In the world of smart home technologies, Ring remains one of the best most well-known brands. Another of their most famous items is their motion sensor security cameras. With its two brilliant LED lamps, the Ring Floodlight Cam not only maintains the outdoors bright it also adds an additional level of protection to your home.
What happens if those LEDs begin to fail? Traditional light bulbs are substantially less durable than LED lighting. Even LEDs in a Ring Floodlight Cam can fail, despite the fact that they can shine for years. What can you do if this happens? The gist of it is…
The bulbs in the Ring Floodlight Cam are not technically replaceable, and doing so would void your Ring guarantee. It is therefore preferable to make a warranty claim if the guarantee is still valid. If it’s not, then you can make it yourself if you know how to connect wires together. There are, of course, other solutions to this issue, as well as advice on how to keep your Ring LEDs functioning for as long as possible.
What is the Ring Floodlight Cam?
One of Ring’s signature smart home devices is this:
This device combines a motion detector floodlight and a surveillance camera. The Ring floodlight features intense LED lights as well as a high-definition camera. This smart home device is compatible with the majority of today’s apps and is especially well-suited to Amazon’s Alexa ecosystem.
This floodlight is more expensive than many other types available. The Ring is very well-known for the high quality of its products, but that distinction comes at a cost. You’ve got a specialized configuration if you add more Alexa devices to make the most of your Ring cam.
However, if the LED lights on your Ring cam go out, you’ll want to have backup choices.
How Long do Ring Floodlight LEDs Last?
Almost indefinitely.
The lifespan of these LEDs is rated at ten years. That’s under normal settings and with regular use. For most users, this lifespan is ideal. You won’t have to worry about these LEDs burning out because you will be able to receive full functioning from them.
In fact, the majority of the time, these LEDs fail due to damage or factory flaws. LEDs are a high-efficiency technology that isn’t as delicate as incandescent lights.
But what can you do if they do break?
Can You Replace the Ring Floodlight Cam’s LED Bulbs?
Remember how we said this was primarily a “no” situation?
The first and only method to change the LED lights on these cameras is to open them up and perform some basic electrical work on them. On the other hand, the Ring floodlight cam is designed to be an unique, weatherproofed equipment that cannot be rebuilt.
After spending over $200 on it, this doesn’t sound like a good deal for us, but there are a few available solutions to us if our Ring LEDs fail. There’s still hope if your Ring floodlight camera’s LEDs are failing.
What to do When Your Ring Floodlight LED Breaks?
We’ll tackle this problem’s answers one by one, from the simplest to the most difficult.
The first several options simply entail returning your Ring machinery to the factory and waiting for a substitute unit to arrive.
Afterward though, we’ll look into several Ring floodlight options as well as strategies to manage with burned-out LEDs.
Our final stop will be the exciting realm of DIY, where we’ll examine at how to change your Ring LEDs if you want to learn some basic electrical abilities as well.
Option #1 – Option #1 – Use Your Warranty
The first stop should be to use your warranty.
The initial point of connection should be with your warranty provider. To be honest, if your Ring product’s warranty is still valid and whatever damage caused the LEDs to break is covered, this is the simplest option.
The warranty is a layer of consumer protection designed to help you secure your smart home equipment investment.
For up to a max of one year from the purchase date, this warranty covers your Ring Floodlight Cam.
Why not make use of your coverage if you still have it?
Warranties are fantastic, and if you subscribe to Ring, your guarantee may be extended even further.
Option #2 – Ring Protect Plus
Ring Protect Plus is a premium service that adds another layer of protection to your Ring cameras and alarm system, as well as an extended warranty for your Ring devices.
It charges $10 per month or $100 per year to participate in this program. As long as the plan is valid, it extends the life of any active warranties.
This implies that you may keep your Ring devices protected eternally as long as you are willing to pay for the service. The precise wording on Ring’s website is: When you enroll in Ring Protect Plus, your Ring device must be within its initial warranty period for extended warranty coverage to activate. The device will be secured under Ring Protect Plus until you cancel your subscription after the original warranty period expires. The extended warranty does not apply to non-Ring and other third-party devices.
