Video Doorbell (1st Generation)

Had the same issues with my Gen 1 - upgraded to the newer model and moved my router closer, now it's solid. The old ones were pretty trash tbh

Live view and talking through the doorbell is free afaik but you’ll have no way to look back at motion events. If all you care about is being able to talk to people then get the standard doorbell in either wired or battery whichever you prefer

No, this is the price increase from April, 2025, OP just did not get renewed until now. Alarm monitoring is $199 a year, which is consistent with other paid alarm monitoring services. Ring single doorbell is still $50 a year and $100 for multiple doorbells/cameras but no security monitoring.

This change is from April 2025, you are just seeing it now since you have not hit your anniversary date. I have the single doorbell price of $50 a year, and then use my own DVR with private vpn remote access for security cameras but with no monitoring service. I have a separate alarm that alerts me if anything happens than I can check the security cameras myself. For my neighborhood, this is more than adequate. If I was looking for a professional alarm monitoring, I sure as hell would not use ring. I'd want something with its own battery backup, wired and cellular backup with a cut off alert (someone cuts cables and has a cell blocker it makes a police call, both fail otherwise you get false positives), as well as door/window open/break switches and interior motion detectors. Either you don't need professional monitoring or you need way more than ring offers. Now, if someone has a ring like doorbell that I can stream to my own cloud rather than paying their subscription, that I'd be interested in (not to hijack your thread but it seems answered and done).

I really like the look of the lite and the price is great. I just don't know how I could get ethernet to the front door. Currently got a wifi ring doorbell which has a button falling apart. Maybe I just need to get adventurous with a drill and see if I can get through my stair case...

I have something like a ring doorbell but we don't pay to have it run. It only captures pictures when the doorbell is rung and we can open it up to look outside. That's it. I don't have any other smart appliances.