Why You Can Trust CNET Ring Users: Set Up Halloween-Themed Chimes, Quick Replies Now
Get your doorbell ready for Halloween.
If you really want to get into the spooky spirit, try these new features from Amazon.
Halloween is just a few days away. That means it's time to queue up the scary Netflix Halloween movies, indulge in some delicious candy and dress up your furred companion. Sure, you can always hang plastic spiders and drape cotton-ball cobwebs around the house to spice up your Halloween decor, but if you really want to get into the spooky spirit, try these new features from Amazon.
You can use your Amazon and Ring devices to greet guests with creepy or nostalgic quick replies from Hocus Pocus. Or play spooky sounds from your Echo-enabled device. You can even add a few hardware accessories to your video doorbell camera or Echo Show.
We'll show you how to enable Halloween-themed Alexa skills and other spooky tricks. Plus, you can check out all of the latest Amazon products released at its September product event.
Update your doorbell's Quick Replies
With Ring's Quick Reply feature, you can select an automated response to greet your guest if you can't answer. Your doorbell can say, "We can't answer the door right now, but if you'd like to leave a message, you can do it now," and "Please leave the package outside. If you'd like to leave a message, you can do it now." There are four other regular replies to choose from.
With all Quick Replies, you can watch your visitor leave a message in Live View or in your event history if you're a Ring Protect subscriber. But for Halloween, you can add quick replies from Hocus Pocus or other spooktacular replies. Here are a few we like:
- "Tell us what brings you here... or we'll put a spell on you!"
- "Boo! Leave us a message if you dare [evil laugh]."
- "Just a minute! Feel free to park your broom."
- "Please leave the package (and any hocus pocus) outside."
Here's how to set up Quick Replies and add Halloween ones:
- Open the Ring app.
- Tap the three lines on the top left.
- Tap Devices.
- Select the doorbell that you want to set up.
- Tap the Smart Assistant tile below the doorbell image.
- Tap Quick Replies.
- Tap the blue Enable Autoreply button on the bottom of the screen.
- Select your preferred default message from the list.
- Set your message delay time from Right away to 20 seconds.
- Tap Got It! to complete the setup.
Add Halloween chimes to your Ring doorbell
For Halloween, you can choose from a new set of holiday chimes. Options include bats, ghosts, howl, scream, spooky organ tones, a creepy laugh, a screeching cat and a creaky door.
To change your Ring Chime Tone:
- Open the Ring app.
- Tap the three lines on the top left.
- Tap Devices.
- Select the doorbell that you want to set up.
- Tap the Device Settings.
- Tap Notification Settings.
- Tap App Alert Tones.
Ring can help take your spooky porch decor to the next level.
Give your doorbell a spooky faceplate
If you're really in the Halloween spirit, you can put a holiday faceplate on your Ring doorbell.
A bat design and a spiderweb design are available for the Ring Video Doorbell 2.
There are also faceplate options for the Video Doorbell 3, Video Doorbell 3 Plus, and Video Doorbell 4. Faceplates for all models cost $15 on Ring's website. There are even a few for the holiday season, too.