Why I Use Ring for My HomeKit & Alexa Smart Home!

[@franackerman295]

I love ring… I have the full package, I pay a one off yearly fee to ring… £89 and have monitored alarm, plus unlimited cctv recording… currently 4 cctv cameras, base unit, 3 door contacts and one Motion detector, plus two external alarm boxes that light up with the ring symbol… one thing you didn’t mention was the internet backup and power outage… the ability to use 3G network and internal battery backup is amazing!

[@CraigsTechTalk]

That is two great points. I hadn’t though about that. Thank you for mentioning it. That is a great deal for the year. Sounds like you are an early adopter at that price. I was surprised to see the price went up. Thanks for watching

[@BreakTime10101]

Great video. I have the exact same set up as you. I highly recommend the solar panels to keep the cameras charged. I have 3 of them hooked up to my 3 outdoor stick up cams and I have never had to recharge the batteries in them. Are you going to do a video on Hoobs? I’d like to get one eventually. Thanks again for your videos.

[@RealCamSmith]

Thanks for the video. My family uses a Honeywell Lyric security system. Native HomeKit support and you can use either wireless or pre existing wired sensors. There’s a plethora of sensors it’s compatible with. Tre Lyric is able to connect with Alexa and Google too. The system is very secured and reliable since it can be professionally monitored with any security service. It’s very underrated and not talked about on KZbin.

[@rswyltk]

I hope one day to be able to use just the Home App for everything. I use HE, Alexa, Ring, Wyze, GE SmartHQ FrontPoint and Ecovacs. So far everything but Wyze is in my HE, FrontPoint and my Ecovacs are triggered using a virtual contact switch, not ideal, but it works. I’m using SmartHQ via IFTTT, they just released an API so I’m hoping that someone can develop that into HE. I am using HomeBridge to bring almost everything into the Home App. Once I can get my Wyze Cams into HomeKit, all will be right with the world, and I’m hoping they bring that in with Matter.

[@naizondj]

Home assistant brother!

[@neworleans7848]

I have 4 ring cameras. The setup is easy however I have grown to hate the aesthetics of them. Compared to others they look big, odd and cheap. Plus I do have one Nest cam. As far as my Nest cam, I love that the app without selecting the cam shows a live feed unlike ring app that only refreshes once you open the app or select one of the cameras and tap live. I feel that the Nest app having the ability to show a live feed of all cameras is far more convenient and gives me a piece of mind when it comes to safety because I’m able to view them all at once. I also have the Ring solar panels. I haven’t changed a battery in years however unless someone has come up with a way to shorten the wires they tend to look bad with the extra wire tied up and tucked behind the camera or panel. Plus the Panels over time becomes very dirty from the elements. But I really do hope they change the look of the Ring cameras because Arlo and Nest looks much better and with the live feature on the Nest app. I’m thinking of changing cameras now that MATTER will allow for freedom to choose whichever devices we want. Great video!

[@angellas.1314]

I also own a Ring security video door bell and also now have the original DropCam, that is now called Nest Cam. I have one of each, and I would like to decide which to go with because I would like to add another camera for the back of the house, where there is a lot of wildlife activity, here in Connecticut. I just recently purchased the apple pod mini so I would like to continue to consolidate the systems. Any ideas which to go with?

[@Beckycorbetthypnotherapy]

I’m not a techie so sorry if this is a daft question. Does nest work with apple home and does it require a subscription ? Thank you

[@CraigMullins1]

Have you ever done any testing with ring cameras missing stuff. Mine misses motion ALLLLLL the time. I have 3 cameras all looking at the same thing and half the time all 3 miss people andmcars ALL the time. Wish I coudl figure out why!!!

[@volcolby]

I’m also a big fan of the Ring system because it just works, and so I’m always interested to hear other opinions in support of Ring because it seems like so many people consider it a “boring” option or don’t like its lack of integration with other systems. Nothing offers as complete of a set of optional devices. I’m also a HomeKit user, so I am going to look into the possible ways to make them work together.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Thanks for sharing your experience. It’s good for others to hear. It’s a little bit of a pain to get it to work and a HomeKit. But I still think Ring is the best option for security.

[@momadness4938]

Nice!! Thanks for all the information. I don’t know what it is. It’s something internally that make me not pushing the button to move into the ring arena lol.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Thanks Mo for checking out the video. Being a user before Amazon bought Ring makes me look at them a little different. Now that Amazon owns them, I don’t think it helps their image for with some people.

