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Ring Doorbells Gen 2 Recalled Because of Fire Hazard

By Laura Tucker
News Ring Doorbells Fire Hazard Featured

Technology is great for adding security to our devices, our homes, and more. But sometimes the desire for security backfires on us. That’s the case with the Ring. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission posted a notice that said the Ring Doorbells are being recalled because they have a potential fire hazard.

Ring Doorbells Fire Hazard

Ring, a subsidiary of Amazon, is recalling the affected doorbells after they received reports that they were catching on fire. The fire hazard affects approximately 350,000 2nd generation Ring Doorbells that were sold in the United States and about 8,700 more that were sold further north in Canada, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission notice.

The affected doorbells, model number 5UM5E5, were sold on the Ring website as well as Amazon between June 2020 and October 2020.

News Ring Doorbells Fire Hazard Silver

“The video doorbell’s battery can overheat when the incorrect screws are used for installation, posing fire and burn hazards,” explains the notice.

The recall notice details that “Ring has received 85 incident reports of incorrect doorbell screws installed with 23 of those doorbells igniting, resulting in minor property damage.” It further adds that there have been “eight reports of minor burns.”

It should be noted that there is no fire hazard when Ring Doorbells are installed correctly. Additionally, other models of the Ring are not affected.

Ring Doorbells Recall

“We have and continue to work cooperatively with the CPSC on this issue and have contacted customers who purchased a Ring Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) to ensure they received the updated user manual and follow the device installation instructions,” Ring said in a statement. “Customers do not need to return their devices.”

News Ring Doorbells Fire Hazard Install

Users of the affected devices are advised to “immediately stop installing” them and contact Ring for updated installation instructions. These can be downloaded from the Ring support website.

You can check if your Ring is included in the recall at Ring’s recall page. Enter the model and serial numbers of your device. It can be found on the back.

While you do not need to replace your device, if you decide you want to anyway, read on to learn how to choose the right Ring camera.

Image Credit: Ring Video Doorbell 2, Twitter, and public domain

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Laura Tucker Avatar
Laura Tucker
Laura has spent more than 20 years writing news, reviews, and op-eds, with the majority of those years as an editor as well. She has exclusively used Apple products for the past 35 years. In addition to writing and editing at MTE, she also runs the site’s sponsored review program.

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