Poor video quality is almost always caused by some sort of wifi issue.
This article will explain how to test for, diagnose, and fix many of the most common video issues you may experience.
Overexposed, Washed Out Videos
If your problem is that your doorbell videos appear washed out due to overexposure to sunlight, this is most often caused by a narrow hallway. There are no video settings that allow you to change exposure from sunlight. Sometimes, using a wedge kit or corner kit can change the angle of the doorbell. Other times you may need a different/additional Ring product, such as a Stick Up Cam in the area where your doorbell is. If you do look for a corner kit or wedge kit, make sure you get one that is compatible with your particular model of doorbell, as there are many different wedge and corner kits.
Test One -- Poor Wifi Signal Strength
This first test is designed to see if poor wifi signal strength from your router could be the culprit for your video problems. You'll be bringing your Ring device close to your router in order to minimize any interference from your home's architecture or distance.
Note: This will only work for battery-powered Ring devices. For other Ring devices, move on to test two.
To run this test:
- Remove your Ring device from its mounting and bring it into the same room as your wifi router
- Be sure you've turned off your cellular data and are connected to the same wifi network as your Ring device.
- Open your Ring app on your smart phone, tablet, or PC.
- Tap the three lines on the top left of the Dashboard.
- Tap Devices.
- Select your device
- Trigger an event on your Ring device. This could mean pressing the button on a doorbell or activating the motion sensors on a camera.
- Answer the event and examine the resulting video.
Possible Outcomes from this Test
Footage is crisp and clear
- If your Ring device's footage looks good when it's next to the router, the culprit is probably something that happens in the distance between your router and the normal location of your Ring device. In this case you can either try to move your Ring device a bit closer to your router if possible. Even a few feet it often enough to make a difference. Or extend your wifi signal out to your Ring device. To do this, you'll need a wifi extender such the Ring Chime Pro.
Footage is heavily pixelated
If you're getting heavy pixellation even next to your router, this is usually due to slow wifi speeds
Be sure that you've turned off your cellular data on your mobile device and are connected to the same wifi as your Ring device.
Do a wifi speed test:
- Open your Ring App on your Smart phone or tablet.
- Tap the three lines on the top left of the Dashboard.
- Tap Devices.
- Select your device.
- Tap Device Health.
- Under Tools tap on Test Your Wifi.
- Tap Start to run a test that will measure your upload and download speed.
- Both upload and download speeds should be 1 Mbps or greater, although anything above 2 Mbps is ideal.
- Check the numbers on your wifi speed test. If either your upload or download speed are below 1 Mbps then you might consider replacing your router (especially if it's older than five years) or contacting your internet service provider to find out what they can do about providing faster internet service.
Severe pauses in Live Video
If your video pauses, stutters, or gets frozen and your wifi speed meets the minimum standards, you can try rebooting your router. Simply unplug your router, wait 30 seconds, and then plug it back in. It should take three to four minutes to reboot and then test your Ring device again and see if there's any difference.
Long delay before your video starts
This is also caused by slow wifi speeds. Assuming you have high speed internet, you can try rebooting your router and the mobile phone/tablet/PC you're accessing the video feed on, Then see if there's any difference when it's back on line.
Test Two -- Traveling Signal Strength Test
This second test is designed to find where your signal is losing strength between your router and your Ring device. Once again, you'll be bringing your Ring device close to your router in order to minimize any interference from your home's architecture or distance.
To run this test:
- Remove your Ring device from its mounting and bring it into the same room as your wifi router.
- Open your Ring app on your smart phone or tablet.
- Trigger an event on your Ring device. This could mean pressing the button on a doorbell or activating the motion sensors on a camera.
- Answer the event and examine the resulting video.
- Walk through your home slowly, carrying both the Ring device and smart device, examining the video as you move toward the location where your Ring device is normally mounted. Note the quality of the video as you move through the space.
- Depending on how far your router is from the location where your Ring device is usually mounted, you may begin noticing differences in your video quality as you move away from the router. This should give you a good idea of where the strength of your signal begins to drop off.
- Look around at that point and consider the path your signal has to take to get there. Have you turned a corner or is there a wall or a larger home decoration or electronic device that may be causing interference between the router and your Ring device?
- If you bring your device through an outside door and you lose the signal, that's most likely from the inner and outer materials that make up your walls. Particular materials that can cause problems are:
- Aluminum: Any variation of aluminum siding can block wifi signals or reflect them in unusual ways.
- Brick, concrete, or stone: These materials can simply block wifi signals.
- Stucco: Stucco has chicken wire inside it that can act as an attractor and blocker for wifi signals.
- Security doors: These thick metal doors can easily block wifi signals.
In these cases you can either try to move your Ring device a bit closer to your router if possible. Even a few feet can be enough to make a difference. Or you can extend your wifi signal out to your Ring device with a wifi extender like the Ring Chime Pro.
When you're setting up a wifi extender, test it out in various locations to see where you get the best amplified signal.
If you are using a powered device that can't be dismounted from the wall. Try the following steps which may require two people:
- Trigger an event while you have your mobile device near the router.
- Move in 2-4 ft. increments through the home toward the Ring device, watching the video closely As you move through your house, be sure to close any doors that would be normally closed as you go.
- Stop wherever you find that your video starts to pixelate, lag or become poor quality.
- Note your surroundings (brick, drywall, mirrors, etc).
- This is the ideal place for a Ring Chime Pro.
