Want to switch off your Ring camera for a couple of hours or even a few days to get some much-needed privacy? There’s good news – you can temporarily disable your Ring camera quite effortlessly.

Now, are you aiming to switch off all its features, or just a few that seem intrusive to you? The answer to this will determine your course of action.

A Ring camera is a robust security device, but every now and then, you might want to switch it off due to privacy needs or simply to escape the constant flood of push notifications.

For whatever reason, there are ways you can turn off your Ring camera, all functions or selected.

The Ring app will be your go-to for customizing the functions of your Ring camera.

Just keep in mind, only the account’s primary owner can make these adjustments.

If you’d like your partner or a family member to have similar access to these settings, simply install the Ring app on their device and log in using the same credentials.

Setting up the Ring app

Firstly, open up the Ring app (available for iOS/Android), tap Install, and then enter your username and password.

To add an extra level of security, a fresh device signing in needs a six-digit verification code. This code is generated on your device that’s already signed in before being permitted to access control of the Ring account.

Steps to generate the verification code:

1. Open the Ring app on your previously signed-in device.

2. Click the ≡ (Menu).

3. Select Account Verification.

4. In the Authorise a New Device section, tap Generate.

5. Get the code and type it into your new device.

Once you’ve done this, you’re all set! Your Ring camera is now connected to your new device.

Here’s how to turn off selected Ring camera functions

What are you looking to switch off?

As someone who’s tech-savvy, allow me to walk you through the necessary changes in the Ring app.

1. Customizing modes

Using modes is the simplest approach to switching off chosen features of your Ring camera, but access to modes (like Home, Away, and Disarmed) is restricted to those with a Ring Protect subscription.

Getting one of the three available Protect plans will let you sift through your camera records and choose which functions you want active or inactive. Click here for more information about the Ring Protect subscription options.

If you’re subscribed, you can enable the modes with these steps:

Ring app > ≡ (Menu) > Settings > Enable Modes

If you’re without a subscription, and on the free plan, don’t worry! You can still modify your Ring camera to suit your preferences (although there are some restrictions). Keep on scrolling for more details. 

2. Turn off motion detection

Motion detection can become annoyingly active, sending countless notifications to your phone each time movement is detected. It can even pick up insignificant triggers like pets or passing vehicles.

If you’d rather just have a live view of, say, your front porch, you can easily deactivate this feature while keeping the live viewing function on.

Just bear in mind, disabling this function will also turn off both motion alerts and recording, leaving only the live viewing function intact.

You can disable this function by opening your Ring app and following this sequence:

Settings > ≡ (Menu) > Devices (click the device you want to configure) > Motion Detection (tap the toggle once until it turns gray) > Disable Motion Detection > Stop Recording

3. Turn off audio detection

Getting a tad uneasy with your surveillance camera picking up sounds in your video recordings?

Fair enough. While handy in certain situations, leaving this function always on can feel a bit like Big Brother is listening.

To silence audio detection, follow these steps:

Settings > ≡ (Menu) > Devices (click the device you want to configure) > Device Settings > Privacy Settings > Audio Streaming and Recording (tap the toggle once until it turns gray)

4. Turn off push notifications (phone alerts)

Getting updates in real-time is pretty cool, but it loses its charm when your phone pings every time a leaf flutters past your camera.

To go notification-free, open up the app and follow this path:

Settings > ≡ (Menu) > Devices (click the device you want to configure) > Motion Alerts (tap the toggle once until it turns gray)

5. Turn off Live Viewing

Live Viewing can feel a bit invasive, knowing someone out there could be getting an eyeful of your personal space.

Here’s how you can switch it off:

Jump into your Ring app and follow this sequence:

Settings > ≡ (Menu) > Devices (click the device you want to configure) > Video Setting > Camera Preview for Live View (tap the toggle once until it turns gray)

Remember, you’ll have to manually do this for all devices linked to your app to fully shield the real-time view.

Hiding the preview in the app can help, but this won’t affect recording or audio detection.

Using modes

Another way to switch off this feature is by tinkering with the modes. But keep in mind, this is only available to Ring Protect subscribers.

If you’re one of them, open the app and then follow this path:

Settings > Modes > Disarmed > Live view (tap the toggle once until it turns gray)

Motion detection can also be switched off in this disarmed mode.

If you only want to disable the live view, just tap the live view toggle.

This leaves motion recording, notifications, and periodic snapshots up and running.

6. Turn off recording

The most straightforward strategy to stop recording is to either deactivate the motion detection or utilize the Modes feature.

For more info on how to switch off motion detection, scroll back up in this guide. Again, disabling motion detection does shut down recording but continues to allow the Live View to function.

If you’ve invested in a Protect plan (meaning you have access to the Modes feature), fire up the app and follow this sequence:

Settings > Modes > Disarmed > Live view (tap the toggle once until it turns gray) > Motion Detection (tap the toggle once until it turns gray) > Save

Once both live view and motion detection are turned off, no form of streaming or recording can occur. This puts a stop to motion recording, snapshots, and notification alerts.

The Ring app also won’t display the live view when these settings are applied, preventing even the device’s built-in screen recording feature from capturing footage.

Here’s how to turn off all functions at once

There are temporary and permanent ways to disable your Ring camera (all functions are disabled simultaneously).

1. Unplug the Ring camera

Pulling the plug on your Ring camera will temporarily put a stop to its real-time recording, live-streaming, and notification alerts.

If your Ring camera is powered by a battery, it can still record for up to 12 hours offline, although the live viewing and alert features will be off-duty.

To bring things back online, just reconnect the power cord or recharge the battery.

2. Switch off from the circuit breaker

If your Ring camera is hardwired into your house, you can’t simply unplug it.

But you can find the connection to your Ring camera in your circuit breaker and switch that off.

This will temporarily leave your Ring camera out of action until you power up the breaker again.

3. Disconnect from Wi-Fi

Without an internet connection, your Ring camera won’t be able to connect to the Ring server.

As a result, the streaming, notification, and video-saving capabilities will all be deactivated.

A quick, temporary fix is to unplug your Wi-Fi router. When you plug it back in, your Ring camera will automatically resume its duties.

4. Deleting your Ring account

If you’re looking to put your Ring camera out of commission indefinitely, one surefire way is to delete your Ring account entirely.

Here’s how:

Ring app > Camera (click the camera you want to disable) > Gear icon (located on the top right corner) > Device Settings > General Settings > Remove this Device

The camera will completely disconnect from the account.

To set it up again, refer to the pairing steps in this article’s first part.

Wrapping up

Ring cameras offer a comforting layer of security by keeping an eye on your property and sending you real-time notifications for any suspicious activity.

However, there are valid privacy concerns and potential hacking threats, given that these cameras record everything in view and store it in the cloud.

There are circumstances where you may want to switch off or adjust your Ring camera’s settings for a more secure and comfortable experience.

Depending on your specific needs, you can entirely disable your Ring camera or pick and choose the functions you want to deactivate.

The Ring app is your main tool to selectively switch off certain features, such as notifications, audio detection, motion detection, live viewing, and recording.

On the other hand, if you want to completely power down your Ring camera, you can unplug it, disconnect it from Wi-Fi, switch it off at the circuit breaker, or even delete your Ring account (for a permanent solution).

For additional help, don’t hesitate to reach out to Ring customer support team.