The Ring Indoor Cam is a recently announced entry from the company best known for their doorbell cameras. A traditional low cost indoor model was missing from their lineup and this fills the void.
This isn’t our first rodeo with Ring. We previously looked at the Ring Doorbell and Ring Doorbell Pro. They make solid doorbell cameras with a decent app behind it. The Ring Indoor Cam leverages that app.
Software
You can access the Ring Indoor Cam with your Apple iOS or Android smartphone. Archived video events can be accessed through the Ring web portal. All setup functions use the app.
Ring offers cloud storage starting at a $30 annual subscription fee. A subscription allows you to go back up to sixty days. It’s the only way to go back in time for accessing video archives.
The Ring iOS or Android app is used to setup the camera. It’s a typical setup that detects the camera, asks you to select the wireless network then prompts for the password. The software part is easy. The hardware part was a little tricky, and this is covered in the hardware section of this article.
A motion detection function provides a lot of adjustment options within the app. Motion zones, motion sensitivity and a motion schedule are available customization options. Motion zones are an excellent tool for reducing false motion events as it allows the exclusion of areas that contain movement that you may not want to be alerted for.
The usual video settings can be customized. Nothing unusual here, video rotation, microphone activation, and night vision settings are all adjustable.
A Device Health area within the app is an interesting feature that provides a numerical WiFi strength indicator as well as a firmware update status. You can also check out the Ring System Status from here.
Hardware
This is a traditional indoor camera powered by an A/C adapter. It’s a standard A/C adapter connected to a micro USB ending.
The power adapter is the biggest quirk with this camera. The micro USB end plugs into a recess on the back of the Ring Indoor Cam. It’s a deep recess and the micro USB part doesn’t readily push right in. It needs to be pushed in beyond a simple flush fitting. It’s not readily apparent and led me to wonder if I might have received a dud. After messing around with it for ten minutes, I was able to figure out that the issue being it wasn’t plugged into the recessed port all the way.
The Ring Indoor Cam returns an extraordinarily clear 1080p image. The camera deploys a 140° diagonal, 115° horizontal, 60° vertical lens so placement in any corner should deliver a view of most of the room. The accompanying IR lights deliver an acceptable night video quality.
I have noticed a fish eye effect at the edges of the video. A typical corner placement of the camera will result in rounded side edges. A small drawback but not a showstopper.
A built-in speaker and microphone provide reasonably clear audio quality albeit somewhat delayed. The audio can be accessed from the app. For privacy sake, the microphone can be disabled which is a desirable feature.
There isn’t any on-board storage so you won’t be able to insert a micro SD card for free video archival. You will need to pay for a cloud plan if there’s a need to go back and review some activity.
The Ring Indoor Cam is small. These measure 1.81 in. x 1.81 in. x 2.95 in. without the stand.
The Ring Indoor Cam integrates with the Ring Chime which plugs into an AC outlet and sounds off when motion is detected. Perhaps overkill for an indoor camera, but depending upon your needs, you might find this integration useful. We wrote a detailed article to help make the decision as to if the Chime accessory is necessary.
Connectivity
The Ring Video Doorbell Pro connects via 802.11 b/g/n. Only 2.4 GHz is supported which isn’t surprising for a low priced indoor camera. This should provide adequate capability to receive a WiFi signal within most homes.
Mounts
Ring did a nice job on the mounting options. The Ring Indoor Cam comes with a stand which should prove adequate for popping this on a shelf or table. The stand can be removed and relocated to the back of the camera for wall mounting. Screws for wall mounting are included with the camera. A 1/4″ – 20 thread mounting hole can be found under the small round rubber cap on the back. This means a variety of third party mounts with a tripod screw can be used too.
Fun and Different
The Ring app makes it very easy to customize certain aspects of the Ring Indoor Cam. For example, there is a motion wizard that walks you through properly setting up the motion settings. This feature can be accessed through the app under Motion Settings at the top of the screen.
Summary
The Ring Indoor Cam is a good choice for previous owners and fans of the Ring security camera infrastructure. It integrates quite well into the current app and allows a single portal into multiple cameras. The fish eye effect at the edges is a small distraction, but not a big issue. For those simply looking to add an indoor camera at a low price into the Ring app, this is a good solution.
Quick Specs:
| Video Quality | Field of View | Cloud Support | SD Support | Night Vision | Mobile/Web App | Alerts | Outdoor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p | 115 Degrees | Yes | No | Yes | Yes/Yes | Yes | No |
Manufacturer Link: Ring