Buyers Remorse Topic

Did you mean the Dome Siren from the works with Ring category? Or something else?

55 dB - typical room air conditioner

70 dB - level which will wake most adults with normal hearing

85 dB - typical doorbell or interconnected smoke alarm. Prolonged sound or frequent exposure at this level or above can cause permanent hearing loss

105 dB - Dome Siren max

110 dB - max allowed residential indoor security siren in most US jurisdictions

120 dB - max allowed residential outdoor security siren in SOME US jurisdictions, but most are 110 dB

Yes, the dome siren. Just to have it alert more around the house. I wish the Ring Alarm would trigger the sirens on the Ring cameras.

1 Like

Can’t you have Ring announce through Alexa?

Alexa will announce any motion or doorbell activity from a Ring camera. I have not found a way to have Alexa announce other activity from sensors although I’m sure this can be setup through Routines. Webcore can also trigger an alarm sound through Echo devices as well as Echo Speaks. There is some jumping through hoops to get this to work in conjunction with the Ring Alarm.

Sorry to hear you’re remorseful? I have a terrible cold right now. At least I now understand why I clicked “purchase” :joy:
I too, already have a stand-alone security system.

Mine arrives on Thursday. Was hunting around for feedback on the siren. 85 dB doesn’t sound like it will “shake up” intruders enough. I like to create a very unsettling experience for them. That’s what I do with our current system. I have two additional (proprietary unfortunately) external sirens in the house in not very accessible spaces. Only problem is, any false alarms are also very jarring to the family. :anguished:

Anyway I hope it’s growing on you and I don’t end up crying in my beer too. :wink:

1 Like

We’ve had a chance to play with it a little. First thing: the Z wave smartstart is really nice. Adding a device just requires scanning the QR code.

Also, the devices came with batteries installed ready to go, which I appreciate since I have to pay somebody else for the time to put in batteries. :money_mouth_face:

I like a lot of the features on it, including the ability to dim the indicator light which is super bright at Max.

The engineering is nice, I like the wall mounts a lot.

Anyway, I could definitely use it to substitute for the Wink which appears to be EOL, with the added bonus of the monitoring, which at $10 a month is obviously affordable.

Also it looks like the panic button is dog friendly, which my other security system is not.

The sensors work with echo routines, which is one of the things I wanted and again, doesn’t happen with my current security system.

So we’re going to run both for another year and then see if we think we can get rid of the other one or not. But just the dog friendly button and the echo integration is probably worth it for us. :sunglasses::dog:

3 Likes

Great feedback. Thanks! Love to play, so I’m looking forward to it. Have been very curious about whether or not Smartstart lived up to the hype, so that’s very encouraging to learn.
:+1:t2:

Can the motion sensor be used with Alexa routines when the system is disarmed?

Yep! Works great, the motion sensor can turn the lights on via an Alexa routine even though the ring alarm system doesn’t react to it because the system is disarmed. :sunglasses:

1 Like

Between Ring Alarm, Alexa, and SmartThings. I have automations and routines in place with all of Rings devices. Sensors, cameras, motion sensors, camera lights. It’s taken a bit of time to program it all but it seems to be working nicely so far. I was struggling with Ring Alarm integration with ST but I really don’t care anymore since I can tell Alexa to arm and disarm my alarm.

2 Likes

And in the “of course they did“ category…:scream:

Of course 3 weeks after I buy the Ring security system, Abode finally adds HomeKit compatibility to their iota system. And the reviews are good.

So now do I pack up Ring and send it back? Order iota and try it before deciding? If I wait for Black Friday, the ring return period Will have ended. Just grumble all day and keep ring? :rage:

How much is being able to see the camera on my watch really worth to me?

1 Like

Oh man, of course they did!

1 Like

I think it comes down to a matter of longevity. There are a lot of “do it yourself” security companies out there right now. I don’t think Ring is going to be leaving anytime soon. Personally, I’m an Alexa household and I like having Alexa announce when there is activity around my house. Can you do that with Adobe? Perhaps now with the HomeKit integration. It also doesn’t look like you get a lot of camera options with like you do with Ring.

Things to consider. You can always return Ring for Adobe and if Adobe doesn’t work out, get Ring again.

The thing is I got the Ring package on a super good deal. I might have to wait awhile to match that price a second time. :disappointed_relieved:

I’m liking the Ring. Putting my iSmartAlarm up for sale, but it’s been a darn good alarm, no complaints there. Just can’t get pro monitoring that we now want.

Your post made me blib for a few seconds too, but the HomeKit integration with Ring isn’t officially off the table yet. I know it’s less likely but it was promised and was still on the table a few months ago.

I’m using a community Hubitat integration that’s working really well. I understand there’s a few community SmartThings integration too, and the official one. I like the Alexa Guard integration, but that too isn’t a big a selling point now that you can activate Alexa Guard from Alexa routines. That makes any alarm that’s integrated with your hub capable of working together with Guard, sort of.

I get your dilemma, but I’m staying put for now. I have until January to make the same decision. :grimacing:

1 Like

Talked to my roommates, we decided not to get the iota at this time but stick with Ring and the other contract security system that we have. The cameras on Ring just seem to be much better, even though I can’t get camera view on the watch. So far we’re liking everything about the ring security system except for the lack of HomeKit compatibility. The integration with Alexa is good for voice, OK for routines (you can arm, but not disarm.)

So not one iota? :joy: Sorry, couldn’t resist
:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

You should be able to accomplish what isn’t native via an integration with the hub. I don’t know the difference between the Hubitat and the SmartThings community app and DTH, but the Hubitat community integration is based on the work first done on SmartThings if I’m not mistaken. However, I do know that quite a lot of work was put in to it, and the results are quite good.

1 Like

You can disarm Ring with Alexa. You have to setup a security pin code in the Alexa app.

As I said,

The integration with Alexa is good for voice, OK for routines (you can arm, but not disarm.)

There’s no way to disarm with a routine yet, right? Or did I miss one?

Ahh. Disarm with routine, not yet. Probably for security reasons. Just curious, why would you want to disarm Ring with a routine?

Hands free Disarm when I arrive home. Common use case. :sunglasses: