Ring Alarm is the next evolution of home security.
Ring systems use live cameras, application compatibility, and internet access for an accessible, intuitive alarm system.
With such connectivity, however, how do you turn off a Ring Alarm without the internet?
Here are 9 steps to turn off a Ring Alarm without internet (and ensure that it doesn’t lose connection again):
- Turn off the alarm using the keypad.
- Use your alarm’s battery backup.
- Recharge your Ring battery for next time.
- Connect using cellular backup.
- Ensure protection with the Ring Protect Plan.
- Reconnect to your WiFi network.
- Determine why your network failed.
- Troubleshoot other issues.
- Understand Z-Wave technology.
We’ll start by taking you through the steps to fix the immediate problem.
Then, we’ll help you reconnect your Ring Alarm to the internet long-term. Read on to learn more.
1. Turn Off the Alarm Using the Keypad
While this answer is over-simplified, to turn off a ring alarm without the internet, use the keypad.
Without WiFi, Ring Alarms lose essential features like Ring Doorbell and cameras.
The actual alarm system, however, still functions. Turn off your alarm as you always would, and you’ll be fine to enter your home.
If your WiFi goes out, your Ring Alarm will be in one of two states as you turn it off.
2. Use Your Alarm’s Battery Backup
If you use a standard ring plan, your Ring Alarm will enter battery backup mode should you lose WiFi to a power outage.
Battery backup mode is triggered when your base station is accidentally unplugged.
Your system will generally work for 15 minutes before shutting off non-essential features to preserve battery life.
Although battery life varies depending on how you use your Ring Alarm, there should be enough battery power for up to 24 hours.
To know if your base station is running on battery backup, check your base station’s power icon. It’ll be flashing yellow.
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3. Recharge Your Ring Battery for Next Time
After you regain power and reconnect to the internet, make sure your battery is ready for next time.
To recharge your Ring Alarm, reconnect your base station to an outlet. Your station will recharge on its own.
However, if you’re worried about another outage, you should check a few factors that might impact your battery life.
Ring’s website lists two significant causes of battery drainage.
Let’s look at this table to get a better look at each.
| Cause of Drainage | Risk Factors | Why it Drains | Solution |
| Local Weather | Temperatures below 40°F (4 °C) | At temperatures below 40°F (4 °C), a Ring Alarm’s lithium-polymer battery is less effective at holding a charge. | Wait until the temperature remains above freezing, or frequently charge your Ring product. |
| Lots of Activity | Frequent activity outside your home, in front of a Ring camera | The more activity captured by a Ring device, the more battery your device uses. | In Settings, lower sensitivity, disable certain zones, set periodic motion frequency, or move the device. |
Make sure to keep track of both of these factors in case you lose your WiFi connection again.
Either of these could diminish the potency of your battery backup.
4. Connect Using Cellular Backup
Under cellular backup, your Ring Alarm system will work like usual if you lose internet connection.
Ring Alarms with cellular backup only use the feature without standard internet.
However, when your alarm loses a WiFi connection, it’ll remain connected to the network via cellular.
Cellular backup in Ring Alarms is a premium feature. To use the function, you need Ring Protect Plan Pro.
5. Ensure Protection With Ring Protect Pro
Ring offers a bevy of plans to help protect your home using Ring Alarm. Each one has different features catered to your home’s needs.
The three options are:
| Plan | Pricing |
| Ring Protect Basic | Around $30-36 per year |
| Ring Protect Plus | Around $100-120 per year |
| Ring Protect Pro | Around $200-240 per year |
Ring Protect Pro offers the most robust feature suite, including cellular backup. Protect Pro also includes:
- 24/7 professional monitoring for Ring Alarm
- In-app SOS button for Ring Alarm or Ring Alarm Pro
- eero Secure
- Alexa Guard Plus
For robust protection, even without internet access, Ring Protect Pro is your best bet.
6. Reconnect to Your WiFi Network
Now that you’ve turned your alarm off, it’s time to get connected and switch back to your Ring Alarm’s normal state.
If other devices are still connected to your WiFi network, all you need to do is reconnect your Ring Alarm to the network.
According to Ring themselves, take these steps to reconnect to your WiFi network:
- Open your Ring app.
- Tap on the three lines on the top left.
- Tap “Devices.”
- Select the doorbell or security camera you need to reconnect.
- Tap on “Device Health.”
- Tap “Reconnect to WiFi.”
If your WiFi remains functional and your Ring Alarm still doesn’t reconnect, consider moving your router, checking your breaker box for a blown fuse, or looking for loose wires leading to your Ring Alarm.
7. Determine Why Your Network Failed
The problem with your WiFi connection may lie within the network itself rather than your alarm system.
Everyone struggles with a WiFi network at one point or another.
A study by Chinese researchers found that as large as 45% of users suffer connection set-up failures.
First, try to restart your WiFi operating system.
If it’s a problem with your router, there’s a high chance this will get your network up and running once more,
If that doesn’t work, check if there are any outages in your area. Alternatively, call your provider for more in-depth help to restart your router.
8. Troubleshoot Other Issues
When more basic fixes still don’t reconnect your Ring Alarm to WiFi, there are some other specific steps you can take to troubleshoot
Ring’s website gives a couple of potential error messages to watch out for. These include:
| Error Message | Solution |
| “To continue setup, enable Location Access.” | Tap “Allow” on your phone when the pop up asks for location permission in the Ring App. You can revoke location access later. |
| “We’re having trouble connecting to your Ring Alarm.” | This message appears if there is a Bluetooth or network error. Tap the “Try Again” button. |
| “Oops. Something went wrong.” | This problem requires no extra steps to fix.. Again, click “Try Again.” |
| “We can’t connect to the internet” | Restart your router. If that doesn’t resolve the issue, wait a few minutes and try again. |
| “Connection Error” | Your Base Station won’t connect to your router. Check the strength of your WiFi signal and try again. |
Take the jump to Ring for a more comprehensive list.
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9. Understand Z-Wave Technology
Finally, learning about Z-Wave technology will leave you better prepared for your next WiFi outage.
Ring Alarm systems use Z-Wave as opposed to traditional “hub-and-spoke” networks. Z-Wave instead creates a “mesh network.”
Hub-and-spoke networks use a central hub to connect all devices.
Mesh networks, meanwhile, find devices communicating with each other in addition to the central hub.
Mesh networks have a greater range than traditional networks.
Additionally, mesh networks can reroute disconnected devices to another device if it loses a connection.
Next time your Ring Alarm disconnects, keep the mesh network in mind.
Greater awareness of Z-Wave tech will ensure you tackle the problem from the right angle.
Final Thoughts
With home automation, it’s normal to be concerned about WiFi connection failure.
Will your devices still work? Will your security system continue to protect your home?
In short, Ring Alarms do work without the internet, although the doorbell and camera functions do not.
This guide covers everything you need to know to keep everything running smoothly.
Check out: 8 Easy Ways To Fix a Ring Doorbell That Won’t Stop Ringing