How to Fix Short Battery Life on Your Ring Device
A Ring doorbell or security camera with a short battery life can be a major inconvenience, requiring frequent recharging and potentially leaving your home unprotected. If you're finding that your Ring device's battery is draining much faster than expected, this guide will help you understand the causes and provide actionable solutions to extend its life.
## Key Factors That Drain Your Ring's Battery
The battery life of your Ring device is not a fixed number; it's highly dependent on its usage and environment. The more work the device does, the faster its battery will deplete.
- Motion Event Frequency: This is the single biggest factor. Every time your device detects motion, it wakes up from a low-power state, turns on the camera, records a video, and sends a notification over Wi-Fi. In a high-traffic area, this can happen hundreds of times a day.
- Live View Usage: Activating the Live View to see what's happening in real-time consumes a significant amount of power.
- Wi-Fi Signal Strength: If your device has a weak connection to your Wi-Fi router, it has to work harder and use more power to maintain the link and upload video clips.
- Cold Weather: Lithium-ion batteries, like the one in your Ring device, are less effective in cold temperatures. As the temperature drops towards freezing, the battery's capacity is temporarily reduced.
- Advanced Settings: Features like advanced motion detection and snapshot capture require the device to be active more often, which uses more battery.
## Step-by-Step Guide to Improving Battery Life
You can make several adjustments within the Ring app to significantly reduce battery consumption.
### Step 1: Optimise Your Motion Settings
Controlling how and when your device detects motion is crucial.
- Adjust Motion Zones: Go to your device's Motion Settings > Edit Motion Zones. Make sure your zones only cover the areas you care about. Exclude any high-traffic areas, like a public pavement or a busy road. Even swaying tree branches can trigger motion events.
- Lower Motion Sensitivity: In the Motion Settings, use the Motion Sensitivity slider. If it's set to maximum, it will pick up events far away. Try reducing it to a lower level.
- Change Motion Frequency: This is a powerful setting. Go to Advanced Settings > Motion Frequency. The default is "Regularly," which records events back-to-back. Changing this to "Standard" or "Light" will introduce a short delay after a motion event, preventing a constant stream of recordings if there's continuous activity.
### Step 2: Check Your Device's Health and Wi-Fi Signal
A healthy connection prevents the device from wasting power.
- In the Ring app, go to the dashboard and select your device.
- Tap on Device Health.
- Look for Signal Strength under the "Network" section.
- The RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) value is key. An RSSI between -40 and -60 is good. An RSSI of -65 or higher (e.g., -70) indicates a poor signal that will drain your battery.
- Solution: If the signal is weak, try moving your Wi-Fi router closer to the Ring device or install a Wi-Fi extender like the Ring Chime Pro.
### Step 3: Manage Other Power-Intensive Features
- Snapshot Capture: This feature takes periodic snapshots between motion events. While useful, it does consume extra battery. You can adjust its frequency or disable it under Device Settings > Snapshot Capture.
- Advanced Motion Detection: This refined detection feature also uses more power. If battery life is your top priority, you can turn this off in the Advanced Settings menu.
By methodically reviewing and adjusting these settings, you can find the right balance between robust security and reasonable battery life. Start by optimising your motion zones and frequency, as these changes often have the most significant positive impact on performance.