I have a friend that doesnt like the cloud based smart home stuff and thinks thats there should be a "kill-switch", do you have that in your smart home? like if anything goes haywire?
I wouldn't touch Ring products if they paid me to use them. Amazon has been proven to use existing ring devices in someoneelse's so that devices that are not connected to the network can call home anyway. That means they have created a backdoor into you device so they can use it as they see fit. So if you connect them to your zigbee devices that backdoor now has a way in to the rest of your home network. They are a MAJOR security threat.
I fully get why companies want to push for the monthly fees but there is absolutely no reason for basic features to go through a cloud based service. Keep things local!
I’ve been using ring for about almost 2 years now I love them. I just don’t like the fact how people want Rang to give out free services in the people that don’t have a businesses have this type of mindset if everything in life was free. How would we make a living? How would the people at ring make a living if they decided let’s give out free subscriptions and no one have to pay for nothing they would go bankrupt for paying for all those employees y’all are thinking like this because y’all don’t have a business so you don’t know what it takes to run a business.
Arlo did the same thing recently.. they decided they would disable my perfectly functional 3 year old Arlo cameras unless I paid a new monthly fee they decided to invent out of thin air. I dropped them instantly, and will never go back.
Yes true what a bummer , I’ve had alro for years now heck they charge a premium for these devices the nerve to push these fees and disable a once perfectly working camera is appalling
I'm using home assistant and a HACS integration called Alarmo, Works very well with zigbee and z-wave door, window and motion sensors and smart door locks. Been using this for over a year now and works very well.
I use Abode smart home security and love it. Works great with home assistant and all my automations and their sensors use RF so they work in much greater distance than z wave or ZigBee. In my 4500 SQ ft historic home their sensors were the only ones that could make it all the way from basement windows to attic windows without losing signal. Also they have plans that are free. I chose to have ours monitored so I pay an annual fee but you don't need to if you don't want to.
I abandoned Ring a while back because of their subscription approach without added utility. Your video just reinforces their "money grab". Thanks for posting your thoughts.
I used to work for a home security company. Similar to ADP. They had super aggressive sales approaches and made getting out of a contract hell. I could never figure out how ring matched everything we did and was waaaaat cheaper. I guess it wasn't enough to stay afloat and raising prices had to happen. With that said stay away from any company that requires contracts. The only time they'd make an exception is if the person died. Can't pay your bill? Sending you to collections. I hated it
Yeah I think we are starting to see Amazon's business approach more clearly. Take a loss selling things to gain market share and users. Squeeze out the competition and then raise prices when you stuck with them.
@@reedssmarthome even if prices go up it's still better than being locked into a contract. But Ring is being shitty. Luckily there are lots of diy smart home solutions. Just as you were saying with home assistant
I was one of those ADT customers. Over $50 a month for a device with no remote access, no cameras, no way to know the status until I get home. Ring was a godsend. $100/year has been the best move we've made for any service provider. Sounds like the fun is over. I'm sure I'll be back up to $50/mo if this is their new M.O.
Well one key way Ring did it is by not paying all those aggressive sales people/scammers. Payroll is usually the largest cost. They also (obviously) weren't operating on fat margins that ADT is (or more likely was now that they have discount competition). And yeah, you may have worked for a scummy, sleezy, proudly unethical security company but at least it was Vivint. Didn't think any company could make ADT not look that bad..
@@curtisbme I watched that company basically ruin people's lives. Oh you lost your job? Too bad. Sold your home oh well have to keep paying for the security unless you can convince new owners to take it. I didn't getany sales compared to my coworkers. They would convince grieving people to take over the contract
From the ground up ive built my home automation to be everything in house (besides 2 Tuya Lights and 2 LIFX lights i got in the early days). Most of sensors and switches are now Zigbee I used to be a WiFi only guy but since making the move over to Zigbee life has been sweet, especially with Ikea Smart bulbs and Aqara Switches/sensors. For Cameras ive gone with ones that support RTSP, Grabbed my self a google coral USB to use Frigate linked back to home assistant. All in all everything is internal that i need to function reliably so i know if something is not working as its likely my own fault not a cloud provider going down or charging to use a feature, This is also bundled with the alarmo HACS plugin to allow me to use my Aqara door/window/motion sensors and get notifications to my phone, turn lights on, set my google home to play alarms and trigger my outdoor siren. All in all it works for me and ive ended up with a solid zigbee network all over the house thanks to the Ikea smart bulbs acting as routers
I think, unfortunately, this is becoming the norm. Many companies, like Amazon, IFTTT, etc., started on free then start charging. I’m glad your fighting this & hopefully more aggregators will pick up this sword. I don’t use Home Assistant, but I’m pretty sure you can use the ring sensors with SmartThings. I think Bud’s Home automation log showed how to pair these with ST’s.
Same happens to online gaming. I'm playing some games for almost 10 years, at first I could easily do all regular goals completely for free. If I wanted something extra I could buy some in-game gems. But now they become more and more impossible to play without regularly making some in-app purchases. Goals are no more achievable without paying real money.
I already saw it was mentioned, I also use the Alarmo intergration in Home Assistant. The learning curve may be a bit steep but results in an alarm system like Verisure. No external followup unfortunaly, you need to ask a neighbour.
My 11-year-old home has a wired traditional security system that I spec'ed when I built the home. I paid for a monitoring service for a few years and decided that was more cost and hassle than it was worth. I now have the security system integrated with my home automation platform (Hubitat) and do self-monitoring. I have full programmatic control over the security system with automation that includes presence, time-of-day, etc. No third-party ongoing fees. No reliance on the Internet. If I ever change my HA platform, my security system investment is protected. I don't use any HA product that requires the Internet or subscription and won't consider any that do. More companies are trying to force users into a subscription model (like auto manufacturers with subscriptions to use features like heated seats). I refuse. Thanks for the frank video on this problem.
I get the feeling Ubiquiti is moving closer towards having a full alarm system, all the pieces are more or less already there, and the new Protect Sensor definitely signals they are moving that way.
There's only 1 small problem, they are never have enough stock and their support is questionable at times. I am heavily entrenched in their eco-system but I wouldn't buy the access stuff, I just don't trust them to support it long term.
I’ve been using alarmo in home assistant which is great. I’m planning to purchase the ring keypad to use with that. It allows a lot more flexibility in my opinion. As an example, if my wife comes home and the alarm was triggered while she was gone, the front porch light flashes 2 times so she knows to keep going. Not to mention everything is in one place and won’t ever cost service fees.
I had this happen with Insteon when they converted everything to the cloud. I have the discontinued Nest security and it works fine for what I need. Good Luck with the Ring conversion and make sure to stay local.
I know it’s not for everyone, but $10 per month for professional monitoring is pretty cheap. We have had a Ring Alarm for a few years now and have been paying $10 a month since day one. In fact, during the process of selling our previous home, The professional monitoring actually saved us from coming home to a house on fire. Smoke was detected and the professional monitoring center dispatched the fire department. This monthly fee, and my monthly donation to Nabu casa are the only expenses for having a great smart home. Honestly, I’ll happily keep paying because great software costs, a lot of money to develop, and the people working in the monitoring center for my alarm do not show up to work for free. I feel like sometimes we in the open source community get caught up in software being free of charge. The truth is, great software takes time and talent. Those two things normally come at a financial cost.
