The hardware of both the doorbell and the “R2D2” cameras is quite impressive. It’s solid, the fit and finish are excellent, and the materials used are excellent quality. The 1080 camera is sharp and clear – even in the dead of night, and the audio is as good as one could expect given that there isn’t anything capturing the sound except a tiny condenser mic. That said…

The sensitivity sensor is highly erratic, regardless of what level it is set to. On a few occasions, the recorder won’t even trip should someone come up to the door, but thankfully, this is rare. Most of the problems are with the inconsistency of distance. For example, people walking along the sidewalk in front of my house are basically never detected (which is proper), but should a postal delivery vehicle or a garbage truck go by, then the system is triggered. Keep in mind that a sidewalk is normally closer to a house than a street, and my property is no exception. Even a stray headlight will trip the system, which is exasperating when it happens in the middle of the night. When the system *does* properly record, there are too many instances of the recording starting too late or quitting too early, which results in images of humans at our door getting chopped off.

Inexplicably, the unit contains a battery that cannot be swapped out. This means that you have to take the doorbell offline for hours at a time so that the battery inside it can be recharged. I’ll admit, I didn’t read the fine print when I purchased so my bad, but c’mon, who would have thought that someone would have designed a security system that had to be taken offline by *design*?

As bad as all the above is, the absolute showstopper is the horrific problem with wi-fi – a problem so consistent and acute that it renders this product useless. The doorbell and the cameras are constantly going offline, and the only way that they can be brought back online is for the user to be onsite and physically reconnect the devices. Talk about unclear on the concept! The whole idea of home security is that you want it working when you’re AWAY, Amazon, not just when you’re at home.

The slightest network glitch causes the system to completely blow up: a slight power interruption, the router temporarily losing network, etc. However, every single device in my household is smart enough to come back online once the connection has been restored, except…the Ring system. Sometimes, eventually, the doorbell “figures something out” and comes back online, but the cameras? Never. They would be better off as paperweights.

Some of this is not Amazon’s fault – it’s the nature of a motion detection system. The problem is that with the system metaphorically yelling “Fire!” all the time, you become naturally insensitive to its warnings, or if you simply turn it off so you aren’t disturbed, then this defeats the whole purpose, right?

UPDATE 8-13-2023: AFter speaking with a courteous and knowledgable customer service representative named Melissa, I was satisfied with the information she provided in re to the operation of the doorbell. For the most part, she affirmed my observations about the proximity sensitivity issues I documented here as well as the necessity to deactivate and uninstall the device in order to charge it. Her suggestion was to hardwire the doorbell, but I explained that due to the trim around our door as well as other issues, hardwiring would be cost prohibitive. I stated that I am very pleased with the performance of the battery itself – it only needs charging 3-4 times per year, but that the real issue was that the battery requires 6-8 hours to charge no matter what type of charger that is used. I also stated that I was aware that fast-charging shortens the life of lithium batteries, but that this decision should be left up to customers, not the designers. For my part, I would rather be able to fast-charge the battery and get my doorbell operating again even if this means purchasing a replacement a little sooner than I might have had to.

I’ve added two additional stars to this review: one for the unusually strong battery performance and one for Melissa’s patient assistance.