Ring alarm: cheap alarm system test to install yourself

Design and manufacturing 9

Alarm ring test: a house alarm really within everyone’s reach ?

The product, made up of five accessories, is supposed to meet all user protection needs and easy enough to install and use for the general public. Deal ?

• Ring alarm: Content of the box
• Design: more functional aesthetic
• Installation and pairing: disconcerting simplicity
• Connectivity: a large coverage area with the Z-Wave protocol
• Almost instant detection
• Software: an elegant but sometimes confused interface
• An integration still in work with Alexa
• Ring Alarm: Clubic opinion

Ring alarm: Content of the box

Before going into detail of the different features offered by the Alarm ring, let’s see what the brand offers us in this basic kit.

• Base station with siren 104 dB
• Keyboard
• Scope amplifier
• 1 movement detector
• 1 contact sensor
• Fixing supports
• Cables

The box seems very complete at first glance, with a large number of supports and accessories to properly install each piece of the kit. Despite everything … only two detectors ? We can only protect a window or door with this set and detect movements in a room only. It will therefore be necessary to choose your locations with care.

To increase the coverage of your apartment or your house, you will obviously have to go to the checkout and opt for a davator pack supplied as detectors but also more expensive.

© Mathieu Grumiaux for Clubic

Design: more functional aesthetic

For this Ring alarm kit has not sought to revolutionize the sector or even impose a particular aesthetic paw, but rather focus on manufacturing quality.

© Mathieu Grumiaux for Clubic

The different accessories are all made in a very long-distance white plastic but which fits in just about all interiors. The sensors have a completely reasonable size and forget quickly after installation, especially if the walls of your home are white or clear.

The base, which also acts as a mermaid, is a white square beast with rounded edges. Only the appearance of a blue circle, as well as the logo all in simplicity of the ring, in the middle of the loudspeaker when it is lit adds a small touch of originality. And we can deactivate this display for even more sobriety. This station can be placed on a piece of furniture or fixed on a wall thanks to the attachment system supplied.

© Mathieu Grumiaux for Clubic

The keyboard offers him a more assertive aspect to the whole. The keys are immense, as well as the different buttons allowing to arm and disarm the entire system. We could regret this choice of design, which is more reminiscent of a toy, but we lose aesthetics what we gain in practicality, especially when you return to your accommodation at nightfall. Impossible to be mistaken when entering your code.

© Mathieu Grumiaux for Clubic

If the various accessories provided by ring do not remain memories for their appearance, we can nevertheless salute their manufacturing quality and their level of finishes. They are robust, do not crack when manipulates them and do not fear a fall or a shock. And that is ultimately all that we ask them.

Installation and pairing: disconcerting simplicity

Installation is the point that can be afraid when you want to install such a alarm system at home. And Ring understood this since each step of the process has been simplified to the maximum.

To start it is necessary to download the Ring mobile application, available on iOS and Android and to create a user account. The procedure requires double authentication with the sending of a code by email.

The installation is then fully assisted by many tutorials in images but also in very didactic video.

As we said above, the alarm power plant can be fixed to the ground but can just as well land on a piece of furniture, provided that it is placed near an electrical outlet. However, a rescue battery provides 24 hours of autonomy in the event of a power outage. To connect it, you can connect it live to your Internet box via the Ethernet port but also use Wi-Fi.

In the event of an internet cut, Ring Alarm can also operate via the mobile network but you will need to subscribe to the Ring Protect Plus program at € 10/month. In fact the brand does not offer a SIM port to add its own mobile package to encourage subscription.

Then make way for the installation of the contact sensor and again the Ring application gives the procedure to follow for a successful implementation. The two parts that make it up are fitted with adhesive surfaces. Just stick them on your door or window and its frame and then enter the fitted part in the software. In a few minutes the sensor is functional.

© Mathieu Grumiaux for Clubic

The movement sensor follows the same procedure. Ring recommends a height installation to cover the entire supervised part. An adhesive support allows it to be placed, without screws, in the corner of a room. Then just fit the sensor and finalize the connection in the application.

© Mathieu Grumiaux for Clubic

The keyboard can be placed on your stuck-up or on a table or near your entrance by screwing it to the wall with the integrated support. It is loaded in USB-C via the port located on its upper part.

Connectivity: a large coverage area with the Z-Wave protocol

The different sensors of the Alarm ring communicate with the base thanks to the Z-Wave radio protocol. Designed for home automation, it allows you to create a mesh network between different equipment but it is also more secure and more energy efficient for accessories operating on batteries or on small batteries.

To ensure good coverage in the largest accommodation, Ring provides an amplifier to connect to an electrical outlet located between the base station and the most distant sensors of it. In the event of a power outage, an integrated battery allows it to operate additional 24 hours.

© Mathieu Grumiaux for Clubic

We did not need to use the amplifier during our tests. Even by placing the motion sensor at the end of our apartment, an area of ​​around 75m2, the connection remained perfectly stable between the different devices. We appreciate however that Ring offers the default accessory and not as a paid option, which further facilitates the installation of the different elements.

Almost instant detection

The Alarm ring offers three operating modes. The “deactivated” mode, which cuts all the sensors connected to the system, the “outside” mode which activates them and a “home” mode which allows you to use only a few predefined sensors when we are at home.

We can in this last mode act for example only the local sensors installed on the windows but not the motion sensors in the different rooms.

© Mathieu Grumiaux for Clubic

To activate one of these different modes, simply go through the mobile application or the keyboard, by typing your personal four -digit code and then press the corresponding button.

The various detectors placed in the house immediately notified us when they spotted the slightest movement. There is less than a second between detection and receiving a notification on the phone.

