Do you pay for a Ring camera subscription?

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insertitherenow@reddit

I got the blink camera and sync module 2 in the prime deal. You don’t need a subscription with that as it saves to flash drive.

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I went with Tapo cameras they have the option for a subscription to store your videos on their cloud servers or you can use them with no subscription and save to a micro SD card. You can still use the mobile app to access and download your videos remotely for free.

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TheNorthernMunky@reddit

I’ve got a doorbell and two cameras outside, and pay the subscription because it also acts as an ongoing warranty (they already replaced a 2-year-old floodlight cam). That said, I’m replacing them soon with a locally-hosted solution.

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OneNormalBloke@reddit

Please share if there is a locally-hosted option available?

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TheNorthernMunky@reddit

I’m looking at Reolink cameras with a PVR. It’s part of a wider move away from the Alexa ecosystem and into Home Assistant (because I’m sick of them using my Echo Show 15 as a billboard in my kitchen).

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terahurts@reddit

We've got a single Reolink one, two AUSO ones and a couple of Blink cameras (all but the Blink ones were freebies). I set the Reolink one up last week to film the two urban foxes that visit out back garden. Easy to set up and not having to faff with cloud subs or a base station for storage is great. Took me about 10 mins to fix install in the garden and 5 minutes to install a lightweight FTP server on our HTPC to save the footage.

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TheNorthernMunky@reddit

Ooh, I’ve got a Mini PC running Home Assistant OS. I wonder if I can set up an FTC server on there instead of buying a PVR. Will look into that - thanks.

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terahurts@reddit

I don't know anything about HA OS, but if it's Linux based, should be a doddle to set-up.

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ozaz1@reddit

What do you intend to use instead of Echo Show?

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TheNorthernMunky@reddit

I’ve bought a 16-inch touchscreen and have a spare Raspberry Pi. I have home assistant running on a Mini PC, so the Pi will essentially just be used to run a kiosk browser.

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CurvePuzzleheaded361@reddit

Yes. No regrets as i like the peace of mind. Cheaper options with no subscription model are simply not as good or reliable

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tmr89@reddit

It’s really important to receive notifications when a car drives past your house, or to watch the postman deliver a letter

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Simple-Sell8450@reddit

Not a bloody chance. I use a non-ring camera that records footage to a micro SD card and is accessed through a mobile app.

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BoiledEggOnToast@reddit

I have a Reolink WiFi doorbell with a 128GB memory card in. It works great and has a lot of customisation for sensitivity levels and recording times. In a couple of months I’ll look to create a FTP server and run the recording 24/7.

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ozaz1@reddit

I pay, but I have cameras + alarm system. The main benefit I like is the mobile backup for the alarm system.

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bio4m@reddit

Same, its also cheaper than a traditional home alarm system subscription

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MoshizZ@reddit

We do because I have 2 cameras and the doorbell, but also have the full alarm system so I’m kinda tied into it unless I wanna be up a ladder swapping everything for an entire weekend.

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odkfn@reddit

I do - if I recall the price doesn’t really vary even if you have loads of cameras - I have 4, so I don’t grudge it too much. I probably wouldn’t pay it for a single camera.

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uberluke86@reddit

I have had ring cameras for about 6 years now. Front door, driveway, the garden spot light, one down the side of my house, one in my garage, one in my front room and one in my kitchen. I bought them all in the Amazon sales over about two years. I don’t think the subscription has increased massively over the time I’ve had them, my only issue is the one off charge comes out inbetween Xmas and new year from when I first subscribed. It’s less than £8 a month, its definitely recouped that over the time we have had it (more having the cameras than the subscription, guess would of been the same for different brands)

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Tixanna@reddit

I don't pay for the subscription. I only use it as a doorbell and occasionally to check the live footage. The guy in the apartment opposite me has a eufy so if I ever needed the footage he'd give me his.

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Indigo-Waterfall@reddit

I do because I had a couple years of two strange men coming to my house, repeatedly knocking at my door and looking in my windows . I wanted to have the evidence saved to look back on. It can be super useful. I only pay £50 a year though… I hope it’s not gone up to £80 as I can’t afford that for sure.

There’s definitely many other options though, so I wouldn’t get tied down to ring.

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cmVkZGl0MjAyNQ@reddit

You can either pay per device or per property- I think 2 devices is cheaper per device and after 3 the per-property price is better, though they added new plans and made things more confusing last year

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Every_Individual_25@reddit

Don’t like subscribing so chose Tapo for local storage but don’t like that the SD card in outside, such a bover 😏 and Tapo cameras are way too sensitive to rain 🌧️

Now using Blink for doorbell, internal and external cameras which use an indoor module and USB storage which centralises all of them. Have bought a second module to separate interior from exterior but not fitted yet.

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Feeling_History8348@reddit

No I have a tapo they have a subscription to save stuff to the cloud but I got a micro SD card and just record to that so you don't need to sub.

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811545b2-4ff7-4041@reddit

I did in the past when it was the only option, but they hiked the price up a few years ago so I moved over to Team Eufy and didn't look back.

Subscriptions for stuff that can be 'self hosted' is stupid. My videos are all stored on a memory card inside my house.

