With all the video doorbells out in the marketplace right now, there should be little excuse to have one near your front door given all the security benefits they provide. So what might be keeping people from going all in even though doorbells can sell for as low as $60 USD? Installation concerns are a common factor, especially for folks who are renting since some property owners may not allow doorbell installation. Drilling holes and dealing with all the extra cabling isn’t everyone’s cup of tea either. Fortunately, Amazon has an option in the form of the Ring Peephole Cam. All that’s left is to see what you’ll miss out by not considering the other options.
What Make the Ring Peephole Cam Unique?
If you look at product images of the Ring Peephole Cam, you might look a little confused as the video doorbell resembles Ring’s more mainstream doorbells. That iconic blue circle surrounding the doorbell ringer is present along with the 1080p video camera just above. But once you unbox the product, you’ll notice some key differences with the most notable being the long tube sticking out from the back of the doorbell. Also above the camera lens is an actual peephole so you don’t sacrifice the peephole functionality at all!
Going back to the tube, the idea is to remove the existing peephole in your door and guiding that tube through the exposed hole. While this simplifies the installation process, there are a few steps you still need to follow before you can officially add the doorbell to your Alexa device constellation.
Installation
One of the nice things about the Ring doorbell peephole is the multifunction peephole key included in the box. The key has a few teeth on one edge to help gently scrape out any dried paint that might be keeping the peephole in place. Once finished, you can slot the peephole key edge on the grooves of the peephole and twist it like a screwdriver until you can pull it out. Then you can proceed to removing the rear peephole component and smoothen out the hole using the peephole key.
The next step involves inserting the Ring Peephole Cam’s tube into the hole where the peephole once was. If the hole is too big, go inside your home and try inserting the adapter also bundled with the doorbell into the tube. If it fits through the hole, the doorbell should feel more securely attached to the door. Amazon states that the Ring Peephole Cam fits in 1/2 inch (12 mm) to 9/16 inch (14 mm) peepholes. You should also measure the thickness of the door and make sure it isn’t thinner than 1.3 inches (34 mm) or thicker than 2.2 inches (55 mm).
Whether you’ll use the adapter or not, the final set of steps include installing the rear component which will house the rechargeable battery. Just guide the rear part’s hole through the exposed tube. From there, you can safely remove the orange cap and slowly pull out the gray tab. Then with the peephole key, screw in the tightening nut to close off the tube hole. Finally, you just plug the tab at the end of the cable into the port, insert the rechargeable battery after you fully charged it, and cover the rear component with the included housing.
What Ring Doorbell Features are Present in the Ring Peephole Cam?
Nearly the entire feature set of the Ring Peephole Cam mirrors the 2nd generation Ring Video Doorbell from 2020. This means you get the 1080p HD quality, two-way video talk, advanced motion detection, motion alerts and 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi support. The Ring Peephole Cam relies on the same rechargeable battery pack the other Ring Doorbells and Spotlight Cams use. The Ring Protect Plan subscription service which keeps your recorded videos in the cloud is compatible with the Ring Peephole Cam.
What’s Missing in the Ring Peephole Cam?
Unfortunately, you won’t get any of the features exclusively found in the Ring Video Doorbell 3 and 4 products. This includes the 5.0 GHz Wi-Fi support, interchangeable faceplates, and quick replies. Those doorbells still cost more than the Ring Peephole Cam though.
What Else Makes the Ring Peephole Cam Unique?
The Ring Peephole Cam can send alerts to your mobile and Echo devices the moment someone knocks on your door.
Overall Thoughts: Ring Peephole Cam
The convenience in installing the Ring Peephole Cam is going to cost you almost double the price of an ordinary second-generation Ring Video Doorbell. That might turn away some buyers but it is good to have choices. In fact, I would like to see the newer models have peephole variants just to encourage more people in neighborhoods to secure their homes with doorbells. There are other peephole doorbells made by other manufacturers but the Ring Peephole Cam remains the best choice if you have a lot of Alexa-enabled devices around the house. Learn more about Peephole Cam from Ring.
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