Ring Alarm Pro Review, Pros & Cons and Specs 2022
THE BOTTOM LINE for Ring Alarm Pro
Ring Alarm Pro is a DIY smart home security system and a Wi-Fi mesh router, and handles both tasks with ease.
Ring Alarm Pro PROS
Built-in Wi-Fi 6 mesh router
Excellent power and internet backup solutions
Supports Alexa voice control
Works with lots of Ring and third-party devices
Ring Alarm Pro CONS
Lacks Google Assistant, HomeKit, and IFTTT support
Some features require a subscription
RING ALARM PRO SPECS
Upfront Costs Start at $299.99
Monthly Fees Start at $20
Professional Installation Required No
Monitoring Contract Required No
Environmental Sensors Yes
Cellular Backup Yes
Power Outage Back up Yes
Z-Wave/ZigBee Yes
IFTTT Support No
Voice Assistant Compatibility Amazon Alexa
We rated the Ring Alarm Security Kit ($ 199.99) for its easy installation, affordable monitoring options, and cross-platform compatibility. The new Color Alarm Pro ($ 299.99 as tested) offers more of the same, but now has a built-in Aero Mesh Router that can bring Wi-Fi 6 connectivity to all corners of your home, which Offers good value for money. It works with many other color devices and third party options, and serves as an excellent backup power and internet connectivity solution. You need to subscribe to a Ring Protect plan to take advantage of the latest features of the system, but this will allow you to receive Adobe Iota, SimpliSafe Home Security System as well as our Editors' Choice Award for DIY Smart Home Security Systems. Does not stop Wise home monitoring. If you also need a new router, Color Alarm Pro is your best bet.
A multi-part security and network system
You can buy the Color Alarm Pro as a complete system or get the base station ($ 249.99) and the sensors you need separately. We tested the eight-piece system, which costs 9 299.99. The package includes a base station, four door or window sensors, a motion sensor, a keypad, and a range extender. For larger homes, the 14-Pace System ($ 379.99) bundles base stations, eight door or window sensors, two motion sensors, two keypads, and a range extender.
Controls the base station system. Its white wall measures 2.7 x 6.7 x 6.7 inches (HWD). An embedded aero rotor with a small LED with an LED ring and speakers at the top. The LED glows blue when the base is in Bluetooth pairing mode, solid blue when the system is disarmed, and solid red when the system is armed in home or away mode. The small router LED glows white when an internet connection is available and red when it loses contact.
Internet and power indicators behind the base station, two Gigabit Ethernet ports (WAN and LAN), a USB power port, a microSD card slot (color provides a 64GB microSD card), a pairing button, and a red Holds the set button. At the bottom are four rubber feet for desktop space and two slots for wall mounting units. The card slot is for the Ring Edge feature (which requires a Ring Protect subscription) that lets you store and process video recordings locally instead of in the cloud.
The base station packs a lot of wireless circuitry. It has Bluetooth, Cellular, RF, and Z-Wave radios. Most importantly, it has an Aero Wi-Fi 6 mesh router that you can use to build an entire home network with Aero 6 extenders (?? ??89 each). The dual band router has a maximum data rate of up to 900Mbps and can cover up to 1,500 square feet. Each extender adds 1,500 square feet of Wi-Fi coverage.
The base station has a very loud 104dB siren and a battery backup that provides power for 24 hours in the event of a shutdown. If that's not enough auxiliary juice, you can buy a color power pack (129.99) that gives you an extra eight hours of power (depending on usage). You can connect up to four power packs at a time for a total of 32 hours of backup power. If you subscribe to the Ring Protect Pro plan, Alarm Pro will use its cellular radio to maintain Internet connectivity to the system and connected devices in the event of a power outage. It keeps devices such as doorbells, indoor and outdoor cameras, and lights online until you get your electricity and internet back.
The base keypad measures 4.1 x 4.4 x 0.7 inches and has 0-9 keys. Unarmed, home, and remote keys; Police, Fire, and Medical Emergency Buttons; An X button to cancel the entry; And a check button to confirm the entry. The keypad uses Z-Wave to connect to the base station and can operate on AC or battery power. You can put it on the wall or on a flat surface.
Door and window sensors are not as large as the original color alarms. They measure 1.5 by 2.0 by 0.5 inches, run on two CR2032 batteries, and use the Z-Wave to communicate with the base station. They come with pre-installed adhesive strips for easy installation. The Z-Wave motion sensor also has adhesive and comes with hardware screws for more permanent installation. It measures 2.6 by 2.6 by 1.5 inches and runs on two AA batteries. Range Extender is a plugin device that extends the range of your Z-Wave devices. It measures 1.8 by 3.1 by 1.6 inches and has a backup battery that can power the device for up to 24 hours.
Extra ingredients are not expensive. Additional door and window sensors cost $ 19.99 each, while additional motion sensors cost $ 29.99 each. Those prices are cheaper than SimpliSafe ($ 14.99 and $ 29.99 for equivalent sensors, respectively) and FrontPoint ($ 23.09 and $ 45.49 for comparable parts, respectively). Ring also sells many other accessories, including third-party door locks, flood sensors, smart plugs, smoke detectors, thermostats, and of course video doorbells, security cameras, and lighting systems. That said, the system doesn't work with Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant, or IFTTT.
