How to Change the Ring Doorbell Sound

To change the Ring doorbell sound, open the Ring app and pick which sound you mean. For a Ring Chime, go to Devices > your Chime > Device Settings > Chime Alerts > Chime Tone. For your phone, go to Devices > your doorbell > Alert Settings > App Alert Tones. The sound the doorbell itself makes outside can’t be swapped for a different tone, but you can turn its volume up or down.

This guide covers the Ring app on iPhone and Android with Ring video doorbells, Ring Chime, Chime Plus and Chime Pro. It shows how to change each sound, set different tones for rings and motion, adjust volume, handle a wired in-home chime, use an Echo as a chime, and fix tones that won’t stick. Menu names come from Ring’s own help pages, checked in September 2026.

Which Ring Doorbell Sound Do You Want to Change?

“Ring doorbell sound” can mean four different things, and each one has its own setting:

• The Chime tone. The sound a plug-in Ring Chime, Chime Plus or Chime Pro plays inside your home. You can pick from a list of tones.
• The phone alert tone. The sound the Ring app plays on your phone or tablet. You can pick a different tone for each doorbell.
• The doorbell’s own speaker. The chime a visitor hears when they press the button. Ring’s help pages only offer a volume control for this, not a tone choice.
• An Echo announcement. If you linked Ring to Alexa, an Echo can announce rings. That’s set up in the Alexa app.

If the sound inside your house comes from an old wired chime box, see the wired chime section below. The Ring app can’t change that tone.

How to Change the Tone on a Ring Chime

These steps follow Ring’s Chime tones and linking help page. They work for Chime, Chime Plus and Chime Pro.

1. Open the Ring app and tap the menu (☰) in the top-left corner. Result: the side menu opens.
2. Tap Devices, then tap your Chime, Chime Plus or Chime Pro. Result: the Chime’s device page opens.
3. Tap Device Settings, then Chime Alerts. Result: you see the doorbells and cameras linked to this Chime.
4. Tap the doorbell you want to change, then tap Chime Tone. Result: the tone options appear for each event type.
5. Under the event you want, such as a doorbell ring, tap Chime Tone and pick a tone. Result: the new tone is selected.
6. Tap the back button, then tap Save. Result: the Chime plays the new tone the next time that event happens.

Ring warns that if you change or save settings while a tone is still playing, your pick may revert to the default. Let any sample finish before you tap Save.

Use different tones for rings and motion

A Chime can play one tone when someone presses the doorbell and another when the camera detects motion. Ring describes this as a way to know what happened without opening the app. Pick a tone under each event type in the steps above. If you don’t want motion to sound on the Chime at all, leave only Rings selected for that doorbell.

Give each doorbell its own Chime

If you have a front and back doorbell, you can link each one to a different Chime so the sound tells you which door it is. From the doorbell’s settings:

1. Tap the menu (☰), then Devices, then the doorbell. Result: the doorbell’s page opens.
2. Tap Linked Chimes. Result: your Chimes are listed.
3. Select Rings, Motion Detected or both for each Chime, and tap the music note icon to choose a tone. Result: that Chime will sound for the events you picked.
4. Tap Save.

Ring notes that the Chime and the doorbell must be set up under the same location in the app, but they don’t need to be in the same room.

How to Change the Ring Alert Sound on Your Phone

This changes the sound the Ring app makes on your phone, not anything in your home. The steps come from Ring’s alert tones help page.

1. Open the Ring app and tap the menu (☰). Result: the side menu opens.
2. Tap Devices, then tap your doorbell. Result: the doorbell’s page opens.
3. Tap Alert Settings, then App Alert Tones. Result: a list of sounds for that device appears.
4. Pick one sound for doorbell rings and one for Motion Alerts, then tap back. Result: new alerts from that doorbell use the sounds you picked.

Some guides show this under Device Settings > Notification Settings instead, so if you don’t see Alert Settings, look there. Each device keeps its own tone, which lets you tell your doorbell apart from your cameras. The setting is per phone, so anyone else in your home who uses the Ring app has to change it on their own device.

