Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Plus review - "like having my own personal Household Cavalry"

7

Home and garage security is a whole lot easier than it used to be, and that’s largely down to user friendly devices like those offered in the Ring range. I’ve had the Wired Video Doorbell Pro as a gate guardian for some time, and not only does it keep watch over my front yard, it allows me to talk to delivery folk and any other visitor when I’m elsewhere, be it in the shed, out and about, or at work.

I recently decided to upgrade to the Floodlight Cam Wired Plus as an extra level of security for the precious things in my shed and to guide me in on dark nights. It’s one step down from the flagship ‘Pro’ setup, but offers everything I need to have peace of mind regarding the goings on at the bottom of my garden.

Is the Ring Floodlight Cam good quality?

Ring have learned a thing or two from Apple when it comes to packaging, and just unpacking the device is a pleasant experience. There’s no fussy polythene or messy polystyrene, the inner ‘briefcase’ just slides out and opens like a clamshell to reveal the device itself, a small box of fixings and some basic instructions for mounting and wiring.

Although it seems to be made of a tough, ABS type plastic, the body of the Floodlight Cam has the weight and feel of billet alloy. It gives me nothing but confidence as to its durability and I see no reason why it won’t outlast me on this earth. It’s been exposed to the elements for a couple of months so far, which has included an onslaught from Storm Bert, and still looks box fresh.

That quality touch is underlined by the fact that it comes with everything needed to install it, with the exception of a power drill for drilling mounting holes. There are some really nice touches, such as the multi-tool which can be configured as a cross-head for the wall mounting screws, a small flat blade for the terminal block and a hex socket for the nuts which secure the main housing to the backplate.    

How easy is it to install?

It’s advisable to get a professional electrician to install the Floodlight Cam Plus as it’s mains powered. The actual procedure is as simple as routing cabling for the earth, live and neutral connections, mounting the backplate, connecting up via the integral terminal block and screwing on the unit itself – with the power switched off of course.

I replaced an old motion activated floodlight, so all the necessary wiring was already in place.

How easy is the Ring Floodlight Cam to use?

With everything mounted, the next step was to activate the setup menu on my phone using the QR code printed on the packaging. This is so simple to use and walks you through each easily digestible step. I already had the Ring app installed on my phone, but this can be done through setup if required.

With power back on at the fuse box, the white light on the bottom of the camera unit starts flashing as the Floodlight Cam starts looking for your phone. It then needs to be hooked up to the wifi, and I love the fact that this can all be done through the app, including the network password, so you don’t have to scribble anything down or try and remember exactly what it was you’d changed it to months ago.

The set up includes being able to prioritise certain areas as motion detection zones, and to exclude others so that it doesn’t trigger every time you neighbour starts mowing their grass. As with the Ring Doorbell I already have it can be configured to only detect human type movement, and the audio detection can be turned off so you can’t hear next door when they’re having a barney in the garden either.

From opening the box to completing full configuration of the unit, took less than an hour. And that included a software update.

Notifications come straight to your phone via the app, allowing you to interact in real time should there be the need. The two way audio allows you to converse with whoever may have triggered the sensor, and if you’re not about to hear your phone it has a built in siren that shrieks loudly enough to make an intruder think twice. I can hear it clearly above the tv from my living room, which is a good 30 metres and some decent double glazing away.  

How good is the picture quality?

Picture quality is as good as you need to positively identify someone within a few metres of the camera – you can pick out distinguishing features, such as if they wear glasses, for example. Naturally the resolution is better in daylight, but the image below is a screenshot from a video on my phone to demonstrate how well it works at night. The audio is good too, should you wish to converse with whoever has triggered the system. There’s a slight lag as the conversation is over Wi-Fi then via the mobile network, but that’s nothing that a little patience can’t overcome.

Is it good value for money?

At full RRP, £179.99, I think it’s exceptional value for money, and even when you factor in the Ring annual subscription of £79.99 for the ‘standard’ service, it’s still a great deal. This covers every device you have at a given location and saves 180 days of video history, so you even if you don’t notice an incursion at the time, you have a huge window to go back and find it.

The warranty included is one year, and at this price for a device which will spend its whole life outdoors, that’s good value.

So what’s the verdict?

For me, the Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Plus gives me the same peace of mind that I’d get if I never went out and spent my days in a rocking chair on my back porch staring at my shed. The bright floodlights and piercing alarm ensure that someone can’t wander up to it unnoticed, and even if they did, the notification to my phone that someone had broken through the perimeter is instant.

It’s easy to install, simple to configure, and is both rugged and reliable – like having my own personal Household Cavalry.

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