Hello all, hope all is well.
Was just on the internet and came across some products by Ring, such as their alarm system, lights, cameras, etc. Have any of you heard or tried these products out? I do have two Ring Doorbell's, which work really well with the Ring app since thats accessible, so I"m assuming the other products should work with Voiceover.
For those curious, here are some links to things mentioned earlier in this post.
https://ring.com/products/security-system-alarm-pro-14
https://ring.com/smart-lighting
https://ring.com/security-cameras
Hope to hear from y'all soon.
Thanks
Comments
I love ring products, but…
I have a ring doorbell. I stick up cam, a spotlight camera and multiple ring lights.
I purchased them about a year and a half ago and I was able to set everything up on my own without cited help
Recently, however, I had some issues and I had to set up my ring chime pro again because something happened to it and I needed to have cited help find the Wi-Fi networks.
I have been back-and-forth with Ring on messenger since November took several months for them to get back to me
And now I think they are actually working on the issue.
So I recommend Ring products, however be prepared you might need somebody cited to set up your Wi-Fi network for you until they fix that problem
Otherwise I find everything pretty accessible.
You'll need sighted help for some things
I've got the Ring alarm. You are able to alarm and disarm it from the app, but there are a handful of items you'll need sighted help for. For what it's worth, I've noticed some regression in their app since I started using it 4 or 5 years ago when installing one of their doorbells at our old house.
Ring or something better?
Is Ring the most accessible app? I've been thinking about some sort of security system for the blind. But before I make that big purchase, I would appreciate suggestions from this community. Thanks in advance, guys!
Our setup
hmmm... I would suggest looking up a few, going through there features and reach out to support asking about accessibility.
New update!!!
I just downloaded the new Ring update!
And I can say that as of today I think that everything is fully accessible to the blind.
Hallelujah!
I can see the battery level on all of my ring devices.
I can see the Wi-Fi networks for everything.
So they really listened to the feedback that I gave them.
And they got the job done!
So as of today, don’t be afraid of the app.
Thank you.
Thank you Dizno. I will check Ring out.
Nice
Nice! that's really cool!
Hooray, that’s excellent…
Hooray, that’s excellent news!! I’ve recently bought the ring doorbell so can’t wait to get it installed now.
My experience
Just got a Ring installed, and here's my experience.
When someone approaches my house or rings the doorbell, my phone announces someone is at the door and tells me, "tap and hold this notification for more". My instinct, then, is to drag my finger around the screen to find the notification. That would be the wrong answer. Don't drag your finger. Don't look for a notification. Just tap and hold anywhere on the screen. That puts me into live mode, which is what I want. I'm calling that issue #1, easy to figure out what to do with a little experimentation.
Issue #2 concerns live mode using the iPhone as a handset. This is an obvious issue for anyone sighted. How can they look at their screen to visually see the visitor while holding the phone up to their ear? And it's a problem for VoiceOver users as well, as handset mode impedes use of VO gestures. Is everyone experiencing this issue where the app switches to handset mode? Is there a way to make the app use the iPhone in speaker mode? A web search didn't turn up a solution, so either this isn't the problem I perceive it to be, or everyone but me knows how to control it.
Issue #3 is complexity. All I really want is a way to speak with whoever is at the door, and the app seems overly cluttered and complex for this simple task.
Other than those three issues - and the handset thing is really the worst of the three - I find the app usable and minimally accessible.
Turning off handset
I found a way to switch from handset to speaker when in live mode, but it's tedious. With screen recognition on, there are two unlabeled buttons right next to each other. Selecting the first one seems to switch from handset to speaker.
This seems like a huge accessibility bug. The phone app detects that VoiceOver is enabled and switches automatically from handset to speaker depending on how you hold the iPhone. The Ring app should do the same.
Submitted issue to Ring
I suffered through their barely accessible support chat window to ask that they make their app work more like the native iOS Phone app and automatically switch from handset to speaker when I pull the iPhone away from my ear. Let's hope they address this.