm the system.

Source: Ring

Rings base station can either run off your Wi-Fi network or off an Ethernet cord you plug into your internet router. The base station also has cellular back-up so your security system will stay up and running even if your power goes out.

If your internet router is somewhere out of the way, like in your basement or garage, then let the base station run off Wi-Fi and keep it out in the open. The Ring Alarms siren is in the base station, and you want it to be somewhere an intruder will hear it.

Ring Alarm Pricing And Add

Ring is incredibly affordable. To put things in perspective, Rings most expensive kit costs half the price of Vivints cheapest system. So Ring is one of the best values on the home security market. Check out their latest prices below, and for a closer look at Ring Alarm costs, head over to our Ring Alarm Pricing page.

Ring Home Security System Kits

Ring Alarm Kit

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Is Ring Alarms Professional Monitoring Worth It

Even though Im only 31, I always feel old when I start a sentence with Back in my day, things were so much better. However you cant blame me for thinking this when Ring used to only charge $10/month for Professional Monitoring, right? Actually, lets back up a bit.

Ring released their smart alarm system back in July 2018, and it was fairly revolutionary. It was easy to install, and for just $10/month, you could get 24/7 professional monitoring to safeguard your home. But what is professional monitoring, you ask? Well, the gist is

Ring alarms professional monitoring is a genuine 24/7 monitoring system which has an average 30 second callback time after Ring are notified of an event. The initial callback is reliable, however some people have then found that follow-up calls arent quite as good.

This is a pretty useful service, and for just $10/month, it was a lot cheaper than ADTs $37-$53/month fees and SimpliSafes fees of $18-28/month.

Notice how I say was?! Unfortunately in 2021, Ring doubled the price of this service to $20 per month, as part of their move to the Ring Alarm Pro system. Only new customers are affected immediately existing Alarm Customers will be grandfathered onto the new rates.

But even if you were an existing customer, youll be paying $20/month soon enough. So is it now worth paying $20/month for Rings professional monitoring service? And what features do you get for $20/month, exactly?

Impact On Existing Ring Protect Subscribers

How To Install Ring Alarm

Existing Ring Protect Plus subscribers will be automatically converted to a Ring Protect Plus plan that still includes professional monitoring for $10 per month until 2025. On their first renewal date after January 1, 2025, theyll be switched to the new Ring Protect Pro plan at $20 per month.

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Anyone who has set up a Ring Alarm system as of September 28, 2021, but does not have a Ring Protect Plus subscription will be able to sign up for Ring Protect Plus for $10 per month until January 30, 2022. Anyone who sets up a Ring Alarm systemincluding the Ring Alarm Proafter September 28 will need to subscribe to Ring Protect Pro at $20 per month if they want professional monitoring.

Anyone who wishes to take advantage of the new services available with Ring Protect Pro will be able to upgrade at any time. The Ring Protect plans have always been a compelling value, and that will remain the case even at the higher price. Ring will no longer have the least expensive professional monitoring service, though SimpliSafe charges $15 per month to monitor its home security system.

As for Ring video doorbell and Ring security camera users: You can continue your existing Ring Protect Basic subscription plans to get cloud storage for one Ring camera for $3 per month or $30 per year, or you can continue paying $10 per month or $100 per year for an unlimited number of Ring cameras.

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Asking The Right Questions

Both Guariglia and Marlow say the fundamental problems with Ring’s police partnerships and Neighbors app — where all this video-sharing happens — aren’t truly solved by the company’s new Request for Assistance posts.

First off, as Marlow pointed out, the new posting system doesn’t do anything to stop police abuse it just makes it easier to track. Without ever leaving their desk, an investigator can post a Request for Assistance and potentially receive multiple camera angles of a public street of their choosing — just like the LAPD were doing last summer. That ease of access should worry us — not for the crime it could prevent, but for the abuse it could enable.

“What does not change is that there still exists in the country a massive, centralized surveillance network,” said Guariglia. “As long as that footage is somewhere, police can get access to it eventually.”

Second, the Neighbors app encourages people to police their own communities, amplifying suspicion and racism. In an investigation of the Neighbors app in 2019, Motherboard found people of color were disproportionately labeled “suspicious,” in a sample of 100 posts in New York. Posts on the app often devolved into verbal attacks directed at those caught on camera — whether they were walking past the door, dropping off packages or committing petty theft.

Video doorbell devices allow a single resident to make far-reaching privacy decisions on behalf of their whole neighborhood.

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