The Ting Sensor is a smart device that requires a broadband internet connection to communicate with the Ting servers and enable your Ting Service. As a 24x7 service, your sensor requires a stable internet connection that is always 'on.' Today, Ting works best with the most common broadband connectivity solutions in U.S. homes, e.g., cable modems/routers and fiber optic connections.
Please note: Even if you have a good broadband connection with your Internet provider but turn off your router regularly, your Ting Service will not operate as designed.
Which types of Internet connections are NOT recommended for Ting?
In general mobile hotspots, metro-area Wi-Fi, satellite, DSL, and dial-up are not recommended for your Ting Sensor. Please see below for more detail, including a newer trend in Mobile Carrier Home Internet service offerings*.
- Mobile Carrier Home Internet. Some newer home Internet offerings from Mobile (Cellular) Carriers are not equivalent to traditional broadband solutions in that they are focused on 'attended' use cases (streaming, web surfing, gaming) and place restrictions on what you as a homeowner can connect to the Internet, which in turn may impact or outright block traffic for home automation, security and smart home devices, including Ting. When considering home Internet choices, please be sure to inspect the terms and conditions of each service.
- More traditional cellular mobile hotspots (Mi-Fis, jetpacks, etc.) are intended for 'bringing the internet with you.' While a great solution for a good, secure Internet connection while away from home, these solutions are not generally designed to be replacements for at-home, always-on Internet. While most mobile hotspot providers don't advise this upfront, you'll find in most community discussions that this is the prevailing wisdom. However, these mobile devices are good solutions for remote cabins and areas where broadband is unavailable. Again, however, they are generally not designed for 'always on' applications and for the full workload of an average home. In addition, data caps, throttling limits, and device limitations can impede a steady connection. So again, these are great tools for mobility and edge cases but are not well-suited for the Ting Service.
We'll note here that your Ting Sensor can work with these types of connections. However, mobile hotspots introduce variables that traditional broadband Internet connections don't; these variables reduce the probability of having a steady, always-on connection: your Ting Service could go offline periodically, which in turn means your home is not being monitored for electrical fire hazards. And, you'll be notified each time your Ting Service is offline (a standard feature of the 24x7 service). In effect, Ting may require higher-end data plans and may increase the cost of your mobile plan; many cellular services have strict limits on overall data volume and rate of data usage.
- Public, local community and regional Wi-Fi networks cannot be used with Ting. Aside from security concerns, these Wi-Fi network services are not reliable.
- Satellite internet is not considered to be a stable internet connection by most measures. Because of its 'path' between your home and the internet, it is prone to high 'latency.' As a result, providers can and do 'throttle' network speeds at times. Ting will still operate; however, the Ting app may generate internet outage notifications, or you may notice gaps in data on your power quality reports.
- DSL Connections. We do not recommend these types of connections for Ting since bandwidth is typically severely limited, and Ting performance could be negatively impacted.