54 Waterbury Parkway: Setup Guide

Who does what, in what order, so the house is working on move-in day. Verizon is already installed. Move-in is September 12.

What is happening, in one page

Two jobs, two people, in this order. Verizon is already in and working, so the internet is done.

Done
Verizon

Installed and working. The Ring base takes over as the house Wi-Fi when it arrives (one cable swap, on the John tab).

First
John & crew

The wall work only: hang the TV and soundbar, the kitchen screen on its arm, the doorbell and the three cameras, and stick the alarm sensors and keypads where they go. Take photos. Done.

Second
Nate: setup day

Everything that plugs in: the Ring base, the extender, the Echo Dots, the Fire TV Sticks, the rolling screen. Then all the app setup on Tracey's iPhone, with Tracey there. Tests it, turns the monitoring on.

The one rule that saves the whole day

The crew mounts. Nobody opens an app.

Every Ring sensor, camera and doorbell has a plastic battery tab. Leave every tab in. Mount the device with the tab still in it. If tabs get pulled early, the sensors wake up all at once, the pairing fails, and Nate has to add thirteen of them by hand instead of watching them join on their own. Same for the cameras: mount, aim, leave the app alone.

Anything that just plugs into an outlet or an HDMI port is Nate's, not the crew's. Those boxes stay closed until setup day.

Where does everything go?

RoomWhat goes there
Wherever Verizon put their boxThe Ring Alarm Pro base goes right next to it. The base is the Wi-Fi router and replaces the Verizon one. This is the brain of the house.
Front doorRing doorbell. Alarm keypad on the wall inside, by the door Tracey actually uses.
Kitchen / dining pierEcho Show 21 on a swing arm, so it turns to face the kitchen or the table.
Living roomEcho Dot. The rolling Samsung screen for Bible study parks in a corner. Nothing goes on the fireplace.
Den (downstairs)75" TCL on the wall bracket, Sony soundbar under it, Fire TV Stick behind it, Echo Dot, eero extender.
Primary bedroomTracey's own Echo Spot. Panic button by the bed. No TV, no camera. That room stays quiet.
Main bathroomEcho Dot on the far counter, away from the shower. Panic button.
OutsideThree Ring cameras: driveway, the shared side path, the back deck.
Doors and windowsContact sensors on the three outside doors (front, deck slider, den door) and on the kitchen and bathroom windows. One motion detector for the hall and living room, one for the den, which covers the den’s whole row of windows. Water sensors at the sinks, washer and water heater. The apartment is separate and is not on this alarm.

Who to call

Anything about where a thing goes or how it mounts: John. Anything about accounts, apps, Wi-Fi names or passwords: Terry, or Nate on setup day. If something on this page and something in a box disagree, stop and call Terry before improvising.

John & crew

Your job is the wall work: the TV, the soundbar, the kitchen screen on its arm, the doorbell, the three cameras, and the alarm sensors and keypads. Mount, wire, aim, photograph. Everything that simply plugs in is Nate's, so leave those boxes closed.

Before you touch anything

  • Leave every battery tab in. Sensors, cameras, doorbell. Mount them with the tab still in.
  • Do not set up any device in an app. Not the cameras, not the Echo, not the TV. Plug in, power on, walk away.
  • Never change a Wi-Fi name or password. If anything asks for one, stop and call Terry.
  • Keep every box, manual, quick-start card and sticker. Leave them in the house, not in the dumpster. Ring prints default codes under battery covers.
  • Leave these boxes closed for Nate: the Ring base station, the eero extender, the Echo Dots, the Fire TV Sticks, the rolling Samsung screen, the surge strips.