Alarmo is free and available through HACS in HA. Through the creation of a series of automations you can also make your own alarm system. I have a battery backup system that will power my internet and HA for hours (at least) after an outage, so I'm at least good for that length of time. After that, I utilize those contact alarms while I'm home (sleeping or not) that are not dependent on the Internet and use a lithium battery. I also live in a community that, let's just say, thinks that it is a part of Texas, so there is that deterrence for people breaking in.
@Reed's Smart Home APS is always going offline in our area so I try to have contingencies. The other security bit that is helpful is going with a PoE system so that the cameras remain powered (during an outage) through battery supply of the NVR. I learned quite a bit from your videos and appreciate how you diversified your systems bit still allow for interoperability between those (through HA, for example). Keep up the fine work. You've got some of the best smart home guides and reviews that are out there 👍
Welcome to the concept of CLOUD services. I have the keypad and works completely fine with Alarmo. There is a blueprint. I am almost sure the other sensors would pair and work. I can actually arm it, and if the keypad (or anything else) triggers an alarm, the prompts work, siren works, countdown, even the little pulsing red progress bar works. I couldn't get it to work with Hubitat, but it works fine in HA.
Wanted to clear things up for other viewers, the $4 is the Ring Protection Plan per device. If you have 3+ other Ring devices you are probably paying the $10 / month multi device Protection Plan so this won't affect you. Still a money grab for sure, I'm betting most people do not have 3 or more Ring devices.
@@reedssmarthome I know you've worked with Everything Smart Home/Lewis in the past, and he's got a real solid video on how to set up an Alarm system in HA with Alarmo. Might be worth taking a look at or sending folks over to check out :) I had no idea that this happened with Ring, so thanks for the heads up!
Hardware: Konnected Pro for my wired sensors and sirens and a few wireless Aqara door sensors. I used SmartThings for a few months, now everything managed by Home Assistant. No complain!
I've been a home assistant user since day 1 of converting our property to a smart home, recently I've installed a Ness alarm system and it communicates with Home Assistant via Serial over IP (locally). Super ease to set up and convenient to use. I don't like the idea of a wireless alarm system, you have to replace batteries all the time (this is also my biggest problem with PIR motion sensors), not mentioning thieves can just walk up to your door with a jammer and disable all your security devices.
Wow!!! I bought a Ring alarm system a couple months ago that's still in the box. I'm glad I ran across your video. Totally disappointed about this Ring alarm change. But totally happy about your solution. Thanks.
I’d love this as well. I’ve been running the Homebridge Alarm plugin since summer, set to watch some Eve door/window sensors (plus some NFC tags to arm/disarm) It’s a passable, local, no subscription solution…But it still feels half-baked.
Another great video Reed. As someone who is well entrenched in Ring as well I will have to start learning HA and moving things over. So far I was able to do what I wanted for my home using Homekit and Homebridge. But if Ring decides to charge I do not want to be forced into subscription because I was not ready. Thank you for heads up. I also work at a big box store and will be sure to let customers know that Ring is now charging for this service.
what do you do with an alarm system that isn't tied to a monitoring company? If I'm home, i know someone is breaking in. If I'm not home, I need the monitoring company to call the police or to call the fire department for me. What do you do with an alarm system without that? I'm missing something.
Yep, because I remember hearing about TP-Link doing a similar thing with their Kasa system, though to be fair the Home Assistant integration relied on an exploit, but the official Kasa app forced the updates without user consent, so some users had to block their Kasa devices from being able to connect to TP-Link servers.
Great video, would love to hear more. Ring just upped my price to $98 for my home builder installed system with a Doorbell Camera and Alarm system. $49 each service paid for year in advance = $100 Frustrating because we bought our home in 2023. Anyway, I am giving them the boot at any cost. Its principle. So I jsut bought and installed an AWESOME Lorex 2K doorbell camera (actually works better than Ring) I bought a "Level Connect" device to control my Level Bolt door lock further removing me from the Ring dynasty. I also replaced my Honeywell Wave thermostat that was controlled with the ring app for a Honeywell WiFI thermostat installed curiosity of my electric utility. So all that is left is the Ring Alarm system and I need to do something fast as it will renew in 2 more weeks at now $49 since I got rid of the Ring Doorbell Camera. Very frustrating and I will make Amazon pay the rest of my life and still buy from them but Walmart+ will be first choice for everything as a punishment to Amazon. Sadly I am sure no many people like me.
Reed, thanks for all your extremely helpful vids over the years..much appreciated. I have well over 65+ sensors, cameras etc from Ring and having to redo the setup will be annoying as heck. A suggestion to fight back; would you like to start a petition that all of us could sign and spread to our family, friends, associates and social media to let Ring know they cant sneak in charges at their whim? Customers will fight back. - Fellow AZ resident.
I'm upset with Google not supporting Nest Guard in April 2024 next year. I was thinking of getting a Ring keypad to use with Alarmo. Hopefully I can get one second hand so I dont support Ring in the process. Thank you Reed 🙂
Welcome to the next level Reed! On site local processing should be the default strategy. In the past I used the Omni Pro II security and automation system. But Leviton bought it from HAI and killed it a few years later. So now the Elk M1 is the big boy on the block for security and automation integration. Elk has a fantastic line of wireless sensors and fantastic integrations with great partners. Plus Home Assistant integration can plug any holes. Essentially only the voice assistant needs to be cloud based. And most of the automation should be run on Home Assistant or Elk.
My big thing when i started down this path is to remove any reliability from outside cloud or apps so all my IOT is planned to be local connected only and connected to a VLAN that cant phone home. This is the exact reason for that decision its sad that this is something that keeps happening but something i was preparing for.
Problem with companies like ring and such, they store your footage for 180 days. Law enforcement go behind your back and obtain YOUR footage without your consent if there's a disturbance in your neighborhood or such. Kinda scary, mostly for those who have indoor cameras.
Interesting. I have used ring for about 3 years. If it comes to it, I am willing to switch to something else and repurpose my stuff. I also work in real estate and was planning to use Ring for rental properties, but it seems they have lost me as a customer there. I'll have to find another way.
Alarm monitoring, if you want it, is fine for charging a fee - as is general cloud services like video storage. The vendors have a cost (a significant cost) with maintaining these data center operations. HOWEVER, when it comes to home automation, I try to keep EVERYTHING local that I can. My installation is all z-wave w/ Hubitat. Presently I have a Ring doorbell, which will likely be replaced by one that I can integrate with HomeKit and/or Hubitat and keep video local.
I'm using Ring currently and will probably continue using them until they force me to the new pricing after which I'll probably switch out my cameras for something like the EUFY local ones and switch the sensor over to home assistant. I went with ring because they offered the lowest price for professional monitoring which was something I wanted as part of my system (it was supposed to lower my home insurance).
