The Ring Video Doorbell, no matter what version you’ve got, is a great smart video doorbell system, which can help you monitor who’s coming to your door, and of course, enable you to chat to callers when you’re away from home.
But like many aspects of the smart home, Ring doorbells and cameras really comes to life when you get them working with Alexa.
Not only can you have your Echo smart speakers acting as advanced ‘chimes’ for your Ring doorbell; i.e. playing a sound and getting an Alexa announcement, you can also see live footage when a doorbell is pressed on any Echo smart display, such as an Echo Show 5, Show 15 or even the ageing Echo Spot.
If you’re the type of person who wants to screen calls before committing to answering the door, then a Ring and Echo smart display could well be the perfect video intercom system for you.
Here’s how to get Alexa and Ring playing nicely.
What can Alexa and Ring do?
If you get Alexa and Ring hooked up, you can access a number of features. If you have an Echo smart speaker with a screen (Echo Show/Echo Spot) you can view your Ring camera on demand, and access two-way audio if someone calls.
However, you don’t just have to be the owner of a shiny Echo Show to take advantage.
You can use Alexa Announcements to get an alert that someone’s at the door, regardless of your Alexa speaker set up – even a third party speaker with Alexa built-in can make an announcement that a Ring doorbell has been pressed.
How to set up Ring and Alexa
We’re going to assume that you’ve set up your Alexa devices and your Ring at this stage, and they’re not wrapped in cellophane, still on your doormat.
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You need to head to the Skills section of the Alexa app and download the Ring Skill. Then you need to type in your Ring login credentials to link your account.
This all seems a bit long winded given Amazon owns Ring, but it’s still the process you need to go through.
Set up Ring and Alexa Announcements
(Image credit: The Ambient)
You can have your Alexa smart speakers alert you to a ring at your doorbell by using Alexa announcements. To get a chime on your speaker you need to have your accounts linked using the Ring Skill.
1. Head back into the Alexa app and head to the Devices page.
2. Find your Ring Doorbell – it will be listed under Cameras or Video Doorbells, depending on what Ring model you are using.
3. Tap on it and then hit the settings cog in the top right corner.
4. Turn on Doorbell Press Announcements. (Turn on Motion Announcements if you want alerts for that too).
5. Tap on Announcement Devices and select all the smart speakers you want to make them.
View your Ring Video Doorbell with Alerts
So you’ve linked your accounts by downloading the Alexa skill. Great. For those who have Amazon Echo Show or Echo Spot you can do some cool stuff.
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Now you can ask “Alexa, show my front door” to get a view on what’s going on outside. When you’re done, you can say “Alexa, hide my front door.”
How to answer your Ring Video Doorbell with Alexa
Another one for Amazon Echo Spot or an Amazon Echo Show users, you can communicate two-way with your doorbell.
To start using two-way communication, just say “Alexa, answer front door” or “Alexa, talk to front door.”
If you’ve already entered Live View by saying “Alexa, show me front door” you can unmute the mic on screen if you want to start talking.
