For every time Ring Doorbell users push the button on their device, an external tone of “ringing” comes out. When someone touched my Ring Doorbell Pro (without understanding what it was) and then it immediately played a sound back to them, they clearly startled me a little!
Ring’s decision to ring back to the person who pushed the doorbell is a little odd since standard doorbells do not. Is it possible to adjust (or completely deactivate) the sound of this feature?
Changing the sound that plays outside your Ring doorbell is not currently possible with Ring. However, it is possible to turn this sound totally off and then employ a few clever techniques as an alternative instead.
Outside Ring Doorbell sound
At 100% level, this chime sound may be too loud for certain visitors, making it feel like a sudden change from the normal Ring sound. I’ve really lowered my volume to 50%, and my guests are no longer startled by it!
Options for Changing this Sound
Unfortunately, Ring does not presently allow you to adjust the sound of the external Ring doorbell. Whether or not this function will be available in the future is still up in the air; however, Marley (who works at Ring) did mention the following in November 2019:
When you press the button on your Doorbell, you cannot adjust the tone that comes out of its speaker… Other neighbors have shown interest in a similar feature request, and we think this is a great idea! Consider distributing this to your colleagues.
With no way to alter this sound, there are a few possibilities for you.
- Stop surprising your guests by lowering the volume or turning it off entirely!
- Learn to live with it and hope your visitors do the same.
- Change the sound using one of the three workaround approaches I’ve shown.
To begin, you must first silence the Ring doorbell outside by:
- Getting started with the Ring application.
- Setting up your Ring doorbell is as simple as clicking on it and navigating to the settings menu.
- Choosing “Device Settings” from the “Settings” menu.
- “General Settings” may be accessed by clicking on the link.
- Turn down the “Doorbell Ringer Volume” all the way to 0% on the left:
‘Changing’ the Sound #1: using an external Echo
Using the Echo Chime Sounds
It’s possible to use your Echo devices as an extension of the Ring Doorbell’s built-in chime. There are a variety of doorbell sounds to choose from, including:
One way to get an Echo device to work is to first turn off the doorbell sound (as discussed previously) and connect it to a wall outlet outdoors. To obtain the greatest results, you’ll need a porch area where your Echo is protected from rain (and ideally many cameras to prevent someone from simply stealing the Echo!).
You need to make sure that your Echo plays a chime sound when you push the doorbell now that the Ring doorbell volume has been dialed down and your Echo is configured to play the doorbell sound you want to hear.
Here’s how:
- The Alexa app may be accessed by launching it.
- Select “Devices.”
- Select your smart doorbell from the list of cameras by clicking on the ‘Cameras’ drop-down menu.
- It’s important to make sure that your outside Echo is chosen in the Announcement Devices section by clicking the tick next to it:
When the doorbell is pushed, your outdoor Echo will play whatever sound you’ve picked (rather than the default Ring doorbell sound). This is a far better alternative than depending on the default Ring doorbell sound.
Using a Custom Routine
If you don’t want to use your outdoor Echo as an announcement device, you may use a custom routine in the Alexa app to include it.
For example, if you want to have the routine start when someone hits your front doorbell, you may set the trigger (“When this occurs”) to be smart home -> front door (your doorbell).
Afterward, you may pick one or more actions (e.g., “Add action”)
- Play a song or two. What about Sum41’s “Still Waiting”?
- In addition to the conventional “Alexa, I’ll be there in 1 minute,” you may also include anything offensive or joking!
‘Changing’ the sound #2: using a Ring Chime
It’s also possible to utilize a Ring Chime with between 15 and 30 programmable sounds on the first-gen chimes and 30+ sounds on the second-generation ones (released in 2020). First-generation chimes may be heard in the video below.
Plug a Chime into an outside outlet and use this sound instead of Ring’s usual doorbell chime.
Ideally, the Chime should be placed in a location that is protected from rain and where it won’t be stolen! As a result, you’ll have access to at least 15-30 different configurable chime sounds instead of the Ring doorbell’s one chime sound.
‘Changing’ the sound #3: wire up an external doorbell chime
The fourth option is to do something that first seems a bit strange. However, before you install your Ring Doorbell, you would have had a wall-mounted doorbell chime unit (for your old doorbell).
If you accidentally removed it during the installation, you may reinstall it on the exterior of your home. To play sounds via this chime unit, you may set up your Ring doorbell to use the ‘Doorbell Type’ setting under ‘General Settings’ in the Ring app. This will ensure that your Ring doorbell is compatible. When someone rings your Ring doorbell, it will play the classic doorbell sound.
Naturally, this is an odd proposal since you’re still stuck with a single doorbell sound (unless you have a sophisticated digital chime unit, I guess) and an externally placed doorbell chime device. Ring suggested that you play an outside sound for guests, so I thought I’d post it here in case your wiring enables it since it may be beneficial to some folks.
-our editorial board has reviewed this article and has been approved for publication according to our editorial policy.
Best Seller List of Ring Doorbells:
Last update on 2025-03-21
