Can Someone Disable My Ring Camera? (What to Be Aware Of)

Ring cameras are an excellent way to keep your home secure. They allow you to know who is coming and going from your home when you install them at your front door or around your property. As with every piece of technology though, you might be wondering if Ring cameras can be hacked and disabled. 

Ring Cameras can be disabled if someone is able to hack into your WIFI network or security system. By interrupting your WIFI signal, they can disable the camera leaving you without access to it. 

You might be wondering exactly how people can disrupt your WIFI signal. We will go over the details in this article. We will also provide you with some tips to make sure your camera and WIFI network are protected from hackers. 

How Can Someone Disable a Ring Camera? 

The main way hackers are able to disable the Ring camera is by using a wireless jammer. With this technology, they are able to interrupt the WIFI signal.

Here’s how they do it:

1. When the signal is interrupted, your camera will not be able to send information to the Ring app, so you will not receive alerts or notifications when someone is around your property. 
2. Since the camera can no longer send alerts to your phone, it’s easy for intruders to sneak past the camera and gain access to your home or property without you having proof of them ever being there. 

This sounds scary and it can be hard to deal with especially if you have children or pets at home that you want to protect. Luckily, there are some steps you can take to ensure no one can hack and disable your camera. 

Tips to Ensure Your Ring Camera Can’t Be Disabled 

There are some things you can do to prevent your camera from being disabled and to ensure your home is safe. 

These tips include:

• Make sure your WIFI is password protected. WIFI networks that are public and not password protected are much easier to hack. You should also make sure your password is not given to everyone. 
• Use a VPN. VPNs hide your IP address. They also encrypt the data that is sent from the camera to the app making it much harder for hackers to see your videos and other private information. 
• Always keep the software updated. When software is out of date, it’s easier for hackers to gain access to your devices. Updating the software makes sure the data is always encrypted and ensures that it’s following Ring’s current security updates. 
• Use two factor authentication. When you first start using the Ring app, it will ask if you want to set up two factor authentication. Make sure to follow the steps for setting it up as it will make it harder for outsiders to gain access to your app information. 
• Don’t share your videos on social media. Some people may share video footage from their camera on social media if they see something suspicious in order to alert neighbors or the community. Putting your videos out for the public to see makes it easier for hackers to target you though. 
• Use a firewall. You can purchase firewall and antivirus software from many different companies. This gives your camera an added layer of protection. 

All the steps above are pretty easy to follow and set up. They only take a few minutes. It will give you peace of mind to know your camera cannot be easily hacked. 

What Should I Do If Someone Disabled My Ring Camera? 

Discovering that someone has hacked and disabled your camera can be scary. 

If you notice someone has disabled your camera and you can no longer see the video feed in your app, you need to follow the steps below right away:

• Change your WIFI password. Since the hackers gained access to your camera through the WIFI network, you should change the password to make sure they also don’t interfere with other devices. 
• Change the password for all devices. You should change the passwords for all your Ring devices if you’re using other devices besides the camera. 
• Contact Ring support. It’s always a good idea to let Ring know that your devices have been hacked so they can help you and offer tips on how to better secure your system. 

Once you change your WiFi password, you’ll need to update your Ring Camera’s WiFi connection:

Now, let’s see how easy it is to hack Ring cameras.

How Easy is it to Hack Ring Cameras? 

You probably don’t hear of Ring Cameras being hacked often. Why is this?

It’s pretty hard to hack Ring cameras. However, there have been security breaches in the past where usernames and passwords ended up online for hackers to easily find. 

This is why it’s important to be aware of the extra security you can add to your cameras even though hacking is rare. 

Final Thoughts 

Your Ring Camera can be disabled when someone is able to gain access to your home network and interrupt the WIFI signal. Adding passwords and a VPN to your WIFI can help prevent this from happening.