Are Ring Video Doorbells and Echo Show devices compatible?
Quick answer: Yes, you can use Amazon Echo Show devices with Ring Video Doorbells to view and talk to visitors before answering the door.
Amazon's popular Ring Video Doorbell lineup, which includes the terrific Ring Video Doorbell 4, makes it easy to see who rang the doorbell and even talk with them from your phone without ever having to open the door. But don't fret if you sat your smartphone in another room and only have an Amazon Echo Show nearby. You can still view your Ring doorbell's live feed and chat with any visitors directly from that device. Easy peasy.
From security and peace of mind to a variety of everyday conveniences, these two devices are practically made for each other. While you aren't required to connect your Amazon Echo Show to your Ring Video Doorbell, there are a ton of great reasons to connect them if you own either.
Whether it's another pesky door-to-door salesperson or your annoying neighbor, being able to view exactly who's at your door before you open it is inarguably a nice convenience. You can also opt to talk with your visitor through your Echo device. This feature makes it easy to tell your guest you'll need another minute before you can get to the door, tell someone to leave the package on the porch, or even scare off a potential intruder.
Connecting the two gadgets also makes it incredibly easy to scrub through your footage history. For example, on an Echo Show, you can quickly rewind, pause, or fast-forward through clips to find the specific moment you're looking for. You can also set up your Echo device to announce through Alexa when someone's at your door (in addition to hearing your normal doorbell tone) and arm or disarm your companion Ring Alarm system if you have one.
Moreover, you can control other compatible smart home devices and accessories through your Amazon Echo Show — you can view your Ring Video Doorbell's live feed, turn on any external smart lights, ensure the smart lock on your front door is locked, and much more. The Echo Show can become the central hub for your entire smart home. What's not to love?
If you already own both devices, getting them paired is a cinch. All you'll need to get started (besides your Ring Video Doorbell and Echo device) is the Alexa app, which you can download on your smartphone or tablet.
From there, tap More, then select Skills & Games. Next, in the search field, type and select Ring; tap the first Ring result, and tap Enable to Use. At this point, you must enter your Ring account information to link your Amazon and Ring device accounts. After signing in, select the Enable Skill and Link Accounts option. All you need to do then is tap Discover Devices. If that doesn't work, go to the bottom of the app and tap the Devices icon or say, "Alexa, discover my devices."
It's no trouble to view the current live feed of your Ring Video Doorbell through your compatible Echo device. You just need the right voice command, and you have a few to choose from for starting and stopping your live feed.
To display the live view, say, "Alexa, show my front door," or "Alexa, show Ring Video Doorbell." Note that you must specify which Ring device for the second command if you have more than one set up. To end viewing, say, "Alexa, hide the front door [or your device]," "Alexa, stop," or "Alexa, go home."
You also have the option to open the live view manually on your Amazon Echo Show device any time you want to take a peek outside. In this instance, just swipe right on your Echo Show's home screen, tap the Smart Home option, and select your Ring Video Doorbell. It will then pull up your feed just as it would if someone rang your doorbell. You can also have your Echo device display the feed for any other compatible security cameras you have, whether they're capturing your front yard, garage, or backyard. This is an easy way to monitor all of your external home security cameras from one central place.
As noted earlier, your Echo Show device makes it easy to view your Ring Video Doorbell's live feed anytime with a voice command like, "Alexa, show me the front door." Likewise, when someone rings your doorbell, your Echo device can automatically show the feed for the next 15 seconds, allowing you to see who's there and decide whether you want to bother opening your door. You can also tell Alexa to automatically announce that someone's at your door when they ring the doorbell.
If you decide to engage your visitor, start by using a voice command such as, "Alexa, answer the front door." This lets you see a real-time view of what your doorbell sees and sets up the two-way microphone in case you want to talk to whoever's there. And yes, you can also dig into the settings and disable the microphone if you don't want it turned on every time someone rings the doorbell. Note that the microphone will stay on with that command until you end the live feed, which you can do with the voice command "Alexa, stop."
Maybe you don't want notifications every time your Ring Video Doorbell detects a person, but only when a package is dropped off on your porch. That's totally fine. In fact, you can tweak the settings to set up a more tailored smartphone notification for this scenario.
To set up this special notification, open your Ring app, open the list of your home's Ring devices, and select your video doorbell. From there, tap motion settings, then smart alerts, and tap on the small video icon next to packages to turn on that feature. If you're so inclined, you can also set up custom package detection zones to ensure even more accurate detection to make sure you don't get mistaken push notifications.
While you have the option to sign up for a Ring Protect subscription to enhance the functionality of your Ring Video Doorbell, you do not need it to link the two devices. The Ring Video Doorbell offers stellar basic functionality without the subscription, and it won't affect your ability to pair Ring and Echo devices together, view the live feed on demand, or talk to guests using the two-way speaker and microphone.
It's worth noting that Amazon's optional monthly smart home security subscription service is fantastic and robust. It gives you the ability to store recorded and live event video history for longer; download and share important clips; and receive motion-detection and package notifications, announcements, extended warranties, and even some heavy-duty professional home monitoring features. So if you can spare a few extra bucks (plans start at just $4/monthly), the Ring Protect subscription is terrific for anyone looking to bolster their home security setup.
If you own a Ring Video Doorbell and an Echo Show, we definitely recommend linking them, so you can more easily view your doorbell's live camera. It's pretty easy to set up, taking only a few moments; plus, it enhances your home security and might even help deter annoying neighbors and solicitors.
Again, while you aren't required to connect the two devices, there really isn't a downside to doing so, as it'll only make your life easier. The benefits and convenient functionality far outweigh any downsides you might find — although we can't see any — and it's an easy way to increase your home security, see who's at your door while you're busy cooking dinner, and know exactly when your Amazon packages get delivered. Again, what's not to like?
See who is at your door or in your yard and chat with them via the two-way speaker with the Ring Video Doorbell. It’s easy to set up, sends instant notifications, detects movement and packages, and works with dual-band Wi-Fi for a steady connection.
With the Amazon Echo Show 10, you can easily view your live Ring Video Doorbell feed, watch movies, listen to music, see your upcoming calendar events, and enjoy video calls via the 13MP camera. It also doubles as a home security camera while you’re gone and displays your favorite photos as a screensaver.
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Suzanne has over seven years of experience researching, testing, writing, and editing articles about all kinds of tech, from smart home gadgets and EVs, to Android apps and nerdy media. She graduated in 2015 with a Bachelor’s Degree in English Language and Literature and a minor in Professional and Technical Writing. Since then, she has spent her professional time writing and editing articles about consumer technology at publications like Top Ten Reviews, Active Junky, Review Geek, and LifeSavvy. When she’s not working, Suzanne enjoys reading, gaming, cooking, hiking, and going on road trips.
