54 Waterbury Parkway: Setup Guide

What is happening, in one page

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

Who is who

John built the house, so he and his crew are the natural ones to put things on the walls.

Nate is a close family friend, like a brother to Terrell, and he sets up this kind of equipment for a living in New York hospitals. He is coming to do the electronics setup in Terrell's place, since Terrell cannot be there in person.

Terrell is Tracey's son. He put this plan together and is a call or text away for anything that comes up: (914) 954-2690.

Done

Verizon

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

First

John & crew

John is doing us a favor with the wall work: the TV and soundbar, the kitchen screen on its arm, the doorbell and the three cameras, and the little alarm sensors. That is it.

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 thing that saves the most time

Mount first, apps later.

Every Ring sensor, camera and doorbell has a little plastic battery tab. If they go on the wall with the tab still in, they pair themselves on Nate's setup day in one pass. Once things are mounted, that is the whole job for the crew; Nate does every bit of the phone and account work.

Anything that just plugs into an outlet or an HDMI port is Nate's too, so those boxes can stay closed until setup day.

Where does everything go?

Room	What goes there
Wherever Verizon put their box	The 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 door	Ring doorbell. Alarm keypad on the wall inside, by the door Tracey actually uses.
Kitchen / dining pier	Echo Show 21 on a swing arm, so it turns to face the kitchen or the table.
Living room	Echo 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 bedroom	Tracey's own Echo Spot. Panic button by the bed. No TV, no camera. That room stays quiet.
Main bathroom	Echo Dot on the far counter, away from the shower. Panic button.
Outside	Three Ring cameras: driveway, the shared side path, the back deck.
Doors and windows	Contact 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: Terrell, or Nate on setup day. If something on this page and something in a box disagree, Terrell is a text away at (914) 954-2690.

John & crew

John, thank you for taking this on. It is a short list: the TV, the soundbar, the kitchen screen on its arm, the doorbell, the three cameras, and the little alarm sensors. Everything else is plug-and-play and goes to Nate, a close family friend who does this kind of setup for a living and is standing in for Terrell since he cannot be there. So those boxes can stay closed.

A few things that make Nate's day easier

The battery tabs. Every Ring sensor, camera and doorbell has a little plastic pull tab. If they can go up with the tab still in, they pair themselves on setup day in one pass. If a tab comes out, no harm done, it just means Nate adds that one by hand.
No app setup needed. Once it is on the wall, that is the whole job. Nate does all the phone and account work.
If anything asks for a Wi-Fi name or password, that is one for Terrell, so a quick text saves a headache later.
Boxes and the little cards are worth keeping in the house if it is easy. Ring prints codes under the battery covers.
These can stay sealed for Nate: the Ring base station, the eero extender, the Echo Dots, the Fire TV Sticks, the rolling Samsung screen, the surge strips.

What goes where

The notes in the How column are just what we know about each piece, in case they help.

Where	What	How	Power
Den, TV wall	75" TCL television on the monTEK full-motion bracket	Two studs. Height works best from the recliners, center of screen at eye level when seated. Lani may want a say on the height.	Outlet behind the TV. Straight into the wall is fine; Nate adds the surge strip and the Fire TV Stick.
Den, under the TV	Sony BRAVIA Theater Bar 6 + wireless subwoofer	On the wall under the TV or on the little 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 into the wall for now.
Kitchen / dining pier	Echo Show 21 on the Mount-It swing arm	Arm into solid blocking on the pier, screen about standing eye height. The plate and screws are in the Echo Show box. Worth swinging it toward the sink and then the table once, to make sure it clears everything.	Recessed outlet behind it. The Show's cord is only about 5 feet, so the outlet wants to be close to the arm.
Front door	Ring Battery Doorbell	The existing doorbell spot. If there are doorbell wires there, they go on the two screws on the back and keep the battery topped up all winter. A photo of the transformer label would be great if it is easy to get to.	Battery, plus the doorbell wires if present.
Driveway	Ring Stick Up Cam	Wall or eave, beside or below the floodlight you put up, aimed so the light itself is out of the picture (a light in frame blinds the camera at night). Looking at the driveway and the walk to the front door.	Battery. If there happens to be an outdoor outlet within about 20 feet, let Terrell know; a plug-in cord can be added so it never needs charging.
Shared side path	Ring Stick Up Cam	Wall mount looking along the stone walkway from the front corner toward the stairwell. This is the one that watches people crossing the front of the house to get to the apartment. Pointed at the path rather than down the stairwell or at the apartment windows; Nate masks those in the app later.	Battery. Same outlet question.
Back deck	Ring Stick Up Cam	Wall or eave, looking across the deck and the slider. Level or a touch downward at the deck works best, rather than over the rail toward the stairwell and apartment windows below.	Battery. Same outlet question.
Inside, by the front door	Alarm keypad	On 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 window	5 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 the magnet goes on the part that moves. Peel-and-stick.	Battery.
Hall / living room, and the den	2 motion detectors	One 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. They like to be away from a sunny window, a heat register, the fireplace or the wood stove.	Battery.
Kitchen sink, both bathroom sinks, washer, water heater	5 flood & freeze sensors	On the floor where a leak would show up first. Under the sink cabinet, behind the washer, beside the water heater. Just set them down.	Battery.
Bedside and main bathroom	2 panic buttons	Bedside one within reach lying down. Bathroom one on the wall near the toilet, out of the shower.	Battery.

If the electrician is coming by anyway

A short list, all outlets and blocking. Whatever is easy.

