Home Safety Series: Ring Stick Up Cam is easy to install and use

[Editor’s note: Amazon announced a new version of their popular Ring Stick Up Cam that will replace the version that was reviewed below. The new Stick Up Cam can be preordered from Best Buy.]

From car break-ins, to prowlers, there are plenty of reasons why you might want to keep tabs on your house using video. But more than just keeping watch for any bad guys, cameras can help you keep an eye on your kids and their curfews, and your pets too.

This month on the Best Buy blog, we’re looking at security and entryway safety with smart home devices. I reviewed Ring Alarm previously, now today I’m adding the Ring Stick Up Cam Battery.

What is Ring Stick Up Cam Battery?


Ring Stick Up Cam is a fully wireless indoor or outdoor security camera (there is also a wired version of this camera). It runs on a rechargeable battery and connects to a companion app that lets you see what’s going on with a live feed day or night, from anywhere in the world. Worth noting, you can add optional cloud recording for an additional fee.

Does Ring Integrate with other Home Security Devices?

The camera integrates with many other devices; of course, it’s built to work with a Ring Alarm system, so if your home alarm goes off, you can just tap on a camera feed to see what’s going on. You can also access the camera feed from smart digital assistant devices like Amazon Echo Show, using voice control for whole home monitoring and security. Think of the Ring Stick Up Cam as one of the pieces in your overall home and entryway safety system.

Where Can I Use Ring Stick Up Cam?

This camera is ideal for not just for monitoring your home, but for keeping tabs on your detached garage, or even a shed or your cottage, camper van or RV. That’s because the battery lasts for months and doesn’t need to be hard-wired. So long as you can get a Wi-Fi signal, you can see what’s going on 24/7.

Setting Up Ring Stick Up Cam Battery

This camera couldn’t be easier to set up and it comes with all the tools and accessories you need. The first thing you’ll need to do is charge the removable and rechargeable quick-release battery. It’s housed in a compartment in the bottom of the camera that locks securely and is sealed against the elements.

Charging it up for the first time takes a while so plug it in before you want to use it and then just leave it overnight or for a few hours. Then download the Ring app.

When the battery is fully charged you’ll see a light on the battery and it should be green. Pop the battery into the bottom of the camera by bending back the adjustable stand and then popping open the bottom of the camera case. The camera will start powering up instantly and should go into pairing mode right away, as mine did.

At this point, you’ll need to go into the Ring app, and create, or log into your account. From there, the app will guide you through the set up process.

The app will search for the camera, and it found my Stick Up Cam right away. From there the app will connect to, or confirm your existing Wi-Fi network. I already have several Ring devices in my home so this step happened almost automatically.

Once the camera connects to Wi-Fi (you may need to go into your phone settings and tap the newly generated Ring Wi-Fi network to connect it, but the app will walk you through this) you should be ready to go.

How Can I View Ring Camera Videos?

If you have a Ring Protect Plan, videos captured by Stick Up Cam will be saved to your Ring account for up to 60 days, so you can review them at any time. All Stick Up Cams come with a free 30-day trial of the Ring Protect Basic Plan. After 30 days, you can choose to purchase a Ring Protect Plan to save your videos.

If you don’t get a plan you’ll only be able to access the camera’s live feed or see motion alerts as they come to you, in the moment.

The Ring Protect Basic Plan activates video recording and sharing for individual Ring Doorbells and Cameras. It saves all your videos to your Ring account for up to 60 days, so you can review and share your videos at any time. Ring Protect Basic Plans start at only $3 USD a month per device.

The Ring Protect Plus Plan adds even more to your home security. It includes video recording and sharing for unlimited Ring Doorbells and Cameras at your home, and it also comes with 24/7 professional monitoring with cellular backup for Ring Alarm and more. Ring Protect Plus Plans start at only $10US a month per home.

Install Ring Stick Up Cam Indoors or Out

The Stick Up Cam Battery has a couple of options for your installation. You can use the integrated stand and set it on a shelf or a table, and you can also screw it down to keep it from being tampered with. Similarly, you can also swing the base stand around so that you can screw it securely to a wall or even to the ceiling.

As we’ve had a lot of petty crime in our neighbourhood of late, I opted to place the Ring Stick Up Cam under the eaves to monitor our front yard and driveway. It screws in easily, and then can be locked into place with the special screws so no one can tamper with it.

Adjusting Ring Stick Up Cam Camera Settings

Once you have the camera set up you can make some adjustments. You can choose different motion “zones”. These are areas across the viewing field of the camera and you can choose to turn some of them on or off.

An example of why you might need this, is if you have a high traffic area to the left side of the camera’s viewing field like the kitchen, but your front door and main hallway are to the right, you could turn off the viewing zone to the left so that if your family members are milling around in the kitchen, you won’t get an alert every time they do.

Similarly, if you’re using this camera outside and you have a busy sidewalk in one spot, you can turn off the motion for that zone so you’re not inundated with motion alerts.