[@joecb4401]

Good video, thank you for it; lots of really good information and insight. I am all over the map with my "home security". I too am all in on Apple and HomeKit. I don't use Hoobs, but I do use HomeBridge and the older Ring doorbell camera that was given to me, works perfectly well through HomeKit. It has other issues, but that is a Ring hardware thing. As for other cameras and sensors, I'm all over the place with 4 different vendors (5 if you include the Ring). I've got a REOLink PoE camera in a location that needs that kind of power and performance, I've got a Eufy in one location for the ability to Pan and Tilt and it was cheaper than the Aqara G3 which I also have for the AI, along with an Aqara G2H and several other Aqara sensors. Lastly on the camera front, I have several Blink's in other locations - all given to me, so why not use them? They don't work very well through HomeBridge so I just use the dedicated app for them. Keep the good videos coming.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

I think it is great you are getting use out of all the cameras. No reason not to if it works. Thanks for sharing and watching.

[@LiveLife5.0]

Love the video. Can you do a video on how to connect and set up hoobs

[@RightAsAlways5759]

Currently building a house, will be hard wiring doorbell & a backyard camera/floodlight, video is very helpful, thanks Craig!

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Very cool. Congratulations on building a house. Hardwired is the way to go. Thanks for watching.

[@brianthompson5486]

What third-party mount do you use for your Stick-up Cams?

[@Beckycorbetthypnotherapy]

Hello, thank you so much for your help in this video. I have ring too. Could I ask a question as I’m not that much of a techie, do you know if I can take a ring camera from my home and use it in my RV on a different WiFi connection will I be able to still use it? If so do you know what I might need to do? Just want it to monitor my dog in the Rv when we nip out for a meal on our own occasionally. Thank you for reading. 🙏🏼

[@FedDonovan]

now that matter is out does the ring securtity system works with home kit?

[@AdamsTechLife]

Great video and Ring is a good third party option for HomeKit. I’ve had a ton of issues with Hoobs so I don’t use Hoobs, i use aqara and eufy but Hoobs a great option!

[@msbgone]

I use all Ring as well and have more camera's than I care to share how many, the alarm is great too! WOW, I had no idea I am grandfathered into the old plan, had no clue they raised prices, makes sense though! Don't forget to get the permits from your village. I also suggest to add the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors! Thanks for blocking out the A word! I also see no Hoobs hub link, but will search it up, thanks!

[@sccarguy]

I to have the ring doorbell but its really really old, I dont tend to replace things if they are still working. I went with blink cameras for around the house (got them realy cheap) ,4 outside and 3 inside .They work ok, battery changes are a pain because there is no way to chage the battery without totaly removing them from the mount and its a little hard to open the batt compartments. But the do work .

[@cj10cj10]

Hi, were you by any chance already using eero routers prior to purchasing your ring pro because I have mine and I’m wondering if I have to put my ring before or after my current eero pro (the three pack that was available a few years back, so not the new ones, but they are still the flat square ones not the beacon or anything). hoping I can still use those. I’ve seen a lot of conflicting info. And the fact that the new ring Hass to be my router that’s hardwired from my modem, first. Thanks so much.

[@Haywoodjablomie100]

I really like all my Ring cameras, and getting a live thumbnail popup on the Samsung TV's when motion is detected is really useful. But i get so many false notifications it drives me nuts, every moth, bug, spider web sets them off. So unfortunately its at the point i just ignore any motion notifications especially at night.

[@DesignClickPrint]

Set up the cameras within home assistant. Next set triggers off object detection to reduce false motion alerts.

[@chadstackhouse490]

Do you use scrypted for ring now? It has HSV.

[@EdwardMartinez-m8y]

very helpful keep up the good work

[@AdanSegovia-f6w]

Thanks for the video! Which 3rd party mount did you use? Thanks.

[@marcel-koks]

Would love to see a video about homekit supported doorbell options, which are battery powered.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

I have to look into some of those options. Thanks for watching.

[@opiatesmile]

So does the ring doorbell work with Apple secure video?

[@larrybrown1984]

Thanks for the info, especially since my Wyze sensors and, currently, one camera, are not behaving.

[@lovewheek5739]

Do you think with matter coming in place that ring and apple will play nicely together in HomeKit without hubs?

