Ring doorbell · Status lights
What the light ring on a Ring doorbell means
Sources checked · how we check
Ring's doorbells say what they are doing with the ring of light on the front, and where on the circle a light flashes matters as much as its colour: a setup failure flashes on the right, the top or the left depending on what went wrong. Find the pattern you can see and read across.
What this covers
Ring publishes one light-pattern article for all its doorbells, and says every model shows the same patterns unless stated otherwise. Where a pattern applies only to some models, the row below names them. Ring's Chime, cameras, Intercom and Keypad each have their own article with different meanings.
During setup
White light spinning in a circle
The doorbell is in setup mode. Ring says this pattern times out after 10 minutes.
What to do: Carry on with setup in the Ring app. If it has timed out, put the doorbell back into setup mode and start again.
Blue light moving upward
The doorbell is connecting to your wifi network during setup.
What to do: Wait for it to finish.
Four corner blue lights flashing
Setup succeeded. Ring notes the Video Doorbell Elite does not show this pattern.
What to do: Nothing. The doorbell is set up.
White light flashing on the right side
Setup failed: the doorbell could not connect to your home wifi. Ring names distance from the router and special characters in the wifi name as common causes.
What to do: Move the router closer, or test with the doorbell nearer to it, and check the network name for special characters, then run setup again.
White light flashing on top
Setup failed because of a problem with the wifi password.
What to do: Run setup again and re-enter the wifi password carefully.
White light flashing on the left side
The doorbell joined your wifi but could not reach Ring's servers or the internet.
What to do: The doorbell and the password are fine; the problem is the internet connection behind the router. Check other devices can get online.
Everyday use
Blue light spinning clockwise
The doorbell button was pressed.
What to do: Nothing. This is the doorbell doing its job.
Solid blue circle
The doorbell is in an active call, with the speaker enabled.
What to do: Nothing. It clears when the call ends.
Solid white circle
The doorbell is idle. Ring says this applies to hardwired doorbells, and to battery doorbells that are hardwired.
What to do: Nothing. This is the normal state for a wired doorbell.
No light
The doorbell is idle. Ring says this applies only to battery doorbells that are not hardwired.
What to do: Nothing, on a battery doorbell. On a wired doorbell, no light is not the idle state, so check its power.
White circle flashing repeatedly
The doorbell is updating its firmware.
What to do: Leave it to finish rather than taking it off the bracket or cutting the power.
Power, charging and starting up
Red light flashing at the bottom
The doorbell does not have enough power. Ring says this applies only to wired doorbells that are not battery-powered.
What to do: The doorbell is not getting enough power from its wiring. That is a question for whoever installed it, or an electrician, rather than something to fix in the app.
Blue circle filling clockwise
A doorbell with a built-in battery is charging, and where the light flashes shows how far: the upper-right quarter for 0-25%, the right half for 25-50%, most of the circle for 50-75%, and the whole circle flashing when it is fully charged. Doorbells with a Quick Release Battery Pack do not show this.
What to do: Leave it charging until the whole circle flashes.
Blue circle flashing slowly
Ring uses this for two things. On the Video Doorbell Wired, Wired Doorbell 2K, Battery Doorbell Plus and Battery Doorbell 2K Plus it means the doorbell is powering up. On other battery doorbells, except the Door View Cam, it means a factory reset is running.
What to do: Wait either way. Do not cut the power while it is flashing.
White light filling the circle slowly, then flashing
The doorbell is powering up. Ring says this applies only to the Wired Doorbell Plus and Wired Doorbell Pro.
What to do: Wait for it to finish starting up.
Blue circle flashing, then white light circling clockwise
A factory reset is running. Ring says this applies to the Door View Cam and all wired doorbells.
What to do: Wait for it to finish, then set the doorbell up again in the Ring app.
If none of these match your light
Every Ring doorbell is covered by the table above. If the light is on a Ring Chime, a camera, an Intercom or a Keypad, those have their own light-pattern articles, and the colours do not carry across: on a second-generation Chime, for example, green means booting or setup mode. Look up the article for that product on Ring's support site.
Frequently asked questions
What does a spinning white light on a Ring doorbell mean?
The doorbell is in setup mode. Ring says the pattern times out after 10 minutes, so if setup has stalled, put it back into setup mode and start again.
What does a flashing white light on the side of my Ring doorbell mean?
Setup failed, and the side tells you why. Flashing on the right: it could not connect to your wifi, often because of distance or special characters in the network name. On top: the wifi password. On the left: it joined the wifi but could not reach the internet or Ring's servers.
Why is my Ring doorbell flashing red at the bottom?
Ring says it does not have enough power. This applies to wired doorbells that are not battery-powered, so the doorbell's wiring is the place to look.
Why is my Ring doorbell flashing white all the way round?
A white circle flashing repeatedly means it is updating its firmware. Leave it alone until it finishes.
What does blue mean on a Ring doorbell?
It depends on the pattern. Blue spinning clockwise means the button was pressed, solid blue means an active call, a blue circle filling clockwise means a battery doorbell is charging, and blue moving upward means it is connecting to wifi during setup.