To give an example of one possible setup: I got the $300 Ring Alarm Pro package, along with a $100 Ring Stick Up Cam, a $130 Alarm Pro backup power pack, an $89 Eero 6 Wi-Fi range extender (on sale for $62 when I got it) and a $15 microSD card (though you can get one for free by redeeming a code after purchasing the system) for local storage. Ring's prices are close to those of SimpliSafe, one of the best DIY home security systems on the market, which clocks in at $15 and $30, respectively.Īs with other systems, the Ring Alarm Pro is going to have better pricing if you buy one of the packages, then add whatever standalone devices you want on top, rather than buying everything a la carte.
Door/window sensors, for instance, cost $20 each and motion detectors cost $30. In general, the pricing for these devices is middling compared to the competition - not quite as affordable as Wyze's super-cheap gadgets, but not as pricey as Abode's more expensive ones.
You can also buy a bigger package for $380 (it adds four more door/window sensors, an extra motion detector and another keypad), or you can buy the individual sensors a la carte, expanding the system beyond these basics to include a wide range of Ring cameras, video doorbells, backup power packs, Eero Wi-Fi range extenders and so on. You can opt for just the base station for $250 - but then you won't get all the security sensors that make the system work. If you buy the Ring Alarm Pro system, you'll probably pay $300 to get a router/base device, four door/window sensors, a motion detector, a Z-Wave range extender and a keypad. In short, the Ring Alarm Pro isn't just a game-changing device for Amazon it's a ground-shaking product for the whole DIY home security market. Ring even goes out of its way to offer admirable data security and privacy options if, like me, you're worried about the company's spotty track record when it comes to working with police and degrading community privacy. The result is an affordable system with impressive smarts, lots of flexibility for all kinds of customers and a rock-solid base that will make pretty much anyone happy. Ring also adds a few game-changing perks to the mix, including backup Wi-Fi and local processing and storage.
You'll pay $250 for the router itself, or $300 for the router plus some additional security sensors, which include door/window sensors, motion detectors, a keypad, a siren and optional professional monitoring subscriptions. It merges an Eero Wi-Fi 6 mesh router with a DIY security system.
At the same time, you might need to go into the extender's settings to enable that feature, which can be complicated for a lot of users.The Ring Alarm Pro is one of the most compelling DIY home security systems I've tested, period. To be fair, some recent extenders give options to keep your main WiFi network's name and bands to make switching easier and automatic. If you're close enough to an Eero router, it'll connect your devices to the 5GHz band, which offers faster speeds, but has less range than the 2.4GHz band. If your devices need better range, Eero will automatically connect your devices to the longer-range 2.4GHz band. Mesh systems like Eero, on the other hand, help your devices automatically switch to the nearest Eero, and each Eero broadcasts the same WiFi network name.Įero will also automatically connect your devices to the appropriate WiFi band - 2.4GHz and 5Ghz - depending on their needs. For example, an extender's network name might be your main network's name with the letters "EXT" tagged on, to indicate that it's your extender's WiFi network. That's mostly because WiFi extenders have their own network name that's slightly different to your main WiFi network's name. Anyone who's used a traditional WiFi extender will know that you sometimes need to manually switch your devices to the extender's own WiFi network when you're too far from your main WiFi router.