Why Is My Ring Not Recording Everything? (Do This Now!)

Frustrated and asking why is my Ring not recording everything? No worries, we’ve got you covered! 

Whether your Ring is missing visitors or skipping events, we’ll walk you through everything from sensitivity tweaks to Wi-Fi fixes to get your recordings working.

Here’s what we’ll try in this guide:

Why is My Ring Not Recording Everything and How To Fix?

Note: Are you sure that the “Motion Detection” is enabled? (If not, go to “Settings” → “Motion Detection” and activate it.)

1. Boost Ring’s Motion Sensitivity

When the Ring is recording selectively, a low motion sensitivity may allow sneaky movements, such as a quick visitor passing undetected. 

This motion sensitivity controls how sharp the Ring detection is going to be, allowing you to drag a slider from “Minimum” to “Maximum”.

If it’s dialed too close to MIN, small actions won’t trigger recordings, so the solution is to simply boost the sensitivity.

Warning: Too high sensitivity may cause unwanted detection!

Here’s how to boost the motion sensitivity through the Ring application:

1. Open the Ring app, and tap “Motion Detection.”
2. Then, find the MIN-to-MAX sensitivity slider bar.
3. Drag the slider right past the 65% mark (the line).

So, if this doesn’t work, feel free to crank it up to 80%, just to be sure that nothing will escape!

Quick Tip: Walk past the doorbell/camera to imitate missed events and see if it records now.

2. Remove Enabled Detection Zones

If your Ring is skipping events and not recording everything, you might have unintentionally narrowed down the detection area via Motion Zones.

These zones limit what the camera watches, so a wrongly aimed zone could skip key actions.

So, let’s remove all zones to verify that the Ring device’s point of view (POV) catches any movement.

Here’s how to entirely remove your Ring device motion zones:

1. Open the Ring app and select your Ring.
2. Hit three dots and tab “Motion Settings.”
3. Choose the “Camera Motion Zones” tab.
4. Tap each zone you have and select “Delete.”
5. Confirm the removal to clear all active zones.

Your Ring device should now be watching its entire POV, free of limiting zones, so no event should slip by the detection.

Note: To add a zone later, open the Ring app, tap three dots, go to “Motion Settings”, select “Camera Motion Zones”, hit “Add Zone”.

3. Configure Ring’s Detection Modes

If your Ring camera is not recording everything, the “Mode” settings (Disarmed, Home, or Away) might be disabling the detection based on your phone’s location. 

For instance, if it misses action only when you’re home, the Home mode could be set to snooze! 

So, let’s tweak all modes to record 24/7, ensuring no moment gets missed:

• Open your Ring app and go to the dashboard.
• Press on the three dots next to the cam name.
• Then, go to “Settings”, then “Mode Settings.”
• Enable the “Modes” and configure as follows:

• Enable recording for “Disarmed” mode.
• Enable recording for “Home” mode.
• Enable recording for “Away” mode.

That’s it. The Ring camera is now set to record in every mode, so no matter where you are, the camera will be catching all events. 

Note: Alternatively, you can disable the modes entirely through the “Mode Settings” to keep the Ring camera watching non-stop.

4. Verify Clear Camera Point of View

If your Ring is missing important events and recording everything, something blocking its point of view (POV) might be concealing the action.

Any obstructions like branches or decorations can blind the Ring camera, causing it to miss events entirely.

The solution is simple–check and clear these potential blockers to ensure a wide-open view.

A clean POV lets your Ring catch every move without fail.

Potential Camera POV Obstructions:

• Hanging branches: Can cover the camera.
• Wind-blown debris: Can blind your camera.
• Yard/Porch decor: Can obstruct a key area.
• Overgrown plants: Bushes crowd the frame.
• Bold lens smudges: Grime can block the lens.

If your Ring camera’s POV is clear, but still not everything is recording, continue reading ahead!

