Why is My Ring Contact Sensor Not Connecting? (Solved)

In this post, we covered the common reasons behind connectivity issues with a Ring Alarm Contact Sensor. You’ll also learn how to troubleshoot this issue yourself without making that expensive service call.

If that sounds like what you’re looking for, let’s head right into it.

If your Ring Contact Sensor isn’t connecting, here are some reasons behind this issue:

Your Base Station is too far away from your contact sensor.
The battery in your contact sensor is weak/dead or not inserted correctly.
Your Base Station is faulty.
Your Wi-Fi router has lost its internet connection.
The device (contact sensor) is malfunctioning.

Keep reading to learn how to troubleshoot your Ring contact sensor.

Table of Contents

How to Troubleshoot Ring Contact Sensor Connectivity Issues?

So if you’re having trouble connecting your Ring contact sensor to Wi-Fi, here are some troubleshooting steps that might help.

1. Move the Base Station Closer to the Ring Contact Sensor

The Ring contact sensor links to the Ring alarm system through a Base Station. The connection between the contact sensor and Base Station is made possible through Z-Wave technology, which relies on the proximity of the devices to work.

That said, if the Base Station is too far away from the contact sensor, they won’t be able to connect.

So, if your contact sensor isn’t working, you should move it closer to the Base Station. You can also buy a Range extender to improve the connection between these devices.

Once you’ve reduced the distance between the Base Station and contact sensor, study the light displaying on the sensor:

If the sensor light blinks green three times, it is about to link to the Base Station
If the light flashes green once, it is already connected to the Base Station.
If you can only see a red light blinking, the contact sensor isn’t connecting to the Base Station. Then, you need to try the next step.

2. Remove Your Contact Sensor from its Base Station

If your Ring contact sensor still won’t connect after moving it closer to the Base Station, you may need to restart the connection.

You can do this by disconnecting and reconnecting the contact sensor from the Base Station through the Ring App.

Follow these steps to remove your Ring contact sensor from the Base Station:

Open the Ring app on your phone.
Click on the Menu icon at the upper left corner of the screen.
Tap on Devices.
Select Alarm Base Station.
Choose the Ring Contact Sensor you want to remove.
Next, click on Device Settings.
Then tap Remove on the lower part of the screen.
The Ring app will notify you about the removal.
Once you get the notification, you can reconnect the contact sensor to the Ring app.

Here’s how to reconnect your Ring contact sensor to the Ring App:

Disarm your Ring Alarm System. To disarm your Alarm System, use the keypad on the system to input your User Code. Then press the Disarm button.
Open the Ring app and click on the Menu icon.
Next, choose Set Up a Device.
Click on Security Devices.
Select Sensors.
Finally, choose Contact Sensor to reconnect your contact sensor to the Ring app.

3. Reboot Your Ring Contact Sensor

Is your Ring contact sensor still not working? Then, you need to reboot the sensor.

The following guide will help you:

Take off the cover of your Ring contact sensor.
Next, remove the battery from the device.
Wait for about 15–30 seconds.
Now, put the battery back into the sensor.
You should see the LED light on the sensor blink quickly.
If no light flashes from your sensor, your battery might be faulty.

4. Replace Your Battery

If your Ring contact sensor isn’t functioning, your battery might have reached the end of its lifespan. One way to test your battery’s condition is to reboot your Ring contact sensor.

After rebooting your sensor, the LED light on the device should blink. If the light doesn’t blink, your battery is probably faulty and requires a replacement.

Take the following steps to replace the battery in your Ring contact sensor:

Remove the cover of your contact sensor
Take your battery out of the sensor.
Insert the new battery into the device.
Place the cover back on the Ring contact sensor.

5. Factory Reset Your Ring Contact Sensor

Your Ring contact sensor may fail to connect to your Alarm System even after you’ve rebooted the device. In that case, you might need to restore the sensor’s factory settings.

A factory reset will delete any settings you’ve adjusted while using the contact sensor. So, you should only use the factory reset option as a last resort.

Take the following steps to factory reset your Ring contact sensor:

Remove the cover of your Ring contact sensor.
Take out the battery from its compartment within the sensor.
Find the tamper button. Then, press and hold it. The tamper button is a small button located on a metal square above the battery compartment.
While still holding the tamper button, put your battery back in its compartment.
Wait until the LED light on the sensor flashes before you release the tamper button.
Replace the cover on the sensor to complete the process.

6. Reset Your Ring Base Station

What if your Ring contact sensor doesn’t work even after you’ve done a factory reset on your sensor? Then the problem might be with your Ring Base station.

So, you may have to reset your Base Station to help your contact sensor regain its connection.

Here’s how to do that:

Go to your Ring app and click on the Menu icon.
Select Devices and then select Base Station.
Next, click on Advanced Options.
Select Unregister Base Station.
Now, tap Unregister.
You have reset your Ring Base Station.

Once you have finished resetting your Ring Base Station, you need to re-add it to the Ring app. If you need help reconnecting your Ring Base Station to the app, use the following guide:

Open your Ring app and click on the Menu icon.
Next, click on Set Up a Device.
Select Alarm and click on your location.
Select Base Station.
Follow the instructions in the app to finish the setup.
The system will ask you to press the PAIRING button at the back of your Base Station.
Tap on the PAIRING button to link your Base Station to your Wi-Fi router.

7. Reset Your Wi-Fi Router

If your contact sensor isn’t functioning after you’ve tried all the troubleshooting tips above, your Wi-Fi connection might be faulty. To resolve this issue, you might need to reset your Wi-Fi router.

Your contact sensor does not need a W-Fi connection to function. However, it still relies on the Ring Base Station to connect to the Alarm System. This Base Station can’t connect to the Alarm System if your Wi-Fi router is not connected to the internet.

Resetting your router should revive your Wi-Fi connection.

The following steps will help you:

Turn off your router.
Press and hold the Reset button for 10 seconds.
Release the button and turn on the router.

You have reset your Wi-Fi router, and your contact sensor should connect to the Alarm System in a few minutes.

Closing Thoughts

The troubleshooting tips in this post should help you fix connection issues with your Ring Alarm contact sensor.

However, if the problem persists, contact Ring Customer Support for help.

You may also like to see how to troubleshoot connection problems in Ring Chime and Ring Doorbell Camera.