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So, along with the rest of the world, yesterday I got the "thanks for your loyal custom, here's a 40% price increase to show how much we appreciate you" email from Ring for their protect plan. This is following a 50% increase the previous year.
It's caused enough of a stir to make BBC News front page.
I was that impressed by their arrogance that I've now cancelled the renewal. It's paid up until November so I've got a while to ponder this next question...
What video doorbell without subscription?
Current recommendations seem to be toward Eufy. We had a blink one before but returned within a couple of days because it was shockingly slow. Although our ring one seems to have become worse lately - my son walked through the door and was stood in the kitchen chatting to me for a while before I got a movement notification on my phone.
Is it now a King rather than a Ring?
If they supply a prince with every doorbell, that's not a bad price really.
Got to fund the New Power Generation somehow
Damn, missed the 15 minutes edit. Ah well.
I'm in the same boat, almost cancelled in a fit of pique.
Point of note though, the subscription is for recording/playback. If you don't need that feature then it's free.
Yeah, also unimpressed. I'm thinking of keeping it for the light, alarm etc and adding another one hardwired to a storage device, which would also get over the issue with the Ring that cheap WiFi jammers can nobble them. Any recommendations for that sort of thing?
Does anyone know if the £80 option is also going up?
Another one here looking to change
I’m thinking of keeping it for the light, alarm etc and adding another one hardwired to a storage device, which would also get over the issue with the Ring that cheap WiFi jammers can nobble them. Any recommendations for that sort of thing?
I'm looking at the blink full system (the doorbell plus a "sync" module that allows you to plug in a USB and store locally)
I've been looking also... my 1st thought was Google Nest....but FM its £120 a year ( they also did a big P take price rise). My subs don't run out till 20 December so I'll be looking to change if there is a good one to replace
Got Eufy about 6 months ago for exactly that reason.
Got the door bell and a couple of cameras with the local storage. Works really well.
Got a funky exterior light/camera s100 combo to go up when it stops blink-ing raining…
my 1st thought was Google Nest….but FM its £120 a year
If you want 24/7 recording yes, otherwise it's £60, but you can also include any other Nest cameras you have in that as well. For doorbell only it's expensive but if you have a full Nest setup it's fairly good value. We have the doorbell but haven't paid for the subscription so only get 3hrs history of triggered events.
Can you imagine going back in time 20 years and complaining to your younger self about the price increase on your doorbell subscription? Then telling your now obviously incredulous younger self that this has featured as a major issue on the BBC news.
Life comes at you fast, eh? 😂
Someday my Prince will come, but my Ring doorbell won't alert me until he's given up and driven off in his van.
I think I could count on my fingers the number of times my doorbell has been used in the last 12 months. Do you just have people turning up at random times your not expecting? Is your house so cavernous you can't just answer the door? I'm lost on the use case.
In theory you can answer it when you're out (on your phone), but as mentioned, I found the lag time so long that no self-respecting delivery driver would wait around for you to answer. I think half of them didn't even bother pushing it (because they know this).
Sent it back for a refund in the end. The subscription model also grated with me, didn't realise you couldn't even store your own 'clips' on your PC, but had to use their system.
Anyone who pays 50 quid for the privilege needs their head wobbled.
Does anyone know if the £80 option is also going up?
No, it's the basic subscription increasing from £3.49 to £4.99. Premium stays the same (for now).
Mine works pretty well, also use it to keep an eye on the oil tank/shed/workshops/bikes/wildlife so worth it to me.
I've got a Blink doorbell with the sync module. I had a Ring but binned it off when the sub went up last year. The Ring is definitely better than the Blink but I also have a few Blink cameras dotted around so sticking with one brand seemed sensible.
pre-covid I would've agreed with you, however we get [I]loads[/I] of deliveries these days! And not everyone gives you a time slot (or sticks to it). It's very useful for screening callers as well without having to twitch the curtains 😂 So yeah, I wouldn't be without one these days.I think I could count on my fingers the number of times my doorbell has been used in the last 12 months. Do you just have people turning up at random times your not expecting?
I have no idea what this thead is all about.
You could get a knocker instead of a ring? May be cheaper.
You could get a knocker instead of a ring? May be cheaper.
The Ring doorbell rings throughout the house, a door knocker does not.
Doesn't stop the dickheads from pressing the button and then immediately trying to stove the door in anyway, mind.
