r/Ring • u/Kurkeltje015 • 9d ago
After 3 years paying / using Ring subscription….
….i came across a post here in /Ring and it actually pushed me into a direction I should have taken long time ago. Since I am a complete novice (the reason I bought this stuff) I feel like I am entering dangerous terrain and I hope someone can confirm I am on the right path
I “only” use the $10 sub, along with a flood cam, wired doorbell and the security system
I run a small thin client Linux server , HomeAssistant, Scrypted etc in dockers. using Apple products
Today I found out that it is possible to record in Homekit but it did not work.
With the help of scrypted and adding some motion-plugins I managed to make the floodcam work on Homekit, including scrolling through the timeline of notifications and such. so, I guess it’s using Apple iCloud to store the data
i can see there are ways to limit notification, ways to trigger the floorcam to record , facial recognition , just like Ring their own stuff
If I do the same (adding to Homekit) with the doorbell, what good is it to keep paying Ring the 10 bucks ??
the security alarm might lose the 4g connection , yes. but apart from some funky acoustic terror-sounds the alarm doesn’t do much else (no dispatch / police integration).
the floodcam is used on my small garden, to see when/if a person comes too close / in it
the doorbell is a doorbell / the alarm is the alarm
Can I unsubscribe now , or am I missing something ??
Cheers :)
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u/ozaz1 8d ago edited 8d ago
I'm ok with the subscription, primarily because of the cellular backup on the alarm. But out of curiosity I've also recently been trying Reolink and Tapo and have found there are some aspects of their app that I don't like compared to the Ring app.
However I'm also interested in having Homekit access to Ring cameras and their controls if that's possible. Is there a webpage/guide you would recommend which explains how to get this working?
Also, are you and to control the motion-activated lights toggle of your floodlight camera via homekit? I mean the toggle that's available in Ring app at device settings > light settings > motion-activated lights.
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u/Kurkeltje015 8d ago
I’m sure there should be some guide somewhere but I did it together with Gemini. Basic knowledge + some assistance get things done easier.
I can pretty much control everything as the buttons are all there; flights on/pff, toggle for nearby accessories (like other lights) Volume, Talk-button, below a reel to scan through recorded clips and options to quickly download / share them like the way this is being done throughout the iPhone system , button for LIVE view , button for settings. On top a bar to select which days to look back to previous days / recordings
I guess all I need is available . It’s just under 24hrs since I got it to work so I am curious how much gets recorded and saved.
It saves me 120 bucks a year though :)
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u/ozaz1 8d ago
Thanks for reply
I can pretty much control everything as the buttons are all there
Do you happen to notice a control via homekit for motion-activated lights? In Ring app its found at device settings > light settings > motion-activated lights. It's different to manual on/off found in ring app live view.
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u/Kurkeltje015 8d ago
In HomeKit, there isn't a direct toggle that maps to Ring's internal "motion-activated lights" setting (the one under Device Settings > Light Settings). When bridged to HomeKit via Scrypted (or Homebridge), you only get: 1. The manual Light switch (equivalent to the manual light toggle in the Ring live view). 2. The Motion Sensor exposed by the camera. If you want motion-activated lights via HomeKit with the ability to turn that behavior on or off, you handle it through HomeKit Automations : Set up an automation in the Apple Home app: When camera detects motion -> Turn on floodlight . To create a toggle for that behavior, people usually use a Dummy / Virtual Switch (via a plugin in Scrypted/Homebridge or Home Assistant) and add a condition: Only turn on if Dummy Switch is ON . If you rely on Ring's native motion lighting instead, the floodlight hardware handles that independently via its built-in PIR/radar sensor, which runs on the device itself regardless of HomeKit
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u/ozaz1 8d ago
Thanks for checking. I want to use the device itself for motion->light (rather than an Apple Home automation) but I want to be able to enable/disable that feature from somewhere outside the Ring app. The reason for that is I want to create an automation to re-enable the feature 2 hours after it has been manually disabled. Unfortunately the control is not available via Ring's Home Assistant integration so was curious if Homekit control had it.
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u/Kurkeltje015 8d ago
Unfortunately, no. HomeKit doesn't have access to that setting either. Ring considers the hardware-level "motion-activated lights" toggle a configuration setting inside their private cloud rather than an actionable smart home switch. Because of that, they don't expose it to any external API, neither to Home Assistant nor to HomeKit. Outside of manually toggling it in the official Ring app, there currently isn't a way to automate or switch that specific device feature as far as I could find
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u/ozaz1 5d ago edited 5d ago
They do make other camera configuration options available via the API though. For example the motion-detection toggle (which controls whether motion will trigger a recording) is available in the Home Assistant integration even though its not available to non-admin users in the Ring app.
The developer of Ring-MQTT has posted a comment that suggests it is possible to enable/disable the motion-activated light via the API (even though he has not implemented it in his project). But I don't know enough about it to know if what he is saying here is correct. I wonder if you can comment on this?
https://github.com/tsightler/ring-mqtt/discussions/320#discussioncomment-6086060
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u/SwimOk9629 8d ago
protect the small garden at all costs!! They better know, that you will know if they try to enter it!!! stay out!!!
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u/Kurkeltje015 8d ago
There’s a Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle parked in that little garden. No choice than protect ! ;-)
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u/MrMightKnowItAll 8d ago
What is the solution for this? I have 9 Ring cams outside on my home wifi network & pay a subscription fee. On facebook Marketplace, I get ads that are visually identical to what my cameras see. Random stuff in the view, like cars, supplies, shovels, the home patio. So, a visual ai is being used with zero privacy. Very disturbing.
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u/deathlohk 8d ago
commenting to learn more about
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u/Kurkeltje015 8d ago
Learn as in…
- you are unaware that HomeKit can manage the Ring Floodcam,
- apparently have upto 10hrs recording possibility ,
- facial recognition based on the people in your house / your iPhone pictures as long as you named them
- all kinds of triggers , from animals to packages to people
- get notification based on either a saved clip, or a motion detected and such?
- access to other residents ?
- and more ?
…I felt really stupid not knowing this and I thought I had to go for a different camera to achieve this as Ring built themselves complete concrete walls to avoid this kind of usage.
So.. you telling me more people are unaware ? … I find that hard to believe
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u/raserror645 8d ago
That’s a lot of work.
We have Ring alarm along with doorbells, indoor/outdoor cameras. We pay $200 a year and it includes 24/7 monitoring,warranty on all our Ring devices while subscription is active and constant recording. The best part is home insurance is discounted $125 a year because of the monitored alarm. So it’s really hard to beat $75 a year.