Using existing old-school chimes

[WS_555]

I got a 2nd-gen Arlo doorbell recently.   I liked that it supports the wired functionality.   However I apparently-incorrectly assumed that mean it work *with* my existing doorbell system, not *replace* it, i.e. disable the whole system.   Apparently the wired option does use the power (20V AC in my case) to keep the battery charged which is nice, however when  you press the button it doesn't close the circuit and ring the physical doorbell.   Is there any way to make this work?

[jguerdat]

If you short the connection (touch the wires together) at the doorbell does the existing chime work?

[WS_555]

It does, yes.   So - seems like it wouldn't be *that* hard for Arlo to include a circuit / function that does that.

That said - I know there is more to it than just a simple open/close circuit.   When I short it to ring the doorbell - I have to hold it shorted for the doorbell to finish its sequence (about 8 seconds or so), whereas the original button you don't have to hold - just press it; so it has some kind of "hold" mechanism built in.   Also the other doorbell circuit comes into play somehow - it's not working now; so apparently there's some kind of pass-through voltage that allows both circuits to work; it's not just a straight open/close thing.

It's not a huge deal - just would be nice to still have the old chimes still working in addition to the on-phone alert.   E.g. if the phone's in the other room.  Of course I know you can buy an additional Arlo chime.   May do that at some point, though seems redundant, and I'm guessing is electronic not the nice-sounding old-school physical chime.

[StephenB]

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@WS_555 wrote:

It does, yes.   So - seems like it wouldn't be *that* hard for Arlo to include a circuit / function that does that.

They do of course - the push button on the doorbell.  The problem here is that isn't working for some reason.

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@WS_555 wrote:

That said - I know there is more to it than just a simple open/close circuit.   When I short it to ring the doorbell - I have to hold it shorted for the doorbell to finish its sequence (about 8 seconds or so), whereas the original button you don't have to hold - just press it; so it has some kind of "hold" mechanism built in.   

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You must have a digital chime.  A purely mechanical chime is just a quick sound, and the doorbell switch can just be a momentary contact. 

Digital chimes do require longer duration power, and there is more than one way that can be done.  In the case of the Arlo doorbells, there is always some power flowing through the circuit even when the button is not being pressed.  That is not enough to trigger the chime (even if that is a mechanical chime).  But it is enough to allow the digital chime to play the whole melody.  And it also is needed to allow the battery in the doorbell to trickle-charge.

First double-check the doorbell settings in the app, to make sure that the doorbell isn't in silent mode.  IMO this isn't all that intuitive - if the switch is turned off in the app, then the doorbell should be working normally.  (I'd personally find it more intuitive if the switch was turned on when the chime is supposed to be enabled).

But it sounds like this function never worked for you.  Was there a sequence in the install where you were able to select a digital chime?  If you somehow missed that, you might need to remove the doorbell from the account, do a hardware reset, and then add it back.  Do the hardware reset by holding down the reset button on the back for about 15 seconds (until the LED ring flashes white).

[WS_555]

Thanks for the info.   I'll have to check it out, though it may be a few days e.g. next weekend.

Couple of reasons why I thought it wasn't designed to work:

• I thought I read somewhere online that it was a function not supported; can't find that now.   It seems like most places that discuss the hardwired set up only mention the wiring for the purpose of charging the battery; I don't see anywhere that says "your existing chime system will continue to work"
• I have a relative who also has an Arlo video doorbell, and it didn't work for them (chimes stopped working after installing the wired video doorbell); this person said they didn't think it was intended to work.

I'm actually not sure if I have mechanical or digital - it's encased and I haven't taken the cover off.  I assumed mechanical because it didn't "sound" digital but I could be wrong.    This is in 50-year-old house; the doorbell buttons and wiring I'm fairly sure are original, though the chimes may be newer.

[StephenB · Accepted solution]

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@WS_555 wrote:

I'm actually not sure if I have mechanical or digital - it's encased and I haven't taken the cover off.  I assumed mechanical because it didn't "sound" digital but I could be wrong.    This is in 50-year-old house; the doorbell buttons and wiring I'm fairly sure are original, though the chimes may be newer.

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Maybe take the cover off and post the model info.

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@WS_555 wrote:

• I thought I read somewhere online that it was a function not supported; can't find that now.   It seems like most places that discuss the hardwired set up only mention the wiring for the purpose of charging the battery; I don't see anywhere that says "your existing chime system will continue to work"

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It is certainly supposed to work.  See page 13 of the manual:

• https://www.arlo.com/content/dam/arlo/2024-content/support/user-manual/doorbells_essential_2k/Doorbe...

"The Video Doorbell offers several chime options. To hear a ring when someone presses your
doorbell, you can connect the doorbell to an Arlo Chime 2, your home’s traditional chime, a
smart home voice assistant system, and your mobile device (for SIP video call)"

That said, some traditional chimes might not be compatible.  Regrettably, Arlo doesn't maintain a list - but Ring does, and if a traditional chime doesn't work with Ring doorbells, it almost certainly won't work with Arlo either. Ring's list is here:

• https://ring.com/support/articles/80uzg/In-home-chime-kit-compatibility-list-for-battery-and-Power-o...

[WS_555]

Thanks a ton!   Will be taking a look.

[WS_555]

Messed around with it last weekend.

Turns out my older doorbell is digital not mechanical (I was wondering, given how small it is- sounds really good actually!).    It's a NuTone LA600WH.    That's on the compatibility list for Ring.

I did find that there's an Arlo setting for the chimes actually - didn't realize.   It allows for Mechanical, Digital, or Neither; it was set to Neither by default.   I tried Mechanical at first but that didn't work (figured it might since my actual button I'm sure is original from 50 years ago, even though the chimes are newer).   However there is a "Digital" setting, and lo and behold that works.   It even has a setting for how many seconds to "hold" the circuit closed (my old physical button internalized this, so the person didn't have to hold the button down while it was chiming).

So - it works - thanks for the help.

One thing that it did break though is the two-button thing - my other back-door button doesn't work now.  (I think the two-button system was such that the physical button allowed some voltage leakage between the two circuits, which now doesn't happen).    However that button never gets used, so I'm not concerned about that in my case.  

[StephenB]

I'm glad I was able to help.