How to Change WiFi on a Ring Video Doorbell (2026)

Last updated August 2026

Quick answer: open the Ring app, tap the doorbell, go to Device Health, then WiFi Network, and select Change Network to reconnect it to a new router or password. The doorbell needs to be within a few feet of your phone during setup and connects only to 2.4GHz networks, so if your new router broadcasts a single combined band, split it or use a dedicated 2.4GHz name before you start.

Moving to a new router, switching internet providers, or renaming your home network all break a Ring doorbell’s WiFi connection, and the fix is the same in every case: you are not resetting the doorbell, you are just pointing it at a different network from inside the app. Most people get stuck because they try to do this from across the house, forget the doorbell only speaks 2.4GHz, or assume they need to remove and re-add the whole device. None of that is necessary if you follow the steps in order.

Before You Start: What You Need

• The Ring app installed and signed in on the phone you will stand near the doorbell with
• Your new WiFi network name (SSID) and password written down or copied, since typos are the most common cause of a failed reconnect
• A 2.4GHz network available - Ring doorbells (including the Video Doorbell, Doorbell Plus, Pro 2, and Elite) cannot connect to a 5GHz-only signal
• Physical access to stand within about 6 feet of the doorbell during setup, since the reconnect process uses Bluetooth to talk to the device before it joins WiFi

If you have not yet mounted or wired the doorbell, our Ring Video Doorbell install guide covers the full setup from unboxing, which is faster than doing a network change first.

How to Change WiFi on a Ring Doorbell: Step by Step

1. Open the Ring app and tap the menu icon (three lines) in the top-left corner, or tap directly on the doorbell from the dashboard.
2. Select your doorbell device, then tap Device Health near the top of the device settings screen.
3. Tap the WiFi network name shown under the signal strength meter. This opens the network settings for that specific device.
4. Tap “Change Network” (sometimes labeled “Reconnect to WiFi” depending on your app version).
5. Put the doorbell in setup mode. The app will prompt you to press and hold the orange setup button on the back of the doorbell (or the front button on some models) until the light ring flashes. On hardwired models without a visible button, the app walks you through a brief power-cycle instead.
6. Wait for your phone to detect the doorbell over Bluetooth, then select your new WiFi network from the list and enter the password exactly as it appears, including capitalization.
7. Let the doorbell reconnect, which typically takes 60 to 90 seconds. A solid blue light or a completed progress bar in the app confirms success.
8. Test it by triggering a Live View from the app and confirming motion alerts still fire.

If the app cannot find the doorbell in step 6, move closer. Bluetooth setup fails silently more often from 15 feet away with a wall in between than most people expect.

Why the 2.4GHz Requirement Trips People Up

Most new mesh routers and ISP-provided gateways broadcast a single combined SSID that automatically steers devices between 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Ring doorbells cannot join that combined network reliably, and setup will either fail outright or connect briefly and then drop. Two fixes work:

• Log into your router’s admin app and create a separate SSID for the 2.4GHz band (commonly labeled with “-2.4G” or similar), then connect the doorbell to that specific name.
• On routers that support it, temporarily disable band steering during setup, then re-enable it after the doorbell connects, since a device that has already joined the 2.4GHz band usually stays on it afterward.

This is also the most common reason a doorbell that worked fine for a year suddenly cannot reconnect after a router replacement - the old router had a separate 2.4GHz name and the new one does not by default. For a wider look at getting new equipment right the first time, see our guide to securing your smart home WiFi network, which covers band configuration alongside router security settings.

Fixing Common Errors During the Network Change

”Ring Doorbell Not Responding” or Setup Times Out

Move within 6 feet of the doorbell, confirm Bluetooth is enabled on your phone, and close any other apps that might be using Bluetooth (some fitness trackers and headphone apps interfere). If it still times out, power-cycle the doorbell by removing the battery for 30 seconds (battery models) or flipping the breaker for 15 seconds (wired models), then restart the process from step 1.

Password Rejected or “Incorrect Network Password”

This is almost always a typo, especially with passwords containing similar characters like a lowercase L and the number 1, or O and 0. Type the password into your phone’s notes app first, copy it, and paste it into the WiFi field rather than typing it live in the setup screen.

Doorbell Connects Then Drops Again Within Minutes

This points to weak signal strength at the doorbell’s mounted location rather than a setup mistake. Check the signal bars on the Device Health screen; anything below two bars means the doorbell is too far from the router. A WiFi extender aimed at the entryway, or moving the router closer to an exterior wall, usually resolves it. If your whole system - not just the doorbell - keeps dropping, our guide on what to do when your security system keeps going offline covers router placement and interference fixes in more depth.

