This article will cover commonly asked questions about the Ring Geofence feature.
What is a Geofence?
A Geofence is a virtual perimeter or invisible boundary around a particular geographic location. When you configure a Geofence in the Ring app, the Ring app can remind you to set your Mode to “Away” when you exit the Geofence. When you come home and re-enter the Geofence, your Ring app can automatically snooze alerts from your security cameras and doorbells.
How to enable your Ring Geofence settings
In order to set up the Geofence for your home in the Ring app, follow these steps:
- Open your Ring app. If you're viewing this article from your iOS or Android device, click here from your mobile web browser.
- Tap the three-lines in the upper-left corner of your screen. Ensure that the location you wish to set up a Geofence for is in the upper left.
- Tap Settings.
- Tap Geofence.
- Please read and acknowledge the following two screens. To learn more about how the Geofence feature uses your location, and how your phone expresses this to you, please click here.
- Review the placement of your Geofence. The circle in this view shows you the boundary that must be crossed to activate an ‘arriving’ or ‘leaving’ event.
- If this is your very first time setting up a Geofence for this particular Location:
- The Ring app uses the address that you had previously provided for this location to initially place the Geofence, but you can also adjust this placement by dragging the circle to a more appropriate position on the map.
- Alternatively, you can tap the arrow in the lower right to use the current location of your mobile device to define the centre of your Geofence.
- Note: Adjusting the position of the Geofence on the map will not affect your address settings for that Location.
- If you are a Shared User setting up your mobile device to participate in the Location’s Geofence: you cannot modify the Geofence position. Only the Ring account owner can modify the Geofence position.
- Tap Confirm.
- Auto-Snooze is a feature intended to help you prevent alerts triggered by motion right after you enter your geofence. For instance - you may not want your phone to buzz with a Ring motion alert when you walk up to your own Ring Video Doorbell.
- Select which devices you wish to snooze notifications for upon re-entering the geofence.
- Set the snooze duration.
- Note: Compatible Ring devices that are snoozed when you re-enter your Geofenced area will not send alerts to that particular mobile device while snoozed. They will, however, still record if you have a Ring Protect plan, and other (non-snoozed) compatible Ring devices will still send alerts.
- Note: If you only have a Ring Alarm and/or Ring Smart Lighting system, you will not see this option in the setup flow.
- Click here to learn more about the Ring Protect plan.
- Tap Continue.
- Arm/Disarm Reminders will alert you to change your Mode when you exit or enter your geofence.
- Choose whether to enable the Arm reminder (when you exit the geofence), the Disarm reminder (when you enter the geofence), or both.
- Select whether you’d like to have a specific notification tone play when an Arm and/or Disarm reminder is sent. This can help grab your attention.
- You will only receive an Arm or Disarm Reminder if the Mode of the Location is not already Home or Away (when exiting the geofence) or Disarmed (when re-entering the geofence).
- Note: If you have not enabled Modes for your Ring cameras, or if you do not have Ring Alarm, you will not see this option.
- Learn more about Modes for cameras here.
- Tap Continue.
- Tap Finish & Save.
- Next the Ring app will ask you for permission to access your phone’s location even when the app is not currently on the screen. This allows the Ring app to receive location information from iOS or Android to determine when you enter or leave your Geofence, automate snooze events or remind you to change your mode. Follow the steps provided in the screens of the app.
- On Android: Depending on your version of Android, either tap “Always” or tap the text option to go to Android settings, then Permissions, then Location, then tap “Allow all the time.”
- On iOS: Tap “While Using.” Sometime later, you’ll see a new prompt; tap “Always allow.”
- You can also manually make this selection after setting up Geofence by going to iOS Settings, then the Ring app, then Location, and then tapping “Always.”
- Note: If you do not allow location permission, Ring’s Geofence feature will not work.
Important notes on using Geofence
If you have set up Auto-Snooze: When you re-enter the Geofence, the Ring app on your phone or tablet will not receive motion alerts related to the Ring devices that you have selected for Auto-Snooze. However, if you have a Ring Protect plan, they will still record motion events. Also, other phones and tablets can still receive motion alerts for those events. Auto-Snooze only affects the phone or tablet that it was enabled for.
