Ring Battery Video Doorbell 2K Plus review

Ring Battery Video Doorbell 2K Plus: Introduction

• Type: Doorbell
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi
• Ecosystems: Ring

The Ring Battery Video Doorbell 2K Plus isn’t a simple refresh, using the same design as before. It swaps out the chunky body for something slimmer, neater and far more modern-looking.

The changes go beyond looks. Its new Retinal 2K camera captures better video than before, although you miss out on premium features from the 4K model, including radar-based 3D Motion Detection. For most people after a battery-powered Ring doorbell, this is the one to buy, balancing price and features.

Design and installation

• Quick to install
• Works with wired chimes
• Slimmer design than previous models

Ring hasn’t seemed particularly bothered about overhauling the design of its battery-powered doorbells, with chunky brick-like models the norm. For the Ring Battery Video Doorbell 2K Plus that changes, and the doorbell has a curved exterior that looks more modern, following the design of recent models, such as the new Ring Wired Video Doorbell Elite

There are limits to how slim it can be, as Ring has retained the same Quick Release Battery Pack, still charged over micro USB rather than USB-C. Even so, it’s slightly slimmer than the previous Ring Battery Video Doorbell Plus.

Keeping the same battery has an upside: replacements are easy to find, and you may already have spares.

Installation has been simplified, too. Rather than screwing the doorbell directly to its mounting bracket, the 2K Plus attaches to a mounting plate that clips onto the wall-mounted bracket.

There’s no security screw for removal. Instead, Ring supplies a plastic tool that pushes into the underside to release the doorbell. It’s a small change, but it makes fitting and removing the 2K Plus easier. An angle bracket is also included; given my narrow door frame, I needed it.

Although battery-powered, the 2K Plus can connect to an existing doorbell transformer to trickle-charge its battery. That doesn’t automatically make the wired version the better buy.

Ring’s wired doorbells don’t work with existing chimes, but its battery models do. I have a well-positioned chime in the middle of my house, and it continues working if the internet goes down because it doesn’t rely on Wi-Fi. That convenience is why I stick with Ring’s battery models.

Adding the doorbell to the Ring app is quick and straightforward. Once connected, it’s ready to go.

Features

• Requires a subscription for main features
• AI-features are powerful

The 2K Plus delivers the familiar Ring experience, which means a subscription is needed to unlock its main features. Without one, you still receive doorbell calls and motion notifications. If monthly fees are a deal-breaker, a model with local storage, such as the Aqara Doorbell Camera Hub G410, may be a better fit.

Ring’s plans make most sense when you own several devices. Ring Protect Solo costs $4.99 / £4.99 a month and includes up to 180 days of video history, although the app defaults to 30 days. That’s pricey for one camera, but coverage for multiple cameras costs $9.99 / £7.99 a month. Both plans also include cellular backup for a Ring Alarm, making the multi-device option strong value.

Ring Pro costs $19.99 / £15.99 a month and adds AI-powered video descriptions, video search and familiar face recognition. It also includes Single Event Alerts, which recognise when multiple clips belong to the same event and reduce notifications. On lower-tier plans, you can add these features to one selected camera for $5 / £3 a month. 

Compared with rivals such as Arlo, Ring’s plans are competitively priced for homes with multiple devices, particularly for anyone who wants video quality up to 4K.

As a doorbell, the 2K Plus routes calls to your phone and compatible Alexa smart displays, including the Echo Show 11. Alerts arrived quickly during testing, with clear video and audio in both directions. You can also send Quick Replies, including: “Please leave the parcel outside. If you’d like to leave a message, you can do it now.”

Beyond answering callers, the 2K Plus works like any other Ring security camera. It appears as a thumbnail in the app, with shortcuts to the Timeline and live view.

From the live view, you can speak to anyone at the door or trigger a Quick Reply, just as you can when answering a live ring.

Motion alerts are reliable, although they’re worth fine-tuning. The main omission is 3D Motion Detection, which uses radar to set precise detection distances and ignore movement beyond a chosen point. It’s particularly useful on busy streets; if you have a long driveway or live somewhere quieter, its absence matters less.

Instead, motion control comes through activity zones, sensitivity settings and, with a subscription, Smart Alerts. These let you choose whether the doorbell records or notifies you about people, familiar faces, vehicles, packages and other motion. With the right setup, unwanted alerts are easy to reduce.

Recording can also follow schedules or Ring Alarm modes. Since this is a doorbell, however, leaving it active all the time makes more sense.

Recorded clips sit in the app, where the Timeline is now much easier to navigate. You can swipe through events, jump to a specific date or filter footage by event type.

With the right subscription, video search makes things even easier: type what you’re looking for and relevant results appear quickly.

Performance

• Excellent night vision
• Sharp video, head-to-toe
• Quickly picks up motion

The Ring Battery Video Doorbell 2K Plus has a Retinal 2K resolution, which means it has a 1920 x 1920 square resolution, the same as on the Ring Wired Doorbell (2^nd Gen). Combined with its 140° horizontal and vertical field of view, the doorbell captures people head to toe.

Quality is very good, but the Ring Battery Video Doorbell 2K Plus is more designed for close-up work, rather than a regular security camera. That is, there can be a bit of distortion, with the doorbell designed to capture people at the door head-to-toe. This really is its job.

What matters is that the video quality is excellent. During the day, video is sharp and detailed, with natural colours and plenty of detail through the frame.

At night, there are two options, depending on the light level. With Adaptive Night Vision, illumination is adjusted to capture detailed black-and-white images. With regular IR vision, details can be blown out, but this tech does a very good job of maintaining sharpness.

If there’s enough light (I have a spotlight), the doorbell can shoot in full colour. The image has a bit of noise, but the quality is excellent.

Motion detection is also very good, working reliably and capturing motion events. This camera doesn’t have the Pre-roll feature of the older models (to preserve battery life), but I found the Ring Battery Video Doorbell 2K Plus woke up quickly to record without missing anything important.

Final thoughts

Well-priced, the Ring Battery Video Doorbell 2K Plus is the battery video doorbell to buy, assuming you’re happy to pay for a subscription. With its excellent head-to-toe video, backed up by an excellent cloud-based system, this doorbell gives you most of the features you need at a great price.

How we test

When we publish our reviews, you can rest assured that they are the result of “living with” long term tests.

Smart security cameras usually live within an ecosystem, or a range of products that – supposedly – all work in harmony. Therefore, it’s impossible to use a security camera for a week and deliver a verdict.

Because we’re testing smart home kit all day, everyday, we know what matters and how a particular camera compares to alternatives that you might also be considering.

Our reviews are comprehensive, objective and fair and, of course, we are never paid directly to review a device.

Read our guide on our review process for smart security cameras to learn more.

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