Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsCan’t share access, can’t set doorbell louder than motion alerts
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 22 April 2020
Set it up in a minute. However, you can’t share access to it. So, my husband can control it from the app, but I can’t (unlike my ring doorbell). Major bummer. The whole point of the app is that I don’t need to come down the stairs to unplug it when I need quiet. And I have no access to settings, so I can’t snooze it or schedule it in any way if my husband’s not home.
Problem #2. Why don’t I have access? Behold the setup snapshot. There’s nothing to “tap” to say the device has already been installed. And if you try to set it up with the QR code when it’s already been set up, it blocks you and tells you to ask permission from the owner. Thanks, Ring, but I bought it. It’s first dibs, apparently.
So, I tried to set it up without a QR code, got blocked, and hubby got a lovely email to say Ring blocked me from setting up the chime on my app. Lovely. But no option for him to enable me to use it.
Problem #3: One volume toggle. Two different notifications (doorbell vs motion). I need the doorbell chime to be loud and the motion chime to be quiet. Doesn’t everyone? Nobody needs to stop what they’re doing when the neighbour’s cat comes for a nap on the doormat.
And yes, I am aware that you can disable motion notifications altogether (or rather the 'owner' can), but that doesn't cut it. I'd like motion notifications to stay on, but only loud enough for the neighbour's cat or a potential burglar to hear them, not the entire household.
They really should have thought of this before releasing it.
Problem #4: Say you set the doorcam to Away. Your chime will still make noise, even though you're not home to hear it. So, your neighbour gets to know you had visitors, unless you unplug the thing or snooze it every time you leave home. What's the use of using the 'Away' option, then? In reply to the comment below, as a shared user, I don't get to make the rules on what Away means. So, even though my husband's not around for the day, I have no control over what happens to this chime and the noise it makes when I step out, unless I nag him to tweak his settings every time.
As it stands, this chime isn't of any use to me, unless I'm in the back garden and away from my phone when someone rings at the door. But I'll keep it because I have elderly relatives who are hard of hearing, visit once in a blue moon, and always want to be the ones who open the door.
