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Add Ring Doorbell to Hive?

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  • 05-02-2021 12:07pm
    #1
    randomguy
    Registered Users Posts: 282 ✭✭


    Hi all,

    Sorry if this is too basic a question, but we got Hive for our home heating last year, and works fine. It is our only home automation.

    We are getting an out electrician for other things (including a home office loghouse in garden) once allowed, and I was thinking of adding:
    • A Ring or similar video doorbell for house (battery operated old-school bell only at present)
    • A camera for home office (for security and maybe to keep an eye on kids)
    • An intercom between home office and house
    • Wifi extender for home office

    My main question is whether I have understood correctly that Hive doesn't have its own doorbells? Should I just get Ring (or Nest?) separately? Or do they work with Hive?

    Any advice appreciated. And sorry for asking such basic questions.


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    #2
    Gumbo
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 38,592 Mod ✭✭✭✭Gumbo


    You don’t add them together.
    They are 2 separate things I would have thought?

    The hive app is for controlling the heating. What could the hive app do with a doorbell?


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    #3
    randomguy
    Registered Users Posts: 282 ✭✭randomguy


    Gumbo wrote: »
    You don’t add them together.
    They are 2 separate things I would have thought?

    The hive app is for controlling the heating. What could the hive app do with a doorbell?

    Hive also has lighting, and plugs and cameras - I thought it was meant to be a smart home app generally, and when we got it we got a "hub" that I thought we would be adding things to as we got smarter... But I am not very smart when it comes to smart homes...


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    #4
    Morpork
    Registered Users Posts: 725 ✭✭✭Morpork


    You could add Hive and Ring to Amazon Alexa and control them both from there.
    The hub of the Hive is just to connect everything to your WiFi really.


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    #5
    THE ALM
    Registered Users Posts: 1,599 ✭✭✭THE ALM


    As you say there are lights, cameras, sensors and plugs in the Hive ecosystem and you could get any of these and these would be controllable through the hive app. You could set up routines in the hive app to turn on lights etc when motion detected and so on.

    They don't do a video doorbell so you would have to look elsewhere and this would be controllable through its own app, none that I am aware of can be integrated into Hive.

    Hive don't do an intercom either although looking at the cameras they have two way audio so could could broadcast from the hive app to the camera, can't comment on the quality of the audio on the camera.

    If an option, when putting in the office you should run some cat6 cable to it and bring this back to you router which would give you a better connection.

    I presume power will have to be brought to the office so would be a good time to bring the cat6 cable.

    Edit: You could add google homes or amazon alexa devices and broadcast to these as an intercom.


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    #6
    Gumbo
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 38,592 Mod ✭✭✭✭Gumbo


    randomguy wrote: »
    Hive also has lighting, and plugs and cameras - I thought it was meant to be a smart home app generally, and when we got it we got a "hub" that I thought we would be adding things to as we got smarter... But I am not very smart when it comes to smart homes...

    I have hive myself. You have to remain in the hive eco system to get it through their hub.

    But I have my hive connected to Alexa which in turn has all the smart plugs connected so I use Alexa as the main hub as such.

    I always found the hive switches and bulbs restrictive.


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    #7
    Gregor Samsa
    Registered Users Posts: 8,941 ✭✭✭Gregor Samsa


    Yeah Hive tried to create a smart home ecosystem, but it hasn't really taken off. The lights and plugs aren't as good as Hue, and the cameras aren't as good as Ring or anyone else. They don't have a doorbell. Best bet is to integrate Hive, Hue, Ring and anything else you have into Alexa (or Homekit if you're 100% Apple based, or maybe Google Home, but I don't know anything about it.)

    An Echo (Alexa) in your garden office and one (or more) in the house would work as an intercom system (via the Drop In or Announce features), as well music, radio and being a smart assistant in general, so that would be one task your electrician wouldn't have to do.


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