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Ring Stick Up Cam Battery Review
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The Ring Stick Up Cam Battery is among our favorite wireless security cameras with Ring camera features in a fully wireless camera for only $100.
The Ring Stick Up Cam isn’t tethered by a cable or cord. After charging the battery, you can place this camera almost anywhere. Just a little smaller than a soda can, it fits nicely atop bookshelves, over cribs, or under awnings.
Ring Stickup Cam at a glance
In our Ring Stickup Cam review
The family of Ring cameras are essentially the same camera in different bodies. Each has 1080p HD video streaming, two-way talk, motion detection, night vision, and app control. You can use a Ring Protect Basic or Ring Protect Plus plan with any camera.
The trick for choosing a Ring camera is knowing what you want the camera to do. The Ring Stick Up Cam is versatile enough to be an indoor cam or an outdoor one, but all the other Ring cameras are outdoor-only devices.
If you have frequent visitors or get deliveries often, the Ring Video Doorbell Camera is a good choice for your front porch. With nine versions of this camera, you’re bound to find one that works for your home.
The Ring Spotlight Cam and the Ring Floodlight Cam are similar too. Each security camera has bright lights attached to it, making either a good choice for a garage, walkway, or exposed backyard.
The Ring Stick Up Cam has an eco-friendly counterpart that works with solar energy. The Ring Stick Up Cam Solar is a different camera that comes with a solar panel. It requires a little more DIY installation than the standard Stick Up Cam, but you won’t have to worry about tricky wiring paths or cord cutting.
Ring Stick Up Cam Review
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How Ring Stick Up Cam stacks up
The Ring Stick Up Cam fits right in with our list of the best wireless security cameras. All of them come with similar features like two-way talk, motion settings, and smart speaker compatibility (for you Alexa and Google Home fans). Though it doesn’t have the video quality of the Arlo Pro 4, it’s a much more affordable option.
But Ring stands out because it’s compatible with the Ring Alarm system. Wyze and Eufy also offer companion security systems, but this isn’t the case for Nest, Arlo, and Reolink, which come as camera-only options. Arlo recently announced a security system, but it's not yet available.
Ring Stick Up Cam app
For the most part, the Ring Stick Up Cam is a set-it-and-forget-it device because most of the action happens in the Ring app. Beyond camera settings like motion zones and motion detection, here are a few of our favorite Ring app features.
Time lapse
The Ring app has a live view where you can drop in and see what’s happening in real time, or you can watch a time lapse of past footage.
We really like this feature because it gives you a quick overview of the day or week past. If your camera catches any motion during this time, you’ll get a notification and see it marked within the timeline.
History
The history feature is a log of any events or live views in the past. Whether it’s you or someone you share your camera with, you can see when someone was watching the live cam and what they saw during that time. Any event or live view in the history tab is downloadable too.
Video downloads
When your camera catches a motion event, you can download the clip and save it for later. This can come in handy for security purposes (identifying a perp) or sharing with your friends or family (catching a funny moment).
The video download quality is true to the 1080p HD live stream and translates well even after sharing a few times or downloading and redownloading too.
Data security options
Ring now offers end-to-end encryption for each of its cameras. It’s an opt-in feature for customers in the US, along with two-factor authentication, CAPTCHA, and support for authenticator apps.
Neighbors
The "Neighbors" portion of the Ring app helps people do things like report crimes, find lost pets, and spread warnings of car break-ins and porch pirates near you.
Within the time we tested the Ring Stick Up Cam, we saw alerts in the neighborhood for everything from footage of package thieves in real time to reports of a mountain lion sighting.
It’s helpful to know what goes on in your neighborhood, but we recommend being selective about what you pay attention to.
Having these reports on hand could make some folks feel uneasy or unsafe over one-time occurrences. Think of the Neighbors feature as a good way to spot patterns of events in your neighborhood rather than an eventuality that will happen to you.
Ring two-way audio
Another part of our testing process included the two-way audio. From the live view, you can speak to folks on the other side of your camera or mute the audio if things get too noisy.