Subscription options
You can monitor the Alarm Pro system yourself, but if you want professional monitoring, you need to subscribe to the Color Protect Pro plan. It costs $ 20 per month or $ 200 per year for 24/7 professional supervision. Departure of Police and Fire Department; Push & Email Alerts; And unlimited cloud recordings for all your color cameras, a little less than SimpliSafe's $ 25-per-month interactive plan.
The Protect Pro plan gives you access to the aforementioned 24/7 backup internet feature with 60 days of video history as well as 3GB of cellular data (you can pay for more data if needed). It also unlocks the Alexa Guard Plus and AeroSecure features. Alexa Guard Plus provides hands-free access to the 24/7 helpline for dispatching emergency responders (police, fire, and ambulance) using Alexa Voice commands. The service also generates push alerts if any of your connected devices detects smoke or carbon monoxide alarms along with the sound of glass breaking. Eero Secure offers network security tools and robust parental controls for your new mesh network.
App and base station options
One of our grips with the earlier color alarm system was that it would not send push or email alerts when something triggered the sensor when disarming the system. This is no longer the case. You can now activate alerts for unarmed, home, and away modes through the same Ring mobile app (available for Android and iOS) that every other Ring device uses.
The Alarm Pro dashboard appears on the screen in a dedicated panel in the app. At the top of the screen are buttons for arming and disarming the system, as well as its current status. Tap the Alarm Pro panel to open the Alarm Device screen, which includes a list of all installed sensors, keypads, and extensions. To enable or disable any device, tap it, view its history, check battery level, and adjust settings such as name and room assignment.
The base station screen shows the battery level and cellular power meter. It also displays tiles for updating firmware, viewing event history, linking to other color devices, adding users, and scheduling mode to automatically arm or disarm the system. Other tiles include an aero tile that takes you to the Aero Router app, a data tile that shows you how much cellular data you have left and allows you to choose what you need. On which devices can use cellular data, and a video storage tile that lets you view and manage video recordings of all activity, which cameras use Color Edge.
Seamless setup, responsive alerts
I had no problem installing Alarm Pro. I already had the Color app on my phone, but if this is your first color device, you need to download it and create an account. I tapped Setup A device at the bottom of the app's dashboard screen, selected Security, then selected Alarm Pro Base Station. I chose my home location as my preferred location and followed the on-screen instructions to power up the base in the area near my internet modem. I tapped Continue and the app searched and found the base station in a few seconds, then prompted me to download the Aero app to connect the station to the Internet.
Again, I already had the Eero app, but if this is your first Eero device, you'll need to download it and create an account to proceed. I tapped Add a network in the settings menu and followed the instructions to disconnect my existing router, connect Alarm Pro to the router, and plug and restart my modem. Using my phone's Bluetooth, the app searched the Aero Router and asked for a location (room). Then I created a Wi-Fi name and password, and the network was up and running in a matter of seconds.
I returned to the Ring app, skipped the last four screens of product information, and tapped Continue to register Alarm Pro and enabled my 30-day trial period of the Ring Protect Monitoring Service. On the following screen, I tapped Add Security Devices and proceeded to add each of the sensors listed, one device at a time (each sensor on the list contains a code to be found on the original device). Compatible with the code). To add a door and window sensor to the system, I just had to remove their battery tape. I chose a use case (door or window) and a name for the sensor, attached it using a pre-installed adhesive, and followed the procedure for the other three door and window sensors. The motion sensor was just as easy to install.
To install the keypad, I plugged it into an AC outlet. The system was automatically discovered and paired with it. I gave it a location and a name, created an access code, and moved to Range Extender. I put the extender in an outlet, assigned it to a room, and gave it a name. This was the final stage of the alarm pro setup.
Ring Alarm Pro worked flawlessly in testing. It responded immediately to sensor activation events and developed push and email alerts immediately after each. It worked fast on Alexa voice commands as well as arm and unarmed commands from the app and keypad.
I connected the Alarm Pro to the color stickup cam and set the camera to start recording after the alarm trigger and it worked without interruption. I have also developed an Alexa routine for Wise bulbs that can be turned on when the door and window sensors are turned off. He also acted as intended. The Alarm Pro siren was loud enough to be heard throughout the house and in front of me and in the backyard.
In terms of router performance, the base station standalone works like the Elon 6 router, so you can check out our review for more details. The only difference is that it does not currently support Thread or Zigbee.
Home security and mesh networking in one
Abode offers excellent third party support, SimpliSafe's system is the most smooth and smooth, and Wyze's prices are the lowest. With Color Alarm Pro, however, you get two smart home devices in one user-friendly package. This versatile DIY home security system is easy to install and works with many colors and third party devices. It also acts as a dual band mesh router that can provide Wi-Fi 6 in homes of all sizes. That said, you'll need to subscribe to the Color Protect Pro plan to unlock all the features of the system, including 24/7 Internet backup, Alexa Guard, and Color Edge. Putting this need aside, Color Alarm Pro is the latest winner of our Editors' Choice for DIY Home Security Systems, especially if you are in the market for a new router.
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