Aside from the extended warranty, Ring Protect Plus has a few more features that some users may find worthwhile:
- When you buy something through Ring.com, you get a discount.
- For the Ring Alarm system, professional monitoring is available.
- All of the functions of the Ring Protect basic plan are included as well (i.e. recordings are gathered for 30-60 days, better notifications and so on).
Option #3 – Buy an Alternative Model
The majority of smart floodlight cams are enclosed installations. This implies that, despite the fact that LEDs are extremely long-lasting, your typical smart floodlight cam does not want you to change the light bulbs on your own.
Nest, Ring, and other big smart home manufacturers are all designed without a simple mechanism for the common smart home user to adjust those LEDs themselves. If your Ring smart floodlight breaks, you can always upgrade your model or try a different brand — Amazon offers a number of lesser-known brands on the market that sells smart floodlight cams for around $100.
Consider a product such as the Sengled smart LED light bulb camera combo for illustration. This plugs into an existing light socket and combines floodlight and camera capability into one convenient product.
The cams may not be as good as Nest or Ring, but it does give smart home fans more alternatives.
Another alternative is to disassemble the smart floodlight camera bundle into individual components.
Option #4 – Modular Smart Home Solutions
If you’re concerned about smart lights going out on you, you may always separate the lights and the camera into different schemes.
Separate goods, such as an outdoor smart camera and individual floodlights, can be used to accomplish this quickly and easily.
This method works with old-fashioned motion detection floodlights that don’t have any built-in smart technology.
You could, for instance, purchase a less expensive Ring Stick-up Cam and then utilize any lighting – smart or not. You’ll get motion activated light (from the floodlight) while also recording smart video with your Ring Cam. This will very certainly be less expensive than purchasing a Ring Floodlight Cam in the long run.
If your Ring’s LEDs burn out, you may use this strategy to construct a more flexible smart home that can be readily fixed without having to replace entire components.
However, if you’re comfortable with soldering and wiring, a DIY solution may be the best option.
Option #5 – Do It Yourself (also known as Why You Should Break Your Ring Floodlight Warranty!)
You want to keep utilizing your Ring Floodlight Camera, but the LEDs need to be fixed. These adjustments can be made at home with this DIY method.
It turns out that third-party parts for Nest, Ring, and some other smart home brands are widely available.
However, using these DIY remedies will necessitate brushing up on your electricity safety 101 and learning some DIY skills.
There are numerous guides for repairing a Ring floodlight camera:
This guide will teach you to replace damaged LEDs and replace them with new ones, as well as how to wire them up. Remember that doing so will void your protection (Protect Plus plan or otherwise). If the warranty isn’t an issue, and you follow the instructions and appreciate the skill-building aspect of DIY, you can repair any damaged smart light at home.
Is there any way to prevent the LEDs from failing again once your Ring Floodlight Cam has been repaired?
Can you Improve the Lifespan of Your Ring Floodlight LEDs?
Definitely!
Every piece of technology comes with the finest practices to ensure that it lasts as long as possible. The Floodlight Cam from Ring is no exception.
Here are some suggestions to help you keep these lights on for years to come. Maintain a dry environment. Water is still the enemy, even if technology has come a long way since gas-powered lights.
While the Floodlight Cam is supposed to be weatherproof, and the LED lights have little ‘hoods’ on them, if your Ring floodlight is subjected to too much water or water going into the housing, your LEDs will be destroyed.
The temperature should be considered as well. If you reside in a desert region, attempt to provide some shade for these lights during the day. This is commonly accomplished by placing them under and overhanging.
Finally, where you place your Ring Floodlight Cam is critical:
- Place your floodlights where they will be protected from the environment to the best of your ability. These LEDs will soon wear out if they are exposed to hail, severe winds, or if they are positioned near a water run-off location on your roof.
- If it’s set up, so that motion events are recognized all of the time, the LEDs will be turned on all of the time as well, reducing the bulb’s lifespan. Certainly, you can change this via the Ring app as well – either by lowering the motion sensitivity or just controlling when the Floodlight Cam’s lights turn on. As a last resort, you may simply turn off the lights when motion is detected (and only switch them off/on directly via the app whenever you need them on):
