No iPad app?
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I bought a new Reolink Doorbell cam to replace my Ring , currently I have both installed and loving the image quality of the Reolink but I've just discovered there is no iPad app, the last thread here was 5 years ago, this is a deal breaker for me as I rely on this in my Garden office, the Ring Doorbell pops up in landscape more, it shows all captured video in a single timeline & it really easy to operate, but the Reolink is an expanded iPhone old app, so quality is lost straight away, I have to swivel to portraight mode, or try and press full screen but recordings are in blocks that are hard to see, its basically quite poor in comparison so I am thinking of returning the Reolink, can support tell me if there is an iPad app coming soon? it's quite unbelievable there isn't one especially as it's obvious people have been asking for a while.
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@boomish_893913578897601 Submit your request to support on support @ reolink . Com
So far only android/windows/Ios and Mac. We are asking for Linux client too. -
@joseph_1979 Dam I may as well return it then, tried it today & it's hopeless where as the Ring simply works.
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We use the iOS client from the App Store. My wife has it on her iPad Pro without issue. Yes, the app is default to portrait mode as is the iPad's default orientation. You must rotate to landscape for full screen. We have never had an issue with video quality (we set ours to HIGH) even over cellular.
Change is often times difficult with software especially if you have developed a routine. We came from Vivint so we find the Reolink app refreshing even with its quirks. I encourage you to give it a chance. Cheers.2View 3 replies-
Hey @chopstix_887064913674433, thanks for the reply! After seeing the price hike for the Ring subscription, I’ll definitely keep trying. I found the camera’s web page today, which is better than the app. I just need to figure out how to launch it like the app. But my Doorbell woes continue. This week, I noticed that all notifications stopped working. I ran a test in the app, and it showed a notification, but nothing triggered it. So, I reset the camera and deleted the apps from my office Mac and iPad. Then, I tried to get it working with my iPhone. After a lot of menu fiddling, it started working. But then I discovered that it doesn’t work over cellular. Like, seriously, how much trouble is this doorbell to set up? I work in IT! I checked all the network settings, UPnP, ports are set, HTTP, and HTTPS. I didn’t have to do any of this with Ring. Now, I’m wondering if there’s a fault with the doorbell since it’s so intermittent. I love all the configuration options, but it seems like such flaky software. But the iPad support is the real killer, even if I do get it working. The trouble with the app being portrait is that my iPad is set up in my office in landscape in a holder. All my apps work in landscape, which is the main point of iPad apps. The only things that are portrait are iPhone apps when there isn’t a proper iPad app. It’s really disappointing for a company not to support their products when the software is integral to the hardware. The Ring is simple to set up and just works, while the Reolink seems overly complicated and clunky, but the image is way better. So, if you say I can get used to it and make it work, then it’ll be fine. I’ve attached a few pics to show what I mean.
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@boomish_893913578897601 Which Doorbell cam is this? WIFI/POE or battery. I have both the WIFi and the battery doorbells. With the WIFI I have no issues at all. But with the battery doorbell, there is a delay of around 5 to 8s to log on. Push notifications works fine for both.
You need some time to get accustom to Reolink cams. Consider yourself changing from Juniper/Fortinet to Cisco.
I use Android and Windows clients and I don't use their NVR. I integrate them with HA and ftp clips to an ftp server. The nicest part of Reolink is that there is no subscription and all functions are onboard. But I do agree that they lack in software and functionalities. We have been telling them what we need to have and improve. We voice our concerns but it's up to them. There are lots of camera suppliers and customers may easily migrate if they see a better supplier with better cameras/software and better customer service. Business is not about quantity but quality. -
@boomish_893913578897601 I too noticed that ALL my iOS clients stopped getting notifications sometime in the past week. The solution was to delete the clients and reinstall. In my case, I have all my cameras connected to a Home Hub Pro so the app reinstall was easy... just connect to the HHP and back in business. If you don't have a HH/NVR, you'll have to add each camera back to the app. As for cellular, when the notifications stopped it stopped on both Wi-Fi and cellular but after the reinstall, it started working on both again. If you can access the camera via the app while on cellular then there should not be anything preventing notifications over cellular. At least not that I am aware of.
Yes, understand now what you mean by it not being a native iPad app... apps camera preview screen does indeed stay on portrait. We have multiple cameras and my wife uses the grid view feature which always follows the orientation of the her tablet so it has never been an issue for her. If you only have the doorbell, make sure in the app settings to check the box "Auto Live View". It will launch the last used camera (in your case, the doorbell) automatically in whatever orientation your tablet is in. Hang in there! -
@joseph_1979 Thanks for the reply Joesph, yea I figured I’m just being impatient but it seems so flaky so inconsistent, I rest the software and the network router & they seem to be playing nicer now, even cellular started working but it takes forever to connect or just fails, I timed the connection to around 5 mins! it’s bizarre how slow it is compared to the Ring, I presume that’s the Reolink servers ? Checked all the ports, all working via UPnP fine. I’m now considering leaving the ring up & using both doorbells, just use the Reolink to record. I haven’t looked into Home Assistant yet, we don’t have that many devices apart from a few Alexa’s and smart switches but yes I feel the ftp will be the way to go for storing files , might make the whole thing easier with it being local. Appreciate the encouragement, I’ve nearly picked this away so many times.
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@boomish_893913578897601 Uh patience is a key to success in your life.
So if you are connected to the same subnet, they should be fast to access esp POE cams and WIFI mains powered cam. For battery there is a delay since only the PIR and the WIFI reception ccts are only active. Try to connect the camera directly to the router and check it out. If fast then there is something wrong in your network.
On mobile you need to be on 4G/5G as 3G (HSPA) offers much less bandwidth (unless the mobile operator provides HSPA+ but most operators are decommissioning 3G to provide more spectrum for the 5G). Mobile technology is nice to work in esp with the proliferation of IMS. And it is fun when there are issues on such network and you have all the probes to capture traces and analyse.
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