A Ring doorbell flashing blue can be very confusing, especially if you’ve just installed it. There’s nothing to worry about. It can mean many things depending on the light pattern.
For example, a Ring doorbell flashing blue indicates that it is charging. If it’s only the top half circle flashing blue, it may be because you’ve entered a bad password.
In some cases, there might be something wrong as well. Like any technology, your Ring system can occasionally have a few problems.
So, let’s figure out why your Ring doorbell is flashing blue, what this means, and how you can fix it.
Ring Video Doorbell Flashing Blue Light Patterns
Here’s a summary of what each flashing blue light pattern on your Ring Doorbell means.
| Blue Light Flashing Pattern | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Blue light flashing, one second on, one second off | Ring Doorbell is starting up or rebooting |
| Blue light flashing moving upwards | Ring Doorbell in the process of connecting to network during setup |
| Blue light flashes four times, followed by a spinning white circle | Ring Doorbell setup is complete and is ready for use |
| Top half blue light flashing | You’ve entered a bad password during setup, or Ring is charging when connected to power. |
| Four blue LED flashing, followed by a spinning white circle | Ring Doorbell has been successfully restored to its factory default settings |
| Spinning blue light | You’ve pressed the Ring Doorbell button |
| Solid blue light | The speaker has been enabled |
Why Is My Ring Doorbell Flashing Blue?
Generally, the flashing blue lighting on your Ring doorbell means it’s charging. The circle LED on the front of your Ring Video Doorbell is used to communicate a message to you.
As such, there are several reasons the doorbell might be trying to relay a message to you.
Most of the reasons are nothing to worry about, but you should pay attention to them, nonetheless.
- Charging
- Wi-Fi connection loss
- Reboot/Restart
- System Updates
We’ll cover each of the possibilities, but keep in mind that this is to diagnose a problem. If you’re in the initial setup phase, expect the light to blink in various patterns.
That’s perfectly normal. This guide will cover what it means when you’re past that phase, and it means something is wrong.
1. Charging
The simplest reason why your Ring doorbell is flashing blue is because it’s charging, and it’s nothing to worry about.
If you have an older model Ring doorbell that does not feature a removable battery, the unit will flash while you have it hooked up to the charger. There’s nothing wrong, and it’s perfectly normal.
This should only concern you if the unit continues flashing (indicating it’s charging) for longer than 24 hours. At that point, it shows that the batteries not charging properly.
You can also choose to hardwire your doorbell. This is when you use a kit to keep your doorbell permanently wired to your outlet.
This is usually a great decision if you have the patience to do it and have impeccable cable management skills, but if you don’t have a way to keep the wires out of the way, it can be a major hassle.
2. Wi-Fi Connection Loss
Your Ring doorbell going offline is an issue that can pop up for one of two reasons, and it’s usually not a problem.
First, the light will flash if your Ring loses connectivity. Typically, that’s no big deal. If you live in an area that experiences frequent internet problems, you should expect this to happen fairly frequently, and you shouldn’t worry too much.
Although it does affect the overall reliability of your Ring unit. If your Wi-Fi is generally very stable, you shouldn’t have to deal with this much at all.
However, if you have stable Wi-Fi, and the Wi-Fi connection with your Ring is strong under ideal conditions, you might want to worry a little if the Ring doorbell keeps disconnecting.
If everything else on your Wi-Fi network is working fine, and the Ring keeps losing connection, there might be an issue with the Ring’s Wi-Fi card to connect to your network.
Luckily, this is a fairly rare issue, and most other issues on this list will be better to look at first.
3. Reboot/Restart
When your Ring unit is forced to reboot, such as right after you put the battery back in after a charge, it will flash throughout the reboot phase.
This is nothing to worry about, and you shouldn’t worry about it. However, it can also flash due to unexpected reboots. These will typically occur for one of two reasons.
First, your Ring doorbell’s Wi-Fi connection experienced interference for a long time, and it needed to reboot to reestablish its connection with your network.
This shouldn’t happen often unless your Wi-Fi is below average and likely to go out frequently.
Then, it will do the same thing after a software or firmware update, because the unit has to reboot to apply the new changes just like your home computer.
This should only concern you if your unit is consistently rebooting. Constant reboots are a sign of major software or hardware problems causing the unit to malfunction.
