As we enter a new age of smart home technology that is supposed to make our lives easier, it often feels more complicated than it needs to be. Smart home security devices, such as the Ring Spotlight Cam, are a great option to protect your home, but figuring out where or how high to mount your new camera can be tricky.

Nine feet is the optimized height to mount your Ring Spotlight Cam according to Ring. At 9 feet high, your new spotlight cam will be able to detect people up to 30 feet away. However, mounting your home security devices at the optimized height is not always possible.

While 9 feet may be the optimized height for general camera use, this is not the best option for everyone. Keep reading to learn more about how to choose the best height for your Ring Spotlight Cam.

Can I Mount My Ring Camera Higher than Nine Feet?

The factory recommendation of 9 feet is designed to optimize your camera’s coverage and video quality, but if mounting at 9 feet is not possible, should you mount it higher?

Ring’s Support Center recommends mounting your Spotlight Cam lower rather than higher. If you are looking for your camera to reach its full potential of up to 30 feet of detection, you should keep your Ring Spotlight Cam mounted at 9 feet or less.

If you are not as worried about capturing that full 30 feet of detection and instead would like specific coverage on a small area, mounting your Ring Spotlight Cam higher than 9 feet could be the right option for you.

Your camera being higher will cause it to have a sharper downward angle and limit how far your view will reach, but this could be best if you are looking for coverage of a small driveway or a tight entryway where you are not concerned with how far the camera can reach.

What is the Range of the Ring Spotlight Cam?

Where you mount your camera can depend significantly on the field of view your camera provides.

The Ring Spotlight Cam has a field of view range of 140° horizontally and 78° vertically. This range gives you fantastic coverage side to side and up and down. This field of view allows the Spotlight Cam to detect people up to 30 feet away.

This range of view gives ample side-to-side coverage in any setting; this allows you to see what is going on in multiple directions without feeling like you’re looking through a fisheye lens.

Where Should I Mount My Ring Spotlight Cam?

There are several questions to ask yourself when picking the best spot to hang your camera. Some common things to consider are:

  • How is my camera powered?What area am I looking for my camera to cover?How far does my Wi-Fi signal reach?

Camera Power

The Ring Spotlight Cam has two main options for its camera’s power, wired or battery.

  • The wired option must be hardwired into your home’s electricity, where the battery option is a cordless alternative but must be charged from time to time. With a wired camera, you have more work upfront and need to make sure you have electricity where you need it, but there is less maintenance in the long run.The battery option is great for areas of your house where you might not have immediate electrical access, like a garage.

Coverage

The height of your camera is going to affect the coverage your Ring Spotlight Cam can provide you.

  • Your camera at five to six feet will give you a face-level video feed where you can see individual people clearly.For a more panoramic view, eight to nine feet is the perfect combination of enough height to allow you to see side to side but not have the camera pointing straight down.Nine feet and above can work well for a small, enclosed space where side to side coverage or distance is not needed, but to have coverage of the ground, your camera will have to be pointed sharply down.

Wi-Fi Signal

The next hurdle of connecting your newest smart home device is ensuring you have a strong enough Wi-Fi signal. If your Wi-Fi router is too far away from your Ring Spotlight Cam, you may have a spotty signal and won’t have a clear video feed. Before you set up your camera, take your smartphone to the spot where you want to mount your camera and run a speed test to ensure that you have at least 2 Mbps of upload speed from your network.

Conclusion

While there are various factors to consider, 8 to 9 feet high will give you the best viewing range with the Ring Spotlight Cam. If you cannot mount your Spotlight Cam at this height, mounting your camera lower will give you a better angle for your video. Avoid hanging your Ring Spotlight Cam higher than nine feet unless you only need it to cover a small area.