Controlling all your Ring devices with modes

As your home security system grows, you’ll be able to use modes to control the behaviour of your Ring Video Doorbells, Security Cameras and Ring Alarm.¹ This article answers commonly asked questions about modes and teaches you how to use them to better control your system. 

General information about Ring Video Doorbells

General information about Ring Security Cameras

What are modes?

Modes are settings in the Ring app that can control the behaviour of all of your Ring devices. It’s an expansion of the modes used by Ring Alarm. The idea is to configure your cameras to protect your home in different ways, depending on your current needs. For instance, if you are staying in for the night you can set your indoor devices to 'Disarmed' and your outdoor devices to 'Home'. Your indoor movements won't trigger motion detection, while your Video Doorbell and Security Cameras outside will still alert you if motion is detected. Then, all of your devices, including Ring Alarm if you have one, will work as a single ecosystem with one tap of a button. 

More information on using Ring Alarm modes

Three different modes are available to control the state of your home: Disarmed, Home and Away. Your system will start in Away mode. 

• Disarmed

  : Select Disarmed mode when you’re at home and want the freedom to go in and out of your house easily. 
  • You can decide whether or not each of your cameras detects motion.
    • For example, you can turn off the motion detectors on all of your front garden cameras to avoid getting alerts while you’re at home.   
  • For Ring Alarm users:

    When Disarmed mode is selected, no Alarm sensors in your home will be armed and no alerts will be sent to the monitoring station, but the system will still be powered on and functioning. Fire and CO sensors (if they are attached to the system) will still be monitored.
• Home mode

  : Select Home mode when you want the outside cameras of your house activated, but want to be able to move freely around the inside of your home.
  • You can decide whether or not each of your camera detects motion. 
  • For Ring Alarm Users:

    In Home mode, only certain sensors will be armed. You can control which sensors will be monitored in Home mode by visiting Mode Settings in the Ring app. 
• Away mode:

  Select Away mode to fully secure your house when you leave. You can set all of your cameras, both inside and out, to record your home in this mode.
  • You can decide whether or not each of your cameras detects motion. 
  • For Ring Alarm users:

    When Away mode is turned on, all of your sensors will be armed and an alert will be issued if any of them detect a security issue.
    • You can also control which sensors will be monitored in Away mode by visiting Mode Settings in the Ring app.

Note: You are not forced to use any default setting as-is. Each part of these settings is customisable depending on your needs and preferences. Each device also has mode controls that can be set individually, that can be accessed from the Device Dashboard.

How to enable modes

1. Tap the

   menu

   (≡) and tap 

   Settings.
2. Tap

   Modes and Automations.
3. Tap

   Modes.
4. Tap

   Enable Modes.
5. Tap the mode you want to configure.
6. Set how you want your devices to behave in that mode.

How to disable modes

1. Tap the

   menu

   (≡) and tap 

   Settings.
2. Tap

   Modes and Automations.
3. Tap

   Modes.
4. Tap

   Mode Settings.
5. The

   Disable Modes

   function is below

   Shared User Access.
   • You may have to scroll up to see the Disable Modes setting.
6. Tap the red

   Disable Modes

   button on the bottom of the screen.

How to adjust modes for individual devices

1. Tap the

   menu

   (≡).
2. Tap

   Devices

   and select the device you want to adjust.
3. Tap

   Mode Settings

   .
   • Customise device settings according to your home needs.
   • From here, you can also link

     Motion Warning

     and

     Quick Replies

     with modes, if you have a device that supports these features and you have enabled them in the Ring app. For example, you can set Motion Warning and/or Quick Replies to turn on automatically when your devices are in Away mode and to turn off when your devices are in Home mode.