Hi Reed, Here in the UK there are varied ways to protect your property, I have an alarm system installed by an accredited company, and I pay a monthly fee. (Full disclosure I own the company)There are several other companies in the UK that will install a burglar alarm with a free ap. However,, when the servers for the systems with free aps go down,(and they frequently do) they never seem to be in a hurry to fix them probably because there is no motivation to fix it quickly (they dont have to give anyone their money back for something thats free). Id rather pay a monthly fee safe in the knowledge that my alarm is reliable and the server monitoring my ap is reliable, I know that the manufacturer is investing that monthly fee in servers and staff to keep those servers in good order. Sure they are making money from it, but thats their motivation to make sure they work. I could secure my property free using HA (though I subscribe to Nabu Casa anyway) but I get the odd device fail every now and then which can go unnoticed, whereas my alarm system tells me if a device goes missing. I prefer to keep security and my smart devices separate. That said I have varied outputs on my alarm connected to a esp32 input module but thats another story.
What a bad news, I stared to use ring alarm last week. I planned to install the system to many clients, but I need to figured out another solution. Thanks
On the Ring website it explicitly says: "Standard features such as up-to-24-hour backup battery, remote arming and disarming from the Ring app, security modes, Alexa device compatibility and real-time mobile notifications are available out of the box and free for your Ring Alarm." So, did they change it?
I've just replaced my old alarm system with a Konnected. Do you think the Ring keypad is a good replacement for the 3 existing keypads I have (which cannot be reused)?
This is why home assistant is so great. But honestly I am ok with companies charging money if they allow use with alternative systems like HA where you can get the functionality for free.
I use a standard DSC alarm system designed to work locally, yes the good old boring alarm. You can get wireless sensors if so inclined. An Envisalink board integrates nicely into home assistant . The past is the future and it costs the same,if not cheaper.
I'm actually curious what you think could local only/local first devices do to make things simpler to set up - (especially since you mentioned they're trickier than cloud ones). Would love to see more videos encouraging open, local first approaches.
Reed, I agree with you bro, they shouldn’t charge us for free features. Its extremely sad that companies like Ring talk about how they care and the have your best interest, but then they put all that care and concern behind an paywall smh.
I get your points in the video, and I do agree. This only affects new customers who use the security system and don’t pay for monitoring. WHO buys and installs a home security system and doesn’t pay for monitoring?!
I couldn't agree with you more....for me they raised their subscription fee by over 33% . So I am planning to cancel both my Ring Doorbell and Ring Camera subscriptions and start looking for an alternative. I remember when Ring first started and reached out to me to test some of their new products...now for that they are price gouging ... Good bye Ring!
Thanks for the video!! Yes im on the same path to keep my security video footage at home with local NVR and not pay cloud services. I am currently starting with Home Assistant for home security but cant find any keypads for Zigbee protocol. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I love your channel by the way thabk you for keeping us informed.
Ring subscription costs rising is why I recently bought local security cameras, and am setting up NVR. Ring was free initially, then $39 per yr for all your cameras, then $39 for each. Now I'm being asked to pay $79 per year per camera with shorter video retention times.
One promising aspect is when Amazon did the same thing to Blink and grandfathered the free concept they have honored that and haven't as of yet started to bill the legacy free customers.
What you're talking about is the modern dilemma around service based products. With traditional products, you purchase it, and aside from warranty claims for defects, that was it! You use it however you wish, and the company would do survey's and collect data on how to make a better product for the next version. But the company did NOT have to constantly maintain that product in the wild, hence little money needed to be spent other than warranty / recall fixes. This is not the case when it comes to newer products as services. The company HAS to maintain and upgrade the sold products with new features over time. That is a SIGNIFICANTLY more expensive business model as not only are customers buying products less often, they expect these features and support to continue over the life of the product. Hence in order for the company to continue doing this, it needs income to pay the highly skilled workers it takes to make upgrades and bug fixes! The question is how, as a customer, do you expect them to do this if not by a subscription model? To break it down more - Customers don't want to have to buy new hardware every year or two, they want to purchase every 5 to 10 years and have it be maintained (especially with security products as then they'd have to re-do their whole house). - Less overall purchases of product over time means less revenue for the company to survive from without any other form of revenue generation. - Companies have to employ highly skilled workers to both maintain the existing services across all devices and OSes. This means when Android / Apple / Windows releases new OS patches and versions with new APIs and SDKs, someone at the company has to make sure their products will still work, and then fix any bugs that appear in the process. - Customers also expect the company to not only maintain the product, but to constantly be adding new features and updates as well. - Companies have to also maintain cloud servers and equipment so the app can communicate with the hardware remotely (there is no way to let an app communicate with a product remotely except over the internet, which means that company has to host servers in some capacity that can relay those signals). - Also inflation has to be considered over time as things become more expensive. If the company isn't selling newer versions at short intervals, they need to account for this as well in some way. So how would you want to see it solved? I totally get subscription fees are a PITA and not what everybody wants to hear, but when your product is also a service, how else would you expect that company to be able to constantly provide that service?
Just shopping for system and had decided on ring because of no subscription required. When going to buy I noticed monthly fees now required. Most TH-cam videos are outdated with wrong info. Now will be considering alternates.
This is what Lowes tried to do with their IRIS system just before they discontinued it (charing for basic monitoring). I got a check from them when the shut down shop for all the devices I purchased to use with the IRIS system and I still use them for my current Z-Wave/Zigbee setup. Win/Win for me.
If anyone read my comment and is wondering, I am now using the Hubitat system. It has a decent learning curve (not as bad as home assistant) and provides all the functionality I want with the convenience and security of running locally. I can control the system from my phone or tablet, and if I want, I can connect it to the internet for voice control using Alexa or Google home. Since 90% of my rules and scenes run locally it is extremely fast compared to most internet based systems. My favorite bring-over from IRIS is the garage door opener combined with the keyfob for presence, I have a rule that notifies me if the garage door was left open and everyone left the house. I can then see via my security cam if there is anything in the way and close the garage door from anywhere using my phone.
Welcome to the Light Side, Reed. It's unfortunate that this has happened yet again but it's really an inevitability for all such companies with similar business models. The only reason Ring lasted this long without a subscription should be obvious - Amazon had deep pockets and was willing to prop up the Ring business. Those days are over and Ring is in for one heck of a reckoning.
They are also using them and various other devices for Amazon Sidewalk which builds mesh networks and uses your internet without your knowledge. It's absurd they are adding a fee. You can disable sidewalk in the app settings but now it's in their TV's and fire sticks also. Some devices also use 900mhz radios which is the frequency LORA uses in the US and can reach up to half a mile. Currently sidewalk is only in the US as different regions use different frequencies for. LORA. Essentially Amazon is building city wide mesh networks with devices you purchase without paying a cent in infrastructure that uses 3 layers of encryption but we are supposed to just "trust" Amazon with that data.
I went a total home based system using only Home Assistant, no cloud for HA. It's harder, you have to do all your own maintenance and upgrades and that's not a small task. Certainly doable, but you have to want to do it.
it's the same Tado did some time ago, when they made some basic features as geofencing a paid service. That moment I changed to Netatmo and sold my Tado
I'm keeping my system for free for now but likely they will charge existing customers as they kept the $10 for existing customers for monitoring but eventually they were moved over to the new pricing.
here you can find a list of additional tutorials on how to get and install easily cheap Smart Home Devices like: - Smart IP Camera - Motion Detector - Entry Sensor - Door Sensor - Smoke / Fire Detector Example of Smart Camera: th-cam.com/video/ixmYqMOruA4/w-d-xo.html
I use and like Reolink cameras, good cams without subscription. But Reolink does not currently have other home security devices, no door sensors, light control, etc.
