Ring Indoor Cam 2nd Gen Guide

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Ring’s 2023 upgrade to its Indoor Cam brings a few changes to its exterior, but in general remains the same – which isn’t a bad thing.

It isn’t too surprising that the differences between the first and second-generation cameras are minimal and iterative. In our review of the original Ring Indoor Cam, we awarded it 4.5 stars; however, note that some of the features that helped it to gain that score – namely, the Home/Away modes – are no longer available as a standard with either the first or second generation Ring Indoor Cam. Still, it's undoubtedly one of the best home security cameras available.

Ring rose to prominence with its gold standard video doorbells, which have gone from strength to strength in recent years. However, it’s fair to say that the subscription fees that gate-keep many of the best Ring features cloud opinion. Much the same can be said of the Ring Indoor Cam – although pretty affordable to start, you don’t get access to the security features that best justify setting up an indoor security camera without having a Ring Protect subscription.

Still, the Ring Indoor Cam (Gen 2) has plenty going for it, even if we’d have liked to see some more hardware improvements – better resolution, for example.

Released in 2023, the Ring Indoor Cam (Gen 2) is a 1:1 replacement for the original camera, with the latter only now available through a few third-party retailers.

The Ring Indoor Cam (Gen 2) is priced identically to the first-generation indoor camera, and reasonably against the competition – although you’ll have to factor in the Ring Protect subscription costs, if you really want to make it worth the money. Prices for the Basic plan starts at $4 / £3.49 / AU$4.95 per month, or $40 / £34.99 / AU$49.95 per year, and cover one device. Depending on your location, there are other options available. The Plus membership is almost double the price and covers multiple devices, while the Pro plan (currently available in the US only) starts at $20/month or $200/year.

New ball joint plate

New privacy cover

Easier mounting plate

Measuring a petite 4.9 x 4.9 x 9.6cm, the second-generation Ring Indoor Cam is just a touch larger than its predecessor, which is the result of the ball joint plate and privacy cover. It’s still compact, though, and will be pretty inconspicuous in the home.

Elsewhere, the camera housing is identical to the previous model; it’s a cylindrical, plastic case with a black panel that’s home to the camera.

The ball joint is pretty fluid, for a far greater range of motion, and more placement options, including even a birds-eye view. I opted to place my review unit above my kitchen door, facing the back door, so I could spy on my cat as he comes and goes. The mounting plate was a little difficult to get off, but with this done, affixing the camera to the door proved super easy. There are no raw plugs included for tidying up the wire, which is a small but slightly annoying oversight.

The new privacy cover, which silences the mic and video feed, is a little clattery and tacky feeling, but it does the job really nicely and offers enough resistance that it doesn’t feel loose.

Like the previous generation, this camera is wired-only, which means it will need to be positioned near a power supply. The camera charges via a USB-A cable, which plugs into a recessed port on the rear of the camera.

Design: 4.5/5

Easy to set up

Many features hidden behind subscription

No major performance upgrades

After a very quick and easy setup, which took about 10 minutes from unboxing to mounting and pairing, you’re all set to start monitoring your home with the Ring Indoor Cam.

In the companion app, you can customize your settings. As well as alert settings, you can map out Privacy Zones and Motion Zones, which ensure the camera is only recording what needs to be caught on film. You can also tap into the camera’s live view from the app, which in my experience worked reliably with little lag.