Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I’ve had a Ring alarm system for almost four years and the experience has been great, but my one complaint from the very beginning is they didn’t offer a glass break sensor. As anyone with any security system experience knows, this is an integral part of a complete system. After waiting impatiently for years, I was thrilled to find out they finally released one. I received it within 48 hours of ordering it and was eager to set it up and test it out. For those of you looking for specs, here they are: Detection Range: 25 feet Suggested Mounting height: 7 feet off the ground and higher Size Across: Approximately 3.75 inches Weight: Approximately 5.7 ounces Just like all the other Ring alarm sensors, it was packaged nicely and included directions, batteries and mounting screws. The set up was also just like all of their other sensors. The app guided me though the set up and even provided a video. The most difficult part for me was removing the plastic battery tab. It was stuck and I had to remove the sensor from its mounting base to get it to come lose. The sensor can be set to work in three different modes: Home, Away and it can even be set to work when the system is disarmed. Although it will detect the sound of glass breaking while the system is unarmed, it will NOT notify the central station in this mode. It does however send a notification through the app. Having it detect glass breaking while the system is unarmed requires you to turn off battery saver mode, which can be found under “Mode Settings”. I have no idea how much faster this will deplete the batteries. Further testing will be required to determine that. For right now I decided to set mine up and just place it on top of a shelf between two windows. I set it on the very top, which was approximately 6 feet 2 inches off the floor. I then turned off battery saver mode and kept the device in view in the app. For sound detection testing purposes, I have the advantage of being a drummer. For testing I used a 15-inch Wuhan china cymbal. For those of you unfamiliar, these sound very much like breaking glass. I placed the cymbal approximately 18 feet from the glass break detector and hit it in such a way as to mimic the volume that I believe a shattering window would make (I know I know, it’s not very scientific). The detector immediately detected the sound and sent a notification through the app to my phone. SUCCESS!! Had the system been in Home or Away mode, it would have notified the central monitoring station. So clearly I’m very happy with this product and its performance, but I do have some feedback for the Ring team: The batteries that are included are basic alkaline AAs. Every other device I have ever purchased from Ring came with lithium ions, which are known to last much longer. It seems they cheeped out a little when it comes to this sensor. For the price I paid for the glass break detector, I don’t think including lithium ions are too much to ask for. After these run out, I’ll be replacing them with Energizer lithium ions. My second suggestion would be to allow this sensor to be programmed to alert the monitoring station when the system is disarmed. A great deal of home break-ins occur during the day. Having this added layer of protection 24/7 would definitely be a serious bonus for any home owner, especially to the highly vulnerable and those living in crime ridden areas. My third and final suggestion is, it would be very helpful if Ring could somehow provide an official testing method. A certified sound clip or tool would be immensely helpful and would prevent people from resorting to random and sometimes ridiculous testing methods (such as hammering broken glass to death). For now, I’ve given this product a four-star rating. If I have any issue with it, or if Ring does any improvements to it, I will consider adjusting that rating accordingly. Lastly, I want to clear up a few misnomers about this product. Another review stated this product needs a “hub” to work. I have absolutely no idea what they are referring to. If you have the Ring alarm base station, then this item will work with no additional item(s) needed. If this reviewer bought this without a Ring alarm base station and thought it would work, then they obviously didn’t read the description. That’s their fault and not the fault of this device or the Ring team. Another repeat statement I have read a lot is that these are too sensitive and false all the time. This is a glass break detector, and therefore is designed to detect sound. Yes, a very specific wavelength, but with that said, the placement of this should be well thought out. If you place this in a kitchen with a tile floor, there is a higher probability you will receive false alarms every time you clatter silverware, dishes glasses and drop anything metallic or glass on the floor. If you place this in a room with a loud stereo or surround sound system, you’re going to receive false alarms. If you place this in a music room with a drum set, you’re going to get false alarms every time someone crashes on a cymbal. This isn’t specific to the Ring glass break sensor. All glass break sensors are prone to this. Give careful consideration about the placement and the programming modes you want this to arm in. Keep in mind you can program this to only arm when the system is in Away mode. If you have more than one throughout your house, you can also program some to arm in both Home and Away mode and others to only arm when in Away mode. If your home or business in noisy 24/7, this may not be the best addition to your security system. There seems to be a lot of confusion about when this will trip the alarm and notify the central monitoring station, and when it will only send an alert to your device via the Ring app. I have already covered this, but will restate it. It can be programmed to trip the alarm and notify the central station in Home and Away modes. It can also be programmed when the system if off (not in Home or Away mode) to send a notification to your device through the Ring app. This can be done by turning off the battery saver mode, which can be found under “Mode Settings”. Turning off the battery saver mode will NOT affect how the device performs when the system is in the Home or Away mode. I hope this review and all the additional information I have put in to it helps others to make an informed decision when it comes to this glass break sensor. As I stated earlier, I’m happy with this item and plan to order several more to add to my security system.