How does a Ring doorbell work? What you need to know about the video home-security device

• The Ring doorbell works by allowing you to see who's at your door whenever there's motion detected, even if you're not home.
• You can see what's happening through the Ring app on your phone and speak through the doorbell.
• The app also has several other useful features to make your home more secure.

You've probably heard something about the increasingly popular Ring doorbell. This piece of technology is a doorbell that you install and it contains a motion sensor that can detect motion up to 30 feet away. When it senses motion, the camera activates, and it will take a video of the surrounding area.

This doorbell is especially handy around the holidays, as it helps many people identify and, in some cases, ward off would-be package thieves — on top of those two most important features, the Ring doorbell also has a two-way microphone that you can talk through. This feature is also useful for other things, like giving no-contact instructions to delivery drivers.

What you need to know about the Ring doorbell

So how do all of these features work? Well, like most major advancements these days, it's in large part thanks to the internet.

When installed, the Ring doorbell hooks up to your home's Wi-Fi network to transmit video and other information to the Ring app, which you'll need to download to your phone to complete the setup. Once any data the doorbell records is posted on the app, you can see it anywhere that you can get an internet connection.

Even if you don't have time to look at the Ring app whenever you get a notification, you can always go back in the History portion of the app — you can pick out each time an event happens by the timestamp and date, and it will even tell you if it detected a person or just general motion.

You can do other things on the Ring app, too. For example, you can receive community notifications from others with Ring doorbells in your area using the Neighbors function — you can find out about things like power outages, lost pets, fires, and even crimes if they happen nearby.

The app doesn't only support the Ring doorbell; you can also register multiple doorbells on the app and hook up other cameras and outdoor lights.

The Ring doorbell comes with an internal battery that you can charge, and the app tells you when the battery is getting low. Alternately, you can hardwire it to your house if you have the necessary hookups on your door.

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• How to charge your Ring doorbell in 5 simple steps

• How to reset your Ring doorbell or remove it from your account

• 'What is a Google Home Hub?': Everything you need to know about the Google smart device that can help you navigate daily life

• How to set up a Facebook Portal video-chat device and enable Alexa