My error. I tried again and it worked fine. I don't know why, but for some reason I thought I read somewhere that live view didn't work on battery power. I'm going mad in old age I think!
I have the original Ring Doorbell, operating off battery power and Live View and voice chat is indeed only available for that model when wired, so this is an improvement.
The battery lifetimes may be realistic for southern California, but in places with real winters, the swappable battery packs are a great idea, as is the $49 optional solar charger mounting bracket (if you have a southward view in winter with no evergreens in the way). I have the (slightly different) solar charger bracket for my original Doorbell, and I only had to bring the unit inside for recharging once all winter — and boy, was it cold in Maryland this January. Without the solar charger, I had to remove the Doorbell and recharge it every three weeks or so during the winter, and every two and a half to three months the rest of the year. Since I got the solar bracket, it's only been that once, and my front door is pretty well shaded by deciduous trees in the summer.
If you, like I, use an AirPort Express for your home WiFi network(s), the Doorbell connects without issue, as does the Chime. The Chime Pro, which I had hoped to use as a bridge to improve signal strength at the front door, refuses to connect with an AirPort Express network, at either 2.4 or 5.5 GHz. I spent a happy half-hour on the phone with Ring customer support (mere customers are not allowed to speak directly with tech support) last year, and they were able to get the techies, eventually, to confirm that the Chime Pro Pro uses a different WiFi chipset than the Chime — go figure.
Despite the negative marks for battery lifetime, lack of live view and chat on battery, and the poor choice of WiFi chips for the Chime Pro, I really like knowing if it's worth hoofing it down two flights of stairs on my six decade-old knees or not (that is, is it a package, possibly with perishables inside, or a visit from the local Jehovah's Witnesses). My house is set back far enough from the street (about 15 feet) that I don't get false triggering from passing traffic.
My main concern now is that Ring's acquisition by Amazon may mean (1) poorer hardware and hardware support (based on the long list of failed Fire products) and (2) increased flow of very personal information to Amazon. If the only alternative is Nest, it's time for Apple to jump in, with both feet.