How To Adjust Ring Stick Up Cam Camera Sensitivity

You can also adjust the motion alert sensitivity from low to high, so that if a raccoon or cat walks by you won’t get notified, but if the front door opens or someone walks up to the camera, you will.

You can also add other shared family member users at this stage, plus you can also adjust the settings later inside the Ring app.

Ring Stick Up Cam Camera Resolution and Quality

The Ring Stick Up Cam camera is an HD video camera, with 1080P video. The field of view runs 150-degree, so you’re basically getting a full side to side, wide-angle view. I’d say the viewing angle is outstanding, and lets me see absolutely everything in my room during my initial tests. When I moved the camera outside I got a view of my entire front yard and driveway.

Ring Stick Up Cam also has a two-way talk function, similar to the Ring Video Doorbell 2‘s which I have reviewed before.

This allows you to both listen and talk to anyone that might be in the room or in your space. I’d say the camera’s quality is quite good. Overall it’s very easy to see details and to get a quick picture of what’s going on.

Night Vision: Ring Stick Up Cam

This camera has great quality video day or night. The camera has night vision, meaning you can use it to keep tabs on your space day or night. The night vision quality is also quite good, and lets you see details, like faces, and more.

Field of View

You’ll get a huge, wide look across your area with Ring Stick Up cam. Technically you get about 150 degrees, but in real people terms, you can see across the whole width of your yard or home easily.

Send Audible Sirens!

One neat feature of this camera is that you can send a siren alert to the camera, helping to potentially scare off prowlers.

When you call up the camera feed, there’s a small button on the bottom right of the screen that can let you listen and talk, or sound the alarm. Watch the video review here to see two-way audio in action!

Live Feed or Video Library

The Stick Up Cam allows you to look at your camera feed live, or to access recorded videos inside the app (with paid monthly monitoring).

What Can I Do with the Videos?

If you’ve got Cloud recording on your account, as I do, you have access to any videos generated by motion alerts, or that you’ve recorded for yourself. They’re stored for 60 days, and at any time in that 2-month window, you can download the videos and save them on your phone. This allows you to share them with anyone: Facebook, the police or the neighbours.

Ring Stick Up Cam Integration with Google & Alexa

You can add smart digital assistant integration with Ring. Doing this will let you view your Ring camera feed on your Amazon Echo Show or Spot for example, just by asking.

Smart home connection: How to use IFTTT to turn smart lights on when the camera detects motion

One of the features of the Ring Stick Up Cam I put to work right away is the integration with my smart lights. I have it set so that if someone rings the Video Doorbell, the lights turn on. Similarly, I also have it set so that if motion is detected on our Driveway camera, the lights also come on in the front window. It’s my hope that if any car prowlers are skulking around, they’ll trip the Ring camera and the lights turning on will scare them off. At the very least, there’s more light spilling out of the house for me to get a good shot of them for the neighbourhood Facebook page.

How To Get Your Philips Hue Lights to Turn On when Ring Detects Motion?

To enable some of these features, you’ll need an app called IFTTT.

The acronym stands for “IF This Then That”. Simply put it translates to, “IF I do This (your choice of activity), Then That (your selected result) happens automatically. IFTTT (also pronounced to rhyme with “gift”) is actually a website where you go to create what’s called “recipes” or “applets”.

It’s a pretty simple tap to link services and create options like, “If my Stick Up cam detects motion, THEN turn my Philips Hue light bulbs on to 100%.” The possibilities are literally endless, and while you can create your own custom recipes, you can browse and use the recipes others have made on the IFTTT website too.

Ring App User Interface

I really like the design and functionality of the ring app. It’s easy to understand and to use, and everything is laid out clearly and smartly. You can see your cameras at a glance in the grid of you, or tap on them and see them close up. The cameras live view feature lets you peek in on any camera in real time. Making changes or adjustments is also easy and everything is clearly labeled.

Battery Life: Ring Stick Up Cam

The Ring Stick Up Cam battery seems to last a long time. My testing period was about two weeks, and that’s kind of short, but it’s supposed to last months. I have another Ring camera, an older version, and it’s connected to the optional Ring Solar Panel. I highly recommend that option since you never need to worry about recharging, even in winter! My Ring Video Doorbell battery, which looks to be similar in size to the camera, lasts easily about three months.

Integration with Ring Alarm

The Ring Cam integrates well with the existing Ring app, which also lets you monitor your other cameras, doorbells and Alarm system. Everything is easy to control in one app.

Overall Review of Ring Stick Up Cam Battery

Ring has hit another home run as far as I’m concerned. The camera gives you a clear, detailed video picture, day or night. Night vision means you’re protected 24/7. The camera practically sets itself up, and it’s easy to use, it’s easy to access remotely via the app and the integration with IFTTT means I have more home security options. Cloud recording, though it is extra, is worth it.

Downsides? That monthly cloud recording fee might be an annoying extra cost for some. Any others? I haven’t found them. If you’re concerned with the battery life, opt for that solar panel charger.

Overall I can definitely recommend Ring Stick Up Cam as part of your home security system.

The new version of Ring Stick Up Cam is available to preorder from Best Buy.