Ring Battery Video Doorbell Pro review: 3D radar tech gives a birds-eye view

You could describe the Ring Video Doorbell as the Porsche 911 of smart doorbells. Not because of the performance, the popularity or the breadth of ability, but because picking the right one is so difficult.

Do you want the Battery Video Doorbell Plus or the Video Doorbell Pro 2? Perhaps the Video Doorbell (2nd Gen)? Or maybe the Video Doorbell Elite is best for you? It’s like working out the differences between a 997.2 and a 992 generation of Porsche 911, then trying to decide between the S, T, S/T, 4S, GTS, GT3 and Turbo.

It’s bewildering – and not least because, for the Ring and the Porsche, the design never seems to change.

The latest offering (from Santa Monica, not Stuttgart) is called the Ring Battery Video Doorbell Pro. Unpack the name and you discover this is the first ‘Pro’ doorbell from Ring that’s powered by a battery. This means it gets the same radar-powered 3D motion tracking technology and clever birds-eye view feature as the hardwired Video Doorbell Pro 2.

Ring Battery Video Doorbell Pro review: What do you get for your money?

At £200, the Doorbell Pro is twice the price of the entry-level, second-generation Video Doorbell. It’s also £70 more than Battery the Video Doorbell Plus, despite all three looking almost identical. The new model has the same black and grey design and the same button surrounded by a blue light. The differences, as you might have guessed, are on the inside.

Here, you will find the aforementioned radar tech and birds-eye features that were previously only available on the Ring Doorbell Pro 2, a hardwired doorbell that shuns a battery and is instead powered from your existing doorbell wiring.

The new model has the same 1526p HD video resolution as other Ring models (except the older 2nd gen). This strange pixel count means you get a high-definition view, but one that is as wide as it is tall, so you can see right to the floor. That makes it handy for spotting parcels left on your doorstep; there’s even a feature where the Ring app will notify you about deliveries left in shot.

You also get a microphone and speaker for two-way audio, the Quick Replies function, where you can have the doorbell play a pre-recorded message then act like an answerphone, and colour night vision.

The doorbell comes with a battery and USB charging cable – although the connection is still microUSB instead of the newer USB-C standard – plus screws, wall plugs and a special screwdriver for locking the grey plastic cover in place with the supplied anti-tamper screw. There’s also an angled mounting plate if you need to install the doorbell at an angle, and wires for connecting to your old doorbell wiring, if you choose to do that instead of relying on the battery.

As always, a chime is not included in the box. Instead, the doorbell will alert you via your smartphone and any Amazon Echo smart speakers you happen to own. Ring sells a couple of chimes separately, with the pricier Chime Pro also doubling as a Wi-Fi range extender.

READ NEXT: These are the best video doorbells to buy today

Ring Battery Video Doorbell Pro review: How easy is it to install?

The installation process is exactly like other Ring doorbells. Take the grey cover off and use the four exposed holes in the main unit as a template for drilling into the wall, or wherever you choose to install it. Then use the included wall plugs and screws to fix the doorbell into place, attaching the angled mounting plate if needed.

Next, fully charge the battery and slot it into the doorbell, fit the grey cover and secure it with one of the included screws. Make sure you use one of the short screws and the special blue screwdriver, as the longer ones will damage the doorbell and potentially the battery, too.

Then use the Ring smartphone app to connect the doorbell to your Wi-Fi network – you’ll need to create a Ring account if you don’t already have one – and complete the rest of the setup process. This includes giving the doorbell a name (like ‘front door’) and setting up motion settings, quick replies, power settings and more. There’s a lot to wade through here, and even owners of earlier, simpler Ring doorbells might feel a little overwhelmed by how many features and functions this Pro model has.

That said, the extra features are intuitive enough to set up, and they work well. The headline feature is called Bird’s Eye Zone and its setup process involves marking the doorbell’s precise position on a satellite view of your street, then designating an area in which you want motion to be detected and tracked. The result is a map that shows the route travelled by a visitor, before and after they’ve rung the bell, or when the Ring has detected someone loitering nearby. The system works up to six metres away and can be configured to avoid false positives triggered by your neighbours.

