tsightler
commented
1 year ago I'm going to move this to the discussions sections as this is not a support issue.
Also, you question is largely already answered in the FAQ, third question down.
If you want slightly more detail:
1) Ring alarm base station is basically a Z-wave hub that maintains a websocket connection to Ring over which is sends all sensor updates and state to Ring servers (that's how the Ring apps get status). 2) Ring alarm base station is "smart", in that it connects to the sensors via Z-wave and can be put into arm/disarm modes locally via the keypad, however, this provides very limited functionality and there's no way to control the base station locally, as all communications goes through Ring servers. If internet connectivity is down, there is limited backup connectivity via cell service, so the alarm will still trigger if a local sensor trips and central monitoring can be alerted, but all interactive features do not work in this case. 3) Ring alarm sensors are mostly just Z-wave devices and it's generally possible to use them with any Z-wave compatible hubs. They are generally good quality sensors, but there are cheaper alternatives that also work fine if you are building your own.
Summary, Ring alarm, like all Ring products, are cloud based. If you looking for 100% local control, look elsewhere.
Realistically, if you just want to build a local alarm, with no remote monitoring, you don't need anything but HA, some Z-wave/Zigbee/
Of course, if you are looking for professional monitoring, that will be an issue with a homebrew, local-only system. For me, alarm monitoring is a critical component, so Ring alarm being cloud controlled was a tradeoff I was willing to accept (even my 20 year old ADT alarm was connected via the Internet and had a Web control panel I had to log into, so it wasn't that much different).
I hope i'm not too far out of scope, but i tried to look for answers for a few questions that popped up when looking a a decent home alarm system that is not dependent on the cloud, the name ring leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth, at least historically when it comes to doorbells but this system seems cost effective and not bad judging from reviews.
What i mostly need to know is if it's a local-only implementation and how it works, wifi/zwave etc, i'm assuming the alarm system uses wifi to connect to the world, it also seems to operate via zwave with it's devices ? Can i do something in home assistant to integrate it that way or does the main unit spit out stuff via mqtt / via wifi ?
I think we all know that manufacturers can kill off cloud dependant stuff when ever they feel like it so it would be REALLY good to be able to control it via HA when that happens.
Thanks!