Ring Indoor Cam (2nd Gen) Review 2026: The Last Ring Cover That Cuts the Mic

Quick Answer: The Ring Indoor Cam (2nd Gen) is a $49.99 plug-in indoor camera (Ring’s own store, November 4, 2026) with 1080p video, color night vision, two-way talk and 2.4GHz-only Wi-Fi. It is now the oldest and lowest-resolution indoor camera Ring sells, and the newer Indoor Cam Plus gives you 2K video for $59.99 list, or $24.99 on sale through November 30. Buy the 2nd Gen only if you want its one feature the newer models dropped: an attached privacy cover that turns off both the camera and the microphone. On the Plus and the 4K, the mic stays on when the cover is closed.

The 2nd Gen has been on this site for months as the budget and privacy pick in our best Ring camera and best indoor security camera roundups. What changed is the lineup around it. Ring added the Indoor Cam Plus in 2025 and the Indoor Cam 4K in October 2026, and both use a different, detachable lens cover. This review compares the three using Ring’s own spec sheets and FAQs (current product pages plus archived copies from July and August 2026), Ring’s plan pricing, Ring’s 24/7 Recording support article, and PCMag’s published reviews of the 2nd Gen and the Plus. We didn’t test these cameras ourselves.

Ring Indoor Cam (2nd Gen) at a glance

Ring Indoor Cam (2nd Gen) by the numbers

• 4.7 out of 5 from 47,080 ratings. That’s the customer score Ring’s own product page showed on November 4, 2026, with 85% five-star. The newer Indoor Cam Plus showed 4.6 from 4,309 ratings, and the Indoor Cam 4K 4.2 from just 56.
• PCMag rated it 4.0, “Excellent.” Its October 2023 review praised the sharp 1080p video, accurate motion detection and the new privacy cover, and listed three cons: recording needs a subscription, there is no local storage, and there’s no Google Assistant or HomeKit support.
• Six seconds of pre-roll. PCMag reports that the 2nd Gen’s Pre-Roll feature saves the six seconds before a motion trigger, so recordings don’t start mid-event.
• 2 Mbps vs. 5 Mbps vs. 15 Mbps. Those are the minimum upload speeds Ring lists for the 2nd Gen, the Indoor Cam Plus and the Indoor Cam 4K. On a slow DSL or rural connection, or with several cameras on one upload, the 2nd Gen is the easiest one to keep streaming.

The privacy cover: the reason to still buy the 2nd Gen

The 2nd Gen’s best feature is a small swivel cover that’s attached to the camera. Ring’s FAQ says that when you slide it in front of the lens, “Indoor Cam’s camera and mic will turn off,” and you swivel it to the side to turn them back on. You can see from across the room that it’s off. It doesn’t depend on an app setting or a schedule.

Ring’s newer indoor cameras changed this. The Indoor Cam Plus and the Indoor Cam 4K ship with a detachable lens cover in the box. Ring’s product pages for both say: “Microphone stays on when covered, and can be disabled in the Ring app.” PCMag’s Indoor Cam Plus review says the same thing: the shutter “does not turn off the microphone.” The Plus and 4K covers block the picture. The 2nd Gen’s cover blocks both picture and sound.

That matters most in a bedroom, a home office where you take work calls, or a living room where a nanny or guests talk. You can mute the mic on the Plus or 4K in the app, but that’s a separate step you have to remember, and you can’t confirm it by looking at the camera. If you’re buying a camera for one of those rooms, the 2nd Gen is the Ring to get. Our best nanny cam guide covers the legal side of recording audio in your home, which is stricter than recording video in many states.

2nd Gen vs. Indoor Cam Plus vs. Indoor Cam 4K

Two things stand out. First, the field of view is effectively the same on all three. The 2nd Gen’s often-quoted 143° figure is a diagonal measurement; its horizontal view is 115°, the same number Ring lists for the Plus and the 4K. Moving to a newer model doesn’t get you a wider view, only more pixels across the same width. Second, the Plus is the better camera on paper for most rooms: 2K resolution, 4x zoom, better low-light color and a modern USB-C cable, and PCMag gave it the same 4.0 score in its December 2025 review. At $24.99 it’s half the 2nd Gen’s price. At its $59.99 list, the gap is $10.

The 4K is a different purchase. It’s the only Ring indoor camera with 5GHz Wi-Fi and the only one with HDR, and it asks for 15 Mbps of upload. Our Ring Indoor Cam 4K review covers whether that’s worth $99.99.

Ring Indoor Cam (2nd Gen) — Best Ring Pick for Private Rooms

Day to day, the 2nd Gen does the basics well. PCMag reported sharp 1080p daytime video, well-lit black-and-white night video and motion alerts that arrived instantly and correctly flagged people. Its one weak spot was dull color at night. Setup is a QR-code scan in the Ring app, and the round base works as a tabletop stand or a wall or ceiling mount with the included mounting hardware. Alexa can show the live feed on an Echo Show, and Linked Devices lets it trigger your other Ring cameras to record when it sees motion.

The limits are the familiar Ring ones. Without a plan, it’s a live-view camera that sends alerts but saves nothing. There’s no microSD slot, no Google Home or HomeKit support, and no 5GHz. The Micro USB port also means a less common cable than the USB-C on the newer models, so buy Ring’s 10-foot cable or a long Micro USB cable if the camera needs to sit high on a shelf.

Pros: Privacy cover cuts camera and mic, 2 Mbps upload requirement, mature 4.7-star track record, 24/7 Recording eligible, cheap in multipacks. Cons: 1080p only, 2.4GHz only, Micro USB, recording needs a Ring plan, currently more expensive than the 2K Indoor Cam Plus on sale.

What a Ring Indoor Cam really costs

The camera is the small part of the bill. Here’s what each indoor model costs over three years with a Ring Solo plan at the annual rate ($49.99 a year per camera, from Ring’s plans page in October 2026).

The 24/7 column adds Ring’s Continuous Recording add-on at $3 a month per camera ($108 over three years). Ring’s support article says continuous footage is kept in the cloud for up to 14 days, the camera has to stay plugged in, and the blue light stays on the whole time it’s recording. With several cameras at one address, Ring Multi ($9.99 a month or $99.99 a year) covers all of them and becomes cheaper than separate Solo plans from the third camera on. Already paying and want out? See how to cancel a Ring subscription. If you’d rather not pay monthly at all, our best security camera without subscription guide lists indoor cameras that record to a microSD card for free.

Which Ring indoor camera should you buy?

For pets, the 2nd Gen’s siren and two-way talk work, but it can’t toss treats; see our best pet camera guide for cameras that can. If the camera keeps dropping off your network, our Ring camera offline guide walks through the 2.4GHz fixes, and our Wi-Fi extender guide covers the Ring Chime Pro and mesh options.

The bottom line

The Ring Indoor Cam (2nd Gen) is still a good camera, rated 4.0 by PCMag and 4.7 stars by more than 47,000 buyers, but in November 2026 it’s no longer Ring’s best value. The Indoor Cam Plus gives you 2K video and 4x zoom for $24.99 on sale or $59.99 at list, and it’s the right Ring indoor camera for most rooms. Buy the 2nd Gen at $49.99 for one reason: its attached cover turns off the camera and the microphone together, which neither the Plus nor the 4K does. It’s also the better fit for a slow upload connection. Whichever you pick, budget about $50 a year for Ring Solo, because without it none of these cameras save a single clip.