Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro review: a convenient, capable battery-powered option

The Ring Battery Doorbell Pro on a wooden background.
Jon Bitner / Digital Trends
Ring Battery Doorbell Pro review: a convenient, capable battery-powered option
MSRP $230.00
“The Ring Battery Doorbell Pro is packed with premium features without the nuisance of wires.”
Pros
  • Crisp resolution with support for HDR
  • Support for Bird's Eye Zones
  • Easily removable battery
  • Option to hardwire
Cons
  • Expensive
  • Battery needs frequent recharging

“Why you can trust Digital Trends – We have a 20-year history of testing, reviewing, and rating products, services and apps to help you make a sound buying decision. Find out more about how we test and score products.“

Ring Video Doorbells are incredibly popular — and for good reason. Along with high-quality cameras and easy installation, they give you access to the robust Ring mobile app that lets you adjust dozens of customization options and smart alerts. The new Ring Battery Doorbell Pro carries on this legacy, while also bringing features typically relegated to hardwired models to a battery-powered design. It’s undoubtedly one of the best battery-powered video doorbells available, and if you don’t mind its price, there’s little else to complain about.

Recommended Videos

From breezy installation and tons of customization options to the advanced Bird’s Eye Zones and HD+ resolution, the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro packs in heaps of functionality without the need for wires. Nothing else in the Ring battery-powered lineup comes close to matching its performance, making it an easy recommendation for nearly all homes.

Painless installation

The battery and faceplate removed from Ring Battery Doorbell Pro.
Jon Bitner / Digital Trends

A big selling point of all battery-powered video doorbells is their simple setup, and that goes for the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro. After downloading the app to your phone, it’ll walk you through the entire process, which takes about 15 minutes. The only step that might pose any difficulty is attaching it to your home, as you’ll need to use screws to secure it to a wall.

Once it’s been properly attached to your home and synced with your phone, you’ll be presented with a bunch of options that can be toggled to help you determine how the camera will perform. One of the most important options determines how often your camera will look for motion. This can be adjusted between three modes (Periodically, Regularly, or Frequently) that impact how often motion will trigger a recording. Opt for Frequently, and you’ll see a big hit to battery life. Opt for Periodically, and you’ll get a bit more juice out of the device before needing a recharge.

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro battery life

When set to Regularly, I managed to get just over two weeks of juice out of the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro before it needed a recharge. Your mileage will vary based on the number of times the doorbell is triggered and for how long the doorbell films after each event, but don’t expect this device to run for six months on a single battery. With few motion events and alerts set to Periodically, you might be able to get one month from a full charge.

It takes several hours to fully charge its battery, so consider picking up a second one that can be swapped in during this downtime. Otherwise, your porch will be left unprotected.

Charging the battery is simple, thanks to a quick-release mechanism that allows the camera frame to stay attached to your home. After removing just the faceplate, you can slip out the battery. It’s nice that it’s so easy to charge — especially since you’ll be doing it a few times each month.

If you prefer, the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro can also be hardwired.

Vivid images, crisp sound

The Ring Battery Doorbell Pro installed near a door.
Ring

Ring calls the Battery Doorbell Pro its “most advanced battery-powered doorbell,” and it certainly lives up to that billing. That’s especially true for its video quality, which records in 1536p and supports HDR for improved clarity in lowlight and bright environments. You can also enable color night vision to get a better look at your property when the sun goes down. The presence of zonal infrared LEDs helps reduce the nasty glare that often appears in nighttime footage, ensuring no details get blown out or overexposed.

Best of all, it uses a viewing angle (150 degrees horizontal, 150 degrees vertical) that captures guests from head to toe. The angle is also generous enough to capture packages that might be left at the foot of your doorstep. It doesn’t support 4K like some video doorbells, but it still looks impressive during real-life usage (especially when you consider it’s battery-powered). The resolution looked crisp on an iPhone 15 even after zooming in considerably.

Audio is just as impressive on the video doorbell thanks to the use of Ring’s Audio+ technology. This essentially serves as noise cancellation technology that reduces echoes and mutes background noises while talking to guests through its two-way speaker.

Packed with additional features

The Ring Birds Eye app showing how a person approached a door.
Ring

Aside from an easy installation process, premium video resolution, and crisp audio, the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro is loaded with other high-end features. The most compelling of these are Bird’s Eye Zones, which are typically only available on wired products. This gives you an aerial view of your property and highlights exactly how movement approaches your home. It’s a unique feature, and since you can view this map (via a small pop-up window) while you’re viewing the actual footage captured by your video doorbell, it makes it easy to understand what’s happening on your property.

