Responses (5)

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TTTDDD
I’ve been dealing with a similar issue when I installed my old 1st gen RVD at my new house. The battery didn’t say it was charging at first, but eventually did an hour or so later. But the interior mechanical chimes (2) stopped working after a month or so. I hadn’t installed it right away, so my suspicion is that it decided to download an update that broke it. I still got notifications, and the battery was charging, just the mechanical chimes didn’t work. I also tried a new 16VAC/30VA transformer did not fix it. I quadrupled the CAT5 conductors (went from using just one pair: blue & white-blue, which DID work in the past, to all four whites and all four solids), that didn’t fix it. I just bought a new one today, the 2nd gen 1080p, paired it, installed it while it was updating. Then it offered me an option to ENABLE INDOOR MECHANICAL CHIME. The default was OFF. I looked for that option before on the gen1, the option was NOT there. I left the old one paired on my account, the option still isn’t there, but it is there for the gen2. (See photos) It is possible that a component (relay or whatever) simply wore out inside the gen1, but it’s also possible that it is an internal option that doesn’t have a user facing option, and it turned itself off during an update. Tech support was no help to me either. “Check your wiring” “unpair and re-pair the device” “[IDK what else to do]” but in all fairness, I don’t expect them to remotely diagnose or send their lead engineer to my house to fix this 4 year old $100 video doorbell. So, hate to say it, pal, but you might have to plunk down another $100 assuming your old one is out of warranty. Unless you want to start a petition that Ring digs into their old firmware to find the problem. I am certainly not the type who enjoys buying something again and again due to simple failures, but this might be the most cost effective option if you count the value of your time. Now if this one dies, I’m def moving on to a different brand. Good luck!
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31-05-2020 02:56:06
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GeneHite

I was having the same problem, (so frustrating) and was lucky enough to get in contact with Kieth at Ring. He suggested that I try not having my Ring doorbell connected to Alexa. So, I went into Alexa and had her “forget” the Ring doorbell. Bingo, instant success. There is apparently something about Amazon Alexa that disables the doorbell ring in the Ring system. That is probably a problem that the Alexa folks will need to fix. Of course, you still need to have Ring set up correctly. But that will not fix the problem if you have your Ring system attached to Alexa. Kieth at Ring was not sure whether everyone with this configuration has this problem. Apparently I was the third person he had personally talked to about it. I shared with him all my serial numbers, so he could possibly identify whether this is a general problem, or specific to certain manufacturing codes. Keith was going to be sure the issue is communicated to the Alexa people,. Hope this helps. It surely was a frustration for me. But now my doorbell is working just fine.

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23-01-2021 02:56:34

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ShawnR

@GeneHite...I too am having the same issue suddenly. I have had this same ring since 2016 and nothing has changed. I took the ring off the wall and put the 2 wires together and it sounds the mechanical chime. I am guess generation 1's don't have the option to turn the chime on and off. I did have Alexa hooked up to my ring. I deleted all the cameras first. Didn't help. I disconnected Alexa from the Ring app and still no chime. Ring had me to send them photos of the wiring and information to see if they need to replace the Ring. It is either a software issue or the ring is faulty. I am almost ready to go and get another ring from another location and put it up to see if it will make the chime ring. I will follow back up with the community when I find out more. In PROGRESS. Any help will be gladly appreciated.

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13-09-2021 02:52:09

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Walt32
Having the same issue, worked with tier 2 support on the phone, it looks like a firmware/software update has removed the ability for the gen 1 cameras to work with a mechanical doorbell. There used to be an option under General settings to select “Doorbell Chime Type" and then Choose “Mechanical” from a drop-down menu. This option is no longer available. The Tier 2 tech said he could "enable" this on his end but it still didn't work, "at first". Seeing a lot of people with the gen 1 door bell cameras having this issue online I believe this was the result of a software/firmware change making these GEN 1 doorbell cams no longer work with a mechanical doorbells. After a complete reset of the doorbell camera (cleaning the leads, the connection to the leads, and ensuring the doorbell itself still worked or course) and Tier 2 support ensuring that the mechanical chime was enabled on their end, its now working. It took a few mins after everything was done for it to start working. I didn't think it was resolved at first.
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15-10-2021 23:47:23
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tonyplin

I can confirm that the experience from Walt32 is correct. I had the same issue with my first generation doorbell. For the last couple of months I assumed that my transformer had gone bad, however after testing it out over the last few days and going online to this community posting I called Ring technical support today. After spending about 10 minutes with the original tier one support person who asked for a photo of the mounting bracket, mechanical chime and transformer, I was escalated to an expert. Robert, who was really helpful, instructed me that with the last firmware upgrade the “chime kit” defaulted to turning the connection off between the doorbell and the mechanical chime. There is no way to turn it back on from the app on the customer’s end- you have to call Technical Support and have them turn it on for you. It took him no more than a few minutes to figure this out and we tested live while he was still on the phone with me. All is good again, and kudos to Robert for fantastic technical support!

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25-11-2021 21:55:00

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Tvinci1

I’m in the same boat how can I contact Ring to my mechanical chime working again.

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07-07-2022 22:39:21

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user_a71657
My gen 1 doorbell has the same issue, it used to work when I first installed it a few years ago. Somewhere along the line, it lost that capability. I double check my mechanical chime and wiring are all good by temporarily connecting a simple doorbell button. I called support today, and agent "Mary" said that they NOT have such capability to set it from her tools. She called the posting from @tonyplin and @walt32 fake information! Can any ring community moderator confirm this?
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11-07-2025 22:50:15
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