I've taken the "local first" approach and only used cloud based devices when absolutely necessary. I'm really anxious to see what the "YOTV" mission for HA brings. I'm hoping to get rid off (or at least minimize) the Echo devices I have. I got rid of a Ring camera for that reason, and recently switched back to pfsense from a Unifi UDM. It's so much nicer when your devices just work and aren't subject to the whims of some corporate plan.
I have a Ring alarm, and aside from having no real Google Assistant support I've liked it. I'm curious, would the monthly charge affect Home Assistant users? To my knowledge the integration just logs into Ring to import the various devices. If they ever decide to charge existing users I'll either go the way you're going, re-purposing their devices to work directly with HA, or rip it all and replace it with something that has no reliance on anyone. I'm trying to do away with anything that requires Internet access. I swapped most of my Sengled bulbs with LIfx because 1. They remember their last state, and 2, they have local network support. So even without internet I can still control them. I'm looking forward to seeing how you re-design your house.
What you mentioned about LIFX reminded me of the second reason as to why I chose Yeelight: some of their higher-end models have a 'LAN Control' feature for which a Home Assistant integration exists.
I was just about to order my ring alarm setup after watching tons of videos. Then I saw this video and back to square one. My home is ring all around and now I need to decide on what to select now. Is there an alternative that you know of if someone does not have ring alarm yet? Sucks now because all my cameras are ring.
If alot of people do decide to use Z wave expect Ring to fight back. Wouldn't be surprised if they release a firmware update that disables that feature. This is the reason DIY smart devices is the way to go. I decided from the get go to not use wifi security cameras at home, for one I don't like/trust wifi cameras and running my cameras using Shinoni open source software with video being recorded to a PC running Linux.
its not just fees we have examples of companies actively cutting out systems like homeassistant. I purchased multiple myQ garage openers and built some notifications into home assistant. Then they hired a greedy CTO that blocked HA automations as you know. Now I have to throw away that hardware and start again.
Homebrew Alarm all the way. Alarmo Control Panel (HACS Integration), readily available door and window sensors (Zigbee, Z-Wave, Bluetooth), generic IP Cameras with something like Frigate, all controlled by my Home Assistant instance with no requirement to be online.
I started with Ring and now I am almost done with them. The battery outdoor camera was garbage and finally stopped working. Love my doorbell but the video quality is no longer there. My Blink outdoor cameras are also garbage and stopped working properly so just took them out so done with Blink too. Have some Wyze cameras now and they are great.
One thing that really boils my piss is companies moving to subscription models for no real reason besides scraping money out of people and greed. I get that companies are there to make money but to start charging for things on top of buying their products, is a big no-no for me. If you didn't have to buy the product in the first place, you're renting the product - I'm ok with that. Imagine buying a car and had to pay a monthly fee to use the headlights, wipers, heating etc! No thanks.
That's the company that leaks your video content, right? :) I'm kidding! I've heard Eufy and Home Assistant don't play well together. Still, cloud based. I'm out.
Yeah I went with them to and so far so good, the scandal with them didn't bother me as I'm sure china and google are getting plenty of data from me though other apps anyway 😂
Ring is no different than any other company that focus on revenue. I know it hurts but you there ALWAYS a solution to the problem. Remember we still live in America, thank GOD.
I’m curious to know what do you use for your home alarm system. As in what type of panel or keypad are you using. I’m currently a ring user but I want a touch keypad panel. Something simple to arm and disarm my alarm.
WOW, did not know this! If they change my pricing I will look for other options, but I am so far in it would be really hard to change. I am sure they will charge more for it all going forward, but if I can get a yearly discount would probably still do it. Or maybe sell it all and find a new company.
Local only. They can't do this if you don't use their servers. I wish more companies had local APIs built into their products. That's what I look for when buying something
You know... Amcrest makes this doorbell camera thingy that's completely local... No cloud... No monthly money. When we stick ourselves to a cloud of any sort, we stick ourselves to whatever rules that cloud makes, both now and in the future.
I made the same mistake with Arlo cameras a few years back. Now, I'm replacing what would otherwise have been a perfectly good solution... But they got greedy.
I've always tried to stay away from the cloud. Anything cloud related your data is how you are paying. You also then have to put up with all the rules these companies come up with. Instead of big gooberment telling you what to do you have big tech telling you what you can/can't do. TH-cam itself is guilty of this with heavy censorship.
I've had ring for a few years but as soon as I started using home assistant the first thing I did was integrate ring into it just in case something like this happened. I stopped using the ring app long ago.
I am tempted to rip everything off and use another one so I don’t use anything from Ring anymore. I was about to get a new motion sensor and after reading the email they sent I decided not to buy it.
I ditched Ring and flipped everything to Z-Wave..... I WAS a Ring Protect subscriber, highest tier.... but they did NOT call when the alarm was going off for at least 5 minutes. Look at their Terms and Conditions too. They explicitly say this is not a security product! The base station is also not compliant with the Z-Wave alliance's rules. It cannot be part of an existing Z-wave system.This is a material reduction in functionality, which... the FTC should probably have been looking into... I will NEVER use a cloud-only system again.
Give the video a like to show Ring and all the other smart home companies that we won't put up with this crap.
I have a friend that doesnt like the cloud based smart home stuff and thinks thats there should be a "kill-switch", do you have that in your smart home? like if anything goes haywire?
Are use Homebridge with Eufy to set up an alarm in homekit
I wouldn't touch Ring products if they paid me to use them. Amazon has been proven to use existing ring devices in someoneelse's so that devices that are not connected to the network can call home anyway. That means they have created a backdoor into you device so they can use it as they see fit. So if you connect them to your zigbee devices that backdoor now has a way in to the rest of your home network. They are a MAJOR security threat.
I fully get why companies want to push for the monthly fees but there is absolutely no reason for basic features to go through a cloud based service. Keep things local!
I’ve been using ring for about almost 2 years now I love them. I just don’t like the fact how people want Rang to give out free services in the people that don’t have a businesses have this type of mindset if everything in life was free. How would we make a living? How would the people at ring make a living if they decided let’s give out free subscriptions and no one have to pay for nothing they would go bankrupt for paying for all those employees y’all are thinking like this because y’all don’t have a business so you don’t know what it takes to run a business.
Time for Paul Hibbert’s “Corporate Greed” moment 😂
Bet he’ll get it next Saturday
And the Home Assistant bit!
Do you buy Starbucks coffee? If so, then SHUT UP about $5 a month for a security system....
Arlo did the same thing recently.. they decided they would disable my perfectly functional 3 year old Arlo cameras unless I paid a new monthly fee they decided to invent out of thin air. I dropped them instantly, and will never go back.
Arlo used to be so good and then got so greedy.
Yes true what a bummer , I’ve had alro for years now heck they charge a premium for these devices the nerve to push these fees and disable a once perfectly working camera is appalling
I'm using home assistant and a HACS integration called Alarmo, Works very well with zigbee and z-wave door, window and motion sensors and smart door locks. Been using this for over a year now and works very well.
So good to see you taking a stand PLUS getting the message out there to others using the platform that you have. Awesome.