Doorbell Still Shows the Old Network Name After You Finish Setup

Force-close and reopen the Ring app; the Device Health screen sometimes caches the previous network name for a minute or two after a successful change. If it still shows the old name after a full app restart, the change did not actually complete - repeat the process from step 4.

Does the Process Differ for Battery vs Wired Ring Doorbells?

The app steps are identical, but how you trigger setup mode differs slightly by model:

• Battery models (Video Doorbell, Video Doorbell Plus): press and hold the orange setup button on the back of the unit, behind the battery, for about 5 seconds until the light ring flashes blue and white.
• Wired models (Pro 2, Elite): the setup button sits on the front faceplate under a small cover. If your Elite is hardwired without a visible button, the app will instead prompt a brief power interruption at the breaker to force setup mode.
• Battery life during setup: if your battery model is below 20 percent charge, pull the battery and top it off before starting. A low battery mid-setup is a common cause of the doorbell dropping out of Bluetooth range of its own accord, which looks identical to a signal problem but is not.

Wired models generally hold a WiFi connection more reliably after the change because they are not power-cycling between sleep states, so if you consistently have trouble with a battery model reconnecting, that is a real difference in behavior, not just perception.

Checking Signal Strength Before and After the Change

Weak signal is the single biggest cause of a WiFi change that “works” for a day and then fails. Before you finish setup, check the bars on the Device Health screen:

• 3 to 4 bars: good placement, no action needed.
• 2 bars: usable, but expect occasional missed alerts during high WiFi traffic (streaming, large downloads) elsewhere in the house.
• 1 bar or “poor”: reposition the router, add a mesh node or extender near the entryway, or consider a wired backhaul if your router supports it. A doorbell at 1 bar will disconnect again within days, so do not treat a completed setup as the end of the job if the signal reading is poor.

If you just moved to a mesh system (Eufy HomeBase, Google Nest WiFi, Amazon eero, or similar), give the mesh a few minutes after the doorbell connects to hand it off to the nearest node - the doorbell can briefly show a weak reading while the mesh network settles on the optimal node, and that reading often improves without you doing anything further.

Do You Need to Delete and Re-Add the Doorbell?

No, and you should avoid it. Deleting the device removes your recorded event history, custom motion zones, and any Ring Protect subscription linkage from that device, all of which you would have to rebuild. Changing the WiFi network through Device Health preserves everything and takes a fraction of the time. Only remove and re-add the doorbell if you are selling it, giving it away, or the standard reconnect process has genuinely failed after multiple attempts and a factory reset.

If You Are Setting Up a Doorbell for the First Time

A first-time setup uses the same underlying WiFi connection process but starts from “Set Up a Device” in the app rather than Device Health, since there is no existing network to change from. If you are choosing between doorbell models before you buy, our best video doorbells comparison breaks down the Ring lineup against Nest, Eufy, and Arlo, and our dedicated Ring Video Doorbell install guide covers mounting height and wiring alongside the WiFi step.

Ready to get connected? The current Ring Video Doorbell and Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 both use the same Device Health reconnect flow described above, so this guide applies whether you just bought one or are moving an existing doorbell to a new router.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change my Ring doorbells WiFi without the app?

No. The WiFi network is stored on the doorbell itself and can only be changed through the Ring apps Device Health screen, which uses Bluetooth to communicate with the doorbell before it has network access. There is no web-based or hardware-button method to change networks directly.

Will changing WiFi networks delete my Ring video history?

No, changing the WiFi network does not affect your event history or recordings, which are tied to your Ring account rather than the network connection. Deleting and re-adding the device is what causes history loss, not a standard network change.

Why does my Ring doorbell only see 2.4GHz networks in the list?

This is expected behavior, not an error. Ring doorbells use 2.4GHz exclusively because it travels farther through exterior walls than 5GHz, which matters for a device mounted outside. If your router list shows no 2.4GHz option, you need to create one in your router settings before setup will succeed.

How long does a WiFi network change take?

The reconnect itself takes 60 to 90 seconds once you have entered the new password, but budget 5 to 10 minutes total for locating the setup button, waiting for Bluetooth discovery, and confirming the doorbell is stable on the new network afterward.

Do I need to change WiFi settings on my Ring Alarm base station too?

Yes, if you are changing networks for your whole home, the base station and any other Ring devices (cameras, chimes, sensors with WiFi) each need to be reconnected individually through their own Device Health screens. Changing one device does not automatically update the others.