Today, I’m just going to show you guys a quick update on the Ring Spotlight Cam Battery version. I have all of the Ring’s current cameras and this battery powered spotlight cam is my least favorite and I’ll tell you why in a little bit…
I have reviewed this camera and have compared them with the wired spotlight cam and I’ll include those video links in the description down below.
As you can see my battery is now at 19%. The live view function has been disabled which also means aside from not able to view the camera in real time, you will not have access and not be able to use spotlights or the siren unless there is motion and you answered the alert. The camera will still detect motion, alert you and at night will turn on the spotlights.
For now, let’s talk about the battery and how long it lasted for me. I actually have a solar panel and also an extra battery for this camera but the last 3 months, I didn’t use the solar panel and also removed the backup battery just to test how long the battery will last…I placed a fully charge battery last December 24th and I usually have 3-5 recordings a day which are mostly 30 second clips. BTW, the 30 second recording is with the battery version of the spotlight…the wired ones usually record more than a minute and will continue to record as long as the motion persists.
After 3 months and with one side of the camera exposed to the afternoon sun, you will see a fading on one side of the camera. Everything else looks good, just some dust and grime for being exposed to the elements outside. On the other side which is not exposed to the sun, you will see the normal color of the piece. This is a different type of material as compared to the plastic body of the camera.
All the other parts of the camera still looks good and hasn’t oxidized.
Let’s open up the battery compartment…the seal held up and there are no leakage, moisture or dirt that got in the compartment.
Now,, lets put in the backup battery…You will see that it will show a constant red light and the used one has a blinking red light. Let’s close it up and check out the app…
You can see that the app updated and the live view button is now accessible and you will see the batteries shows 2 of them and one is fully charged. Before uninstalling the camera, I had 17% but now I only have 3%.
We can use live view again… I’m assuming that the camera is now using the fully charged battery. I don’t think the camera will wait for the depleted battery to be at 0% before transitioning power to the back up one…anyways, the battery lasted around 3 months for me. Ring has said that the battery should last 6-12 months…which it didn’t happen in my case anyways. Good thing is that the battery is rechargeable and also there is a solar panel option which recharges the battery and when I tested it, as long as there is around 2 hours of direct sunlight everyday, the battery will be topped off..so you don’t have to pull down the camera just to charge or swap batteries.
You can purchase extra batteries or the solar panel at Ring’s website or at amazon.
Charging the battery BTW is pretty quick. Just plug in the included micro USB cable and when the lights turn green.. it is fully charged.
Now, I’m going to tell you why I don’t like this camera and I really don’t recommend it. Using the live view is hit or miss…even with a good WiFi signal, you will get this black waiting screen and will eventually time out.
Exiting out and doing it again usually works but when you are trying to answer a motion, it will be too late…
I also know that a lot of customers have complained about choppy and freezing footage. This is the case with this battery powered spotlight cam. I don’t have these issues with my other Ring cameras…just this one.
It has a tendency to freeze…the audio continues but the video freezes and sometimes it will freeze almost the whole footage. Most of my footage is like the ones I’m going to show you…I have a good WiFi signal and I use a WiFi extender within 5 feet of the camera… it is just a wall separating them. Other customers think it is a server issue with Ring. Let me know in the comments section below if you also have this problem with this spotlight cam.
If you think this is bad…check out some night footage with Ring’s grainy night vision.
Right now, I don’t recommend this camera until Ring fixes the freezing, choppy video. With the same amount of money, you can get their “wired” spotlight cam which is way better as to motion detection and doesn’t have issues with their recorded footage. Also, it will have the enhanced night vision update which is way better than the battery version.