Ring Doorbell Night Vision Not Working? – Here’s How to Fix

Is the Ring doorbell night vision not working at night? 

Well, issues with the night vision function on your Ring doorbell are most often caused by simple and temporary bugs. In case the night vision is persistently not working, let’s unwrap more!

When your Ring doorbell’s night vision doesn’t work, start by checking the WiFi on the device.

Then reactivate the night vision, color the scene, re-add the doorbell from the app, and in case nothing helps, perform a Ring doorbell factory restoration.

Ring Video Doorbell Night Vision Not Working – 6 Solutions!

Note: Most of our solutions work for both Ring video doorbell and Ring cameras!

1. Re-Activate the Night Vision Setting

We must first make sure that the night vision of your Ring doorbell has been activated and that the feature is working.

For that purpose, we will go into the device settings of your doorbell within the Ring app and turn the feature OFF and then turn it back ON.

• Make sure you have the Ring app installed on your mobile device!

Follow these instructions to turn on the night vision for your doorbell:

1. Launch the Ring app on your phone or other mobile device.
2. Head into the “Devices” tab and choose your Ring doorbell.
3. Go to “Device Settings” > “Video Settings” and locate night vision.
4. Go to “Night Vision Settings” and set the feature to “OFF”.
5. Wait for 15 seconds and set the feature to “Auto”.

How Does the Night Vision Work?

When set on “Auto”, your camera will automatically turn on night vision when it is night outside.

You don’t have to manually turn the feature ON/OFF throughout the day, so the night vision doesn’t mess with your broadcast while it is sunny.

Note: The night vision’s auto-activation also works according to your device’s clock. 

The night vision may also turn on after 6 PM or 7 PM when it is starting to get dark outside.

2. Turn On “Color Night Vision”

There’s a setting in the Ring app that allows your Ring doorbell to use colored night vision while the environment is dark.

Turning on the colored night vision will increase the contrast and density of the black-and-white broadcast of your doorbell during the night and color it.

Follow these instructions to turn on “Color Night Vision” in the Ring app:

1. Launch the Ring app on your mobile device.
2. Tap the Menu icon (the three lines button).
3. Enter the “Devices” tab by pressing it once.
4. Find your Ring doorbell from the devices.
5. Go to “Device Settings” after selecting it.
6. Tap “Video Settings” > “Color Night Vision”.
7. Press the activation slider to turn on the setting.

Note: If the “Color Night Vision” setting is already in green color, it means that it has been turned on previously. 

Note: If the “Color Night Vision” setting is already in green color, it means that it has been turned on previously.

3. Perform a Quick Reset

Holding the setup button of your Ring doorbell for long enough will trigger a reset, meant for resolving temporal issues with the device.

Any software, connectivity, and functionality problems that are not caused by a serious malfunction, should go away after this type of reset!

Here’s how to quickly reset your Ring doorbell easily:

1. Locate the setup button on the side panels of your doorbell.
2. Press and hold the setup button for about 20 seconds.
3. Let go of the button after 20 seconds are up and wait.

Note: Quick resetting your Ring doorbell will cause the device to be temporarily unresponsive while the software files are being checked and validated.

4. Recharge the Battery of your Doorbell

In case the Ring doorbell night vision not working the issue could be caused by a low battery charge.

Well, Ring has made it really convenient for their users as they don’t have to replace the battery of their doorbell once it runs out but simply recharge the unit.

What Do I Need for Charging the Battery?

• An electrical outlet
• A micro-USB cable
• A charging adapter

How to Charge a Ring Doorbell Battery?

1. Take the doorbell off the stand.
2. Press the release tab downwards.
3. Eject the battery out of the doorbell.
4. Find the micro USB port on the battery.
5. Connect the charging cable to the port.
6. Plug the charging cable with an adapter.
7. Connect the adapter to a power outlet.

Note: Your Ring doorbell battery must charge for at least 2-3 hours to refill its full capacity and if you want to wait for that long, go for at least 30-40 minutes!

5. Reconnect Ring Doorbell to WiFi

Within the Ring application, you’re able to manage the WiFi connection of all of your paired devices, through the “Device Settings” page.

It allows for switching a device’s WiFi network, reconnecting it, or removing it from a particular WiFi.

• If your Ring doorbell is unpaired from WiFi, the night vision will not work!

Here’s how to reconnect your Ring doorbell to the WiFi:

1. Open the Ring app on your phone device.
2. Head to the Menu by pressing the three lines icon.
3. Tap “Devices” and select your Ring doorbell.
4. From the device dashboard, go to “Device Health”.
5. Tap “Change WiFi Network”/”Reconnect to WiFI”.

Change WiFi Network Vs Reconnect to WiFi:

✅ Pressing “Change WiFi Network”, will allow you to connect your Ring doorbell to an alternative WiFi network that has not been associated until now

✅ Pressing “Reconnect to WiFi”, will attempt to reconnect your doorbell to the WiFi network it has been already paired with.

Tip: If the connection fails repeatedly, check if your WiFi router is working and reboot it!

6. Re-Add the Doorbell from the App

Setting up your doorbell in the Ring app incorrectly, may cause issues with the night vision broadcast.

To resolve this problem, you must delete the profile of your Ring doorbell in the application and re-add it afterward.

• To delete and re-add your doorbell, your phone must be connected to WiFi!

Here’s how to re-add your Ring doorbell from the app:

1. Launch the Ring app on your mobile device.
2. Select the three lines menu icon.
3. Tap “Devices” > “Ring Doorbell”.
4. Go to “Device Settings” > “General Settings”.
5. Select “Remove this Device” and confirm.
6. Go back to the homepage of the Ring app.
7. Press “Add New Device” and follow the steps.

Tip: Read all setup prompts that appear to configure the Ring doorbell correctly!

How to Fix When Ring Camera Night Vision Not Working?

Note: Most solutions above are also designed to work on Ring camera models too! 

Make sure to try the solutions above on your camera first, before proceeding further!

1. Clean the Screen of the Camera

Even though you may not pay much attention during the day, a dirty camera screen could make the night vision broadcast awful.

There will be fragments on the screen of your camera, there won’t be any visual contrast and you may not be able to tell the black/white apart.

• Use an anti-fiber cloth with a little cleaning alcohol to clean the camera screen!

Where is the Lens of a Ring Camera?

Look at the front of the camera and collect all dust on the screen around the “eye” of the camera. Any dust or debris on the screen could cause issues with the nighttime broadcast.

2. Reset your Ring Camera

Like with the doorbell, resetting your camera helps with night vision issues. In fact, the reset on your camera is triggered the same way as it is on a Ring doorbell device!

Here’s how to reset your Ring stick-up cam in easy steps:

1. Locate the orange setup button on the back of the camera.
2. Press the setup button towards the small cover and hold it.
3. Keep holding the button for 15-20 seconds before letting go.

Note: Once the reset on your Ring camera is started, stop interacting with the device!

3. Lighten up the Area

The night vision of your Ring camera will not work if there are no light sources that can be rendered with night vision.

If the area of your camera is completely dark, installing some garden lamps or floodlights for example will help with increasing the quality of the night vision.

Note: Place any light source in the range of your Ring camera and check if the night vision’s quality and visibility will improve!

Quick Recap:

We’ve learned that when Ring doorbell night vision not working, the the best solution to the problem is to reset the device and reactivate night vision.

If you’re having issues with the night vision on the camera, re-add the device from Ring and reinstall the app!

Read Next: How To Save Ring Doorbell Video Without Subscription?