Can you imagine going back in time 20 years and complaining to your younger self about the price increase on your doorbell subscription?
or back 25 years ago to ....1999.
seems to be happening with all these subscription services: ie HP ink huge increase and Prime has added adverts.
Another who went with Eufy as I didn't want to pay a subscription. Been very happy with it and also have a couple of their cameras.
Is this not how ALL subscription services are going to go?
Cheap market entry to persuade either transfer away from traditional services/suppliers or adopt the technology. Then, once you've got a bazillion people signed up, whack up the costs hard to maximise return.
Alongside this you explore the Next Big Thing and look to bail from idea no.1, so eventually shutting down any development or support but who cares as the Next Big Thing is going well for you.
🤷♂️
the only off-the-shelf system I'd say is actually good is Unifi Protect, that is ££££ though (although there are no subscription costs).
I suppose it all depends whether you [I]actually[/I] need to store/playback the footage 🤔 Or whether live footage is good enough. (obviously Ring is crap anyway due to the lag!)
not necessarily all but yes certainly these Amazon ones, I have made this point dozens of times on various Ring threads on here over the years 😃Is this not how ALL subscription services are going to go?
It’s very useful for screening callers as well without having to twitch the curtains
I do this by just not answering the door if I don’t want to.
The Ring doorbell rings throughout the house, a door knocker does not.
Cougar is known to spend a lot of time in the east wing orangery.
In all seriousness I never knew that they came with a subscription. Subscribing to your door. Madness! 😂
didn't know Mystic Meg was an STWer 😂I do this by just not answering the door if I don’t want to.
Cougar is known to spend a lot of time in the east wing orangery.
😁 Joking aside, I work upstairs during the day. If a delivery driver is knocking on the door with a spongecake as is seemingly common, then in the unlikely event that I hear them they're halfway down the road by the time I get to the door.
In all seriousness I never knew that they came with a subscription.
It's an optional subscription, as I mentioned earlier.
Subscribing to your door. Madness! 😂
😆
I’m on UniFi protect. Expensive to set up but good. Storage is on a local box, not in cloud.
here’s a thought : if you’re an Apple household with an iCloud+ (ie including more than the basic iCloud storage allowance), they have a fairly good cloud camera storage option called HomeKit secure video. You can either buy HomeKit Secure Video compatible cameras, or like I’ve done with my UniFi system, use Homebridge running on a raspberry pi (or other computer you’re willing to have running 24/7) to sync into the Apple secure video cloud..
Another vote for "can't see the point"....if i want to know who's at the door, I just open it. Also, it's no exaggeration to say that 80% of delivery drivers knock on the door (despite no knocker) rather than ring the doorbell
Can you imagine going back in time 20 years and complaining to your younger self about the price increase on your doorbell subscription?
I know - I don't think there has ever been any dystopian future fiction written where the author imagines that some evil genius dreams up the concept of two-part pricing or door bells.
If a delivery driver is knocking on the door with a spongecake as is seemingly common, then in the unlikely event that I hear them they’re halfway down the road by the time I get to the door.
Leave the door unlocked so the delivery driver can just leave it inside?
Leave the door unlocked so the delivery driver can just leave it inside?
We were requested this in our old house. What was the postie/delivery person meant to do if we were out?
Twodogs
Full Member
Another vote for “can’t see the point”….if i want to know who’s at the door, I just open it. Also, it’s no exaggeration to say that 80% of delivery drivers knock on the door (despite no knocker) rather than ring the doorbell
I’ve spent a lot of the last 5 years working from a shed in the garden. Delivery people can knock as hard as they want (or ring a normal door bell) but I won’t be hearing them.
The subscription part is (potentially) useful as the camera covers access to the garage. Hoping never to have to test out that usefulness at any point.
Something that stores locally sounds like a good alternative
Hoping never to have to test out that usefulness at any point.
All the bike / moped thieves in Cambridge are fully masked up. We have a whole FB group dedicated to their antics, mainly full of videos of masked people...
How did the world function before the doorbell subscription 😱 parcels abandoned everywhere, delivery drivers crying, overwhelmed by all the cake that can’t be delivered (and must be eaten) and unmasked bike thieves running cycling here and there!
The Ring doorbell rings throughout the house, a door knocker does not.
I haven’t got either a knocker or a ring.
People generally open the door and shout…
The conservatives should hire Rings marketing department, landslide tory victory judging by the number of people suckered into a subscription doorbell service, that doesn't work very well 😀