I use Abode smart home security and love it. Works great with home assistant and all my automations and their sensors use RF so they work in much greater distance than z wave or ZigBee. In my 4500 SQ ft historic home their sensors were the only ones that could make it all the way from basement windows to attic windows without losing signal. Also they have plans that are free. I chose to have ours monitored so I pay an annual fee but you don't need to if you don't want to.
I abandoned Ring a while back because of their subscription approach without added utility. Your video just reinforces their "money grab". Thanks for posting your thoughts.
Do you buy Starbucks coffee? If so, then SHUT UP about $5 a month for a security system....
I used to work for a home security company. Similar to ADP. They had super aggressive sales approaches and made getting out of a contract hell. I could never figure out how ring matched everything we did and was waaaaat cheaper. I guess it wasn't enough to stay afloat and raising prices had to happen. With that said stay away from any company that requires contracts. The only time they'd make an exception is if the person died. Can't pay your bill? Sending you to collections. I hated it
Yeah I think we are starting to see Amazon's business approach more clearly. Take a loss selling things to gain market share and users. Squeeze out the competition and then raise prices when you stuck with them.
@@reedssmarthome even if prices go up it's still better than being locked into a contract. But Ring is being shitty. Luckily there are lots of diy smart home solutions. Just as you were saying with home assistant
I was one of those ADT customers. Over $50 a month for a device with no remote access, no cameras, no way to know the status until I get home. Ring was a godsend. $100/year has been the best move we've made for any service provider. Sounds like the fun is over. I'm sure I'll be back up to $50/mo if this is their new M.O.
Well one key way Ring did it is by not paying all those aggressive sales people/scammers. Payroll is usually the largest cost. They also (obviously) weren't operating on fat margins that ADT is (or more likely was now that they have discount competition). And yeah, you may have worked for a scummy, sleezy, proudly unethical security company but at least it was Vivint. Didn't think any company could make ADT not look that bad..
@@curtisbme I watched that company basically ruin people's lives. Oh you lost your job? Too bad. Sold your home oh well have to keep paying for the security unless you can convince new owners to take it. I didn't getany sales compared to my coworkers. They would convince grieving people to take over the contract
From the ground up ive built my home automation to be everything in house (besides 2 Tuya Lights and 2 LIFX lights i got in the early days). Most of sensors and switches are now Zigbee I used to be a WiFi only guy but since making the move over to Zigbee life has been sweet, especially with Ikea Smart bulbs and Aqara Switches/sensors. For Cameras ive gone with ones that support RTSP, Grabbed my self a google coral USB to use Frigate linked back to home assistant.
All in all everything is internal that i need to function reliably so i know if something is not working as its likely my own fault not a cloud provider going down or charging to use a feature, This is also bundled with the alarmo HACS plugin to allow me to use my Aqara door/window/motion sensors and get notifications to my phone, turn lights on, set my google home to play alarms and trigger my outdoor siren.
All in all it works for me and ive ended up with a solid zigbee network all over the house thanks to the Ikea smart bulbs acting as routers
What entry keypad do you use?
I think, unfortunately, this is becoming the norm. Many companies, like Amazon, IFTTT, etc., started on free then start charging. I’m glad your fighting this & hopefully more aggregators will pick up this sword. I don’t use Home Assistant, but I’m pretty sure you can use the ring sensors with SmartThings. I think Bud’s Home automation log showed how to pair these with ST’s.
Same happens to online gaming. I'm playing some games for almost 10 years, at first I could easily do all regular goals completely for free. If I wanted something extra I could buy some in-game gems. But now they become more and more impossible to play without regularly making some in-app purchases. Goals are no more achievable without paying real money.
I already saw it was mentioned, I also use the Alarmo intergration in Home Assistant. The learning curve may be a bit steep but results in an alarm system like Verisure. No external followup unfortunaly, you need to ask a neighbour.
My 11-year-old home has a wired traditional security system that I spec'ed when I built the home. I paid for a monitoring service for a few years and decided that was more cost and hassle than it was worth. I now have the security system integrated with my home automation platform (Hubitat) and do self-monitoring. I have full programmatic control over the security system with automation that includes presence, time-of-day, etc. No third-party ongoing fees. No reliance on the Internet. If I ever change my HA platform, my security system investment is protected. I don't use any HA product that requires the Internet or subscription and won't consider any that do. More companies are trying to force users into a subscription model (like auto manufacturers with subscriptions to use features like heated seats). I refuse. Thanks for the frank video on this problem.
I get the feeling Ubiquiti is moving closer towards having a full alarm system, all the pieces are more or less already there, and the new Protect Sensor definitely signals they are moving that way.
There's only 1 small problem, they are never have enough stock and their support is questionable at times. I am heavily entrenched in their eco-system but I wouldn't buy the access stuff, I just don't trust them to support it long term.
I’ve been using alarmo in home assistant which is great. I’m planning to purchase the ring keypad to use with that. It allows a lot more flexibility in my opinion. As an example, if my wife comes home and the alarm was triggered while she was gone, the front porch light flashes 2 times so she knows to keep going. Not to mention everything is in one place and won’t ever cost service fees.
Are you able to use the ring base station as a siren using Alarmo and Home assistant?
@@mazinkhurshid I've read that it is possible with either zigbee or z wave, can't remember which one
I had this happen with Insteon when they converted everything to the cloud. I have the discontinued Nest security and it works fine for what I need. Good Luck with the Ring conversion and make sure to stay local.
I know it’s not for everyone, but $10 per month for professional monitoring is pretty cheap. We have had a Ring Alarm for a few years now and have been paying $10 a month since day one. In fact, during the process of selling our previous home, The professional monitoring actually saved us from coming home to a house on fire. Smoke was detected and the professional monitoring center dispatched the fire department. This monthly fee, and my monthly donation to Nabu casa are the only expenses for having a great smart home. Honestly, I’ll happily keep paying because great software costs, a lot of money to develop, and the people working in the monitoring center for my alarm do not show up to work for free. I feel like sometimes we in the open source community get caught up in software being free of charge. The truth is, great software takes time and talent. Those two things normally come at a financial cost.
I bought 4 v2 Ring Keypads to use with Alarmo and HA but haven't had any luck with the keypad as yet. With your video I will revisit this project.
Alarmo is free and available through HACS in HA. Through the creation of a series of automations you can also make your own alarm system. I have a battery backup system that will power my internet and HA for hours (at least) after an outage, so I'm at least good for that length of time. After that, I utilize those contact alarms while I'm home (sleeping or not) that are not dependent on the Internet and use a lithium battery. I also live in a community that, let's just say, thinks that it is a part of Texas, so there is that deterrence for people breaking in.
Yeah I might have to try that out if I stop using the Ring app. Seems like you have a great setup with the backups!
@Reed's Smart Home APS is always going offline in our area so I try to have contingencies. The other security bit that is helpful is going with a PoE system so that the cameras remain powered (during an outage) through battery supply of the NVR.
I learned quite a bit from your videos and appreciate how you diversified your systems bit still allow for interoperability between those (through HA, for example).
Keep up the fine work. You've got some of the best smart home guides and reviews that are out there 👍
Welcome to the concept of CLOUD services. I have the keypad and works completely fine with Alarmo. There is a blueprint. I am almost sure the other sensors would pair and work.
