Argus 2 Network Issues

wrcsubers

Hello Everyone!

I just received an Argus 2 and I am very happy with it. So far, it has exceeded my expectations as far as build quality, features and operation. I have a newborn and was looking for a Nanny Cam and I already have 4 Reolink IP Cameras (1x RLC-410s, 3x RLC-411s) so I thought it would be nice to use the same app that I already use and have a more streamlined approach to viewing all my cameras. So far, so good...

Out of purpose and privacy's sake, I have blocked all my IP Cameras from the Internet from day one. I know that Reolink says there is no privacy concerns and that you cannot access the cameras without the UID and Password, I don't feel safe with that information alone (and neither should you!). All my cameras are currently outside, which doesn't really bug me as far as privacy goes, but now that I have an Argus 2 inside the house with a microphone, I won't be letting it out to the Internet. Okay, so here is my problem....

Network Setup:

Internet -> Cable Modem -> Router -> PoE Switch -> PoE IP Cameras
----------------------------------------------------------> Wired Network Devices
----------------------------------------------------------> Wireless Access Point -> Argus 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------> Wireless Network Devices

Camera IPs: 192.168.0.20 - 192.168.0.24 (These are assigned by DHCP Reservation, you can assign static IPs on RLC Cameras, but not on the Argus 2. Side note, you can also NOT modify default ports for communication either.)

Host/Viewer IPs: 192.168.0.100-192.168.0.150

VPN Client IPs: 192.168.0.80-192.168.0.85

I currently access all cameras locally on my Wifi/LAN without issue. When I need to access them remotely, I connect to a VPN hosted on my home router. This method works perfectly for all my RLC-41X Cameras, but I am unable to access the Argus 2 when I'm on the VPN. All of these devices are on the same subnet 192.168.0.0/24 and same VLAN.

When I Wireshark the RLC-41Xs I see traffic going to and from my iPhone on my Wifi, Destination and Source IPs are correct. However, when I Wireshark the Argus 2, it only seems to be looking for IP: 54.210.7.156 (which seems to be an Amazon AWS Server). Even though I'm streaming video from the camera to my phone, I don't see any packets going between the two devices. Very odd...

Can someone shed some light on what is going on here?

Thanks in advance!

Bob

You're having this problem because of the different working mode of Argus 2.
See, the other cameras (RLC-41Xs) works with your method (VPN) as they connect based on IP address. While for Argus 2, or other battery-powered models, they don't use IP address login method. They use UID. That's why it's trying to access the Amazon AWS Server trying to establish P2P connection between your phone and your camera.

wrcsubers

Okay... but...

Local Wifi Connection IP Address of my phone: 192.168.0.115/24
Remote VPN Connection IP Address of my phone: 192.168.0.80/24

Argus 2 DHCP-Static IP: 192.168.0.24/24

These two connection methods assign my device to the same network/subnet. Why wouldn't I be able to see the camera from one and not the other?

The Amazon AWS server is completely out of the picture as the Argus 2 cannot in any way reach the internet (except for email alerts through port 587).