Ring Doorbell Not Ringing Inside the House? 8 Fixes

A Ring doorbell that notifies your phone but makes no sound inside is usually missing a setting, set to the wrong chime type, or paired with a chime it cannot control. Open the Ring app, check that the in-home chime is turned on and that the chime type matches your real chime, wait a few minutes, and test again. Then check the wiring and your doorbell model.

Someone presses the button, your phone buzzes with a notification, and the house stays silent. It is an easy way to miss a delivery or a visitor. The reasons are usually simple, and most can be checked from the app in a few minutes.

First, check that your model can ring an indoor chime

This step saves a lot of time. According to Ring, several models do not support in-home chimes: the Video Doorbell Wired, the Wired Doorbell 2K Plus, the Wired Doorbell 4K Pro (non-PoE) and the Peephole Cam. If you own one of these, no setting will make your old ding-dong ring. You need a Ring Chime, a Ring Chime Pro, or Alexa devices that announce the ring.

For other models, there are two kinds of indoor sound:

Fix 1: Turn on "Ring my In-Home Chime"

This is the most common cause on hardwired doorbells. In the Ring app, open your doorbell, go to Device Settings, then In-Home Chime Settings (the menu names can differ a little by model). Make sure Ring my In-Home Chime is switched on.

Ring says this toggle must be on for hardwired models. Save the change and wait a few minutes before you test.

Fix 2: Make the chime type match your real chime

If the type in the app is wrong, the doorbell sends the wrong kind of signal, and your chime stays silent or only rings part of the time. Ring describes three settings:

• Mechanical. A bell and a hammer that make a traditional ding-dong.
• Digital. A speaker that plays recorded tones. Ring has Digital Type 1 and Digital Type 2.
• None. For plug-in adapters, chimes that you bypassed, or doorbells wired straight to a transformer.

Open the advanced settings, pick the type that matches your chime, save, wait a few minutes, and press the button to test. For some models Ring offers automatic chime detection. In that case, choose "My chime rang partially" or "My chime didn't ring" after a test, and the app adjusts the setting for you.

Fix 3: Make sure the doorbell is online

Open the Ring app and check that the doorbell shows as online, and that Live View works. A doorbell that has lost Wi-Fi cannot send a message to a Ring Chime, and it may not behave properly with the app. If it shows offline, see what to check when Wi-Fi is not working, and move the router or an extender closer if the signal is weak.

Fix 4: Check the wires near the chime

If you have a mechanical chime, loose or badly placed wires can stop it from ringing. Ring suggests moving any wires away from the chime's moving parts. A wire that rubs on the hammer can block it, and a loose wire at a terminal can break the circuit.

Also look for these:

• Connections that have come loose or have corroded.
• Wires that are cut, cracked or pinched.
• A wire attached to the wrong terminal on the chime.

Turn off the power at the breaker before you touch any wiring, and take a photo of the connections before you change anything.

Fix 5: Do Ring's terminal test

Ring describes a simple test for hardwired doorbells to find out whether your chime works. Remove the doorbell from the wall, then touch the metal part of a screwdriver to both terminal screws at the same time, or touch the two wires together. If everything is wired correctly, you should hear your chime.

• If the chime rings, the chime and wiring are fine, and the problem is in the doorbell, its power, or its settings.
• If the chime stays silent, the problem is in the chime, the wires, or the transformer.

Ring says not to do this test if your chime has been bypassed, or if the doorbell is wired straight to a transformer. This is low-voltage work, but if you are not comfortable, ask a professional.

Fix 6: Check the power and the transformer

A hardwired Ring doorbell needs enough power from the doorbell transformer, which is a small box that lowers the voltage for your doorbell. If the transformer is too weak, the doorbell may charge poorly, restart, or fail to trigger the chime. Many wired Ring models need a transformer in the 16 to 24 volt AC range, but the exact figure depends on the model, so check your model's requirements on the Ring support site.