I can actually arm it, and if the keypad (or anything else) triggers an alarm, the prompts work, siren works, countdown, even the little pulsing red progress bar works.
I couldn't get it to work with Hubitat, but it works fine in HA.
Wanted to clear things up for other viewers, the $4 is the Ring Protection Plan per device. If you have 3+ other Ring devices you are probably paying the $10 / month multi device Protection Plan so this won't affect you. Still a money grab for sure, I'm betting most people do not have 3 or more Ring devices.
Time to create an alarm with home assistant!
I've been thinking about it, and this might push me over the edge.
What system is there that works with HA?
I've seen Alarmo recommended.
@@reedssmarthome I know you've worked with Everything Smart Home/Lewis in the past, and he's got a real solid video on how to set up an Alarm system in HA with Alarmo. Might be worth taking a look at or sending folks over to check out :)
I had no idea that this happened with Ring, so thanks for the heads up!
@@reedssmarthome Yeah...Alarmo is one of the top ones
i set this up recently, ring keypad v2 and motion detector v2 with a zooz 800 stick, works great. i used the alarmo integration
Great video , I dropped ring back when the first doorbell came out due to their subscription service to view motion activated videos.
Hardware: Konnected Pro for my wired sensors and sirens and a few wireless Aqara door sensors.
I used SmartThings for a few months, now everything managed by Home Assistant. No complain!
I've been a home assistant user since day 1 of converting our property to a smart home, recently I've installed a Ness alarm system and it communicates with Home Assistant via Serial over IP (locally). Super ease to set up and convenient to use.
I don't like the idea of a wireless alarm system, you have to replace batteries all the time (this is also my biggest problem with PIR motion sensors), not mentioning thieves can just walk up to your door with a jammer and disable all your security devices.
Wow!!! I bought a Ring alarm system a couple months ago that's still in the box. I'm glad I ran across your video. Totally disappointed about this Ring alarm change. But totally happy about your solution. Thanks.
Do you buy Starbucks coffee? If so, then SHUT UP about $5 a month for a security system....
@@steveludwig4200 No, your mom bought it for me right before she examined deez nutz!!!
I would love a detailed video on a no subscriptions based alarm system and how you think it compares running through HA vs 4 dolllars for Ring.
Aqara works with HA.
I’d love this as well. I’ve been running the Homebridge Alarm plugin since summer, set to watch some Eve door/window sensors (plus some NFC tags to arm/disarm) It’s a passable, local, no subscription solution…But it still feels half-baked.
Another great video Reed. As someone who is well entrenched in Ring as well I will have to start learning HA and moving things over. So far I was able to do what I wanted for my home using Homekit and Homebridge. But if Ring decides to charge I do not want to be forced into subscription because I was not ready. Thank you for heads up. I also work at a big box store and will be sure to let customers know that Ring is now charging for this service.
what do you do with an alarm system that isn't tied to a monitoring company? If I'm home, i know someone is breaking in. If I'm not home, I need the monitoring company to call the police or to call the fire department for me. What do you do with an alarm system without that? I'm missing something.
@@markkempton4579 I get the alerts and make the decision if I need law enforcement. I get real time notifications so when I am away I know immediately
@@markkempton4579 You can all the police yourself. They will respond much faster than when central stations call.
I wouldn't put it past Amazon to push a firmware update to the Ring sensors that locks them to a Ring base station.
Yep, because I remember hearing about TP-Link doing a similar thing with their Kasa system, though to be fair the Home Assistant integration relied on an exploit, but the official Kasa app forced the updates without user consent, so some users had to block their Kasa devices from being able to connect to TP-Link servers.
Great video, would love to hear more. Ring just upped my price to $98 for my home builder installed system with a Doorbell Camera and Alarm system. $49 each service paid for year in advance = $100
Frustrating because we bought our home in 2023.
Anyway, I am giving them the boot at any cost. Its principle. So I jsut bought and installed an AWESOME Lorex 2K doorbell camera (actually works better than Ring) I bought a "Level Connect" device to control my Level Bolt door lock further removing me from the Ring dynasty. I also replaced my Honeywell Wave thermostat that was controlled with the ring app for a Honeywell WiFI thermostat installed curiosity of my electric utility. So all that is left is the Ring Alarm system and I need to do something fast as it will renew in 2 more weeks at now $49 since I got rid of the Ring Doorbell Camera. Very frustrating and I will make Amazon pay the rest of my life and still buy from them but Walmart+ will be first choice for everything as a punishment to Amazon.
Sadly I am sure no many people like me.
Reed, thanks for all your extremely helpful vids over the years..much appreciated. I have well over 65+ sensors, cameras etc from Ring and having to redo the setup will be annoying as heck. A suggestion to fight back; would you like to start a petition that all of us could sign and spread to our family, friends, associates and social media to let Ring know they cant sneak in charges at their whim? Customers will fight back. - Fellow AZ resident.
I’ve used an old ring keypad directly in home assistant for almost a year, works great!
I'm upset with Google not supporting Nest Guard in April 2024 next year. I was thinking of getting a Ring keypad to use with Alarmo. Hopefully I can get one second hand so I dont support Ring in the process. Thank you Reed 🙂
Welcome to the next level Reed! On site local processing should be the default strategy. In the past I used the Omni Pro II security and automation system. But Leviton bought it from HAI and killed it a few years later.
So now the Elk M1 is the big boy on the block for security and automation integration.
Elk has a fantastic line of wireless sensors and fantastic integrations with great partners. Plus Home Assistant integration can plug any holes.
Essentially only the voice assistant needs to be cloud based. And most of the automation should be run on Home Assistant or Elk.
My big thing when i started down this path is to remove any reliability from outside cloud or apps so all my IOT is planned to be local connected only and connected to a VLAN that cant phone home. This is the exact reason for that decision its sad that this is something that keeps happening but something i was preparing for.
Problem with companies like ring and such, they store your footage for 180 days. Law enforcement go behind your back and obtain YOUR footage without your consent if there's a disturbance in your neighborhood or such. Kinda scary, mostly for those who have indoor cameras.
Interesting. I have used ring for about 3 years. If it comes to it, I am willing to switch to something else and repurpose my stuff. I also work in real estate and was planning to use Ring for rental properties, but it seems they have lost me as a customer there. I'll have to find another way.
Alarm monitoring, if you want it, is fine for charging a fee - as is general cloud services like video storage. The vendors have a cost (a significant cost) with maintaining these data center operations. HOWEVER, when it comes to home automation, I try to keep EVERYTHING local that I can. My installation is all z-wave w/ Hubitat. Presently I have a Ring doorbell, which will likely be replaced by one that I can integrate with HomeKit and/or Hubitat and keep video local.
I'm using Ring currently and will probably continue using them until they force me to the new pricing after which I'll probably switch out my cameras for something like the EUFY local ones and switch the sensor over to home assistant. I went with ring because they offered the lowest price for professional monitoring which was something I wanted as part of my system (it was supposed to lower my home insurance).
