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  ARM Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life (Terry Pratchett, Jingo)

Ring glitch results in global ding dong ditch: Doorbell bling flings out random pings but they're not the real thing

(2020/10/01)


Amazon-owned smart home appliance maker Ring has won the world record for biggest game of "ding dong ditch" after a software glitch broadcast erroneous doorbell chimes to countless users yesterday.

The global game of Ring and run (as it's known in the US) coincided with software issues that prevented owners from viewing archived footage or receiving push notifications. Customers in markets including the UK and US were believed to be affected.

The Timely Information Transmission Suffered Unpredictable Ping-time (TITSUP) led some to believe that Ring's systems were being targeted deliberately by a malicious third party. "Are the Ring doorbells being hacked? Mine are going off non-stop," [1]tweeted one confused punter.

Flying camera drones, cuddly Echo gadgets... it's all a smoke screen for Amazon to lead you gently down the Sidewalk – and you'll probably like it [2]READ MORE

"You're [sic] network has been down for hours. Now I am getting phantom 'rings' and it's driving my Great Dane crazy," [3]complained another.

Your humble hack also experienced the glitch when a random chime from his overpriced doorbell disturbed a post-work nap. More accurately, it startled his dogs, who then leapt onto his chest.

Speaking to El Reg , Ring's Europe head of communications, Claudia Fellerman, confirmed the problem and said it has since been fixed.

"Our processing infrastructure was running behind which caused some delays in receiving in-app notifications and Chime motion and ding notifications. However, this has been resolved," she said.

According to Ring's status page, no user data was lost, and a fix was applied by late evening. The company warned that users may encounter delayed chimes and notifications while the back-end catches up.

Ring also urged punters to check the battery levels on their devices as the outage may have caused a higher-than-usual power drain. ®

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[1] https://twitter.com/piscesbaby3/status/1311395829928914945

[2] https://www.theregister.com/2020/09/28/amazon_data_trojan/

[3] https://twitter.com/jimheflin45/status/1311396873505320960

[4] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/

Nicky Nicky Nine Doors

ivan itchybutt

that's what it was called in my Canadian youf. My heart is racing just thinking about it.

so if it's catching up, does that mean people missed someone at the door?

Enjoying "I told ya so"

Gene Cash

My friend poo-pooed my concerns about sending personal data to the cloud, and what if Google has issues or shuts it off?

Now he's getting dozens of phantom rings and is asking me how to turn it off.

I suggested a sledgehammer, and he's angry I can't magically fix someone else's server issues.

ding dong ditch

Trigonoceps occipitalis

Knock down ginger.

Re: ding dong ditch

Macs1000

Chickenelly.

I had this!

Androgynous Cupboard

Went off all the time. But turns out water got into the button. Also, it wasn't an Amazon doorbell, just a normal one. So I don't suppose it's very relevant is it? I'll get me coat.

Ignorance is bliss

JimPoak

I don't have one of these things so forgive me my ignorance but does this mean it's processing it's data off the premises?. Why would you develop such a device in say sunny California when the rest of the world is wet and prone to extreme weather conditions. I'll stick the one I have, it has one moving part and it's called a door knocker.

Re: Ignorance is bliss

jake

"does this mean it's processing it's data off the premises?"

Of course. Why would one install a simple circuit consisting of three pieces of wire, a buzzer, a power source and a button when one can use a computer that has to be networked to a massive bank of servers halfway around the world and requires a cell phone to properly use?

I mean, really! It's obvious, innit?

WTF ?

Yet Another Hierachial Anonynmous Coward

Ding notifications?

Delayed Chimes ?

What has mankind unleashed......

Jeff Bezos' Ring?

Chris G

You can poke it where the sun don't shine!

You can poke it where the sun don't shine!

RM Myers

Yes, but they do sell it in other places besides the UK.

Re: Jeff Bezos' Ring?

jake

Yo! Jeff! Sit on it!

(Probably dating myself ... )

Doctor Syntax

"Your humble hack also experienced the glitch when a random chime from his overpriced doorbell disturbed a post-work nap."

It's good to know the selfless heroes of el Reg test this stuff so the rest of us don't have to.

Ring needs visual bell

Down not across

Neighbour has one.

Annoying thing. Why does it need to make that stupid sound on the outside, and so loud, so people who don't have (not want) one, have to suffer the noise. Surely whoever presses the button will see some visual indication.

Mind you, the phantom rings must've been silent as I didn't hear a thing.

Look on the bright side.

jake

Amazon will eventually shut down the service, and then nothing like this will ever happen again!

Of course when that time comes, you'll have to purchase a new doorbell ...

May I interest you in this new model in advance, so you have no loss of service? It consists of a through-door striker and your choice of chime or bell. It is guaranteed to work for life, with no false positives, no loss of service, and no downtime, and no batteries, ever! Available in Black, Chrome, Brushed Nickle, and Antiqued Bronze. Wood Tone, Harvest Gold and Avocado Green[0] available on special order only for an extra $25.00. Just $99.95 +shipping and handling. Easy installation, requires no more than a drill, two bits, and a screwdriver.

[0] Hey. there are still people out there buying shag carpeting, just catering to the market.

hangover, n.:
The wrath of grapes.