Ring Doorbell

MoKby

Has anyone else had a problem with condensation inside the camera of their ring doorbell?  My doorbell has stopped working completely.  I have only had it just over 2 years.  When I phoned Ring customer service I was told that I should have protected it, how I don't know as it is designed to be placed on an outside wall.  Because the doorbell is 4 months out of warranty they said they could offer me 30% off a replacement which I did not accept.  I asked what the expected life of one of these doorbells is and they told me between 5 and 10 years.  I said that mine had fallen very short of that and I thought they should offer me a replacement.  The customer advisor would not budge and reiterated that I should have protected the doorbell but could not advise me how I should do that.  Any suggestions for where I go next?

ThisIsWeird

Read the installation instructions. See what it says about positioning and protection.

If it says it's ok for outdoor use (duh!) and makes no mention of it requiring added protection, then you should have a very simple claim against them - contact your LegProt on your house insurance, or tell Ring you're going to MoneyClaim.org them. 

If it says it should be under a canopy or porch or protected from direct rain, then - depending on where you put yours - the install might not conform, so you're stuffed.

I don't know about them, but I notice a neighb has theirs just mounted on a gate post - seemingly no real protection.

Meanwhile, I'd remove it, open it as much as possible - eg battery cover off, and any other bits - remove batts, and place it on a window sill in the sun to dry out over a few days. See if it comes back to life.

propertyrental

Your claim should be against the retailer (unless you purchased it direct from Ring).

If it's out of warranty, then the claim is not fit for purpose (or something).

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-rights-act-aKJYx8n5KiSl

cymruchris

Which model of doorbell did you buy?

Having picked one at random - there's no mention of providing the unit extra protection for extreme weather exposure:

https://support.ring.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360059528911

And the other manuals seem to be here - so find yours:

https://support.ring.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360050108052-Ring-device-manuals 

From experience with any kind of camera out in the rain, going through frosty winters and then hot summers. waterproof seals on consumer units do tend to give up the ghost sometimes.

With them saying 'You should have protected it' - but nothing in the instructions says 'protect it' - you might have a valid argument for a better offer in terms of replacement, as they are designed for home-install DIY. If it needs protection, the instructions should clearly say it.

You'll have a bit of a fight on your hands though as you are outside the regular warranty period - but if you can stress that they've said it should be 5-10 years with the fact that they've also said you need to protect it, when the instructions don't tell you to do so, might put you in a stronger position.

I've fitted pro-grade CCTV network video recorders where customers have chosen 'budget' brand cameras that I told them in advance would likely leak in the long-term, and I've been right, so it's not just Ring cameras that have issues.