Other useful features include Pre-Roll to capture additional footage leading up to a motion event, support for dual-band Wi-Fi, and an interchangeable faceplate that can be swapped out for a variety of different colors (sold separately).

Verdict

The Ring Battery Doorbell Pro is a feature-complete battery doorbell. It captures vibrant footage, supports Bird’s Eye Zones, is highly customizable, and is powered by the intuitive Ring mobile app. The only real drawback is its price — at $230, it’s one of the most expensive video doorbells. It also takes quite a hit on battery life, with most users likely to only get a few weeks of power before needing a recharge.

For most homes, this is one of the best video doorbells you can purchase. You’ll get better battery life out of the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus, but if you don’t mind recharging it every few weeks, the Battery Doorbell Pro offers more features (such as Pre-Roll and Bird’s Eye Zones).

Outside of Ring’s lineup, you should take a look at the Arlo Essential Video Doorbell and Google Nest Doorbell. Both are available in wireless formats, are highly customizable, and clock in at prices much lower than the Battery Doorbell Plus. But if you want a premium battery-powered doorbell, the latest from Ring is hard to beat.

Jon Bitner
Jon Bitner is a writer covering consumer electronics, technology, and gaming. His work has been published on various websites…
Host a flawless Thanksgiving with these smart home tips
Philips Hue Smart Dimmable LED Smart Light Recipe Kit lifestyle

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and if you’re worried about hosting a great party this year, know that your smart home is here to help. We’ve pulled together some simple ways your smart home can be optimized to help you host a flawless Thanksgiving. From building a cozy atmosphere with smart lights to setting Quick Replies on your video doorbell, here’s a look at how your smart home can help throw a stress-free Thanksgiving.
Create a temporary smart lock password

Many smart locks allow you to program temporary passcodes -- and this is an incredibly useful feature when you're hosting. Instead of telling all your guests your permanent passcode, you can create a temporary code that’ll only work on Thanksgiving. This ensures your friends and family can let themselves inside your home if you’re busy without giving them free rein to barge in other times of the year. We’ve put together a comprehensive guide on how to create temporary codes on the Yale Assure Lock 2, but you’ll find a similar process available for most other smart locks.
Use Quick Replies on your video doorbell

Read more
Ring’s Holiday Quick Replies return next week with the Grinch
A cartoon drawing of the Grinch leaning on a Ring Video Doorbell.

Thanksgiving is still on the horizon, but that’s not stopping Ring from getting into the holiday spirit. Starting next week, customers will have access to six seasonal Grinch Quick Replies. Voiced by James Austin Johnson from Saturday Night Live, these offer a fun way to greet visitors with prerecorded messages. All Ring video doorbells (except first-generation models) support the Quick Replies.

The six Quick Replies are spread across two groups -- one group asks your visitors to leave a message, and the other lets them know you’ll be right with them. Getting the Grinch to answer your Ring Doorbell is pretty easy, as you’ll just need to use your mobile companion app. Dive into the Devices menu, find your doorbell, then select Smart Responses. This is where you’ll find all available Quick Replies.

Read more
Best home security camera deals: Ring, Arlo, Blink and more on sale
These are the best security camera deals available right now
Prime Day 2022 security camera deals graphic.

There's a lot to be said about getting a home security camera, but if you live in a place that deals with crime, or even just want to monitor your home, then grabbing a good one can make all the difference. The great thing is that in the past decade or so, security cameras have come a long way, and nowadays, you can get things like wireless security cameras that let you access them remotely from wherever you are through an application. Of course, that does mean that there is a huge selection out there, which is why we've collected some of our favorite security camera deals below, although if you're in the Amazon ecosystem, it might be worth checking out these Ring camera deals.
Arlo Essential Camera (4-pack) -- $180 $370 51% off

The Arlo Essential Spotlight Camera is one of the better wireless cameras out there. Arlo is a brand that’s become a staple in home security cameras. The Essential Spotlight Camera is easy to install and take down for charging, and it offers the conveniences you’ll find in most wireless cameras. These include easy wireless connectivity to your home’s wifi network, which often needs to be done with a hub. This camera has connectivity built right in without the need for additional peripheral equipment. It has a motion sensor and an infrared mode for seeing at night. It has a two-way audio, which can be a good way to ward off intruders or talk with people making deliveries.

Read more