Ring is finally adding 24/7 recording to its security cameras

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Ring’s Stick Up Cam and Indoor Cam can record continuously starting in November with a new Premium subscription.

By Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, a smart home reporter who’s been testing connected gadgets since 2013. Previously a contributor to Wirecutter, Wired, Dwell, and US News.

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Ring is bringing the much-requested feature to its smart security platform starting on November 5th.

Ring is bringing the much-requested feature to its smart security platform starting on November 5th.
Image: Ring

Smart home security company Ring announced today that it’s bringing 24/7 continuous video recording (CVR) to its smart security cameras. This will allow a camera to record continuously rather than just when it detects motion, which is how Ring’s cameras and video doorbells currently operate. 

The new 24/7 recording capability is part of a revamp of the Amazon-owned company’s subscription plan, Ring Protect, which is being renamed Ring Home. It will require the highest tier, Ring Home Premium — previously Ring Protect Pro.

Ring Home Premium will cost $19.99 monthly and now includes cloud storage for CVR on up to 10 cameras, along with event-activated recording and other features. Ring is also launching three additional capabilities that are included in its subscription plans: doorbell calling, video preview alerts, and extended live view (more on these below). All the new capabilities are rolling out now to some users and will be available nationwide by November 5th, according to Ring.

At launch, CVR will work with four of the company’s wired cameras: the Stick Up Cam and Stick Up Cam Pro, the Indoor Cam (2nd Gen), and the Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam. It’s not available on any of its wired doorbells, but the company says compatibility with more devices is coming soon.

At $20 a month, Ring’s 24/7 recording is more expensive than options from Google Nest or Arlo. Google Nest charges $15 a month for continuous recording on an unlimited number of its wired doorbells and cameras. Arlo charges $9.99 a month in addition to the base plan, which starts at $7.99. But that fee is per camera.

Nest and Arlo also offer more advanced detection features than Ring, including facial recognition and pet and vehicle detection. Ring’s plans only offer person and package detection. Still, the ability to rewind through a 24/7 timeline of footage and see everything that happened on your property is a much-requested feature, which many Ring users will be pleased to now have access to.

Ring is bringing doorbell calling to its video doorbells. Instead of a popup notification when someone rings your doorbell, it will come through like a phone call — which is harder to miss.

Ring is bringing doorbell calling to its video doorbells. Instead of a popup notification when someone rings your doorbell, it will come through like a phone call — which is harder to miss.
Ring is bringing doorbell calling to its video doorbells. Instead of a popup notification when someone rings your doorbell, it will come through like a phone call — which is harder to miss.
Image: Ring

While the new Ring Home Plans are staying the same price as the old Ring Protect Plans and carrying over most of the previous features, one thing is being removed. Professional monitoring of its Ring Alarm system is no longer included in the top-tier plan. It’s now an optional add-on for $10 a month on the standard or premium plan. This means if you use Ring Alarm with professional monitoring and want the CVR features, you’ll now be paying $30 a month instead of $20.

Ring Home Basic, which includes event-based recording for one camera, will cost $4.99 a month, and Ring Home Standard, with event-based recording for multiple cameras, is $9.99 a month. While it’s losing professional monitoring, the $19.99 Premium tier that covers CVR still includes local storage of video footage with a Ring Alarm Pro, cellular backup internet for an Eero Wi-Fi system, and an Eero Secure subscription. But those are really only beneficial if you use Ring Alarm and Eero. 

These new features coming to Ring’s cameras and doorbells

In addition to CVR, Ring is adding three new features for its subscribers:

Doorbell calling: This turns your doorbell notification into a phone call. When someone presses the button, you get a full-screen phone call instead of a pop-up notification. If you answer, you can see and speak to the visitor through live view. Arlo doorbells have had this feature for years, and several other companies also offer it.

Video preview alerts: This sends a rich notification when a camera is triggered that includes a video clip, giving more detail about what’s happening before you have to open the app. Previously, it would just send a snapshot.

Extended and continuous live view: This extends the time you can watch a livestream from any current Ring camera — wired or battery-powered — from 10 minutes to 30 minutes. If you pay for Premium, you can watch for an unspecified amount of time.

The new features are coming to different tiers of Ring’s new subscription plans. Video preview alerts will be available to all subscribers. Extended live view requires the Ring Home Standard plan, continuous live view requires Premium, and doorbell calls will work on the Standard and Premium plans.

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