You can spend an awful lot on a doorbell these days but Ring’s Video Doorbell Wired shows that you it’s possible to get all the features you need without breaking the bank.
It keeps costs down by including only the essentials in the box, meaning you’re not wasting money on accessories that you don’t need. You can buy them, of course, if you do need them, but in many cases you won’t.
As the name suggests, the doorbell requires wires for power. But even if you don’t have a powered doorbell already, Ring sells a plug-in adaptor which makes installation easy if you have a mains socket somewhere near your front door.
The same Ring app is used for all its doorbells, so the experience is just as good as if you had the most expensive model and, surprisingly, the Doorbell Wired supports pre-roll just like the Doorbell Pro 2. That captures movement before motion was first detected, or the doorbell was pressed, so you get to see more of the event, unlike doorbells which only start recording the moment (or seconds after) something happened.
In between events, you can specify in the app that ‘photos’ are taken regularly which, again, helps you know what’s going on in the absence of a continuous recording option.
To record at all you’ll need to subscribe to Ring Protect, but it’s only a couple of pounds or dollars per month, and even less if you pay annually.
With a nice, wide field of view and decent HD image quality, the Video Doorbell Wired is easy to recommend and that’s why it lands the title of Best Smart Home Product of the Year 2021.
If you’re tempted to pick one up, you can buy the Ring Video Doorbell Wired right now:
Check out the rest of the Tech Advisor Awards for 2021.