Ring’s two-way audio is perfect for pet parents who want to talk to their furry friends at home. Or if you want to talk to your kids while you’re still at work, it’s a good feature to have. It’s even helpful for scaring off any intruders. The trick is catching people in the moment on the app.
Some wireless cameras have a press-to-talk button on the camera itself, allowing loved ones to contact you through the camera, but that’s not the case with the Ring Stick Up Cam.
Ring setup and installation
The Ring Stick Up Cam starts with the Ring app. You’ll need to create an account and get the app up and running before your camera can do anything. The app will guide you through most of the setup process while the included printed instructions show you how to install the camera’s battery and mount the security camera to a wall.
Need help with set up? Check out our Ring cameras troubleshooting guide.
While you get the app set up, we recommend plugging in the battery. Ours came with a charge around 40% but lasted only a couple of days. Once the battery’s at full charge, it can last up to a month.
We charged ours fully after the first test run. After several days of running continuously, it was still at 97%. But, like any battery, Stickup Cam battery charges depend on how many features and settings you have running at once. Features like motion frequency, live views, and video clip length can drain your battery faster.
In our tests, the Ring Stick Up Cam battery held over 95% for several days. A single charge for the battery will depend on settings and use. We saw reports of Stick Up Cam Battery charges lasting up to 60 days and more, which is consistent with our testing.
Camera placement
Battery power cameras come with advantages and disadvantages—without a power cable, you can place the Ring Stick Up Cam anywhere in your home. But that also means you have to charge it regularly.
Katie McEntire, SafeWise
The Ring Stick Up Cam comes with mounting screws and anchors to place it on a wall or shelving. But, for our purposes, we set the camera high on a bookshelf facing the front door.
We chose this spot to avoid feeling watched (nobody wants that), but the wide angle view still caught snippets of activity throughout the day.
Ring Stick Up Cam smart home compatibility
Like all the pieces of the Ring puzzle, the Stick Up Cam works with Alexa devices. If you have an Echo Show, you can see the feed from your camera on the smart speaker.
If you want to learn more about Amazon Alexa and how it fits into a smart home ecosystem, check out these articles:
Final word
If you already have a Ring system or want a portable indoor/outdoor camera to watch over your home, the Ring Stick Up Cam Battery is an affordable option for around $100.
While motion settings can be a little finicky, this security camera was easy to set up and reposition. We also like the timeline and history feature.
But if you’re simply looking for a standalone camera to watch over your home, there are cheaper security cameras out there.
Ring Stick Up Cam FAQ
We have more answers about Ring Alarm and Ring cameras on our Ring FAQ.
Want to learn more about Ring home security?
Check out our Ring Alarm security review and Ring equipment and compatibility guide.
The Ring Stick Up Cam features 1080p live streaming. This is the new standard in many wireless cameras and produces a crisp clear picture live or in downloads.
The Ring Stick Up Cam can see 130° diagonally, 110° horizontally, and 57° vertically. When we tested it in a living room, it was able to see three corners of the room while facing the front door.
The Ring Stick Up Cam is weather resistant, but we don’t recommend submerging it or dunking it in water on purpose. However, it can handle rain or snow under a cover. See how it compares to the best weatherproof security cameras.
Ring Protect is Ring’s subscription cloud and sharing service that lets you store, save, and send the videos your camera catches. It starts at $3 per month for the Basic plan or up to $10/month more for premium features.
Learn more in our guide to Ring camera storage plans.
Yes. The Ring Stick Up Cam is weatherproof, so you can mount it to your door frame, the side of your house, or anywhere outdoors. We do recommend finding a spot with some cover from storms. You can also get a solar panel to keep the battery charged.
How we reviewed the Ring Stick Up Cam Battery
We always feel the best way to review a product is to get our hands on it and test it ourselves. That’s exactly what we did with the Ring Stick Up Cam. To get the most authentic experience with this Ring device, we set up the camera in our own home and tested the installation process, app, and camera features for about two weeks.
Check our methodology page to learn more about how we review products like this one.
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