Does Ring Work with Google Home?

Amazon and Google are at the helm of the battle for the smart home. I am a big fan of Google’s ecosystem, but the Ring video doorbell is undeniably one of the best choices.

This will probably leave you wondering, do Ring doorbells work with Google Home?

Yes, Ring does work with Google Home. You can receive visitor announcements on your Google Home smart speaker and find out when your doorbell was last rung. However, when it comes to streaming the doorbell, integration is patchy, and you can’t stream automatically when the doorbell rings.

Keep reading for a full breakdown of everything it can and can’t do, plus how to set it all up and a few hacks.

Things Ring Can and Can’t Do with Google Home

So, we’ve established that Ring does work with Google Home, but let’s take a look at the extent of the integration and how this compared to other ecosystems.

Ring have built a dedicated Google Assistant app to allow integration with Google’s ecosystem, however it’s somewhat limited compared to Amazon’s own ecosystem.

Here is a full breakdown of what features to expect:

Things you CAN do with Ring and Google Home:

• Visitor announcements on your Google Home smart speaker

Using Google Assistant and Ring, you can receive visitor notifications on your Google Home speakers, Nest hub smart displays and other Google Assistant devices when someone is at your door.

• Ask Google Assistant when the doorbell was last rang

You can ask Google Assistant when your Ring doorbell was last rang to hear the date and time. However, there is no other functionality beyond this.

This is lacking significantly to the Alexa integration which allows you to pull up the latest video on an Echo Show.

• Turn motion alerts and ring alerts on/off with Google Assistant

Not in the mood to answer the door? No problem. You should be able to turn on and off doorbell alerts with Google Assistant. This includes motion alerts and when your doorbell is actually pressed.

• Check battery status of doorbell with Google Assistant

As you can with Alexa, you should be able to ask Google Assistant for an update on the battery status of your Ring device, if it’s running on battery power that is.

Things you CAN’T do with Ring and Google Home:

• Named visitor announcements

Unfortunately, Ring doorbells don’t have the ability to recognise faces like the Nest Hello, so you won’t be able to receive named announcements.

• Ask Google Assistant for a live stream of your Ring doorbell on Nest Hub or Chromecast

There has been some talk from Ring about the ability to get a live stream from your Ring devices on Google Home devices, however, this feature is buggy at best.

I would be hopeful that this is on its way though.

• Automatic livestream to Nest Hub or Chromecast when doorbell rings

Despite Google’s own doorbell having the ability to stream to a Google Nest Hub smart display or Chromecast when the doorbell rings, the Ring video doorbell cannot do this.

Instead, you’ll have to ask the Google Assistant to bring up the livestream when you receive an announcement, or you can get out your phone. Either way, it’s an annoying extra step that really shouldn’t be needed.

• Two-way audio with doorbell through Google Home

If you’ve looked into Ring doorbells, you’ll know that you can communicate with whomever is at your door using Alexa. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Google Assistant.

You will still be able to hear your visitor if streaming the video to your Echo Show, however the doorbell lacks any communication through Google Home devices.

How to Connect Ring to Google Home

Connecting Ring to Google Home couldn’t be more confusing. Ring is nowhere to be found in the list of supported devices within the Google Home app, so you’ll need to follow this guide:

1. First, ensure your video doorbell has been set up properly within the Ring app

2. Now, go to the Ring app for Google Assistant in your web browser and select ‘send to device’ to send the app to your smart speaker

3. You’ll receive a notification on the phone prompting you to log in to your Ring account

4. After logging in, authorise Google Home to access Ring

5. You’ll now be able to add your Ring devices to Google Home and select a room for each

Ring Commands for Google Home

You will need to begin all commands with “Hey Google, talk to Ring”, followed by the command your wish.

Here are the current commands available to control your Ring device on Google Home:

• “Hey Google, talk to Ring about turning motion alerts on/off.”
• “Hey Google, talk to Ring about turning ring alerts on/off.”
• “Hey Google, talk to Ring  about the last time the doorbell rang.”
• “Hey Google, talk to Ring about starting a video recording.”
• “Hey Google, talk to Ring about the health of [doorbell name].”

What’s the Best Video Doorbell for Google Home?

Unsurprisingly, the video doorbell I’m going to recommend that best supports Google Home is Google’s own Nest Hello doorbell.

Not only is the doorbell very reliable and quick to alert you when someone is at your door, but there are advanced features such as facial recognition that can announce your frequent visitors by name.

It also has pre-recorded responses for when you don’t want to answer.

Find out more about this device and other more affordable options in my full guide to video doorbells for Google Home.

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