[@CraigsTechTalk]

I think Amazon could be the roadblock. They need to invest into Matter and Thread. So far Amazon has done the least out of Google and Apple. I would love to see it happen. But skeptical that the walls will come down enough.

[@1fsttoy]

I like the Wyze cameras

[@thefather414]

I like my ring cams. I bought Hoobs to integrate with AppleTV. Hoobs is awful. Nothing but issues and thats when you can get it to work at all. Mine hasn't worked in 6 months and I've not been able to get it to work. I've considered dumping ring just due to them not integrating. But hopefully they will in the future or there will be a better option than hoobs.

[@aienp]

Great video, even 2 days later! Do you still use this sytem?

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Thank you very much. Yes, I am still using all the same stuff. I have a total of 5 ring cameras, the doorbell and alarm. Thanks for watching.

[@Waterbottle365]

Nice looking grass! Craigs Yard Talk? Man, I must be getting old..

[@CraigsTechTalk]

That is funny. Definitely a sign of getting older. Young Craig might disappointed in old Craigs boring appreciation a good looking yard. Thanks for watching.

[@italiancapo7]

Best outdoor camera that works within HomeKit?

[@CraigsTechTalk]

For native HomeKit support the Eufy Cam 2c are nice

[@cheapme1850]

If I were starting from scratch, I'd probably go with the Eufy Cam 2c, but I'm too invested with Ring at this point.

[@elayea7642]

Did you consider the ring alarm pro? I’m debating since it seems like I need the pro if I want professional monitoring, but I’m forced to use the built in eero 6 router, which I don’t know how to feel about

[@CraigsTechTalk]

The Pro was not out at the time. But ultimately I wanted a Tri-band router. The Alarm Pro has to be the first device and the wifi 6 router. It is only Tri Band. I actually bought the pro but had to go back to regular. You do not need the pro for professional monitoring. I have the regular with professional monitoring. It went off when we were out of town and the sheriff showed up.

[@TechWithTony]

They broke it. Ring devices via hoobs no longer show up in homekit :( so frustrating.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Really? Maybe I haven’t updated something yet. I just checked mine and it is still working. I am on Software 15.5 on my iPad that I checked on. Did you do an update?

[@TechWithTony]

@@CraigsTechTalk yes. It’s the ring Plug in. Don’t update that one. I fixed it all now by rolling back the ring fw to 3 versions back. (Can’t recall off the top of my head ) but bang that fixed it all.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Glad to hear it is fixed. I will stay away from the plug-in. Good to know.

[@franstephens664]

I used to be able to watch my ring on my apple se watch but now I can't for some reason. Can you help?

[@CraigsTechTalk]

I would check and see if the notification settings are turned on under the Apple Watch app. If they are, I would consider reinstalling the Ring app and see if that fixes it.

[@cmacmenow]

HOOBs hub, does it really work with HomeKit? Is it expensive? What's an alternative solution?

[@cheapme1850]

Yes, it actually works pretty good with Ring and some other products, not so good with others. I've used it for almost two years now and it's worked great with my Ring products. I actually made my own Raspberry Pi instead of going with the actual HOOBS and it was very easy to assemble and set up.

[@rayconstantine6761]

@@cheapme1850 I'd like to know how you utilized Raspberry Pi.

[@sportsnews2940]

I used srcypted to enable HomeKit secure recording on my ring doorbell. That way I save on the membership.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Nice, I like that. The subscriptions savings adds up.

[@anthonycraig274]

But have you tested the Eufy doorbell?

[@CraigsTechTalk]

I tested one and ultimately gave it away. I love Eufy cameras with local recording in the backyard. For the front of the house it comes down to the Ring services. I also use two Eufy indoor cams because of the HomeKit Secure Video

[@ronm6585]

Thank you Craig.

[@heehee63]

Why do you prefer the ring cameras over eufy? Eufy also triggers alexa and have very dialed in detection zones. Eufy supports home kit directly I believe. I have eufy over ring because they have local storage so I don't need a paid subscription plan. What I don't like about eufy though is that they have a serious delay now when it goes to triggering for alexa. Used to be way better so I hope they fix it soon. Assume since ring is from Amazon their software will be updated to work with alexa more frequently. I use eufy in combination with yolink sensors to make a complete system. Yolink sensors are extremely fast when it comes to triggering, long range, and reliable. I love them. My only complaint is that they aren't compatible with smartthing though neither are ring and eufy.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

I made a whole video that answers why. Did you watch it before commenting? Eufy is great, but Eufy is not a complete security system like Ring is.

