Ring Floodlight Keeps Turning On and Off: How to Fix [2023]

written by

Doug Stevenson

updated April 26, 2023

My Ring Floodlight Cam up front has recently been turning on and off randomly after sunset.

This has been not very pleasant to say the least, forcing me to unplug the device from its power every single evening.

I contacted Ring support and looked through several support forums. What genuinely shocked me was how widespread this issue was. So I came up with this one-stop troubleshooting article to help you fix your Ring Floodlight.

If Ring Floodlight Cam turns on and off randomly, update the device to its latest firmware. Next, check and set up motion zone settings and light schedules. If these don't work, power cycle the cam and reset it to its factory defaults.

Update Ring Floodlight Cam to the Latest Firmware

A key point to note is that Ring had already acknowledged this issue before and has stated that they will release firmware patches to fix the bug.

Firmware patches are an integral part of any smart device, and they are basically updates that Ring can push to your Ring devices wirelessly with the aid of the internet.

Older firmware updates did have an issue relating to the erratic functioning of the Ring Floodlight Cams.

But unfortunate news to all this is that the issues were first noticed a few years ago, and users have still been facing issues, even after Ring pushed multiple firmware patches.

But Ring did claim it fixed the issue for plenty of devices, so you do have a chance to be amongst the lucky few too.

So it is best to make sure that you are on the latest available firmware update always

The Ring usually automatically updates the firmware of all connected devices via the Ring app.

But if you want to check your firmware version, or for some reason haven't been updated, you can manually invoke the update process by following the steps below:

Open the Ring app.
From the home screen, tap on the three-dot menu situated on the top left of the screen.
Select your Ring Floodlight Cam.
Tap on Device Health.
Scroll down to the section that says Firmware.

This manually invokes the update process.

If there is a number on the field, then that indicates that firmware is available.

The field should say "Up to date" otherwise.

Check Motion Zone Settings

If you have one or more Motion Zones set up on your Ring app for the Ring Floodlight Cam, it can cause an overlap of triggers leading to the floodlight's erratic activation.

Ring Floodlight cameras activate the floodlights only if the following conditions are met:

At least one Motion Zone is set up.
If it is dark outside.

Ring Floodlight cameras detect motion by using a passive infrared sensor that detects heat.

Do note that the motion sensor and light sensor in the Ring Floodlights are not housed within the lights.

So if there are any unwarranted sources of heat around the line of sight of your Ring Floodlight Camera, such as a pet's cage the floodlights are bound to trigger.

Make sure that there are no stagnant heat sources in the line of sight of the camera as well.

The infrared heat detection on Ring Floodlight Cameras has a radius of 270 degrees, whereas the camera's field of view is capped at 140 degrees.

This effectively means that you shouldn't entirely depend on the field of view of your camera for analyzing the range of its motion detection.

Even a minor adjustment to the sensitivity settings can yield varying results from the Ring Floodlight Cam.

Some users on Ring Support forums have claimed that there is an inherent flaw in the design of Ring Floodlight Cameras when it comes to motion detection in general.

Make sure that all your settings are set up properly. It is best to take a bit of time to gauge your exact detection settings.

To set your proper motion detection settings on your Ring Floodlight Cam, follow the steps given below:

Open the Ring app on your paired mobile device.
Tap on the three-bar menu on the top left of your home screen/dashboard.
Tap on Devices.
Tap on Motion Settings.

Set up Light Schedules

Light schedules are the primary USP of a product such as the Ring Floodlight, as you can make adjustments to your lights according to your home security's needs.

Light schedules can be utilized to perform the following tasks:

Toggle lights on and off.
Set time-based schedules.
Set weekly schedules.

If you have previously set up light schedules, do give it a quick check.

It is entirely possible that your Ring floodlight Cam randomly turning off and on can be a cause of the same.

To set up light schedules on your Ring Floodlight Cam, follow the steps below:

Open the Ring app on your paired mobile device.
Tap on the three-bar menu on the top left of your home screen/dashboard.
Tap on Devices.
Tap on Device Schedule.
Tap on Light Schedules.

Few users have got better results with the light detection when their Floodlights face a little bit downwards.

This is probably due to the motion sensor being different from the light sensors.

Power Cycle the Ring Floodlight Cam

A power cycle can be a powerful tool in getting rid of temporary hardware bugs that might exist in the Ring Floodlight Cam system due to errors with power dispersion.

in fact, it helps in fixing common issues with Ring cameras such as its issues with motion detection.

Essentially, a power cycle is a hardware-level reboot for your Ring Floodlight Cam which ensures that the device gets depleted of all charges and then is charged fresh from scratch.

What this intends to do is get rid of any misbehaving charges within the internal components of the system that might have cropped up during its long operation hours.

Electronic devices, such as the Ring Floodlight Cam, which are plugged in 24x7 are susceptible to charge disparity within the system that can lead to temporary malfunctions like this.

Do not perform power cycles if your Ring Floodlight Cam updates in the background.

To perform a power cycle on your Ring Floodlight Cam, follow the steps below:

Unplug the Ring Floodlight Cam from its power source.
Let the Ring Floodlight Cam sit idle in its powered-off state for a minute.
Plug the Ring Floodlight Cam back into its power source.
Let the Ring Floodlight Cam sit idle in its powered-on state for a minute.

Perform multiple power cycles in order to extract the best performance out of your Ring Floodlight Cam.

Reset the Ring Floodlight Cam

If the above step, unfortunately, doesn't work for you, you can try performing a hard reset on your Ring Floodlight Cam.

This gets rid of all data from the device, as well as resets the whole unit to factory defaults.

You can perform a hard reset by following the steps given below:

Ensure that your Ring Floodlight Cam is plugged into its power.
Locate the button on top of your Ring Floodlight Cam.
Press and hold the button for about 30 seconds.
Release the button and you should notice the status lights on the bottom flash, indicating the reset process has been initiated.
After a minute, your device should be successfully reset and you can proceed with your setup.

Do note that hard resets will wipe all paired connections, so you will need to set up the device from scratch.

Final Thoughts

If you have further queries regarding your Ring device, feel free to contact Ring support.

I hope my article on how you can fix your Rink Floodlights constantly turning off and on has been a helpful read and has aided you with the same.

Have a good day!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What contents are included within the box of the Ring Floodlight Camera?

The packaging box of the Ring Floodlight Camera should include the following during the first unboxing:

The Ring Floodlight Camera.
A mounting bracket and a Phillips bit.
Necessary screws, nuts, and hooks.

How to contact Ring Support?

Ring Support is reachable via its official website, as well as from the numbers given below depending on the region:

US: 1-800-656-1919
UK: 0727-263045
AU: 1-300-205-983
NZ: +64 98879871
Mexico(D.F): 52 55 8526 5445
Worldwide: +1 310 929 7085

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