Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've been waiting since last year for the Ring Alarm to finally be released. I'm glad I waited because it is saving me tons of money. I have been using Frontpoint for several years, ADT before them, and my monthly monitoring has increased up to $50 a month. I started getting Ring cameras last year and am already subscribing to the Protect Plus monitoring so when I found out that Ring was releasing an alarm system and that professional monitoring would be included with the $10 Protect Plus plan, I was ecstatic. This thing would pay for itself in just a few months over what I was currently paying for monitoring alone! Now that I have it and everything is installed, here are a few thoughts: Base Station - The brains. It is an unassuming white square that blends in with most of my other devices sitting in my living room. Apart from a glowing ring on top, there isn't much else to it. Mine had some blemishes on top that you can see in the right light, but that's it. I opened the Ring app, plugged it in, and started the set-up. The siren is built into the base station and it chimes when a contact sensor is triggered or if an alarm goes off. It also announces the status of the mode you select, meaning it says that is armed for Home or Away. Keypad - The keypad is smaller than what i am used to, but still a decent size. The keys are plastic and a little clicky, but that probably has more to do with me being used to the softkeys that all of my alarm keypads have had before and not that they are cheap or anything. It comes with a usb charger and runs on batteries when unplugged. There is an install plate that you can slide it in and out of if you want. I plan on keeping mine installed on a wall and only plugging it in when the battery needs charging. I've read somewhere else that it should last six months between charging, but I am testing that out now and will see how long it really lasts in real world usage. It also announces the mode of the alarm when set (home/away) just like the base station, but there is a slight delay causing an echo effect. It might not matter depending on where you have the two, but mine are in the same room so it is something that is slightly annoying. Contact sensors - I was not prepared for how big these things are compared to my old sensors. They are twice the size. Again, it might be what you are used to, but I was afraid that they would really be noticeable. Now that they are installed, they really are not. They are high enough that they are out of direct line of sight and I already don't notice them unless I look directly at them. They have a blue ring that lights up when triggered, but even that I hardly notice. They come with install hardware or double stick tape. I used the tape and they seem pretty secure to me. Motion sensor - It's a motion sensor. It's larger than my old one, but looks about the same. It also comes with mounting hardware or double sided tape. The edges are tapered so that you can install it in a corner, which is nice. I also like that the app will tell you when motion is detected, even if the alarm is disarmed. It's a nice way to see if someone is moving around. Z-wave extender - This just plugs into a wall outlet and also has a battery built into it in case of a power outage. I don't really need it because my sensors are not that far away from my base station, but it might be handy if I decide to add some on my garage door or in the basement. And that's about it. I'm very happy with my purchase and the potential that the system has. Ring has built zigbee into the unit along with z-wave and should be activating that soon. There are other tech inside that makes me think that they have smart home plans for this thing that may make it rival Samsung Smartthings as a central hub down the road. That has me very excited. I also hope they improve integration with Ring cameras too. I would love for it to cause all of my Ring cameras to start recording if there is an alarm triggered. Or, my lights to come on for the same reason. I'm happy with it just as an alarm system, but if these other things all come in to play, then it will be THE system to beat.