The most affordable way to connect Ring smart lights to Wi-Fi isn’t going to be around much longer.
A notice on the Ring Bridge product page says the $50 Ring Bridge has been “discontinued,” without giving any further details.
On a Ring Community support thread from late March, a post from a Ring representative confirms the company is “no longer selling the Ring Bridge,” while noting that the product might still be available via third-party retailers.
The Ring rep added that “we are working on something new for Ring Smart Lights” but didn’t go into specifics.
I’ve reached out to Ring for more details.
All indications are that existing Ring Bridge units continue to function. I dug up my own, long-unused Ring Bridge and fired it up, and it successfully connected to the Ring app.
While the Ring Bridge is no longer available on Amazon as a standalone product, it is still included in a few Ring smart lighting bundles, including a two-pack of Ring Pathlights.
The Ring Bridge was first introduced in 2019, alongside a series of Ring smart lights, including the Ring Floodlight Wired, the Ring Spotlight, the Ring Pathlight, and the Ring Steplight.
True to its name, the Ring Bridge connects to the proprietary radio signals transmitted by Ring smart lights (which have a range of roughly 300 meters) and bridges the products to a user’s Wi-Fi network.
Once connected via the Ring Bridge, Ring smart lights can then interface with Ring alarm systems and other Ring products, and they can also work with Alexa voice commands and routines.
The Ring Bridge isn’t the only Amazon device that can connect Ring smart lights to Wi-Fi networks. The fourth-generation Amazon Echo smart speaker comes with a built-in Ring smart lighting bridge, as does the third-generation Echo Show 10 smart display and the Ring Alarm Pro Base Station.
This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart lights.
But while those other products can perform the same functions as the Ring Bridge, they don’t come with the same $49.99 price tag. The most affordable alternative is the fourth-gen Amazon Echo, which at $99.99 is double the price, while the Echo Show 10 and the Ring Alarm Pro Base Station are an eye-watering $249.99 each.
So, could the “something new” teased by the Ring support rep in that late-March community thread refer to a revamped Ring Bridge, or perhaps the arrival of Ring Bridge functionality in some cheaper Amazon devices? We’ll have to wait and see.