I’d like to pull the trigger on a purchase for a new Smart Doorbell. It’s a toss up between Ring and Skybell. Does anyone else have a suggestion before I click approve purchase?!
Both get middle of the road reviews, with Skybell usually being preferred because although it has lower quality video, it delivers it more consistently so at least you can see who is at the door. Ring seems to have a lot of problems with streakiness.
I really want this functionality at my house, but I’m holding off on a device purchase for now.
Instead I put an old phone in the window and installed a four dollar baby monitor app which lets me view whoever is there over WiFi. Not a great picture, no video storage, and no integration with anything else, and not intended to view the house when I’m not home, but it does let me see who’s at the door which is what I wanted for now. 
Hmm. JD holding off on the technology might be fair enough for me to hold off as well. Guess I’m just looking for money to spend and can’t seem to find anything else I want yet.
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I have sky bell. It was a waste of money. The camera doesn’t work most days. When you try to talk through the intercom, the visitors can’t hear because the sound is garbeled. Also you must run a b/g wifi network for it to work.
In summary… $200 wasted. 
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I’d be super interested in a non-video doorbell that is compatible with SmartThings. Just a simple weather-proof button that actually looks like a doorbell. I don’t need or want video for a doorbell, just a notification. I think that if a supplier sold a $30-50 compatible doorbell they would have a monopoly on that niche for a while.
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I have Ring and really like it now that they have improved it greatly. The addition or recording is nice, although I wish there would be a centralized recording solution that I could use with my other cameras. Also, smartthings integration would be nice to set the porch light to trigger if it detected motion to alert you.
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I have added a doorbell FAQ since there have been many doorbell topics lately:
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I have a Ring. It’s GREAT. I love it, never fails.
The recording is awesome, the motion detection is awesome, but there is no outside integration yet.
Integrating a doorbell into smartthings is incredibly easy with a few z-wave devices and a powered doorbell.
I’m going to find some time to do a review video on the ring.
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Did you integrate yours?
I had the Doorbot and bough the RING doorbell. I absolutely love it. It works great and the video quality is awesome as is the motion sensing and the cloud recording. I think it is well worth it.
What I am hearing from friends, and also seeing in the Amazon reviews, is that the video works really well for some people, and those people are very happy. For other people, the video stutters or is streaky, and those people are unhappy.
This may just have to do with the architecture of the house and the Wi-Fi signal at that specific square foot.
If so, it would be easy to test by just temporarily placing the device in that location and seeing how it works over 24 hours. (There are reasons why a Wi-Fi device may have different signal strength at different times of day.)
Then if you liked it, it looks like you probably will continue to like it. If you don’t like it, you could return it. If you buy it from somewhere with a good return policy, it may well be worth trying. Because clearly some people are happy with it. Still no smartthings integration, though.
I am sure it has a lot to do with wifi location and signal. My wife is pretty strong and therefore works very well. I am so happy with mine. My friend at work got one and he love his too.
I did not integrate mine yet, didn’t see a purpose (yet).
I have a Skybell 2.0, it’s working reasonably well - Would like ST integration but for being able to see who is at the front door and answer the doorbell in a reverse floorplan house, it’s functional enough. I have it working on an 802.11N network (comcast supplied gateway, pretty far away) and it’s fairly good on RING (when the visitor presses the doorbell) and a little laggy on motion but will detect someone standing at the door for several seconds.
Seems like they are all pretty hit or miss.
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You meant wifi, right? 
Sorry to joke at your expense. 
Example of how auto correct can change the entire intent of a post.
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Ring doorbell works great, they will be getting IFTTT support eventually as well
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Lots of companies promise IFTTT support “eventually,” but never deliver. Or take a year or more. I don’t know whether that’s financial or technical, but that’s a feature I believe when I see, and not before. (I’m quadriparetic and use IFTTT a lot for voice control, so its absence is a big deal for me.)
Hey @rob_thebruce I wanted to apologize for your experience with our product. Skybell is committed to providing an excellent customer experience and as the Community Liaison for Skybell I wanted to reach out to see if we could find a solution to the issues you have encountered while using our product. Feel free to contact me at t.day@skybell.com or call me (949)297-6829.
We are working on a new Z-Wave device that you would add to your wall mounted chime that would act just like a door/window sensor and notify you when someone pushes the door bell. The door bell button would not have to change as the device would be mounted inside the chime.
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