Question

We have the ring 2 for our front door purchased the solar panel for it. But for some reason it's not working. We get 3-4 hours of direct sunlight. What am I missing? Thanks for the help

Answer 1

Did you charge the battery fully first?  

Comments

@pierpont which direction does the doorbell face? Not covered porch?  

Answer 2

It only trickle charges

Answer 3

3 to 4 hours isn't enough.  

Answer 4

The solar charger for the ring 2 is garbage. I have no idea what they changed between the 1 and 2 but we had the 1 it worked great really extended the time before we had to recharger We swapped for a two and it might as well not even be there.  

Comments

@carrera909 have to attach a whole new one. The 2 had a different connection than the 1

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I agree - the doorbell solar panels are pretty useless unless your porch is uncovered and you live in Arizona.  

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@spann the thing is the doorbell 1 solar actually seemed to work. The 2 not even remotely, ring even replaced it and still no difference.  

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I have the solar charger for the 2. keeps it at 95%. I should mention that I live in South Carolina though

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Not much activity on it though

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@corsica you must have the only one they made that actually works  

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@repress yeah I hear ya. I have 2 floodlight cams and a spotlight cam that work great, and 2 floodlight cams and a floodlight cam that work nothing like they should ‍♂️

Answer 5

Buy the ring pro

Answer 6

Mine does the same thing.  

Answer 7

We got the one that can be wired up, so we never have to worry about it not having power.  

Answer 8

Also depends on usage. That small solar can't give a ton of charge so if your doorbell is activated a lot each day, it can't keep up.  

Answer 9

Is this a Ring or Ring 2. I had a Ring original with the Ring solar charger. Ring was able to track the actual hours of charging and it was minimal. I purchased a Ring 2 to replace it and bought a Wasserstein Solar Charger off Amazon for it. The Wasserstein has a larger solar cell area. Since I installed the aftermarket charger, I haven't had to recharge or swap batteries for months. It is still at 89 to 90 percent most of the time.  

Comments

@fuge7323 good to know, i was eyeing those

Answer 10

Purchased the Wasserstein version. Direct sun most of the day. Never charged. I did 5 return/replacement on Amazon and contacted Wasserstein directly. They said it could be my ring unit. There is a serial number range that solar isn't compatible with apparently. My serial wasn't listed a problem serial though never got it to work figure after 5 units I'm giving up

Comments

Just looked up my Amazon order from May 2019 They stated " ATTENTION If 4 digits after “bhrg4” in the serial number at the back of your Doorbell 2 range between 1715 to 2417, it is incompatible with the Solar Charger. Contact Ring Support for a free exchange"

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Good to know. I did pick up a Wasserstein solar charger for my Ring Spotlight camera. It wouldn't charge. I tested it and it was outputting six or seven volts but the plug, while fitting into the camera, appeared to not make full contact. I switched to the ring solar charger for the camera and it charges fine. Winter temperatures also effect the charge.  

Answer 11

Have the Ring Doorbell 2 with battery. Charge it every 2 months, buy an extra battery to put in while other one is charging. Love it.  

Answer 12

My Ring solar panel is rubbish. Took it off in the end.  

Answer 13

I assume you started with a fully charged battery? The solar is meant only to trickle charge the battery so you don’t have to swap out batteries as often.  

Comments

The Wassermstein for the Ring 2 does a better job of keeping the battery charged. You are correct the solar charger is to reduce the drain rate. However, I have found that it pretty much keeps it charged.  

Answer 14

This one works great for me:  
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07W45KCZ...?th=1

Answer 15

You're missing a whole load more direct sunlight  

Answer 16

Mine did not work at all. According to techs, must have direct sun beaming down on it for atleast 2 hours. Returned and just got spare battery