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In anticipation of its release, we’ve updated our review of the Ring Car Cam and security system.
As part of its rollout of vehicle-centric security products, Ring introduced the Car Cam to its lineup of security systems, cameras, and alarms. At its core, the Car Cam is a dashcam used to record evidence to protect yourself in case of an accident while promoting road safety for drivers and pedestrians.
From there, Ring added its own flourish to the Car Cam by including an interior camera, motion detection, real-time alerts, and other safety features to protect you and your vehicle no matter your location. Our experts have insight into product features and will give you the specs before it hits the market.
What Is The Ring Car Cam?
Ring sees the Car Cam as another tool for protecting your home and community, thus keeping true to its mission of building safer neighborhoods. The Ring Car Cam is a security camera that detects and records activity around your vehicle: doors opening, impacts, attempted break-ins, theft, and other events inside and near your car.
You’ll get real-time alerts through the Ring app, where you can view live camera footage and two-way talk with anyone in the vehicle. All camera footage immediately saves to the cloud, so you’ll have the stored footage even if the Car Cam is removed from the vehicle.
10 Key Features Of Ring Car Cam
- Dual-facing, wide-angle HD cameras with local playback of up to 540p and download resolution of up to 1080p
- Motion detection and recording with adjustable sensitivity
- Night vision
- Real-time motion notifications
- Live view and two-way audio
- GPS location tracking
- Security beacon to add presence to your vehicle during unwanted activity
- Traffic Stop feature using built-in Alexa
- Compatible with other Alexa-enabled devices
- Privacy cover for obscuring cabin-facing camera and muting microphone
How Does It Work?
The Ring Car Cam plugs into your vehicle’s On-Board Diagnostics II (OBD-II) port and uses the car’s battery for power. The dashcam features a power management system that turns itself off if the car battery is too depleted. You’ll need to confirm your vehicle has an OBD-II port located to the left of the driver’s side dash, which is required for the Car Cam. Most cars manufactured after 1996 have this port, but not all—looking at you, Tesla and Mercedes drivers.
Sensors detect activity in and around your vehicle and trigger the camera to record. There are two wide-angle cameras, one facing out of the windshield and one inside the car. This dual camera, plus night vision detection, gives you a complete picture of any activity around your vehicle. The Car Cam sends video to the Ring cloud using a WiFi connection or a Ring connectivity plan.
When motion is detected, you’ll get a notification on your app and have access to live video and audio. The Car Cam’s two-way talk allows you to speak with intruders or anyone else in your car over WiFi or LTE cellular connection.
In protection mode, the camera will record if someone comes near your car. With a Car Cam Protect Go subscription, this footage will be stored for up to 180 days in the cloud and can be downloaded and shared. There is no physical SD card with this dashcam.
The Car Cam links to other Ring products, providing complete home protection. This linking feature means, for example, you can set your flood light camera to turn on whenever the Car Cam goes off or turn on all cameras for ultimate coverage. If you want privacy from your Ring Car Cam, flip the privacy latch to mute the microphone and shut off the inner camera. The camera looking out will still record, but you’ll have privacy inside the car.
If you don’t want a dashcam but want to add a security feature to your car, Ring plans to release the Ring Car Alarm this year too.
Price
$199.99 until January 31, 2023 (release date February 2023). After January, the price will be $249.99.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here’s questions we frequently get asked by our readers regarding the Ring Car Cam. Don’t see yours? Ask us in the comments.
Will I Have To Have A Subscription Or Monitoring Plan?
Though Ring offers a subscription plan, Ring Protect Go, for video recording and professional monitoring, you won’t be required to have it with your Car Cam. However, some features will require a connectivity plan to connect via LTE (i.e., via your cellular phone) from anywhere.
| Feature | Car Cam Without Protect Go | Car Cam With Ring Protect Go |
|---|---|---|
| Video Recording |  | |
| Security Beacon | | |
| Traffic Stop | | |
| Live Video & Two-Way Talk | WiFi Only | WiFi & LTE |
| Notifications | WiFi Only | WiFi & LTE |
| GPS Location | WiFi Only | WiFi & LTE |
| Cloud Highlights (store live video) | | |
| Cloud Highlights for Traffic Stop | | |
| Download Videos | | |
| Rich Notifications (receive photo message when the alarm is triggered without opening the Ring app) | |
Can Car Cam Track Down My Car?
If you subscribe to Ring Protect Go, you can find your car if it’s lost or stolen. Without this subscription, the device owner and any shared users can only confirm when the vehicle is home and connected to WiFi.
Can I Use The Car Cam With Any Car?
Since it’s compatible with most cars built after 1996, it should work with 99% of vehicles on the road today.
How Does The Built-In Alexa Work?
The built-in Alexa allows you to use voice commands with this device. Simply say, “Alexa, record,” and the camera will record up to 20 minutes and save it to your device. The built-in Alexa works with other Alexa-enabled devices so that you can receive notifications via any Alexa device.
What’s The Traffic Stop Feature?
The Traffic Stop feature lets you record video and audio hands-free when you get pulled over. All you have to do is say, “Alexa, record,” and the recording will begin automatically.
Can the Car Cam Pan or Tilt?
No, the Car Cam doesn’t pan or tilt. The external-facing camera has a 111.5° horizontal, 56° vertical, and 119.5° diagonal field of view. The interior-facing camera has a view of 148° horizontal, 82.5° vertical, and 153° diagonal.
Why Use A Dash Camera?
According to data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau, car theft continues to hit record highs. Installing a dashcam is an excellent way to deter thieves and can also provide proof of hit-and-run situations and other crimes. Submit your camera footage to insurance companies to prove you weren’t at fault during an accident or traffic violation. A dashcam is also a great way to record a road trip hands-free.
Ring Alarm Systems, Doorbells, And Indoor Cameras
With many great features and a dual-facing camera, security enthusiasts have been highly anticipating the Ring Car Cam security product. But, as you know, Ring can do more than protect your car. Ring has various home security products that may be just what you need to protect your home and family. Our experts review the Ring Alarm home security system, Ring doorbells, and Ring indoor cameras to help you decide if they might be right for you.
Tagged With: Review, Ring Home Security
