I work for Ring – there are simple doorbell mistakes that can end up costing you

A RING doorbell expert has revealed why your gadget might be running out of battery life too quickly.

If your Ring doorbell battery is draining fast, there may be several reasons why.

It’s a real pain if your Ring doorbell is always running out of charge.

You might end up missing key moments, including important deliveries or even criminal activity.

And that could end up costing you big time.

Thankfully an Amazon Ring expert named Caitlyn has revealed the mistakes you might be making.

Weather

Ring doorbells contain lithium ion batteries.

And when they get cold, the battery performance can plummet.

“As the mercury drops, these batteries begin to have trouble holding a charge and if it gets cold enough, they’ll stop working altogether,” Ring explained.

“As a result, at certain temperatures, the batteries in your Ring device may run out of power faster than expected and may need to be recharged more often.”

These batteries contain an electrolyte liquid.

If it gets very cold, this liquid can crystallise – like honey in a chilly pantry.

If this happens, the electricity can’t properly flow through the battery.

That means you can end up getting significantly worse battery life.

In some rare cases, it can mean your device shuts down altogether.

Fortunately, your Ring doorbell should work as normal once you get somewhere warm.

According to Amazon, there are three temperatures to look out for:

• 3°C: The battery may not hold a charge as effectively, resulting in you having to charge the unit more frequently
• 0°C: The battery may not charge at all.  Even hardwired configurations may not charge the battery
• -20.5°C: The battery may stop working completely until temperatures warm up

To restore performance, warm your device up – potentially by bringing it indoors.

Activity

If your Ring doorbell is capturing lots of activity, it will use up more battery.

“If your device is capturing an excessive number of events each day, you may need to recharge your battery sooner,” Ring’s Caitlyn explained.

“To prevent excessive activity, you can adjust your Motion Settings to a lower sensitivity, disable certain zones, change Motion Frequency to Regularly or Periodically, or adjust the direction of your Ring device so it doesn’t detect as much motion.”

You’ll also drain the battery faster with Live View, so consider whether you need to use it as often.

Features

Certain features that you’re using may also be draining the battery life.

You can check these at any time on your iPhone or Android smartphone.

Simply tap the three lines on the top left, then tap Devices.

Now choose the device, and tap Power Settings.

You can check your battery level percentage.

But also take a look at Feature Power Usage, to see what’s draining your battery.

WiFi

WiFi could also be causing you trouble.

“Your doorbell or camera may be frequently disconnecting and reconnecting to your wifi network,” Caitlyn explained.

“Each time a disconnection or reconnection happens, your Ring device uses power, which then contributes to the battery draining too fast.”

Try to avoid physical barriers between your Ring doorbell and the router.

That means trying not to place your router behind or inside furniture.

And consider moving your router closer to the Ring device.

“Sometimes a matter of a few feet is all it takes to improve a WiFi connection,” Caitlyn said.

And there’s one more solution worth considering.

Amazon says that you could try hardwiring your Ring device.

This means connecting it to a low voltage transformer and doorbell kit, which Amazon says “should reduce the need to charge your battery”.

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