Ring doorbell owners dealt another blow as a free perk mysteriously disappears a week after subscription price hike
RING doorbell owners have been dealt a fresh blow only a week after subscription price hikes were announced.
A free perk available to some customers has mysteriously disappeared.
Ring allows users to view their doorstep and other cameras from a number of devices including their smartphone and Alexa gadgets.
It’s possible to view live footage from selected TVs too, including Samsung‘s.
But a number of older models have lost access to the free feature.
It affects all Samsung TV models from 2018 to 2021.
Those with a 2022 or newer Samsung TV can continue to use the tool, as well as people with a Samsung Family Hub refrigerator or through the mobile SmartThings app.
“The Ring doorbell and camera integration will no longer be supported on Samsung TV models 2018-2021 as of February 13th 2024,” Samsung revealed on its website.
Price hikes
It comes at a tough time for Ring owners after the Amazon-owned company announced the price of its Basic subscription plan will increase next month.
From March 11, subscribers paying monthly will now have to pay £4.99 / $4.99.
And those who opt to pay for a year upfront will have to pay £49.99 / $49.99 for the 12 months.
Subscribers of the Ring Protect Basic plan, which is for single devices, are affected by the move.
The Ring Protect Plus plan for multiple devices will remain at the current price of £8 / $10 per month or £80 / $100 per year.
Trick to keep Ring's current subscription price
There's a trick that allows you to lock in the current Ring doorbell subscription cost for another year before they increase on March 11.
If you cancel today, you’ll receive a pro-rata refund for the rest of your subscription – it’s penalty free too.
You can then take out an annual subscription for the current price of £34.99 before March 11 when it’ll go up to £49.99.
However, he does warn that this move could result in saved videos being lost, so be sure to check first and consider your options.
To cancel your Ring subscription, follow these instructions:
- Go to Ring.com and log into your account
- Along the top look for Protect Plan and click it
- Look for your subscription plan and click Cancel Plan
- Click Continue
- Choose between cancelling immediately or at the end of the billing cycle – you’ll need to click the first one to benefit from the trick above
- Click Cancel Ring Protect to confirm