5. Optimize your Wi-Fi Consistency

Sometimes, your Ring camera isn’t recording everything because of a spotty Wi-Fi, which could disconnect right in the moment of action.

An unstable connection can disconnect your Ring camera for split seconds, enough to skip the motion.

Luckily, there is a way to test the Wi-Fi consistency via PC, laptop, or even smartphone!

How to Test Wi-Fi Consistency:

• Connect PC or phone to Wi-Fi (not Ethernet cable).
• On Windows, open the CMD (type “cmd” in the search).
• On Mac, open the Terminal from the “Applications”.
• For phones, download a ping app (like “PingTools”).
• In the CMD, type “ping 8.8.8.8 -t” and press Enter.
• In the Terminal, type “ping 8.8.8.8” and press Enter.
• Watch out for any “Request Timed Out” messages.

If you get a response after every single ping for about 5–10 minutes, this means that your Wi-Fi is not dropping out and is consistent.

If you, however, frequently see “Request Timed Out”, this means that your Wi-Fi is spotty, which is why Ring camera doesn’t catch everything that moves.

Quick Tip: There are several ways to improve your Wi-Fi, including moving your router closer to the camera or power cycling the router for 60 seconds.

Got an Issue with the Broadband?

If your ping test shows frequent “Request Timed Out” errors despite a strong Wi-Fi signal, your broadband connection itself might be dropping. 

Wi-Fi can be flawless, but if the internet feed from your ISP drops out, the Ring camera will miss events no matter how strong the Wi-Fi signal is.

In this case, your router and Wi-Fi setup aren’t the points of interest, since only your Internet Service Provider (ISP) can resolve such an issue.

6. Remove and Re-Add the Camera

If your Ring camera is not recording everything, a glitch in the Ring application (corrupt data or missing files) might be interfering with the motion detection capabilities.

Sometimes the application just needs a fresh start, so removing the camera from the Ring app and setting it up again can resolve the recording problem in an instant.

Here’s how to remove and re-add your Ring camera from the app:  

How to Remove the Ring Camera:

1. Open the Ring app and tap the menu (☰).
2. In “Devices”, choose the Ring camera.
3. From there, head to “Device Settings”.
4. Then, enter the “General Settings”.
5. Finally, tap on “Remove This Device”.

How to Re-Add the Ring Camera:

1. First, press “Set Up a Device” in your app.
2. Choose “Security Cams” from the options.
3. Find the QR code on the button of the cam.
4. Tap “I’m Ready to Scan” and scan the QR.

So, your Ring camera is now unlinked and freshly re-added, ready to record everything without skipping any events.

If this doesn’t work, maybe it’s time for a complete reset of your camera.

7. Factory Reset the Ring Camera

If you still don’t know and ask why Ring is not recording everything, a persistent glitch may require a full factory reset to resolve the problem.

This method means wiping all settings to start fresh can clear those event-skipping bugs.

This erases Wi-Fi details and custom configs, so you’ll need to set it up again, but it’s a solid method.

Here’s how to reset different Ring camera models, ensuring each gets a clean slate:

Reset Stick Up Cam Battery (2nd Generation)

• First, remove the battery cover carefully.
• Then, locate the orange “SETUP” button.
• Hold the “SETUP” button for 10 seconds.
• Wait for the front light to flash, then stop.

Reset Outdoor Cam, Plus, Stick Up Cam Pro

• First, remove the battery cover to get access.
• Find an orange “SETUP” button near the area.
• Then, hold the “SETUP” button for 10 seconds.
• After the LED flash, the unit is in setup mode.

Reset Spotlight Camera (Battery–Operated)

• Find the “SETUP” button on the Ring cam’s top.
• Press and hold the button for ~10–15 seconds.
• Wait for the front light to flash and then release.
• The restoration is done when the light turns off.

Well, now your Ring camera is back to factory settings and is ready to reconfigure and record all events, without skipping anything. 

Note: In case everything appears intact, but the camera just continues to miss events, get in touch with the Ring customer service for more help.