For those of you who are keen on keeping up to date with smart home and security developments, you will probably already know quite a bit about the Ring Doorbell Contact Sensor.
After all, it is one of the most up to date and reasonably priced devices out there. Designed to improve your home security, this device is usually quite reliable and pretty easy to use.
Its whole thing is that it is meant to act as a monitoring device, letting you know when someone is hanging around your property. Well, that’s the idea, at least.
If everything is working as it should be, you are supposed to receive an instant alert on your mobile device so that you can then act on the situation within a few seconds.
And, for the most part, this is easy to set up. It can be done on both Android and iOS systems and the contact sensor itself is easily mountable on pretty much any door or window frame – no tools required.
However, if it was all just as easy as that, there isn’t much chance that you would be here reading this, is there? Unfortunately, it does seem that a few of you are encountering problems when setting up your Contact Sensors.
Having trawled the net looking for the kinds of issues users are facing, there are an alarming (no pun intended) number of you that seem to be receiving a warning that says “Contact Sensor Is Offline”.
Now, seeing as this problem effectively makes a useful device totally redundant, we thought we would put together this little guide to help you fix the problem yourself.
So, of his is the information you have been looking for, you have come to the right place!
Ring Contact Sensor Offline
With any security system, the whole thing is really only as good as the weakest link. In that regard, if the system goes offline for even a few minutes, anything could happen. It just isn’t that secure anymore.
Naturally, this absolutely can’t be accepted and needs to be amended as quickly as possible. To that end, we have put together this troubleshooting list to help you get to the bottom of the problem as quickly as possible.
Luckily, in most cases, the problem isn’t all that large and will be fixed by checking that some key elements are working as they should be.
Before we begin, it is worth saying that none of these fixes are all that complicated. As such, even if you are not all that techy, you should be able to follow these steps without any major issues.
None of these tips will have you taking anything apart or risking the integrity of your equipment in any way. With that, let’s get right into it.
1. Change the Position of Your Equipment for Better Signals
One thing that you may not have been aware of when you were setting your system up is that your keypads act as range extenders.
Better yet, they can actually do the job of a range extender better than quite a few range extenders on the market right now. For this reason, it is always worth considering moving one near to your sensor.
In quite a few cases, this will be all that was needed to fix the problem entirely.
Using the same principle, we have also found that the issue can occasionally be resolved by just moving the alarm base station.
In addition to this, the angle in which the device is placed can also have an effect on the strength of the signal. Keep this in mind when you are moving or placing it.
Ideally, the devices should be kept high up and away from other electronic devices that can interfere with the signal. Experiment with positions until you find the one that works with your space.
For quite a few of you, this will be enough to get everything running the way it should be again. If not, don’t worry yet, we still have another step to go.
2. Replace the Sensors
Unfortunately, if the previous fix didn’t work for you, there is only one logical course of action that remains. You are going to have to replace the sensors entirely if they are still acting up.
The harsh truth of the hardware is that these sensors don’t last all that long before they just glitch out entirely. However, if your sensors are relatively new, it is most likely the case that you have been sold some defective gear.
Now, this doesn’t happen all that often, but it is still a possibility. In this case, it is worth getting in touch with customer services to explain the situation. Make sure to tell them that you have tried the above fix without any success.
The Last Word
Unfortunately, there just aren’t that many fixes out there for this device. Though the problem is well known, there just doesn’t seem to be all that much you can do about it.
Luckily, for nearly every case, the first fix is generally all it takes to put things right.
However, we are always aware that people are great at coming up with innovative new ways to fix things like this that most would never think of.
If you happen to be one of these people, we would love to hear your story in the comments section below. That way, we can test it out and share it with our readers if it works. Thanks!