u/elli3gk

TLDR: what suggestions for an inexpensive, battery operated, doorbell/camera system compatible with TMo do you have, OR a cost effective solution to the Ring issue with not recording video?

Several months ago I moved out of a complex controlled by a particular ISP and was grateful to not only save money, but get more reliable/faster internet with TMo 5G. It's been great; gaming, streaming, compatibility of devices, etc were fantastic despite other ISPs claims. All of my cameras (3 Ring, 1 Blink, 1 Furbo, all with subscriptions) were working great, which is awesome because I rely on them for safety of my home and my elderly dogs.

About 3 weeks ago, Ring stopped recording and giving live access. I did all of the troubleshooting available online and through my own research. After almost 2.5 hours on the phone with Ring tech support yesterday, I was told this is a known issue between Ring and TMo (my Blink and Furbo have no problems recording or live) and there is simply no fix available. A few other Reddit posts confirm this. I'm expected to just keep paying my Ring subscription without the availability of the service, or even basic camera functions that don't come with the subscription.

Multiple of my neighbors have the same doorbell and stick up cams from Ring as I do, with TMo as their internet provider, and have no issues. My only other ISP option is not one I want to go back to. I don't really have several hundred dollars right now to purchase a whole new camera system, but it is a safety necessity for me, so I am hoping anyone might have found a work around for this or has a decent system recommendation similar to Ring's battery operated options that will not cause me to invest another few hundred dollars in cameras.

I remember a roommate getting this call almost a decade ago when it was a relatively new scam. She had recently resolved some warrants, but the red flags were pretty obvious then (non-American accent, no real information, etc.) even though she had done some communicating over the phone with the department who had issued the warrants.

Well, today I got the call. It came from a restricted number (I believed scammers specifically spoofed the number/caller ID, not used restrcited numbers) and a vague voicemail from a detective with a very distinct West Texas accent in the county I'm from. The thing is, I actually did receive a jury summons from that court almost a year ago that was dismissed because I no longer live there. I also posted bail for a friend of mine in that county a few years ago, so the thought it had to do with that also crossed my mind.

I did what I thought was my due diligence by calling the county directly to inquire about/report it, and she actually confirmed yes, this was a legitimate detective for the civil division and yes the number provided in the voicemail was to that division's office. She transfers me to the office, I leave a message. A bit later get the call again from a restricted number. He brings up the summons from last year and my failure to appear/contempt of court citations (not active warrants) for missing a hearing. He gives the citation numbers and laws associated with them, blah blah blah, then gets to the parts I've read about consistently, phrases like "juvenile case so it can't be discussed/you won't find it in public record", "pay a civility bond to get a signature analysis", "must be cash payment", etc. so I hang up.

I have no idea how my leaving a message on what should have been a government voicemail got back to them. Obviously the name of the detective and the phone number are public record so them utilizing those isn't unheard of, but leaving the number to that specific department in the voicemail isn't something I'm familiar with. I'm assuming AI was used to make the conversation flow "normally" and give him the correct accent. He did not sound like he was in a call center environment. I have no idea how they knew about the summons I received last year. It is all just getting very strange out there, so be careful!