Signs of a power problem are a doorbell that keeps going offline, a battery that will not charge, and a chime that only rings sometimes. Ring has a support page on troubleshooting power for hardwired doorbells. If you want to understand how a transformer fails, what causes a blank thermostat explains the same low-voltage idea. A transformer that is too weak or faulty is best tested by an electrician or a doorbell installer.

Fix 7: Add a Ring Chime or use Alexa

If your model cannot ring your old chime, or your chime is not compatible, the easy way out is to add a Ring Chime or Ring Chime Pro. It plugs into an outlet near where you want to hear the doorbell, and you set it up in the Ring app. The Chime Pro also works as a Wi-Fi extender, which helps when the doorbell is far from the router.

Another option is an Echo speaker that announces the ring. This costs nothing if you already have an Echo.

Fix 8: Restart the doorbell and reinstall if needed

If the settings and wiring look right but the chime still does not ring, restart the doorbell. You can usually do this from the Ring app or with the reset button on the doorbell, as described in the manual for your model. As a last resort, remove the doorbell from your account and set it up again, then redo the chime settings.

When to call a professional

Call an electrician or a doorbell installer if:

• The chime does not ring even when you bridge the terminals.
• You see burned wires, a hot transformer, or a transformer that hums.
• You are unsure which wire goes where.
• The doorbell restarts or goes offline over and over, which points to a power problem.

Mains wiring and breakers are not a good place to experiment. Switch off the breaker first, and call someone if you are not sure.

How to avoid the problem

• Test the chime after any update, power cut or router change.
• Note the chime type in the Ring app, so you can set it again.
• Keep the doorbell's Wi-Fi signal strong.
• If you move house, test the doorbell wiring and chime before you rely on it.
• Add a Ring Chime if you often miss the sound, because it is louder and easier to place.

Battery or hardwired: what changes

How your doorbell gets power changes how it rings indoors:

• Hardwired. The doorbell uses the low-voltage doorbell wires, and it can ring your existing chime when it is wired and set up correctly. Most of the steps above apply to this setup.
• Battery only. A battery doorbell is not connected to the doorbell wires, so it cannot trigger a mechanical chime. It needs a Ring Chime, a Ring Chime Pro or Alexa announcements to make sound indoors.
• Battery doorbell with a wired connection. Some battery models can be wired to the doorbell wiring to charge. That does not always mean the old chime will ring, so check your model's setup page.

If you replaced an old doorbell button with a Ring, and the old chime used to ring, check whether the old wires were connected to the new doorbell, and whether a small "bypass" or "pro power kit" is needed for your digital chime. Ring explains this for each model on its support site.

If you added a Ring Chime and it is silent

A Ring Chime or Chime Pro is simple, but it also has settings that can leave it silent:

• Check that it is plugged into a working outlet. A chime on a switched outlet or a power strip that is off will not make a sound.
• Check the volume and the tone in the Ring app. A very low volume is easy to miss.
• Look for a snooze or mute setting in the app. A chime snoozed for hours will stay quiet.
• Make sure the chime is connected to the same Wi-Fi as the doorbell, and that it is not too far from the router.
• If it was set up long ago, remove it in the app and add it again.

Phone rings but the house does not: a quick checklist

Work down the list in order. Most cases are solved by the second or third check, and the wiring checks come later because they take longer.

Quiet hours and notifications are different from the chime

It is easy to mix these up. The phone notification and the indoor chime are separate. A notification can arrive even when the chime is turned off, and a chime can ring even when your phone is on silent. If you only hear the phone, the chime path is the problem. If you hear neither, check whether the doorbell is online and whether notifications are on for the Ring app on your phone.

The short version

When a Ring doorbell does not ring inside, check your model first, because some cannot ring an indoor chime. Then turn on Ring my In-Home Chime, set the chime type to match your real chime, wait a few minutes, and test. Check that the doorbell is online, look at the wires near the chime, and use Ring's terminal test. If the wiring or transformer is the problem, call an electrician, or add a Ring Chime.