How to Remove Ring Doorbell from Account

Not only does Ring take the classy lion-head knocker into the 21st century, but the lion knows exactly who its owner is. In addition, most Ring doorbell commands are “owned” by a single user, which is not that different from other IoT gadgets.

But how does Ring define ownership, exactly? How can you remove the doorbell or any other Ring device from your account? Read on to find answers to these questions and get a better understanding of how to manage your Ring doorbell.

Who’s the Lion Wrangler?

Simply put, Ring assigns ownership to the account that’s used for the initial set-up. Then the doorbell, or any other Ring device, is owned by that account. In other words, the ownership is linked to the user’s email address and the owner is the only person who can transfer the rights to another account. Why is this important?

The Ring owner is the only person who can remove a doorbell from the account and re-set the device. He or she is the user who sets the Guest User and Shared status and has the highest level of control over the device. Here’s a list of Ring owner permissions.

1. Users’ list access via Location Settings.
2. Permission to remove one or more users.
3. Customization of the doorbell’s monitoring settings.
4. Full control over the Locations settings (view, edit, delete).
5. Add/remove devices via the Base Station.
6. Device configuration controls.
7. Full control over the Base Station.
8. The ability to change address, payment, or account information.
9. Change and assign access codes for other users.
10. Restrict access to the doorbell.
11. Arm or disarm the alarm system.
    

Important Note

Ring doorbell Location can have only one owner, but the system doesn’t put a cap on the number of users and their roles. What’s more, one user can have different roles at different locations. For example, you can be an owner at one address and Guest or Shared user at another.

Either way, the doorbell’s ownership is one of the most important security features. It prevents involuntary reset and account reassignment if the doorbell gets stolen. At the same time, you can easily remove the device and transfer the controls if you decide to sell it on.

Removing the Ring Doorbell from an Account

Once you have the owner’s privileges, removing the doorbell is straightforward. These are the necessary steps.

Step 1

Launch the Ring app on your smartphone to access the main dashboard. The carousel menu at the top of the screen features all your connected devices. Find your doorbell and tap on it to access more settings.

Step 2

Hit the gear icon at the top right of the screen to access the doorbell settings. You’ll see a large “Remove Device” button at the bottom of the screen. Tap on it and confirm your choice in the pop-up window.

The doorbell is now disconnected from your account. You can go back and make sure it no longer appears on the list of connected devices.

Other Options to Change Device Settings

The Device Settings menu allows you to change the doorbell’s name and location. Here, you can also find quick access to the installation videos. To make changes, tap on the designated field, enter new information, and hit save or done for the changes to take effect.

If you tap the back arrow (upper left corner of the screen), you access the main doorbell dashboard. This menu allows you to tweak notifications, ring alerts, and motion alerts. The important thing is that these alerts are device-specific. This means that if you turn them on off on your iPhone, they’ll still pop-up on your iPad, assuming you use the Ring app on both gadgets.

Note: Turning off the alerts doesn’t mean the doorbell stops recording activity if you have Cloud Recording enabled. You only stop getting notifications for that specific alert and can go back to preview all the recordings.

Removing the Old Ring Owner

It might take some time and a few steps to remove an old owner and assign a new one, but the process is fairly straightforward. First, the old owner needs to remove the payment method from the Ring account. This can’t be done via the app;      you need to access Ring on the desktop.

Then he or she needs to get in touch with Ring customer support and get the subscription plan canceled. Once that’s done, the new owner can download the Ring app and reset the doorbell. After the reset, the doorbell will disappear from the old owner’s account.

Tip: There are three ways to get in touch with Ring support – via the app, start a chat via the official website, or call the company – the US phone number is 1-800-656-1918. There are also a few brick and mortar stores, but these are only located in AZ and CA.

Ring, Ring… Who’s There?

To recap, you can remove a Ring doorbell from the proprietary app. Select the device, tap the gear icon, and hit “Remove Device”. The important thing is that you as the doorbell owner gain administrative privileges.

What’s your experience with using the Ring doorbell? Do you have any other devices from the company? Tell us more in the comments section below.