Install day: what goes where and how it mounts

WhereWhatHowPower
Den, TV wall75" TCL television on the monTEK full-motion bracketBracket into two studs. Height set from the recliners: center of screen at eye level when seated. Confirm the height with Lani before drilling.Outlet behind the TV. Leave the TV plugged straight into the wall for now; Nate adds the surge strip and the Fire TV Stick.
Den, under the TVSony BRAVIA Theater Bar 6 + wireless subwooferBar on the wall under the TV or on the floor stand it comes with. One HDMI cable from the bar to the TV port marked eARC or ARC. Sub anywhere on the floor nearby.Bar and sub plug into the wall for now.
Kitchen / dining pierEcho Show 21 on the Mount-It swing armArm into solid blocking on the pier, screen at standing eye height. Use the mounting plate and screws from the Echo Show box. Swing it toward the sink, then the table, to make sure it clears everything.Recessed outlet behind it. The Show's cord is only about 5 feet, so the outlet has to be close to the arm.
Front doorRing Battery DoorbellIn the existing doorbell spot. If there are doorbell wires there, connect them to the two screws on the back. It keeps the battery topped up all winter. Photograph the transformer plate first (see photo list).Battery, plus the doorbell wires if present.
DrivewayRing Stick Up CamWall or eave, beside or below the floodlight you already put up, never looking into it. A light in the picture blinds the camera at night. Aim at the driveway and the walk to the front door.Battery. If an outdoor outlet is within about 20 feet, tell Terry; a plug-in cord gets added so it never needs charging.
Shared side pathRing Stick Up CamWall mount looking along the stone walkway from the front corner toward the stairwell. This is the camera that watches people crossing the front of the house to reach the apartment. Aim at the path, not down the stairwell or at the apartment windows. Nate masks those in the app later.Battery. Same outlet question.
Back deckRing Stick Up CamWall or eave, looking across the deck and the slider. Aim level or slightly down at the deck, never over the rail toward the stairwell and apartment windows below.Battery. Same outlet question.
Inside, by the front doorAlarm keypadOn the wall at a comfortable reach height, next to the door Tracey actually comes in through. The second keypad goes inside by the den door.Battery. It can also plug in if there is an outlet.
Front door, deck slider, den door, kitchen window, bathroom window5 contact sensors (the kit has 8; the other 3 are spares)Big piece on the frame, small magnet on the door or sash, lined up within a finger's width. On the slider and the windows, put the magnet on the part that moves. Tab stays in.Battery.
Hall / living room, and the den2 motion detectorsOne in a corner of the hall or living room, one in a corner of the den looking across the room toward its windows and door. 6 to 8 feet up. Not aimed at a sunny window, a heat register, the fireplace or the wood stove.Battery.
Kitchen sink, both bathroom sinks, washer, water heater5 flood & freeze sensorsOn the floor where a leak would show up first. Under the sink cabinet, behind the washer, beside the water heater.Battery.
Bedside and main bathroom2 panic buttonsBedside one within reach lying down. Bathroom one on the wall near the toilet, not in the shower.Battery.

Ask your electrician for these

Short list. Everything here is outlets and blocking.

Photograph these and send them to Terry

Stop and call Terry, do not improvise

No blocking where the kitchen arm needs to land. The TV bracket cannot hit two studs at the right height. A camera will not reach its spot. A battery tab got pulled by mistake. The Ring base light is still red after five minutes. Anything asks for a Wi-Fi name or password.

That last one matters most. Once the network name is set, the thermostat and everything else expects it. Changing it breaks the house all at once.

What the lights mean

DeviceGoodStill workingProblem
Ring Alarm Pro base / eero extenderSolid white (eero) or solid blue (base)Flashing while startingRed means no internet. Blue on the eero means it is waiting to be set up.
Echo Show / DotNo lightSpinning blue while startingOrange means it cannot find the Wi-Fi. Solid red is just the microphone muted, harmless.
Ring doorbell / camerasSteadySpinning whiteFlashing that never settles, usually signal or power.

If a light does something not on this list, match it to the card in the box before calling. Manufacturers change these.

When the day is done

Everything on the list above mounted, the unopened boxes stacked for Nate, cards and manuals left in the house, photos sent to Terry. Nothing else is needed from the crew after that. Terry books Nate's setup day.

Nate: setup day

One session, about five to seven hours. The crew has done the wall work. Your job is everything that plugs in, then making it all talk to each other, then turning the alarm monitoring on last.

Before you start

  • Everything is on Tracey's accounts, not Terry's. Amazon, Ring and eero all sign in with her Amazon login. If the Ring account were Terry's, the kitchen screen would never announce the doorbell.
  • Use Tracey's iPhone, with Tracey sitting next to you. Verification codes go to her phone. Install the Ring app, the Alexa app and the eero app on it if they are not there already.
  • Subscriptions should already be on: Ring's Pro plan (monitoring, camera recording, backup internet) and Alexa Emergency Assist. If they are not, Tracey turns them on from her phone before step 2. See the Tracey tab.
  • Professional monitoring stays OFF until the very end. You will be opening doors and setting off sensors all afternoon.
  • Terry is on a video call for the camera aiming. Setting up a Ring camera drops the phone onto the camera's own temporary Wi-Fi, which kills a video call on that phone. So the video call runs on your phone or the iPad, and the Ring app runs on Tracey's phone.

