It’s easy to see who’s at the door without having to reach for your phone.
Did you know you can connect your Ring doorbell to your TV so live video appears when someone rings your doorbell? Instead of pausing your movie, reaching for your phone, and checking the Ring app, you can see your porch right on the big screen.
The good news is that setup is a lot simpler than you think. The problem, however, is that compatibility varies depending on the TV you own. Although Amazon Fire TVs offer the most seamless integration out of the box, other brands can still offer the exact same features with a quick workaround.
What screens work with a Ring doorbell?
Since Ring is owned by Amazon, it fits most naturally into Amazon’s ecosystem. Many displays offer native support, starting with smart displays like the Echo Show 5, 8, 10, and 15. The same seamless integration extends to the Fire TV family, including the Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Cube.
Beyond Amazon hardware, you can view your live stream on any iOS and Android mobile device through the Ring app. Samsung Smart TVs 2022 and newer also support Ring integration through the SmartThings platform. If your TV is not listed, don’t worry because there are workarounds.
Which TV works with a Ring doorbell?
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The best integration between the Ring doorbell and a smart TV comes from models running Amazon’s Fire operating system. The list of brands includes Amazon, Panasonic, TCL, Hisense, Toshiba and Insignia. In this situation, the Fire TV operating system will be directly linked to your Ring account through the Alexa app.
Samsung’s smart TVs run on Tizen OS, not Amazon’s platform, but 2022 and newer models have a built-in SmartThings hub that lets you connect Ring through the SmartThings ecosystem.
If you don’t have a Fire TV or Samsung, you can use a Fire TV Stick or the Fire TV Cube and plug it into the HDMI port on your TV. This instantly gives this TV the same native Ring integration, picture-in-picture alerts, and Alexa voice controls.
How to connect your Ring doorbell to a smart TV
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Fire TV offers a simple Ring setup, whether you’re using a real TV running that operating system or a Fire TV Stick.
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Launch the Alexa app on your smartphone
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Go to More > Skills and Gamessearch for Ring and tap Activate skill.
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Log in to your Ring account to link the two platforms.
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Faucet Explore devices when prompted.
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Go to Devices > Cameras In the Alexa app, select the Ring doorbell and enable doorbell press announcements and motion announcements.
Once done, a picture-in-picture stream will automatically appear on your TV every time someone rings the bell. You can also broadcast a live stream at any time using Alexa voice commands.
If you use a Fire TV Stick or Cube with any TV, you’ll follow pretty much the same steps to receive Ring alerts on your TV.
When it comes to Samsung SmartThings, you have a few more steps. Here’s how to configure it:
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Open the SmartThings app on your phone.
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Go to Devices > Add a devicefaucet Partner devicesthen search for Ring.
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You will need to sign in to your Ring account to authorize the connection.
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Next, you’ll need to launch the SmartThings app on your TV and enable Ring notifications.
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Then, in the Ring app, enable Ring Alerts and Motion Alerts for your doorbell.
Now, whenever motion is detected or your doorbell is pressed, a notification will appear on your Samsung TV.
What happens if you don’t have any? In this situation, screen mirroring is your best choice. You can open the live stream in the Ring app on your smartphone and mirror the screen to your TV. The problem here is that it won’t be as effective. The point of following all of these steps is to be able to see who is at your door when someone rings the doorbell. If you’re already running the Ring app, you might as well check it out on your phone.
