Ring Doorbells Recalled After Catching Fire

More than 350,000 Ring doorbells have been recalled after the Amazon-subsidiary received nearly two dozen reports of the devices catching fire. According to a recall notice posted by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Tuesday, the recall impacts around 350,000 2nd generation Ring doorbells sold in the United States and approximately 8,700 in Canada. The devices were on sale through Amazon's sites and retail locations.

The recall relates to the use of incorrect screws during the smart doorbell's installation and was issued after the company received 85 such reports. Of those reports, 23 of them detailed doorbells igniting, resulting in minor property damage. Ring received eight reports of minor burns as a result of the incorrect screws.

According to the notice, the doorbells were sold for approximately $100 from June 2020 through October 2020 at electronics and home goods stores nationwide and online at Amazon.com and Ring.com. The affected device is the Ring Video Doorbell with the model number 5UM5E5, which can be found on a label on the back of the doorbell and on the outer packaging. The device comes in two colors – black and silver, or black and bronze – and have a blue ring at the front.

"The safety of our customers is our top priority," a Ring spokesperson said in a statement to TechCrunch. "We have and continue to work cooperatively with the CPSC on this issue, and have contacted customers who purchased a Ring Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) to ensure they received the updated user manual and follow the device installation instructions. Customers do not need to return their devices."

To learn if you have a device impacted by the recall, you can enter your device's serial number at the Ring website. Those with affected devices are being asked encouraged to "immediately stop installing the recalled video doorbells and contact Ring for revised installation instructions."

The recall follows a number of controversies Ring has found itself in. Purchased by Amazon in 2018, the company found itself facing backlash after it announced partnerships with more than 400 police departments across the United States to give law enforcement easier access to videos recorded on its doorbells. At the time, Matthew Guariglia, a policy analyst for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told CNN that "it is essentially a widespread CCTV network in which police and Amazon ... have access to cameras across the city on everybody's front doors."