RING has quietly made changes to a key subscription perk affecting all households.
The move comes just days after the Amazon-owned company unveiled all-new devices with 4K vision and intelligent AI guards.
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Ring is the world’s most popular doorbell video security gadget around used by millions.
While you can use it for free to answer the door remotely, many pay a subscription for the added benefit of video recordings, among other helpful features.
But the firm has made a number of changes to the terms and conditions.
In an email sent to customers seen by The Sun, one of the big differences is how subscription cancellations work.
Until now, you could stop renewing your subscription and get a pro-rata refund for the remaining days.
But that is coming to an end.
“While you always have the ability to stop renewing your subscriptions, we no longer offer refunds for cancellations in the middle of your monthly or annual billing periods, unless required by applicable laws,” the email reads.
So if you’re thinking of cancelling and making use of this perk it’s worth taking note.
The new terms and conditions will apply from November 6, so you have some time to sort it if you act now.
Of course, if you want to continue with your Ring subscription as normal then there is nothing you need to do.
New Wired Video Doorbell Pro
The new Wired Video Doorbell Pro has received a number of upgrades, including so-called “Retinal 4K”, which Amazon says will show you decent imagery “even in the most challenging conditions”.
It also boasts 10x zoom and delivers improved low-light performance, which is handy in the evening or at night.
Amazon unveiled several AI tricks too last week, which make its Ring video doorbells even more brainy.
It’s currently unclear whether these features will be available in the UK at any point, or if they’re US-only.
The first is Alexa+ Greetings, which is a bonus perk for anyone paying for an Alexa+ subscription in the USA.
Amazon describes it as “a new feature that transforms Alexa into a smart doorbell attendant”.
Amazon’s guide to Ring doorbell positioning
Here’s the official advice…
One of the biggest mistakes people make is mounting their Ring Video Doorbell too high in the belief that they need to do this in order to catch people’s faces.
In fact, as illustrated above, viewing faces is not a problem if the Ring Video Doorbell is mounted at the correct height of approximately 1.2 meters above the ground.
The second way your Ring Video Doorbell sees the world is through a network of PIR, or passive infrared, motion sensors. These are heat sensors that detect motion by monitoring heat within the detection area.
Since people are hotter than the surrounding areas, as a person enters the detection area the heat measurements change. The motion sensors register this change as movement and send out an alert.
The motion sensors in your Ring Video Doorbell are designed to detect motion up to 155 degrees horizontally and from 1.5 to 7.5 meters outward from the fixture.
They’re also more sensitive to horizontal movement across the detection area than vertical.
Mount your doorbell too high and you’re more likely to catch the heat of passing cars than the heat of incoming visitors.