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Advanced_Volume_4500@reddit

Same with me. Had 2 ring cameras and a doorbell. Now tapo cameras and eufy doorbell(although it has some issues reading the files).

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angvickeen@reddit

I pay and when I asked on Reddit about it, I got called a cheap skate. I only pay for the door bell and use the internal one for live footage only. If I was looking to replace then I’d choose a different provider. I use Blink for the security light camera and that works for free with a memory card.

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wildOldcheesecake@reddit

Just as expected for Reddit lol especially on bigger subs where give mad is massive.

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iitsPredator@reddit

Had it while it was cheaper but since the price kept creeping up we ended up biting the bullet and got a proper cctv system with hard drive so it’s not affected by wifi issues. We still have the ring doorbell and it’s handy for seeing who is at the door at the time and notifying us through Alexa!

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ajh489@reddit

I don't mind the concept of a subscription, as there is a lot of convenience in not having a storage drive at home (which is what I used to have). Plus the Ring app makes it very easy to scroll back in time, extract images and download videos. That's worth paying something for.

Whether or not it's worth the current subscription price is up to you. Plus, as others have said, Amazon can increase it at any moment.

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wildflower12345678@reddit

No, we got several around the house inside and out, that is not Ring and no subscription. It has a memory card and can be viewed live or historic on the phone app. You can get a subscription if you want more options, but we don't bother as it's unneeded for us.

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Sa-SaKeBeltalowda@reddit

I’ve bought some cheap doorbell on aliexpress, it uses microsd for video and own cloud for notifications and pictures. No subscriptions, but movement detection has a lot of false triggers. Apart of that - works great, £25 for the thing itself, £10 for power supply and £6 for resistor, all installation is DIY-able.

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kbm79@reddit

I do. For now. Just ordered a Tapo camera. Once its installed and im happy with it, i will replace the Ring doorbell.

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Gloomy_Custard_3914@reddit

I do yes but I hate that I have to. I already paid for the camera itself why am I continuing to pay. Capitalism drives me crazy.

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RaymondBumcheese@reddit

No, I specifically looked for one with no subscription. Went with TP link in the end as it integrates with my other smart home stuff. Its a bit chunky but works perfectly.

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MintyMarlfox@reddit

No, I bought Eufy as it’s subscription free and records everything to a HDD in the Homebase. And the cameras are wired in so can record 24/7.

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TimorousWarlock@reddit

No, I use frigate as my NVR. I don't know if ring support rtsp, though, mine is an amcrest.

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Pancovnik@reddit

No, when I saw it is a subscription model I immediately decided not to.

I bought an NVR with POE cameras. Yes, it was a bit more expensive, but the recording in on my hard drives, not in the cloud and I am in control of it.

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sucksblueeggs@reddit

No fucking way. They can and will jack the price up whenever they feel like and you don’t have an option but to suck it up or replace the whole system

We went with Tapo for doorbell and outdoor cameras. They record to a hub with a micro SD card in it. Pretty cheap to buy into and no subscription necessary

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lavayuki@reddit

I don’t. I am with Eufy because I don’t want to pay the subscription and it works great. I got them in the prime sale. There are a lot of better alternatives for security over Ring. I much prefer Eufy over Ring. Ring just has the better alarm system.

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eraserway@reddit

We pay for it, begrudgingly. It’s a bit of a piss take really.

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starwars011@reddit (OP)

How come you don’t go for one of their competitors? (Such as Eufy).

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D1789@reddit

We did for a while, but we no longer do since the price jumped up a lot. Still have the doorbell though. At some point, we’ll probably look for an alternative - maybe even just a cam in general and not door bell cam - but haven’t yet put any effort into researching options.

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ZeroCool5577@reddit

Yeah we have a doorbell and camera in the garden although not cheap I’m happy to pay it as it’s decent for basic security

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nolinearbanana@reddit

No - you're paying for an extensive advertising campaign.

There are plenty of alternatives these days that are good quality (this wasn't always the case).

You need one that has offline storage separate to the door bell itself. Look at Eufy for example.

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Kmoodle@reddit

I do and it annoys me it's so expensive but I have two ring devices as both our front and back door are accessible and it makes me feel a lot safer so more than worth it really.

I've not looked at alternatives mainly because lazy but I do like the convenience of the ring app and how easy it is for us to check the cameras should we need.

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Pocket_Aces1@reddit

If I buy a product, I want to use that product without issue. Why should I have to pay x amount per year (which they will eventually increase), to use a product I paid for.

They should offer cloud storage options but the other features hidden behind a paywall will always put me off. Even if it was a "reasonable" price, there's no saying they will keep that price.

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CynicalSorcerer@reddit

I went with Eufy cameras a couple of years ago, I subscription.

If your an Apple fanboy like me, you even get online storage with Apple One.

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Dont-settle-for-him@reddit

I have the doorbell and a couple of cameras.

It's more than doubled since I signed up, but we use them all the time for keeping an eye on the house and verifying deliveries etc.

It's worth it for peace of mind.

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CanIhazCooKIenOw@reddit

I'm following this because I was just thinking about getting one on prime day...

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