4. System Updates
We mentioned system updates in the previous section, but it’s a little different this time.
Your Ring Doorbell will flash as it reboots due to an update, but it will also flash to indicate it is downloading and installing software or firmware updates.
This is rarely ever an issue, and you shouldn’t worry about it unless your system is up-to-date and there are no announced updates that should be going on. That’s a highly unlikely problem, though.
How to Stop Ring Doorbell Flashing Blue
It can be a little concerning if you notice your Ring doorbell is flashing blue, especially if it keeps flashing periodically instead of resolving the issue and returning to normal.
Luckily, all the problems we listed above have solutions, and the vast majority are very simple. You typically don’t have to do anything.
1. Issues with Charging
As we said, your Ring doorbell will flash blue as it charges if you have a model that plugs in right at the door.
If you have a removable battery model, this isn’t something you’ll notice due to the flashing lights on the doorbell itself.
Keep an eye on the charging unit. It should take 4-8 hours to fully charge from a dead battery.
And if the battery is really old and degraded, it can take closer to 24 hours. It is completely normal for the unit to flash under those circumstances.
However, if your battery is flashing, thus in need of charging, for more than 24 hours, you need a new battery.
You should note that even if you just charged your Ring doorbell, the app may indicate it has low power. To display the app’s correct battery level, ring the doorbell a few times.
With removable battery models, this is as simple as ordering a new battery, charging it up, and putting it in the unit. With older units, you’ll need to replace the doorbell, unfortunately.
If your battery is brand new, this shouldn’t be an issue at all. Ring batteries last for years. It’s recommended to contact customer support if you’re experiencing charging issues with a relatively new battery.
2. Wi-Fi Connection Loss
Again, Ring not connecting to Wi-Fi is usually not an issue with the Ring doorbell. It will almost always be an issue with your Wi-Fi.
One way to see if it is a Ring issue is to make sure all of your other Wi-Fi-connected devices are functioning properly.
Quickly checking your phone’s Wi-Fi near your door is a good way to check. You might have a low signal by your door.
If that’s the case, bring the router closer to the door with fewer walls between it and the Ring unit, or purchase a more powerful router with a stronger, longer signal.
If none of that works, your Ring unit might have an internal issue you can’t fix. You can use your warrant to fix it or replace the unit if applicable. It’s usually the Wi-Fi card getting jostled loose or malfunctioning entirely.
3. Reboot/Restart
You only need to worry about resolving this issue if your Ring doorbell is constantly rebooting.
It will reboot from time to time due to updates or long periods without Wi-Fi, and it will reboot every time you change the battery.
However, if you notice that it’s rebooting randomly and frequently, you might have a problem.
Luckily, you don’t need to call customer service immediately. There is a reset button underneath the faceplate.
You can remove the faceplate gently, locate the reset button (it’s labeled), and depress it for 15 seconds.
This will force the Ring doorbell to perform a full reboot, and in most circumstances, it will resolve the problem. This resets the doorbell to its factory settings.
If none of that is working, the doorbell is likely damaged. If that’s the case, you need to call customer support if the unit is under warranty, and if it is not, you need to get a replacement.
4. Updates
There really isn’t anything you can do about this. The unit needs to update to ensure it’s working properly.
However, some things can happen that make it difficult for the system to update and cause repeated attempts.
Usually, it’s the internet having to reconnect frequently, or the unit losing power during an update.
If that happens, charge the battery and make sure there’s a Wi-Fi connection. The update should take place automatically.
If not, remove the faceplate and press the reset button for 15 seconds. There aren’t any other plausible possibilities for this problem.
Final Thoughts on Ring Doorbell Flashing Blue
If you read through that, you probably got the idea that Ring doorbells are prone to experiencing issues. That’s not the case.
While the issues we mentioned can, and sometimes do occur, they aren’t common issues for the average user.
The vast majority of the time, your Ring is simply indicating that it’s going through a normal process such as updates, or it’s charging.
Always try to rule out the common-sense simple stuff before you start worrying about a flashing light.
With that in mind, you shouldn’t expect this to affect your Ring doorbell experience for a long time.
As long as you didn’t get a malfunctioning unit, these issues are very rare until the doorbell is several years old.
If you have any feedback or questions, please don’t hesitate to comment below.
