Okay, let’s talk Ring locks. You know, the video doorbell people? Figured they’d make locks, seems logical. Plug n’ play with their stuff, right? HA. Yeah… sorta? In theory? Reality’s messier. Like my garage.
First off, setup. You get the lock. Looks shiny. You install it. Takes longer than their cheery “15 minutes!” video shows because your door latch is secretly slightly bent, causing alignment issues. Fine, sweat done. Now, the app. You have the Ring app for your doorbell already. Awesome! Should be easy… should be. You add the lock… Pairing… Pairing… “Device Unresponsive.” Battery okay? Yeah. Bluetooth on? Yeah. Phone rebooted? Yeah. Reset the lock? Did that twice. Stand closer? Okay. Finally connects. Sigh of relief. Now, for the smart home stuff. THIS is the sticky bit.
I wanted it to work with Alexa. “Alexa, lock the front door.” Sometimes… it works. Often? “Front door is unresponsive.” Or “Locking Front Door!” … but it doesn’t actually lock. You go check. Nope. Still unlocked. WHY, ALEXA, WHY?! Is it Wi-Fi? Is it the Ring servers having a nap? Dunno. Requires constant “checking”. My router’s decent! Not amazing, but decent. Ring stuff just seems… chatty? Or sluggish. Maybe needs a dedicated Wi-Fi network or something? Feels like overkill for a door lock.
Google Home? Oh boy. Forget it in my case. Barely recognizes I have a Ring system half the time. Forget specific locks. “Turn off the living room light.” “Okay, locking the front door!” Wait, NO! WRONG! DO NOT LOCK ME OUT! Chaos. Granted, maybe my setup sucks, but forums are full of similar gripes. Z-Wave? Ring supports it… but my hubs don’t. Needed a whole other gizmo? Pass. I just wanted the doorbell and lock to play nice.
Speaking of alerts. It does tell you when someone locks/unlocks… eventually. Like, 30 seconds later. Kid comes home from school? I get the notification after she’s already yelled “I’m home!” from the kitchen. Kinda defeats the point of an instant alert. Geofencing is even more laggy and unreliable. Should unlock when I get near? Yeah right. More like unlock when I’m standing at the door jiggling the handle impatiently, THEN my phone buzzes “Unlocked!”. Thanks a bunch. Battery life also tanks noticeably faster when all these “smart” features are constantly chattering.
The integration exists. I can see lock status kinda-sorta in the Ring app alongside my doorbell feed. I can lock/unlock remotely… IF the app decides to cooperate that day. That “IF” is huge. Is it seamless with my existing non-Ring smart plugs and lights? Nope. They live on separate islands, glaring at each other. My smart home feels… dumber.
So, does a ring door lock integrate easily? If your entire ecosystem is Ring (cameras, alarms, chimes), maybe it’s smoother? Still sounds like more hassle than it’s worth based on Tom down the street complaining about his. For a house like mine with mixed-brand stuff? It kinda… integrates? Like… poorly glued-on. It works… mostly… sometimes… with yelling. Honestly, just using the keypad feels more “integrated” than wrestling with Alexa and the laggy app. Feels less “smart home” and more “smart headache.” Maybe they’ll fix it someday? Or maybe I’ll just stop trying and embrace the chaos. At least the deadbolt part still holds the door shut! That’s… something.