Is there anything more unnerving than your Ring Doorbell going off randomly at 3am?
Whether it's in the middle of the day or in the dead of night, it's admittedly a little cary when your doorbell starts to go off of its own accord.
So, why does it even happen? Is it common or the sign of a faulty Ring doorbell? Should you be at all worried? I've covered everything below. First, let's look at why this tends to happen.
5 reasons why your Ring Doorbell ‘false rings' or goes off by itself (and what to do about it)
These are 5 of the most common reasons I've encountered why diagnosing false ring issues.
1. Faulty Wiring On The Chime Kit
If you have wired you doorbell yourself, then it's common to run into issues with faulty wiring or a loose connection. Faulty wiring can cause the doorbell to make its default sound, whether that be a classic ring or the more common chime.
More specifically, the issue is likely to be on the Chime Kit itself, rather than on the actual doorbell. This can often be confusing, as you're not actually getting sound emanating from the doorbell itself – it's the chime kit with a short or faulty wire causing the phantom sound.
The best fix for faulty wiring is to:
- Check that the voltage is correct on the transformer
- If you're wiring the doorbell yourself, you need to ensure that the wire gauge you use is the right size. Sounds simple, but is often an easy cause of loose or short wiring
- If you're using external power kits or running sound through Chime Kit, check that everything is connected properly
- Can you smell burning that would indicate the shorting of a wire? Physically inspect the wiring for any evidence of a burn or fraying
2. The doorbell requires a hard reset
If you've had your Ring device for a while, then sometimes all it takes is a hard reset to get everything syncing how it should. Yes, that does sound like the classic ‘turn it on and turn it off again', but often that's what your device will require.
You can hard reset your Ring device by getting your screwdriver and removing the doorbell from its holder/bracket. Hold down the orange setup button for 10 seconds and wait until the doorbell lights have stopped flashing. Once the flashing stops, the doorbell has been reset. You can see more about how to reset each generation doorbell in the list from Ring.
3. You need a new transponder
If your car had a faulty engine, you could change the tires for years and still not get it to work. Perhaps a cheesy analogy, but it can be the case if your transponder itself has seen better days.
So, what are the signs that you need a new transponder, and that it could be causing phantom ringing issues?
- Whilst standard doorbells run on incredibly low voltages, your Ring Doorbell is naturally going to run a little higher (90 Volts RMS average)
- Make sure that you turn off the power first, and check for any signs of damage to the transformer. Do things look out of place? Any wires hanging or dangling that shouldn't be? This is a tell-tale sign of damage and an indication that your transformer needs to be replaced
4. Your Ring Doorbell is defective
Sometimes, you can just get a bad device, in exactly the same what that you would with any product that you order. This can be particularly frustrating, as often Ring Doorbell users will look through websites like this and online forums to work-through a set list of actions before essentially giving up and getting in touch with customer service.
If you find that your doorbell still isn't responding after you've checked hardware compatibility, your transformer, your connected device(s) and following a hard reset, then your efforts may be futile. Whether it's the worst of a bad bunch or the doorbell being damaged in transit, you can't go wrong by getting in touch with support if you've exhausted all avenues. US support contact for Ring.
5. Your external chime is not compatible
Often first time Ring buyers will already have an external chime from a previous device, or have been gifted an external chime under the assumption that it's already compatible with their Ring device.
It's easy to assume that too, but there are actually external chimes on a compatibility list, which you can find here. If you can't see your external chime on this list, then chances are that's why you're experiencing phantom ringing, a seemingly random ‘firing up' of the doorbell, or at least a doorbell push to chime timing that is massively out of sync.
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