Package detection also requires a bit of setting up. For this feature, you tell the doorbell where you want it to monitor, then when a parcel measuring around 25cm across or larger is left there you’ll receive a notification. However, Ring admits this works best for boxes; envelopes, groceries and takeaway meals are unlikely to be recognised. A mounting plate designed to angle the Ring down slightly would help here, as the camera couldn’t get a full view of my doorstep and parcels were often left out of shot.

Ring Battery Video Doorbell Pro review: What does it do well?

I was very impressed with the speed of this doorbell. Regardless of whether my phone was connected to Wi-Fi at home or 4G/5G elsewhere, notifications came through in just a couple of seconds. In fact, I found the alert often arrived on my iPhone before the doorbell had even finished playing its ringtone.

Connecting to the doorbell was also very quick, with a video call between phone and doorbell established in just a couple of seconds. Respond quickly to the phone notification, and you’ll be speaking to the visitor within about five seconds of them pressing the button.

I also like how this model of Ring has a view that is as tall as it is wide. Older models offered a wide, shallow view that meant you could only see the top half of whoever was standing in shot. The square view of this model (and also the Ring Battery Video Doorbell Plus) gives a much better view of the visitor and their surroundings.

Looking at the screenshots, you can see just how wide the Ring’s view is, and how it can see down to (some of) the doorstep. Daytime footage looks great, while at night the camera will automatically switch between grey, infrared night vision and colour night vision.

However, I found the results would sometimes seem to blend the two, as you can see from the screenshot, where the environment is coloured yellow by a nearby security light, but I’m mostly in black and white. The screenshots also demonstrate the birds-eye view feature, where a map shows the route I have taken along the path before pressing the bell.

The Ring app has a lot of functions, but it’s all neatly laid out and explained clearly. Pay attention to the setup process, read everything the app tells you, and you’ll have everything configured just the way you want.

That includes this Pro model’s radar-powered features, like birds-eye view. I thought this might feel like a gimmick, but it worked better than expected and I like how you can see if someone has been loitering around your car, or having a nosey through a window.

Ring Battery Video Doorbell Pro review: What could it do better?

You know what’s coming next. Like other Ring products, its video doorbells are heavily reliant on a paid subscription. Called Ring Protect, you get 30 days free with every new device. But after that, it costs £4.99 a month or £49.99 annually for Protect Basic, which covers one device. Those fees increased on 11 March 2024 from £3.49 a month or £35 a year.

If you have more than one Ring product at a single property (or you want to unlock every feature) you’ll need to pay £8 monthly or £80 annually. That’s a lot for a doorbell and a camera or two.

You don’t have to pay for Protect, but without it your Ring video doorbell will not save any footage. It’ll work as a doorbell and you can have a live video call with visitors, but it won’t store any video clips. You also miss out on features like photos in notifications, event summaries, person and package alerts and even the option to switch the doorbell between home and away modes.

And given the whole point of the new Battery Doorbell Pro is its advanced motion tracking, you effectively have to cough up the cash for a subscription. Otherwise, you should go for a cheaper model instead or, better still, buy a video doorbell with local storage and no subscription fee like the TP-Link Tapo D230S1.

Ring Battery Video Doorbell Pro review: Verdict

Ring’s latest battery-powered video doorbell is its best yet, thanks to its radar tech and clever birds-eye view, coupled with the flexibility that battery power delivers. The wide, tall field of view is great, notifications arrive quickly and features like Quick Replies and parcel detection all work well. However, at £200 this is an expensive video doorbell, even before you factor in the £50 or £80 annual subscription.

Cheaper options are available from companies that don’t charge an ongoing fee, like Yale and Eufy, and the Ring Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) is half the upfront cost.

You need to be sure you want to join the Ring ecosystem, then decide if you need the extra features the Doorbell Pro offers. If more precise motion detection is what you want – perhaps your current video doorbell struggles in this respect – then the Pro does a great job. Just make sure you’ll use all of its features, and that you’re happy with the subscription cost, before making the purchase.