If you have set up Arm/Disarm Reminders: Like Auto-Snooze, these reminders are relevant only to the phone or tablet where they were configured. No other phones or tablets (whether logged in as you or as a Shared User for the Location) will receive an Arm/Disarm Reminder of your exit or entry. Additionally, Mode Reminders are not affected by the location of other phones or tablets with access to that Location.
What does providing “Always” or “Allow all the time” access to my location mean?
Providing this level of access to your location allows the Ring app to be informed by your mobile device when it crosses the Geofence boundary, even if the app is not currently visible on your screen.
My phone is alerting me that Ring is using my location in the background. What does this mean?
When the Geofence feature is enabled, and “Always” or “Allow all the time” location access is granted, the Ring app will use location information provided by your mobile device to determine if that mobile device has entered or exited the Geofence you defined, and will then follow the preferences you’ve set. In general, when the Ring app is set up for “Always” or “Allow all the time” location access, your mobile device may provide location updates to the Ring app that are not related to your Geofence, for example, when you are far away from your defined Geofence; in these cases, the data is discarded by the Ring app and no action is taken by the feature.
If you do not want the Ring app to have any access to your mobile device’s location you can always disable location settings for the Ring app. In iOS, go to Settings > Ring > Location, and change to “Never.” On Android, the settings may vary by model, but will be similar to Settings > Apps > Ring > Permissions > Location > “Deny.” We also recommend you disable the Geofence feature (click here to learn how) to prevent in-location permission errors.
Can other Ring users see the location of my mobile device because I enable Geofence?
No.
Will my Ring devices continue to detect motion and record video when a Ring device has been snoozed?
Yes. Just like manually enabling snooze for a Ring camera, your devices will continue to record as usual and, if you have a Ring Protect plan, you can view those videos later in the Ring app if you choose. The Ring app on the iOS or Android device for which you have enabled Geofence and Auto-Snooze will simply not receive motion alerts for the duration of the snooze period.
After setting up Geofence, what if I go into iOS or Android settings and change Ring’s location access from “Always” or “Allow all the time” to something else?
The Ring app will no longer be alerted by your iOS or Android operating system when you enter or exit your Geofence. As a result, your selected Ring devices will no longer automatically be snoozed when you enter the geofence, and you will not be reminded to change Modes. No other user of the Geofence defined for that Location will be affected.
When you open the Ring app, you will see an alert with a link to help you re-enable the appropriate location sharing setting. To keep location sharing off and prevent this alert from appearing, disable Geofence.
Can the Geofencing feature do more than just automatically snooze alerts and remind me to automatically change Modes?
No.
Do Shared Users have any control over the Geofence?
Shared Users cannot see or access other users’ Geofence settings. However, Shared Users can enable Auto-Snooze and Mode Reminders for their own iOS or Android device by setting up Geofence for themselves. This will not have any impact on other users (including the Owner or any Shared Users) who use Geofence on the Ring app, or their respective iOS/Android devices.
What is the experience with Geofence for an Owner and a Shared User living within the same Location?
Once an Owner sets up the Geofence for a Location in the Ring app, then any Shared User can enable the Geofence feature for themselves for that same Location.
The Geofence entry or exit of one user does not notify nor impact the experience of another neighbour. Similarly, if one user chooses to disable Geofence for a Location in the Ring app on one mobile device, no other devices or users are impacted.
Click here for more information on Shared Users.
How do I change the placement of a Geofence?
The placement of a Geofence can be adjusted after setup by the owner of the devices for that Location. In Geofence Settings, tap on the map. Then, re-position your Geofence to the desired area on the map, and tap Save.
This setting will affect all iOS and Android devices that currently use that Location's Geofence.
What does it mean to “Disable Geofence?” Where do I do this?
Disabling Geofence only applies to the particular iOS or Android device on which it is disabled. It does not impact the placement of the geofence. Disabling Geofence on one phone or tablet does not affect the Owner or any other Shared Users, their iOS/Android device that has geofence enabled, or their own Geofence-specific settings.
To disable a geofence for a Location:
- Open your Ring app.
- Tap the three-lines in the upper-left to check that the name of the location that you wish to set up a Geofence for is in the upper left. You can not modify Geofence settings from the “All Cameras” view.
- Tap Settings.
- Tap Geofence.
- Tap Disable Geofence.
- Tap Turn off Geofence.
Experiencing difficulty with Geofence? Click here for possible solutions.