Note that it is possible to place the movements detector in “part” mode to immediately warn you of an intrusion or in “input” mode which differs the sending of a notification time to deactivate the alarm system upon your arrival. The sensitivity of the movement detector can be adjusted, if you have a pet, in order to avoid receiving an alert for each walk from your faithful companion.

It is then up to you to trigger from the Ring the Sirène mobile application of 104 dB in case of intrusion. The sound is rather powerful, even if we could only start it for a few seconds so as not to manhandle the ears of our neighbors.

By default the number of alerts sent is very important, perhaps too much in our eyes, especially when restarting the device, but it is possible to go to the mobile application settings to withdraw certain notifications.

Software: an elegant but sometimes confused interface

The Ring application is at the heart of the user experience. To do this Ring offers an extremely refined interface that starts with a home page offering the three buttons representing the different armaments modes of the alarm but also a history of activity and shortcuts to pair other accessories of the brand.

The rest of the options are grouped in a menu located at the top left of the software and allows access to the settings of each sensor or the account information.

We can also create several user accounts so that each family member can access the Alarm ring limited. Indeed the sensor settings remain reserved for the main account to guarantee the safety of the installation.

We regret, however, that these options are placed in submenus not frankly accessible at first glance.

Also during our use we had the right to notifications or confirmation emails entirely in English which could confuse users little at ease with the language of Shakespeare. The launch of Ring Alarm in France is very recent and the painting still seems fresh, let’s leave Amazon for a few weeks to fully locate the user experience.

An integration still in work with Alexa

Ring being a property of Amazon, it was inconceivable not to find in Ring Alarm a bridge with the intelligent assistant Alexa. To pilot your device by voice it is necessary to link your ring account to your Amazon account and then install the Skill Alexa on its connected speaker.

Unfortunately, if the installation went well, it was impossible for us to arm or disarm the alarm, even using the vocal orders recommended by the company. Again we are waiting for an update of the service to work properly.

Ring Alarm: Clubic opinion

Ring alarm is a product that has hit us in our eyes with its extreme simplicity. The installation of the various accessories is within everyone’s reach (especially your servant and his very limited DIY skills) and it only takes a few minutes to install all the equipment.

The software part is amendment with only a few orders to memorize to start the alarm system in a few seconds. Only an interface sometimes muddled and some translation concerns tarnish an experience despite everything very pleasant and intuitive.

At € 299 per basic kit, Ring Alarm will be the perfect product for many individuals, tenants as owners, who wish to provide additional protection to their accommodation. Nice introduction to the American brand even if we always find that only two sensors at this price, it’s too little.

Alarm ring

Ring alarm is a first choice solution for individuals. The American brand for its first foray into France offers a product that is both complete and accessible. In addition, it is very modular and makes it possible to strengthen its installation with the purchase of other accessories such as cameras or additional detectors.

Too bad the brand only offers two sensors in this starter kit. At € 299 we could have expected a little more to equip the most at risk of your residence.

• Intuitive mobile application
• Manufacturing quality of equipment
• Simplicity of installation
• Many accessories provided

• Two detectors are a bit fair
• Accounting with inoperative Alexa
• No SIM port

Design and manufacturing 9

Ring alarm: cheap alarm system test to install yourself

The new alarm ring is the second generation of the surveillance kit to install yourself. It looks very much like the original, apart from a few minor technical modifications, and costs 249 euros for the 5 -room or 279 euros kit when it is accompanied by a camera. The similarity with the previous model is a very good thing because it was the best affordable security system that we had tested at the time. It’s a good choice if you want a simple and inexpensive surveillance kit.

Kits to cover from 5 to 10 pieces

The Ring Alarm range available in France has a basic kit for 5 rooms (€ 249), another for 7 rooms (€ 279) and a kit for 10 rooms (€ 329). Ring offers as an option a professional surveillance service called Ring Protect Plus for 10 euros per month or 100 euros per year. It includes in particular assisted monitoring by the Ring teams and a warranty extension on all ring devices.

The Ring Alarm kits are scalable and we can add an external mermaid (€ 79), contact sensors for doors or windows (€ 25 part), a motion detector (€ 35) or even a amplifier of a amplifier Signal (€ 29).

The kit is compatible with other ring devices, including the interior camera and video bells. Thus, if you have a camera or a ring and a ring and subscribe to the Ring Protect Plus subscription, your equipment will record a video if the security system detects an unexpected activity.

You can also use an Alexa speaker or screen to switch or cut the system. Note: If you ask Alexa to deactivate the alarm, you will have to state the four -digit secret PIN code that you enter the physical keyboard to arm and disarm the system.

The Ring Alarm system test

We have not tested the voice command via Alexa or the Ring Protect Plus service. The ring kit is easy to install. You must first download the application and create an account and then follow the step -by -step instructions. It didn’t take us more than 15 minutes to configure everything from start to finish. Some of the equipment, including the digital keyboard, is provided with a wall fixing kit.

To test the system, we walked in front of the motion detector and opened the doors and windows equipped with break -in. We have also tested the armament and disarmament of the system, both from the app and the keyboard. The siren provided with the kit is powerful. It can be programmed so that it is triggered when an unexpected activity is detected or at any time from an application button.

The sensors, the keyboard and the application worked as planned, sending alerts to our phone, cutting and activating the alarm. The digital keyboard has three dedicated keys to contact emergency services.

Ring has implemented measures that facilitate access and adjustment of confidentiality and security parameters, in particular by requiring two -facts authentication for its devices equipped with a camera.

Conclusion

We appreciate the Ring Alarm security kit. It is inexpensive, simple and works well. The integration of Alexa and the range of accessories make it an evolutionary alarm system. A good option for those looking for a surveillance solution to install affordable yourself.

Read the full test

• Writing note