PEOPLE are up in arms about Ring’s upcoming subscription price jump and are considering ditching the device for good.
The Amazon-owned firm announced that the plan used for cloud storage will go up by 43 per cent next month.
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From March 11, customers will be charged £4.99 a month or £49.99 a year for a Basic Ring subscription – an increase from the £3.49 and £34.99 at present.
Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis, 51, has revealed a trick that can lock in the current price for another year – see full instructions at the bottom.
But others are thinking about going for a new smart doorbell instead.
Ring doesn’t allow users to store videos on a local hard drive but there are some alternatives around that do.
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In the long term, this could save you money as you’ll no longer need to subscribe to the cloud to back up video footage recordings.
Here are some worth considering – The Sun has not reviewed any of these but we have shared some buyer review comments on each.
AOSU Wireless Doorbell Camera
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The AOSU Wireless Doorbell Camera comes with a chime that also allows users to plug in an SD card to keep footage locally.
It boasts 2K resolution and up to 120 days of battery life.
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And Alexa or Google Assistant owners can connect it with their account to see who’s at the door from device screens.
A look at one of the Ring doorbell alternatives – the Aosu video doorbell ultra
“In my opinion it is so much better than a ring doorbell, the local storage plus a chime really make it worth the money,” one buyer wrote.
“No more monthly/yearly subscriptions to keep my video events.”
Blink video doorbell
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The inclusion of Blink is somewhat ironic as, like Ring, it too is owned by Amazon.
The difference is Blink allows users to store videos with a “Sync Module”.
Use the Blink app or a computer and you can view saved clips.
Blink’s video doorbell works either wired or with a battery.
If you opt for battery powered, it uses two AAs.
“Close call between the Blink system and the Ring system but we preferred the option of being able to save on the memory stick,” one buyer wrote.
“Excellent system and would highly recommend.”
TP-LINK Tapo
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The TP-LINK Tapo D230S1 2K WiFi video doorbell is another Ring alternative that allows you to store clips locally.
You just need your own memory card to slot into it and recordings will be saved for you.
Despite not being an Amazon product, you can still use Alexa with it.
TP-LINK claims the battery on the device provides 180 days of life.
The video quality is 2K resolution.
“Great quality pictures,” one user said.
“No need for a subscription as you can record onto a SD card which is inserted into the hub.
“You can’t set parameters for triggering recordings like a Ring doorbell so if you live on a busy road movement will be frequently be detected,”
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All prices in this article were correct at the time of writing, but may have since changed.
Always do your own research before making any purchase.
Trick to keep Ring’s current subscription price
There’s a trick that allows you to lock in the current Ring doorbell subscription cost for another year before they increase on March 11.
If you cancel today, you’ll receive a pro-rata refund for the rest of your subscription – it’s penalty free too.
You can then take out an annual subscription for the current price of £34.99 before March 11 when it’ll go up to £49.99.
However, he does warn that this move could result in saved videos being lost, so be sure to check first and consider your options.
To cancel your Ring subscription, follow these instructions:
- Go to Ring.com and log into your account
- Along the top look for Protect Plan and click it
- Look for your subscription plan and click Cancel Plan
- Click Continue
- Choose between cancelling immediately or at the end of the billing cycle – you’ll need to click the first one to benefit from the trick above
- Click Cancel Ring Protect to confirm