By the Verizon box: a regular grounded outlet within reach, for the Ring base.
Kitchen pier: a recessed outlet behind where the Echo Show arm lands, plus solid blocking in the pier for the arm. The screen is about 11 lb on a 15" arm.
Den TV wall: an outlet behind the TV, two-stud backing at the height you settle on, and a hidden cable path down to the soundbar if that is simple.
Bathroom: an outlet at the far end of the counter from the shower, for the Echo Dot.
Outside: just a yes or no per camera spot on whether an outdoor outlet is within about 20 feet. No need to run new ones.
Doorbell: whether the front door has doorbell wires and a transformer, and a photo of the transformer label if it is handy.
Outside doors: if you are already in the strike plates, 3" screws that reach the stud are a nice touch for someone living alone.

Photos that would help Terrell

Whatever you can grab. The serial stickers are the big one, because once a thing is on the wall they cannot be read.

Serial number and QR stickers before they go up.
The doorbell transformer label, if it is reachable.
The kitchen pier before the arm goes up, showing where the blocking landed.
Each finished mount: TV, soundbar, kitchen screen, doorbell, the three cameras.
Roughly what each camera sees, from a phone held where the camera is.

Anything odd, just call Terrell

No blocking where the kitchen arm wants to land, the TV bracket not finding two studs at a good height, a camera not reaching its spot, or anything asking for a Wi-Fi name or password. None of it is a problem, it is just quicker to sort out on the phone than to guess at. Terrell is a text away the whole time: (914) 954-2690.

What the lights mean

Device	Good	Still working	Problem
Ring doorbell / cameras	Steady	Spinning white	Flashing that never settles, usually signal or power. Not a today problem, Nate handles it.
Echo Show	No light	Spinning blue while starting	Orange means it cannot find the Wi-Fi yet, which is expected until Nate comes. Solid red is just the microphone muted, harmless.

That is the whole list

Once those are on the wall and the photos are sent, the crew is done. Nate takes it from there, and Terrell will let you know how it went. Thank you again.

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 Terrell's. Amazon, Ring and eero all sign in with her Amazon login. If the Ring account were Terrell'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.
Terrell 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.

Where	What	How
Next to the Verizon box	Ring Alarm Pro base	See the cable swap below. This one comes first because it is the Wi-Fi.
Den	eero extender	Any outlet. Solid white light means it joined.
Halfway between the base and the den	Alarm range extender (from the kit)	Any outlet. Helps the sensors reach the base.
Behind the den TV	12-outlet surge strip, then the TV, soundbar, sub and Fire TV Stick into it	Fire TV Stick into any spare HDMI port. Soundbar cable into the TV port marked eARC or ARC.
Living room	Samsung 32" Movingstyle rolling screen, plus its own Fire TV Stick	Unbox, 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 bathroom	Echo Dot x3	Shelf or table. Bathroom one on the far end of the counter from the shower.
Primary bedroom	Tracey's own Echo Spot	Nightstand.
Office	Second 12-outlet surge strip	Computer, 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. Terrell is on the phone for it, about 20 minutes.

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.
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 Terrell; Verizon has to flip a setting on their end first, and Tracey makes that call.
Plug the Ring base into power.eero app, Tracey's Amazon login. Terrell 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.
Unplug the Verizon router and put it in its box.It stays with the house as a spare. Do not run both at once.
Plug the eero extender into an outlet in the den.It joins on its own. A solid white light means it is done.
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 Terrell; 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.

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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Terrell'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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Fire TV Stick in the rolling screen10 min. Same as the den. Then "Alexa, show me the front door" should work on it too.
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.
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 (Terrell) is added as a shared user.
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

The Wi-Fi name and password
The tenant's guest network name and password
Her alarm code, and a separate guest code if she wants one
The phrases: "Alexa, show me the front door", "Alexa, call for help", "Alexa, arm the alarm"

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 Terrell 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

Ring Pro plan (about $20 a month). Do this in the Ring app on your phone, with your Amazon login. It covers the alarm monitoring, recording on all the cameras, and backup internet if Verizon goes down.
Alexa Emergency Assist (about $6 a month). Alexa app, your account. This is what makes "Alexa, call for help" work from the bathroom.

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. His tab is short and written as a thank-you, not a work order: 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 person and a spot.

From ring.com (order first)

Item	Goes	Who
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 extender	Base in the office. The rest around the house per the John tab.	Sensors and keypads: crew. Base and range extender: Nate
eero 6 extender	Den	Nate
Ring Alarm panic button x2	Bedside, main bathroom	Crew

From Amazon

Item	Goes	Who
Ring Battery Doorbell (2K)	Front door	Crew
Ring Stick Up Cam, 3-pack	Driveway, side path, back deck	Crew
Echo Show 21	Kitchen pier, on the arm	Crew (arm)
Mount-It full-motion arm	Kitchen pier, for the Echo Show	Crew
Echo Dot x3	Living room, den, bathroom	Nate
Fire TV Stick 4K x2	Den TV, rolling screen	Nate
Sony BRAVIA Theater Bar 6 with wireless subwoofer	Den, under the TV	Crew
Samsung 32" Movingstyle rolling screen	Living room	Nate
monTEK full-motion TV wall bracket (already ordered)	Den TV wall	Crew
ALESTOR 12-outlet surge strip x2	Behind the den TV, office	Nate

From Target

Item	Goes	Who
Ring Alarm flood & freeze sensor x5	Kitchen sink, both bathroom sinks, washer, water heater	Crew

From Costco

Item	Goes	Who
TCL 75" QM7L television (already bought)	Den TV wall	Crew

Already hers, nothing to buy

Item	Goes	Who
Echo Spot	Primary bedroom nightstand	Nate
ecobee thermostat	Already on the wall	Nate 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.