Tom's Guide Verdict
It's a long time coming, but the Retinal Vision era has begun starting with the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen). It's a giant leap in video quality that captures every rich detail, no matter the lighting conditions. You'll also have fewer false alerts thanks to its rich motion detection, bird's eye view, and smart responses.
Pros
- +
Crisp and detailed 4K capture
- +
Improved night vision performance
- +
Fewer false alerts
- +
Slimmer, more modern design
- +
No change to its price
Cons
- -
Other features are coming later
- -
Doesn't support Ring Edge for recording to local storage
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I bought my first home a few years back and the first thing I did was install the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (2nd Gen). Since then, it’s been reliable at keeping tabs with everything going on around my front door from delivery packages to the occasional critter sneaking its way through my lawn — and even letting me know when my robot lawn mower is slacking off.
Unlike today’s best phones that get yearly refreshes, Ring takes a staggered approach with upgrading its video doorbells. I ended up replacing my video doorbell with the company’s latest model, the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen), which ushers it into the 4K era.
You could say it’s long overdue, as rival smart home makers like Eufy and Arlo have been offering 4K resolution with its various security cameras for a good while. The Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) might be late to the party, but let me tell you it’s worth the wait, and is one of the best video doorbells. Here’s why.
Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) review: Specifications
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) |
Video | 4K (3840x2160) |
Motion Detection | Advanced Motion Detection with Camera Motion Zones, 3D Motion Detection |
Audio | Two-Way Talk with Audio+ |
Field of View | 140° horizontal, 140° vertical |
Wi-Fi Connectivity | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ax @ 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz |
Size | 1.93 x 1.02 x 5.43 inches |
Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) review: Price and availability
The Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) fetches for $249.99, which replaces the previous model in the lineup and gets discounted down to $229.99. Unless it’s on sale, it’s not worth getting the 2nd Gen Doorbell Pro because the new one makes up the difference with its outstanding video performance.
Initially announced on September 30, 2025 alongside Amazon and Ring’s other new smart home devices, the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) went on sale on Amazon starting on October 29, 2025.
Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) review: installation
Installing it is a breeze given that most of the work was already set up for me when I set up the previous model. In total, it took me about 10 minutes to complete the installation — which involved removing the old model, connecting the new one with the existing wires, and then securing it with the mounting plate.
If you’re starting fresh, it’ll take about an extra 10 to 15 minutes depending on your experience and confidence installing doorbells. You’ll need to predrill the holes needed for the mounting plate and do the wiring for the chime, but otherwise the Ring app guides you through the process.
In fact, it even asked me if the new device I’m installing is replacing an older model. There’s also a corner kit that comes with the packaging if you need to angle the camera to get a better field of view. As much as it was a breeze for me to swap my old one for this, services like HelloTech offer professional installation for a fee. I’m given a quote of $99 + additional fees to have them install it, which isn’t too bad.
Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) review: Design
The first thing I noticed after installing the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) is how it looks sleeker. It’s much narrower than the previous model, while still retaining nearly the same thickness — so it doesn’t protrude any significant distance from my door frame.
Likewise, I really like its more modern looking design with its stacked, two-toned look. I have a much older home, which certainly makes the doorbell look out of place, but I still like its design better than the previous one. If one color suits your style better, you can easily remove the faceplate and swap it for another.
If there’s one gripe I have about the design, it’s that it still relies on wired power for everything. When there’s a power outage, it won’t be able to work like my other Ring cameras that work off both battery and wired power. However, I wouldn't be surprised ir Ring offered a battery-powered version in the future.
Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) review: Video quality
Easily the most impressive part about this new video doorbell is how it’s one of a number of new cameras that uses Ring’s next-generation imaging technology — Retinal Vision. I was always satisfied by the video quality from the previous Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (2nd Gen), but it’s a leap forward with 4K Retinal Vision with the new one.
I want to start off by talking about their field of view. Even though the previous one has a wider FoV at 150-degree both ways, the 140-degree FoV of the new one makes it look more normal because it doesn’t have that fishbowl-esque look.