Before the apps: plug these in

About 30 minutes. These boxes were left closed for you. Nothing here needs a drill.

WhereWhatHow
Next to the Verizon boxRing Alarm Pro baseSee the cable swap below. This one comes first because it is the Wi-Fi.
Deneero extenderAny outlet. Solid white light means it joined.
Halfway between the base and the denAlarm range extender (from the kit)Any outlet. Helps the sensors reach the base.
Behind the den TV12-outlet surge strip, then the TV, soundbar, sub and Fire TV Stick into itFire TV Stick into any spare HDMI port. Soundbar cable into the TV port marked eARC or ARC.
Living roomSamsung 32" Movingstyle rolling screen, plus its own Fire TV StickUnbox, stand it up, cable through the stand to a wall outlet, Fire TV Stick in its HDMI port. Park it in a corner.
Living room, den, main bathroomEcho Dot x3Shelf or table. Bathroom one on the far end of the counter from the shower.
Primary bedroomTracey's own Echo SpotNightstand.
OfficeSecond 12-outlet surge stripComputer, monitor, printer, lamp into it.

First: the Ring base takes over the Wi-Fi

Verizon is installed and working, so the house already has internet. The Ring Alarm Pro base is going to take over as the house Wi-Fi, because the cameras, the alarm and the backup internet all run through it. That is one cable swap and it is the first thing you do on setup day. Terry is on the phone for it, about 20 minutes.

  1. Find the Verizon equipment.There is a small box where the line comes in (the ONT) and, most likely, a Verizon Wi-Fi router next to it. The Ring base goes on the shelf beside them. It needs one regular outlet.
  2. Move one cable.Unplug the internet cable from the back of the Verizon router (the port marked WAN or Internet) and plug it into the Ring base's Internet port. If the Verizon router was connected by the round coax cable instead, stop and tell Terry; Verizon has to flip a setting on their end first, and Tracey makes that call.
  3. Plug the Ring base into power.eero app, Tracey's Amazon login. Terry sets the Wi-Fi name and password with you on the phone. He will use the same name and password Verizon set up, so anything already connected keeps working.
  4. Unplug the Verizon router and put it in its box.It stays with the house as a spare. Do not run both at once.
  5. Plug the eero extender into an outlet in the den.It joins on its own. A solid white light means it is done.
  6. Test it, and make the tenant's guest network.Stand in the den and at the far end of the main floor and open a web page on your phone. If the far end is weak, tell Terry; a second extender only gets bought if this test fails. Then in the eero app turn on the guest network and write its name and password down for Tracey.

The order, and why

With the base up and everything plugged in, you start with the sensors and end with the monitoring.

  1. Confirm the base in the Ring app5 min. Ring app, Tracey's login. The Alarm Pro base shows online and the den extender shows connected in the eero app.
  2. Kit sensors, one at a time25 to 45 min. Keypads, 8 contact sensors, 2 motions, range extender. These come pre-paired to the base. Follow the app's prompt: pull ONE tab, wait for it to appear, name it and give it a room, then the next. If several wake at once they collide and the pairing fails.
  3. Loose sensors by QR code30 to 45 min. Two panic buttons and five flood sensors were bought separately, so they are not pre-paired. Scan the QR code on each, pull its tab, name it. About 3 to 5 minutes each.
  4. Check the two motion detectors5 min. Walk across the den and across the living room with the system in Away test mode and confirm each one sees you. The den motion is what covers the den windows, so this one matters.
  5. Doorbell, then the three cameras30 to 50 min. One at a time, phone held close to the device. Firmware updates are the slow part. Turn on Terry's video call on the other phone: he checks each live view and calls the aim before anyone comes off the ladder. No camera should have a floodlight in its own picture.
  6. Side path camera: privacy10 min. In that camera's settings: audio recording OFF, and draw privacy zones over the stairwell and the apartment windows. Do the same on the back deck camera if any of the apartment shows in its picture. This is a shared walkway with a tenant, so it matters.
  7. First Echo: the kitchen Echo Show 2110 to 15 min. Alexa app, Tracey's login. This is the only Echo you set up by hand. Then in the Alexa app turn on doorbell announcements and check that the Show can pull up the front door camera.
  8. The other Echos15 to 30 min. Living room Dot, den Dot, bathroom Dot and Tracey's own Spot join on their own using the saved Wi-Fi password. Mostly plug in and wait. Name each one for its room.
  9. Bathroom Dot: Emergency Assist5 min. Alexa app, turn on Emergency Assist on Tracey's account. Test it by saying "Alexa, call for help" and then cancelling when it asks.
  10. Fire TV Stick in the den TV10 to 15 min. Sign in with Tracey's Amazon login, let it update, pair the remote. Set the TCL to switch to that HDMI input on its own when the stick wakes (HDMI-CEC, usually on by default). Then test: press the doorbell and the picture should pop up in the corner of the TV.
  11. Soundbar check5 min. Play something. Sound should come from the Sony bar, not the TV speakers. If not, the HDMI cable is not in the eARC/ARC port on the TV.
  12. Fire TV Stick in the rolling screen10 min. Same as the den. Then "Alexa, show me the front door" should work on it too.
  13. Thermostat5 min. The ecobee is already Tracey's. Check on the thermostat itself that it is on the new Wi-Fi. If not, join it from the thermostat's own screen.
  14. Full test walkthrough20 to 30 min. Arm the alarm in Away mode, open a door, let the siren sound, disarm from the keypad with Tracey's code. Check that the bedroom can hear the siren with the office door shut. Press the doorbell and watch the kitchen screen and the den TV. Walk past each camera and check for alerts on Tracey's phone. Ring: check that a second person (Terry) is added as a shared user.
  15. Turn professional monitoring ON5 min. The last thing you do, once everything above passes. Then Tracey does one more arm and disarm so she has done it herself.

