How the Ring Devices Work to Keep Your Home Safe

One of the best things about smart home tech is how it will protect your home. Take Ring devices for example. Ring home security cameras will record motion, inside and outside, even in dim light. Ring doorbell cameras will let you answer your door from anywhere in the world, and Ring outdoor lights will light up your outdoor space and can be activated via motion sensors.

That’s how they work on their own, but did you know you can link Ring devices together? With different Ring devices, you can create a Ring ecosystem, and that ecosystem triggers each device to create a complete circle of security around your home and yard. Some Ring devices will deter thieves from entering your property, others will capture activity in your home and yard, and still others will prevent them from entering.

Here’s a look at the Ring devices I set up in my home and yard, and how they all work together.

Ring Bridge links your devices together

If you’d like to improve your security, link all of your Ring devices together, and have the convenience of controlling everything via an app, you’ll need to set up the Ring Bridge first. Ring Bridge is a small device you plug into any standard outlet. Once you’ve connected to your Wi-Fi, it will let you receive notifications via your phone for any Ring lights, cameras, and other Ring devices.

Capture motion on video with Ring Stick Up Cam 

I did a review of Ring Stick Up Cam Wired and Ring Indoor Camera, and I found these compact, easy to use cameras to be very efficient when monitoring my home.

Ring Stick Up Cam Wired is a 1080p Wi-Fi camera with a 110-degree horizontal and 57-degree vertical field of view, two-way audio, and night vision. You can place it indoor or outdoor (anywhere you have an Internet connection), and you can set motion control and add different motion zones so you can narrow in on exactly what’s happening inside or outside.

Ring Indoor Cam is also a 1080p Wi-Fi camera with a 115-degree horizontal and 60-degree vertical field of view. It has two-way audio and colour night vision, and the compact size means it’s an easy camera to hide anywhere.

I’ve placed my Ring Stick Up Cam Wired outside on my porch. I have it trained on my driveway to capture any activity coming in and out of my yard. The Ring Indoor Camera is inside my living room, trained on my front door. It’s practically hidden where it sits on my mantle, but it will capture any activity. Both cameras capture video with little to no lag between clips. With a Ring cloud subscription, clips will upload to the cloud and remain saved there for a period of time.

Ring Pathlight

I installed two Ring Pathlights. They are my first Ring lights, and I have loved using outdoor lights to light up a dark area in my driveway. Setup is very simple, but you’ll need to keep in mind they use standard batteries. You’ll have to replace them when they run out, and your lights won’t be as effective when they are low.

Ring Pathlights are smart LED lights with 80 lumens of brightness. They are very bright when activated, and they light up a large area. The lights themselves have motion sensors on them, so they will light up when you pass by them. You can also use them with Ring motion sensors to trigger light from a distance. I have one Ring Pathlight on either side of my driveway, and they stay dim until you trigger them.

Ring Pathlights are one of the devices you can use with Ring Bridge to link to your other Ring devices as part of the ecosystem.

Ring Spotlight

I have always wanted a Ring Spotlight. This outdoor spotlight is triggered by motion in front of it, or used in conjunction with a separate motion sensor. It also uses batteries, and it has an adjustable mount that makes it easy to change the angle of the camera and place it anywhere.

I’ve placed my Ring Spotlight in my shed to shine a light on anyone who comes near my outdoor equipment. It has 400 lumens of brightness, and it also works as part of the Ring ecosystem via the Ring Bridge.

I found it will pick up motion from quite a distance. I’ve been approaching my shed from an angle, and the light turns on very quickly. I haven’t pinpointed the exact range from every angle, but it’s at least 10 feet away when approaching from directly towards it.

Ring Motion Sensors

Ring Motion Sensors are small, stand-alone motion sensors you can use with your Ring devices. While Ring Pathlight and Ring Spotlight both have built-in motion sensors, you get a lot more coverage when you add a motion sensor to another area and link it to your lights.

I’ve added a Ring Motion Sensor to the top of the driveway, so instead of waiting for my Ring Pathlights to turn on when someone drives past them, the lights turn on as soon as I approach my gate. It’s a great deterrent for increased security, because anyone approaching my gate will see the lights turn on.

I also have a Ring Motion Sensor placed a distance from my shed. Anyone approaching from that angle will trigger the motion sensor, so the Ring Spotlight will turn on. That extends the range of the spotlight and ensures it turns on long before you approach the area it is placed in.

Putting the Ring Ecosystem to work for enhanced home security

When you set up Ring devices in the Ring App, you’ll be walked through different options for settings. One of those settings asks you whether or not you want to trigger other devices when your device detects motion.

In the case of the pathlight and spotlight, you can set them to notify you if they sense motion, and you can link them to your security cameras so that when they do, you can have your Ring Stick Up Cams record a clip at the same time.

Let me give you an example of how it works using what I have set up in my yard. When motion is detected at the top of my driveway, my Ring Pathlights will turn on. That’s a good deterrent, but what’s better is that I have a Ring Stick Up Cam directed at the driveway. If motion is triggered on the lights (or the motion sensor), it will record and store a clip.

I also have my Ring Indoor Cam directed at my front door, and it’s set to record a clip should motion be detected in the driveway. That way I’m covered for the entire area from the top of my driveway to my front door, and if someone is there, my cameras will pick them up.

The Ring Spotlight and Ring Motion Sensor in my back yard are also set to record clips, should motion be detected. Although it’s in a different area, if someone decided to come through the front entrance and head towards the back, they’d be picked up by the cameras too.

Motion notifications on your phone can also be a good indicator of what’s occurring at your home when you’re away. If I just received one notification, I’d look at it but wouldn’t be worried because I’d assume it was a cat or dog triggering it. If I receive multiple notifications all at once, I’m definitely going to wonder what’s going on, and I’m more likely to look at all of the footage.

Protect your home and yard with Ring devices 

Every Ring device you add will help extend the security of your home, and I have loved using Ring cams, motion sensors, spotlights, and the Ring Bridge to keep eyes and ears on my home and yard. Each links to the others, and all of your notifications will show up in the Ring App. The app will even tell you if the notification was due to a linked activity, and you can ‘answer’ the notification and the app will log it for you.

Check out Ring at Best Buy and see how you can set up your own Ring ecosystem to deter thieves, capture video clips, and protect your home and yard right now.