Secondly, I want to talk about the improved dynamic range performance I’m seeing across all lighting conditions. It does a substantially better job of neutralizing the exposure. Notice how the clouds and parts of the sky are over-exposed with the 2nd Gen Ring Wired Doorbell Pro’s footage — whereas the new one evens out the exposure.
The 4k Retinal Vision also captures much more detail and clarity. From the package delivery person to the FedEx truck in the background, there’s much better detail capture with the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen). In contrast, the previous model still looks nice, but nowhere matches its sharpness and clarity.
Nighttime has always presented a problem for most security cameras I have around my home, with details often taking the biggest hit. Yet, it’s not a problem because the imaging process with advanced AI tuning of Retinal Vision results in enhanced low-light performance.
If you watch the clips above, you’ll see how the new doorbell retains better clarity, including how it compensates the strong lighting from the string lights around my porch. Those same string lights overpower the clip from the older video doorbell, resulting in heavy over-exposure and softer details.
Finally, take a peek at the night vision performance of both doorbells above. While the previous model manages to capture the deer strolling through my lawn, it looks more like a ghostly figure than anything else. Plus, everything in the background looks completely dark. It’s a contrast with the new model because the details are much more visible with its night vision performance.
Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) review: Motion detection and other features
I honestly don’t see much of a difference in terms of its motion detection performance. Just as before, it’s pretty spot on with recognizing the different things that trigger it to start recording — like a person, vehicle, and other motion.
I kept the same motion zones as before, including its bird’s eye zones that show me on a map preview of where a person has walked through my property. The one thing that has changed, though, is that I’m not seeing as many notifications about other motions. I’ve enabled the same Smart Alerts as before, like Package Zone, so that I get notifications whenever I get a delivery.
The good thing is that I’m not getting the same false alerts as I did before whenever my robot lawn mower enters the frame. That could be a testament to the improved image processing of the camera, but regardless, it’s nice that I’m getting fewer alerts.
The Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) also makes use of the same Smart Responses as before. It allows the doorbell to speak quick replies, including holiday themed ones, like all the fun Halloween-inspired ones currently in the app.
But there’s still more features I’m eager to try out, like Alexa+ Greetings that would act as an attendant of sorts to do all sorts of things on my behalf. For example, Amazon explains that it’s smart enough to ask solicitors about their purpose for visiting, or provide delivery drivers with detailed instructions.
There’s also Familiar Faces that would recognize familiar people, so it can be smart enough to discern myself and my partner. And finally, there’s Search Party for dogs that will lean on an AI-powered community feature to reunite lost puppers with their owners. This will come out later in November, followed by cats and other pets. Meanwhile, Alexa+ Greetings and Familiar Faces will be rolled out in December.
Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) review: service and subscription
In order to get the most out of the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen), a Ring subscription is necessary because it’ll give you cloud storage for all the videos it captures. Without one, you won’t be able to see previous videos triggered by an action. What I’m saying is that you’ll get notifications, but you won’t have access to those video recordings without a subscription.
The cheapest one offered is the Ring Basic plan that costs $4.99/month and covers up to 180 days of video event history — but it only covers one camera. That’s why I recommend going with the Ring Standard plan at $9.99/month because it would cover all the Ring devices you might already have.
However, I’m disappointed that the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) doesn’t support Ring Edge for local storage and processing. I already have a Ring Alarm Pro Base Station that acts as professional security monitoring for my home, which allows me to save the clips captured by my other Ring cameras to a microSD card stored in my base station.
Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) review: Verdict
Ring’s finally moving the needle upwards with the introduction of Retinal Vision on the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen). I thought the video quality was good before, but this emerging imaging technology, coupled with 4K resolution, proves to me it’s a giant leap forward in terms of video performance. I’m better able to see all the details, even when it’s pitch dark outside.
I do wish that it had some capacity for local storage — though none of Ring's doorbells have ever had this feature, which is an issue if your internet connection goes down. And, it doesn't have a battery backup, either.
It’s smarter, too, at knowing what’s going on at my front door and sending me only the most meaningful alerts. Paired with all the features I’ve come to love, like bird’s eye view and smart responses, I’m confident about keeping a watch out when I’m not at home. And things are only going to get better when other new features eventually come out.
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