Ring also notes that on iPhones running iOS 16, longer alert tones get cut off early. Updating to iOS 17 fixes this for single notifications, though tones can still be cut off when several arrive at once. If your iPhone is on silent, you won’t hear the tone at all. See how to silence or unsilence calls on iPhone.

How to Turn the Doorbell Sound Up or Down

You can’t pick a new tone for the doorbell’s own speaker, but you can change how loud it is. These steps are from Ring’s volume help page:

1. Tap the menu (☰), then Devices, then your video doorbell. Result: the doorbell’s page opens.
2. Tap Device Settings, then Audio Settings. Result: the volume sliders appear.
3. Drag the Doorbell Sounds slider. Result: the button-press sound gets louder or quieter.

The Device Speaker slider on the same screen controls Two-Way Talk, not the chime. Ring says the Two-Way Talk control isn’t available on every model.

To change how loud a Ring Chime is, go to Devices > your Chime > Audio Settings > Chime Tones and move the sliders under Rings and Motion.

What If Your Ring Doorbell Uses a Wired In-Home Chime?

If your doorbell is hardwired to the chime box already in your house, that box makes the sound, and the Ring app can’t change its tone. Ring’s in-home chime page describes the types:

• Mechanical: a bell and hammer that make a traditional ding-dong. The sound is fixed.
• Digital: plays prerecorded tones through a speaker. Ring says these often have a selection of tones. Any choice is made on the chime unit itself, so check its manual.
• None: used with a plug-in adapter or when the doorbell is wired straight to a transformer.

In the app, go to Devices > your doorbell > Device Settings > In-home Chime Settings to match the chime type and turn the in-home chime on or off. Battery doorbells also have Automatic Chime Detection and a Ring my In-home Chime test. Ring says to set the correct type before testing to prevent damage.

Some models don’t support an in-home chime at all, including the Video Doorbell Wired and Peephole Cam. For those, use a Ring Chime or an Echo instead. The easiest way to get more tone choices is to add a plug-in Ring Chime.

Use an Echo Device as Your Doorbell Chime

If your Ring doorbell is linked to Alexa, an Echo can announce doorbell presses and motion. Ring’s Alexa announcements page says these are set up in the Alexa app:

1. Open the Alexa app and tap the devices (lightbulb) icon. Result: your smart home devices appear.
2. Tap your Ring video doorbell. Result: its Alexa settings open.
3. Turn on Doorbell Press Notifications, and Motion Announcements if you want them. Result: your Echo announces those events.

You can’t pick from Ring’s Chime tone list here. Echo devices with a screen also show Live View for 15 seconds after a press. If your Echo is offline, see how to connect Alexa to Wi-Fi.

If the New Sound Doesn’t Play

• The tone went back to the default: you probably saved while a sample was playing. Pick it again, wait for silence, then tap Save.
• The Chime doesn’t sound for a doorbell: open the doorbell’s Linked Chimes and make sure Rings is selected for that Chime.
• The Chime is quiet when it shouldn’t be: check whether Chime Snooze is on in the Chime’s Device Settings. Tap Turn off Snooze and Save.
• No phone sound: make sure Ring notifications are allowed in your phone’s settings and the phone isn’t on silent or a Focus mode.
• No Echo announcement: Ring says each Echo needs its Communication and Announcements features on and Do Not Disturb off. Announcements also don’t work for shared devices.
• The in-home chime buzzes or rings partly: confirm the chime type in In-home Chime Settings matches your chime, then test again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change the sound visitors hear outside?

Not the tone. Ring’s settings only include a Doorbell Sounds volume slider for the doorbell itself. You can turn it down and rely on a Ring Chime or your phone indoors.

Can I upload my own custom tone?

Ring’s help pages only describe choosing from the tones built into the app. They don’t mention uploading your own sound.

Do I need a Ring Chime to change the doorbell sound?

Only for the sound inside your home. Without a Chime, you can still change the phone alert tone, adjust the doorbell’s volume, or use an Echo for announcements.

Can I set a different sound for motion?

Yes. Both the Chime tone and the app alert tone let you choose one sound for doorbell rings and another for motion.

Related smart home guide: how to edit temperature presets on a Nest thermostat.