Last month I setup a new Wi-Fi mesh system to improve my home’s Wi-Fi reach, but instead of keeping the same network name and password, I decided to move all my devices over to the new Wi-Fi details one-by-one.
Overall this worked fairly well: I updated 2-3 devices a day, and after a few weeks, I was done. Well, other than my Ring Chime. When I went to change its Wi-Fi details… it stopped working. The blue sign no longer appeared. It was dead. Finito. I couldn’t enter setup mode at all.
Which was a little frustrating, because whilst I also use my Echo devices as a Ring Doorbell chime, I also rely on the Ring Chime at the front of my house. So what did I do in this case?
If your Ring chime doesn’t enter setup mode, you should firstly swap to a different socket. Then try holding the setup button (for either 5 or 15 seconds). If this doesn’t work, fear not: there’s two other things you can try.
Before I dive into those steps in more detail, I wanted to briefly re-cap on what the Ring Chime unit is.
The Ring Chime is a fairly nifty device. Because not all Ring Doorbells can ring your existing doorbell chime unit, you can buy the Ring Chime. This plugs into a wall socket and it plays a configurable doorbell sound when someone is at your door (or when motion is detected):
As I mentioned earlier, you can also do this with an Amazon Echo device by setting it up as an announcement device within the Alexa app:
Of course, not everyone wants an Amazon Echo: sometimes a simple chime unit is all you need. Plus you might not want an Echo device right by your front door, in-case someone opens your letter box and shouts “Alexa, lights off”.
I wish I was joking, but that’s something that I think we’ll see more of in the future.
Either way, buying a separate Ring Chime can make a lot of sense. But sometimes you will need to enter setup mode: and this is where your problems might begin!
Fix the “Something Went Wrong” Error
If you came across this message during the setup of your device, you are not alone. There are a few reasons why this message is popping up.
It could be because your Ring App is outdated and does not work with your Ring Doorbell anymore. You need to go to the App Store or Play Store in such a scenario and make sure that your Ring App is up-to-date.
If you are using an android device, you could try switching off the Smart Network switch and try rerunning the app, see if there’s any chance.
If that also does not work for you, it could be that while set up, you’re selecting the incorrect device name. For instance, the Ring Video Doorbell Gen 2 and the Ring Video Doorbell 2 may sound similar but could not be different.
The former does not have a removable battery, while the latter does. Confirm the type and model of your device before proceeding with its setup.
Now, if all else fails, and you’re still having difficulty getting your Ring Chime to work, then as a final resort, you must try contacting customer support.
On the Official Ring website, they have given the phone numbers for customer service executives from various countries. Contact them during the specified working hours, and they should be able to help you.
Check that your Ring Chime is Receiving Power
After you’ve verified that both your doorbell and Chime are compatible, the next thing to do is check whether your Ring chime is receiving the power that it requires to function well.
For your Chime to work flawlessly with your doorbell, you will need to ensure that it receives at least 8-24 V AC power at 50-60 Hz frequency.
Using a voltmeter or multimeter, you’ll be able to check the voltage your circuit is receiving. If the transformer cannot meet the requirements, you can get a Ring Doorbell Transformer.
This device will help optimize the power requirements for your Ring Doorbell Pro, and all the tools needed for its installation come with the box.
Make sure that your Ring chime is not offline. That it is connected to a functioning plug point and your home Wi-Fi.
This could happen if the Wi-Fi router at your home stopped working for some reason. Try troubleshooting your Wi-Fi using the following methods:
If you have recently changed the password or switched out your old router for a new one, try reconfiguring it via the Ring App.
You will also find your Chime to be offline if there has been a loss of power in your area. If that is the case, wait till the power outage is sorted out and then try rebooting your Chime. Ideally, this should happen automatically if it doesn’t read on to find the rest of the techniques.
Make sure you have configured the Ring chime with your Ring doorbell. If there’s any mismatch in the app settings, you will need to adjust your settings for your Chime to work well with your doorbell.
To verify the Ring app settings, you can follow these steps:
This issue is an uncommon one but is rapidly taking a toll on some of the customers who use the Amazon Alexa speakers to broadcast the audio connected to the Ring doorbell have found that somehow because of this, their mechanical Chime is malfunctioning.
All you need to do to fix this issue is:
Go to the Alexa app → Devices → Name of your Doorbell → Disable’ Doorbell press announcements’.
If you do not want to disable this option, it is clear that you need to weigh the pros vs cons; and decide for yourself while Amazon works on a solution for this glitch.
If you find that the ring logo in front of your Chime is not lighting up, you could always try a reboot of your Ring chime. This will help reset the power supplied to the device and give you a chance to switch up the power slots if necessary.
All you have to do is:
When you find yourself in a dire crisis regarding most electronic devices, a pretty good bet can be placed on factory resetting it.
When you hit that reset button, the device will reboot itself automatically. Give it a minute or two, and there should be a visible improvement. Here’s how you do it:
This indicates that your device has been reset, and you can reconfigure it from square one. Make sure you hit the reset button if you have swapped any of your existing Wi-Fi routers or are changing the network connection to avoid any possible issues in the future.
While switching out your old doorbell for the Ring doorbell, it is imperative that the wiring is done correctly. Both the Ring doorbell and the Ring chime need to be connected through the transformer for the circuit to work effortlessly.
Within the Ring doorbell, make sure all the wires are tightly wound and there aren’t any loose connections that impair the flow of current to your device. Verify whether the wires are connected to both the doorbell transformer and ring chime, respectively.
If you do not feel comfortable handling wires or haven’t done the wiring yourself, it’s best to contact a professional to take care of it.
Solution #1: Change Wall Socket
If you have plugged your Ring Chime in, held the setup button for 5 seconds, and nothing happens, you should firstly move the Ring Chime to a different wall socket.
I know that it’s very unlikely to make any different, but it’s the first thing that Ring customer service will ask you to do. Plus there’s a 0.01% change that your wall socket is playing up, so it is worth quickly plugging your Ring chime into a different socket.
You should see the “ring” text flash blue, and either stay blue, or be flashing blue.
If that hasn’t worked, let’s move onto the next setup.
FAQ
How do I reconnect my Ring Chime?
- Tap on the three lines on the top left.
- Tap Devices.
- Select doorbell or security camera you need to reconnect to wifi—the next screen should be the Device Dashboard.
- Tap on Device Health.
Why is my Ring Chime not working?