Hi Reed, Here in the UK there are varied ways to protect your property, I have an alarm system installed by an accredited company, and I pay a monthly fee. (Full disclosure I own the company)There are several other companies in the UK that will install a burglar alarm with a free ap. However,, when the servers for the systems with free aps go down,(and they frequently do) they never seem to be in a hurry to fix them probably because there is no motivation to fix it quickly (they dont have to give anyone their money back for something thats free). Id rather pay a monthly fee safe in the knowledge that my alarm is reliable and the server monitoring my ap is reliable, I know that the manufacturer is investing that monthly fee in servers and staff to keep those servers in good order. Sure they are making money from it, but thats their motivation to make sure they work. I could secure my property free using HA (though I subscribe to Nabu Casa anyway) but I get the odd device fail every now and then which can go unnoticed, whereas my alarm system tells me if a device goes missing. I prefer to keep security and my smart devices separate. That said I have varied outputs on my alarm connected to a esp32 input module but thats another story.
What a bad news, I stared to use ring alarm last week. I planned to install the system to many clients, but I need to figured out another solution. Thanks
On the Ring website it explicitly says:
"Standard features such as up-to-24-hour backup battery, remote arming and disarming from the Ring app, security modes, Alexa device compatibility and real-time mobile notifications are available out of the box and free for your Ring Alarm."
So, did they change it?
I've just replaced my old alarm system with a Konnected. Do you think the Ring keypad is a good replacement for the 3 existing keypads I have (which cannot be reused)?
This is why home assistant is so great. But honestly I am ok with companies charging money if they allow use with alternative systems like HA where you can get the functionality for free.
I use a standard DSC alarm system designed to work locally, yes the good old boring alarm. You can get wireless sensors if so inclined. An Envisalink board integrates nicely into home assistant . The past is the future and it costs the same,if not cheaper.
I'm actually curious what you think could local only/local first devices do to make things simpler to set up - (especially since you mentioned they're trickier than cloud ones).
Would love to see more videos encouraging open, local first approaches.
yep, even the doorbell has gone to crap. I'm done with 'em. haven't figured out who I'm going to.
Reed, I agree with you bro, they shouldn’t charge us for free features.
Its extremely sad that companies like Ring talk about how they care and the have your best interest, but then they put all that care and concern behind an paywall smh.
i am so glad that it hasn't affected me
One ring to cheat them all...😮
I get your points in the video, and I do agree. This only affects new customers who use the security system and don’t pay for monitoring. WHO buys and installs a home security system and doesn’t pay for monitoring?!
Me
@@GCondrey1 I want police to respond to a break-in and fire dept to respond to a fire alarm. So I don’t get that at all.
I couldn't agree with you more....for me they raised their subscription fee by over 33% . So I am planning to cancel both my Ring Doorbell and Ring Camera subscriptions and start looking for an alternative. I remember when Ring first started and reached out to me to test some of their new products...now for that they are price gouging ... Good bye Ring!
Thanks for the video!! Yes im on the same path to keep my security video footage at home with local NVR and not pay cloud services. I am currently starting with Home Assistant for home security but cant find any keypads for Zigbee protocol. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I love your channel by the way thabk you for keeping us informed.
Ring subscription costs rising is why I recently bought local security cameras, and am setting up NVR.
Ring was free initially, then $39 per yr for all your cameras, then $39 for each. Now I'm being asked to pay $79 per year per camera with shorter video retention times.
One promising aspect is when Amazon did the same thing to Blink and grandfathered the free concept they have honored that and haven't as of yet started to bill the legacy free customers.
Built my infrastructure completely local, thank you Home Assistant devs!
Can you create a step by step video on how to pair the ring with home assistant . Ive never used home assistant and im super intimidated
This video needs wayyyyy more views. Great video Reed!
What you're talking about is the modern dilemma around service based products. With traditional products, you purchase it, and aside from warranty claims for defects, that was it! You use it however you wish, and the company would do survey's and collect data on how to make a better product for the next version. But the company did NOT have to constantly maintain that product in the wild, hence little money needed to be spent other than warranty / recall fixes.
This is not the case when it comes to newer products as services. The company HAS to maintain and upgrade the sold products with new features over time. That is a SIGNIFICANTLY more expensive business model as not only are customers buying products less often, they expect these features and support to continue over the life of the product. Hence in order for the company to continue doing this, it needs income to pay the highly skilled workers it takes to make upgrades and bug fixes! The question is how, as a customer, do you expect them to do this if not by a subscription model?
To break it down more
- Customers don't want to have to buy new hardware every year or two, they want to purchase every 5 to 10 years and have it be maintained (especially with security products as then they'd have to re-do their whole house).
- Less overall purchases of product over time means less revenue for the company to survive from without any other form of revenue generation.
- Companies have to employ highly skilled workers to both maintain the existing services across all devices and OSes. This means when Android / Apple / Windows releases new OS patches and versions with new APIs and SDKs, someone at the company has to make sure their products will still work, and then fix any bugs that appear in the process.
- Customers also expect the company to not only maintain the product, but to constantly be adding new features and updates as well.
- Companies have to also maintain cloud servers and equipment so the app can communicate with the hardware remotely (there is no way to let an app communicate with a product remotely except over the internet, which means that company has to host servers in some capacity that can relay those signals).
- Also inflation has to be considered over time as things become more expensive. If the company isn't selling newer versions at short intervals, they need to account for this as well in some way.
So how would you want to see it solved? I totally get subscription fees are a PITA and not what everybody wants to hear, but when your product is also a service, how else would you expect that company to be able to constantly provide that service?
Amazon is just really not where you want to be if you’re in the smart home space
Just shopping for system and had decided on ring because of no subscription required. When going to buy I noticed monthly fees now required. Most TH-cam videos are outdated with wrong info. Now will be considering alternates.
This is what Lowes tried to do with their IRIS system just before they discontinued it (charing for basic monitoring). I got a check from them when the shut down shop for all the devices I purchased to use with the IRIS system and I still use them for my current Z-Wave/Zigbee setup. Win/Win for me.
If anyone read my comment and is wondering, I am now using the Hubitat system. It has a decent learning curve (not as bad as home assistant) and provides all the functionality I want with the convenience and security of running locally. I can control the system from my phone or tablet, and if I want, I can connect it to the internet for voice control using Alexa or Google home. Since 90% of my rules and scenes run locally it is extremely fast compared to most internet based systems. My favorite bring-over from IRIS is the garage door opener combined with the keyfob for presence, I have a rule that notifies me if the garage door was left open and everyone left the house. I can then see via my security cam if there is anything in the way and close the garage door from anywhere using my phone.
Welcome to the Light Side, Reed. It's unfortunate that this has happened yet again but it's really an inevitability for all such companies with similar business models. The only reason Ring lasted this long without a subscription should be obvious - Amazon had deep pockets and was willing to prop up the Ring business. Those days are over and Ring is in for one heck of a reckoning.
They are also using them and various other devices for Amazon Sidewalk which builds mesh networks and uses your internet without your knowledge. It's absurd they are adding a fee. You can disable sidewalk in the app settings but now it's in their TV's and fire sticks also. Some devices also use 900mhz radios which is the frequency LORA uses in the US and can reach up to half a mile. Currently sidewalk is only in the US as different regions use different frequencies for. LORA.
Essentially Amazon is building city wide mesh networks with devices you purchase without paying a cent in infrastructure that uses 3 layers of encryption but we are supposed to just "trust" Amazon with that data.
Thank God I saw this, was gonna buy additional ring cameras! Will go for a different brand now.