Things worth writing down for Tracey before you leave

If something will not join

Weak Wi-Fi at the spot is the usual reason. The Ring app shows a signal strength for each camera. If the back deck or a far corner is weak, that is what the second eero extender is for. Tell Terry and it gets ordered.

For Tracey

Your part is short. Turn on two subscriptions and send this guide to John.

Verizon

Done. It is installed and working. The only Verizon thing left: if Nate finds the Verizon router is hooked up with the round coax cable rather than a regular internet cable, you call Verizon and ask them to set the ONT to Ethernet. That is a two-minute call and Nate will tell you if it is needed.

Two subscriptions to turn on before Nate comes

Ordering

The Ring alarm kit, the eero extender and the panic buttons come from ring.com. Order those first, because the base is the new Wi-Fi and everything else connects to it. Everything else can arrive with the crew.

The tenant

The tenant goes on the guest Wi-Fi network, not yours. Nate sets it up. It gives them working internet with no way into your cameras, alarm or thermostat. Give them that name and password only, before they move in.

What to send John

Just the link to this guide. He has his own tab, and it is short: the TV, the kitchen screen, the doorbell and cameras, and the alarm sensors. Nothing about prices is on here.

What is arriving

The full list, grouped by where it comes from, so a box can be matched to a spot on the John tab.

From ring.com (order first)

ItemGoesWho
Ring Alarm Pro 14-piece kit: base station with built-in eero Wi-Fi router, 2 keypads, 8 contact sensors (5 used, 3 spare), 2 motion detectors, 1 range extenderBase in the office. The rest around the house per the John tab.Sensors and keypads: crew. Base and range extender: Nate
eero 6 extenderDenNate
Ring Alarm panic button x2Bedside, main bathroomCrew

From Amazon

ItemGoesWho
Ring Battery Doorbell (2K)Front doorCrew
Ring Stick Up Cam, 3-packDriveway, side path, back deckCrew
Echo Show 21Kitchen pier, on the armCrew (arm)
Mount-It full-motion armKitchen pier, for the Echo ShowCrew
Echo Dot x3Living room, den, bathroomNate
Fire TV Stick 4K x2Den TV, rolling screenNate
Sony BRAVIA Theater Bar 6 with wireless subwooferDen, under the TVCrew
Samsung 32" Movingstyle rolling screenLiving roomNate
monTEK full-motion TV wall bracket (already ordered)Den TV wallCrew
ALESTOR 12-outlet surge strip x2Behind the den TV, officeNate

From Target

ItemGoesWho
Ring Alarm flood & freeze sensor x5Kitchen sink, both bathroom sinks, washer, water heaterCrew

From Costco

ItemGoesWho
TCL 75" QM7L television (already bought)Den TV wallCrew

Already hers, nothing to buy

ItemGoesWho
Echo SpotPrimary bedroom nightstandNate
ecobee thermostatAlready on the wallNate checks it

On purpose, not on the list

No smart lock (she keeps a regular key). No separate Wi-Fi router (the Ring base is the router). No battery backup box (the Ring base has its own battery and cellular backup on the Pro plan). No smoke or glass-break listeners. No TV in the bedroom, and no camera pointed anywhere inside.