[@heehee63]

@@CraigsTechTalk if you mean this video, I watched it. The pros you listed about ring eufy had as well too...except that whole system thing. I asked cause I didn't understand the whole system thing and thought there may have been more than just that. I thought you had to get other brands like different brand speakers anyway for homekit.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

The biggest thing that Eufy and others companies lack are the services and a complete home security device package. You can piece together a lot of DIY options. Like you are using yolink sensors to complete your Eufy setup. All of that is great for alerting you. But it offers no security protection or response. Ring is a complete device and service package. I get people may not want cloud recording or monitoring. My point with Ring is that they are the only one with all these features and devices. You don’t have to piece a bunch of stuff together to still have an incomplete security system. I like Eufy cameras a lot and use them myself. But I want more than self monitoring.

[@heehee63]

@@CraigsTechTalk thanks, I didn't understand that but you've cleared it up.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

My apologies for not being clear in my video. Unfortunately Ring lacks all of the HomeKit integration and local control I would love to get in a system. But integration has to take a backseat for maximum security. My wife and I travel for work and we travel as a family. I get a lot of peace of mind having an Alarm that sends the Sheriffs if it goes off. I just hold out hope Ring will eventually work natively with HomeKit. Or another company can match them in services too. Thanks for watching.

[@APeeKay]

Great video. Is there a way to use Homekit with a Ring Security system, while keeping the videos local and 24/7 monitoring by Ring? In other words, Ring may get a notification and nature of the event for trigger, but not the actual videos, so that they can call the law enforcement authorities. If not, I agree that security is more important than privacy of the videos. For privacy, I trust Apple more than Amazon.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

The only way to get Ring local recordings is by buying the Ring alarm pro and paying for service. When you do you can save your videos on a micro sd card. But you have to also use the Ring Alarm Pro as your Wi-Fi router too.

[@efmarosario4953]

Given that you switched from Alexa to Apple HomeKit. Abode is definitely the best security system to integrate natively into HomeKit!

[@nigelstockley7011]

Again im the same, Craig. Switched to HomeKit from Alexa a while back but still have a couple of echos due mainly to the fact that I also have the RING alarm and cameras. I do wish that RING was HomeKit compatible.. im a little less forgiving that you on that and hope that ring sort this sometime. My Alexa routines that operate the alarm are far too useful to discard at the moment. I have a 'goodnight' routine in Alexa that Turns off all the lights, turns my heating off (nest thermostat.. also not HomeKit compatible!) and switches on my alarm in home mode. Im hoping that when Matter finally becomes a thing.. that a lot will become cross compatible but I fear that many companies might use it as excuse to make you buy new instead of concentrating on firmware updates for old.

[@andrewcbartlett]

Great video thanks for making it.

[@garybowen4974]

my floodlight cams go off ALL the time! but doesn't have anything to do with people and adjusting zones! 99 times out of a hundred its either the neighbors cat, squirrels, a racoon or a bug on the lens!

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Sorry to hear that Gary. I turned my motion sensitivity to about 20% on the slider. The Stick Up Cam and Doorbell have been good about detecting people only. I don’t know about the floodlight.

[@heatherflores8530]

I honestly don't like the Ring’s video quality. I have the wireless Arlo video doorbell and I love it. I'm just really hoping that one day it'll be home kit compatible.

[@naizondj]

Fuc*k arlo!😂

[@sansin6250]

The biggest challenge for me is to have a strong and consistent Wifi signal all around the house.

[@LeonC75]

A little dated on camera quality. Maybe 2k version?

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Definitely a 2k version is needed. Also a version that works with all the smart assistants.

[@KrispKiwi]

The one thing I need my ring doorbell to have is face detection.

[@ashleyscruggs6333]

when is your next show

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hey Ashley, great to see you. I saw your other comment. I am sorry I had not responded yet. Next stream is in 1 hour at 9am PT. Hope you are doing well.

[@loganabbott9150]

Hoobs sucks so bad. You should definitely just get cameras that are compatible with apple HomeKit out of the box.

[@davidwickham1965]

My battery needs changing every week and a half.🤔

[@ashleyscruggs6333]

hey

[@UberHackersCom]

Ring is crap without HomeKit and if they don’t adapt they will soon file bankruptcy

[@brandonhatmaker7461]

TINSTAAFL🤌🏻🤌🏻

[@NathanTheOG2011]

First