The Ring Intercom is a DIY, retrofit device that connects to your home intercom and connects via Wi-Fi to the Ring app on your smartphone. It is specially designed for European apartment buildings where several apartments (or flats) have one entry point and only one intercom system. With Ring Intercom installed, when someone calls your apartment, you can talk to your guest and call them through the app. There’s no video component — it’s all audio — and there’s no recording. The Ring Intercom simply replicates your existing intercom function on your phone, allowing you to talk to your front door from anywhere.
“If I had been born or raised in Europe, I might have built it first”
The main advantage of Ring intercom is the ability to talk to guests and call them remotely, using your phone from anywhere or an Echo device if you’re at home. But having packages or food deliveries make it inside the building and potentially to your front door, rather than sitting on the doorstep exposed to the elements and potential thieves, also adds another level of security and convenience.
“It’s as obvious a solution as the video doorbell,” Jamie Siminoff, Ring’s founder and chief inventor, told The Verge. “If I had been born or raised in Europe, I might have built it first.”
Three times more people live in multi-unit buildings worldwide than in single-family homes, he says, so this solution was one the company had been trying to develop for a long time. Siminoff said that while her doorbell product line was “doing well in Europe,” there was a large percentage of the population that simply couldn’t use one.
There is no recording feature, as with Ring Video Doorbells. there’s just live, two-way conversation
Ring introduced the Peephole Camera a few years ago, which worked for apartment doors (the doorbell camera was in the peephole). But that didn’t solve how to talk to someone knocking on the door of your building (and Ring discontinued Peephole last year).
“There are tens of thousands of variations [on intercom systems]said Siminov. “This is designed to work with over 90 percent of them. It took a lot of work to develop and it has a lot of intelligence that determines what it’s connected to, similar to how some smart thermostats work.”
The Ring Intercom connects to the internal intercom handset and is powered by a rechargeable, reusable battery. It’s compatible with most audio intercom headsets (but not video systems) and there’s a compatibility check on Ring.com. No structural changes to your apartment are required and the installation process is completely DIY.
When someone presses your apartment button at the main entrance, the two-way conversation via the Ring app is activated. You can only answer calls when someone is buzzing your apartment, so you can’t use it to hear people hanging out at the door whenever you want.
There is no recording feature, as with Ring Video Doorbells. there’s just live, two-way conversation. “I don’t know if people would like it [recording]says Siminoff. “And there are local laws about audio recording.” The activity log in the Ring app will let you know if you’ve missed a visitor. The activity log is also displayed whenever the remote unlock feature is activated by you or any shared user in your household that you have granted access to.
The Ring Intercom installs next to your apartment intercom handset and is battery operated. Image: Ring
While Ring says you can connect the Ring intercom to other Ring devices like the Ring Indoor Cam, there’s no bundled functionality. it’s just that both devices are accessed by the same app. The intercom is a purely audio device. “There are ways you can add video to these types of devices,” says Siminoff. “But it’s a much more difficult thing and involves more parties, like the building owner. “With the Ring Intercom, you can stay connected at your front door with a device you can buy and install yourself ‘with a few screws and half an hour on a Sunday,’” says Siminoff.
title: “The New Ring Intercom Will Help You Make Your Apartment Intercom Smart Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-06” author: “Jennifer Mcclanahan”
The Ring Intercom is a DIY, retrofit device that connects to your home intercom and connects via Wi-Fi to the Ring app on your smartphone. It is specially designed for European apartment buildings where several apartments (or flats) have one entry point and only one intercom system. With Ring Intercom installed, when someone calls your apartment, you can talk to your guest and call them through the app. There’s no video component — it’s all audio — and there’s no recording. The Ring Intercom simply replicates your existing intercom function on your phone, allowing you to talk to your front door from anywhere.
“If I had been born or raised in Europe, I might have built it first”
The main advantage of Ring intercom is the ability to talk to guests and call them remotely, using your phone from anywhere or an Echo device if you’re at home. But having packages or food deliveries make it inside the building and potentially to your front door, rather than sitting on the doorstep exposed to the elements and potential thieves, also adds another level of security and convenience.
“It’s as obvious a solution as the video doorbell,” Jamie Siminoff, Ring’s founder and chief inventor, told The Verge. “If I had been born or raised in Europe, I might have built it first.”
Three times more people live in multi-unit buildings worldwide than in single-family homes, he says, so this solution was one the company had been trying to develop for a long time. Siminoff said that while her doorbell product line was “doing well in Europe,” there was a large percentage of the population that simply couldn’t use one.
There is no recording feature, as with Ring Video Doorbells. there’s just live, two-way conversation
Ring introduced the Peephole Camera a few years ago, which worked for apartment doors (the doorbell camera was in the peephole). But that didn’t solve how to talk to someone knocking on the door of your building (and Ring discontinued Peephole last year).
“There are tens of thousands of variations [on intercom systems]said Siminov. “This is designed to work with over 90 percent of them. It took a lot of work to develop and it has a lot of intelligence that determines what it’s connected to, similar to how some smart thermostats work.”
The Ring Intercom connects to the internal intercom handset and is powered by a rechargeable, reusable battery. It’s compatible with most audio intercom headsets (but not video systems) and there’s a compatibility check on Ring.com. No structural changes to your apartment are required and the installation process is completely DIY.
When someone presses your apartment button at the main entrance, the two-way conversation via the Ring app is activated. You can only answer calls when someone is buzzing your apartment, so you can’t use it to hear people hanging out at the door whenever you want.
There is no recording feature, as with Ring Video Doorbells. there’s just live, two-way conversation. “I don’t know if people would like it [recording]says Siminoff. “And there are local laws about audio recording.” The activity log in the Ring app will let you know if you’ve missed a visitor. The activity log is also displayed whenever the remote unlock feature is activated by you or any shared user in your household that you have granted access to.
The Ring Intercom installs next to your apartment intercom handset and is battery operated. Image: Ring
While Ring says you can connect the Ring intercom to other Ring devices like the Ring Indoor Cam, there’s no bundled functionality. it’s just that both devices are accessed by the same app. The intercom is a purely audio device. “There are ways you can add video to these types of devices,” says Siminoff. “But it’s a much more difficult thing and involves more parties, like the building owner. “With the Ring Intercom, you can stay connected at your front door with a device you can buy and install yourself ‘with a few screws and half an hour on a Sunday,’” says Siminoff.