I just set up my ring security system today! I hope I don’t have to pay the monthly fee. I guess I’ll find out soon.
The ADT Self Setup can be used with no monthly fee (when you buy it out right).
I went a total home based system using only Home Assistant, no cloud for HA. It's harder, you have to do all your own maintenance and upgrades and that's not a small task. Certainly doable, but you have to want to do it.
it's the same Tado did some time ago, when they made some basic features as geofencing a paid service. That moment I changed to Netatmo and sold my Tado
I'm keeping my system for free for now but likely they will charge existing customers as they kept the $10 for existing customers for monitoring but eventually they were moved over to the new pricing.
Any experience using Aqara for home security system? How does it compare to Alarmo / Abode
I'm SO glad I've avoided Ring. Many better security systems out there.
here you can find a list of additional tutorials on how to get and install easily cheap Smart Home Devices like:
- Smart IP Camera
- Motion Detector
- Entry Sensor
- Door Sensor
- Smoke / Fire Detector
Example of Smart Camera: th-cam.com/video/ixmYqMOruA4/w-d-xo.html
I use and like Reolink cameras, good cams without subscription. But Reolink does not currently have other home security devices, no door sensors, light control, etc.
I've taken the "local first" approach and only used cloud based devices when absolutely necessary. I'm really anxious to see what the "YOTV" mission for HA brings. I'm hoping to get rid off (or at least minimize) the Echo devices I have. I got rid of a Ring camera for that reason, and recently switched back to pfsense from a Unifi UDM. It's so much nicer when your devices just work and aren't subject to the whims of some corporate plan.
I have a Ring alarm, and aside from having no real Google Assistant support I've liked it. I'm curious, would the monthly charge affect Home Assistant users? To my knowledge the integration just logs into Ring to import the various devices.
If they ever decide to charge existing users I'll either go the way you're going, re-purposing their devices to work directly with HA, or rip it all and replace it with something that has no reliance on anyone.
I'm trying to do away with anything that requires Internet access. I swapped most of my Sengled bulbs with LIfx because 1. They remember their last state, and 2, they have local network support. So even without internet I can still control them. I'm looking forward to seeing how you re-design your house.
What you mentioned about LIFX reminded me of the second reason as to why I chose Yeelight: some of their higher-end models have a 'LAN Control' feature for which a Home Assistant integration exists.
Can I connect my ring sensors and keypad to smartthings and monitor that way?
I was just about to order my ring alarm setup after watching tons of videos. Then I saw this video and back to square one. My home is ring all around and now I need to decide on what to select now. Is there an alternative that you know of if someone does not have ring alarm yet? Sucks now because all my cameras are ring.
We are using a ring alarm as our security system, but we got it in July 2022 so no paying the fee for us.
If alot of people do decide to use Z wave expect Ring to fight back. Wouldn't be surprised if they release a firmware update that disables that feature. This is the reason DIY smart devices is the way to go. I decided from the get go to not use wifi security cameras at home, for one I don't like/trust wifi cameras and running my cameras using Shinoni open source software with video being recorded to a PC running Linux.
its not just fees we have examples of companies actively cutting out systems like homeassistant. I purchased multiple myQ garage openers and built some notifications into home assistant. Then they hired a greedy CTO that blocked HA automations as you know. Now I have to throw away that hardware and start again.
Homebrew Alarm all the way. Alarmo Control Panel (HACS Integration), readily available door and window sensors (Zigbee, Z-Wave, Bluetooth), generic IP Cameras with something like Frigate, all controlled by my Home Assistant instance with no requirement to be online.
What about Alarmo? Would you use it? Why or why not?.. maybe make a video? Cheers! Thanks for all the info
I started with Ring and now I am almost done with them. The battery outdoor camera was garbage and finally stopped working. Love my doorbell but the video quality is no longer there. My Blink outdoor cameras are also garbage and stopped working properly so just took them out so done with Blink too. Have some Wyze cameras now and they are great.
This is the new wave for companies. Charging subscription fees to use the basic features that came with the product.
One thing that really boils my piss is companies moving to subscription models for no real reason besides scraping money out of people and greed. I get that companies are there to make money but to start charging for things on top of buying their products, is a big no-no for me. If you didn't have to buy the product in the first place, you're renting the product - I'm ok with that. Imagine buying a car and had to pay a monthly fee to use the headlights, wipers, heating etc! No thanks.
So glad I went with Eufy. None of this corporate greed BS for me!
That's the company that leaks your video content, right? :) I'm kidding!
I've heard Eufy and Home Assistant don't play well together.
Still, cloud based. I'm out.
Yeah I went with them to and so far so good, the scandal with them didn't bother me as I'm sure china and google are getting plenty of data from me though other apps anyway 😂
@@JasonPhipps I mean, I can arm/disarm my alarm with HA. That’s all I want
@@centurion262 didn’t bother me either
I would love to use home assistant but have know idea how to go about setting one up. If only I could find an easy route to getting one started.
Ring is no different than any other company that focus on revenue. I know it hurts but you there ALWAYS a solution to the problem. Remember we still live in America, thank GOD.
I’m curious to know what do you use for your home alarm system. As in what type of panel or keypad are you using. I’m currently a ring user but I want a touch keypad panel. Something simple to arm and disarm my alarm.
WOW, did not know this! If they change my pricing I will look for other options, but I am so far in it would be really hard to change. I am sure they will charge more for it all going forward, but if I can get a yearly discount would probably still do it. Or maybe sell it all and find a new company.
Rings always had subscriptions. Figured it would be a matter of time before they did this. What sets certain other companies apart.
Eufy is the ultimate solution
Home assistant. Backup battery on both HA and your internet equipment. That's essentially what I'm doing now.
yes they are getting greedy , i have two devices , next year going else were...
a tutorial to add the ring keypad to HA would be great!
Local only. They can't do this if you don't use their servers. I wish more companies had local APIs built into their products. That's what I look for when buying something
You know... Amcrest makes this doorbell camera thingy that's completely local... No cloud... No monthly money.
When we stick ourselves to a cloud of any sort, we stick ourselves to whatever rules that cloud makes, both now and in the future.
I made the same mistake with Arlo cameras a few years back. Now, I'm replacing what would otherwise have been a perfectly good solution... But they got greedy.
I agree and yes Arlo got extremely greedy.
I've always tried to stay away from the cloud. Anything cloud related your data is how you are paying. You also then have to put up with all the rules these companies come up with. Instead of big gooberment telling you what to do you have big tech telling you what you can/can't do. TH-cam itself is guilty of this with heavy censorship.
I've had ring for a few years but as soon as I started using home assistant the first thing I did was integrate ring into it just in case something like this happened. I stopped using the ring app long ago.
I am tempted to rip everything off and use another one so I don’t use anything from Ring anymore. I was about to get a new motion sensor and after reading the email they sent I decided not to buy it.
I ditched Ring and flipped everything to Z-Wave..... I WAS a Ring Protect subscriber, highest tier.... but they did NOT call when the alarm was going off for at least 5 minutes.
Look at their Terms and Conditions too. They explicitly say this is not a security product!
The base station is also not compliant with the Z-Wave alliance's rules. It cannot be part of an existing Z-wave system.This is a material reduction in functionality, which... the FTC should probably have been looking into... I will NEVER use a cloud-only system again.