Posts made by Crimp On_62210811129

There are other cameras with an antenna connector on the outside of the case. It is relatively simple to disconnect the antenna from those and attach an antenna with a long cord. (Argos Eco is one.) The Argus 2 WiFi antenna is located inside the case, and is probably wired directly to the radio chip. Even if someone could get the case apart and locate the antenna, it would take a lot of technical knowledge to connect an external antenna, run the cord through the case, and seal it back up again. Would totally void the warranty.

I suggest deploying the Argus 2 somewhere else and installing an Argos Eco with an external antenna. The Eco needs only a single 2.4G antenna.

"As I try to explain it works within my own network. I can see all cameras etc. Everything is fine. But if I move to another network and try remote access via internet it doesn´t work anymore..."

BatMan is correct. Provided that you have only one router (i.e. not both a modem/router from the ISP and a router of your own) then you must "Port Forward" an external port to a camera port. However, most routers forward a specific external port to ONE computer inside the LAN. So, if you have five cameras you want to access, then you have to set up five forwarding rules. To access the camera web interfaces (HTTP), you would do something like this:

External port 81, forward to (IP of camera 1), port 80
External port 82, forward to (IP of camera 2), port 80
External port 83, forward to (IP of camera 3), port 80

Then, when you want to access camera 1, you would web browse to: http://(your public IP):81

Do a similar thing if port 9000 is the destination. set up forwards from 9001 to 9000, 9002 to 9000, 9003 to 9000, etc.

And... Most of us have Dynamic IP addresses from our internet suppliers. In order to ensure that we always know what our current IP address is, we sign up for a DDNS (Dynamic DNS) service (I use No-IP.com There are lots of them.)

This all gets pretty complicated and tedious, which is why the camera manufacturers have turned to the "cloud" solution. Instead of carrying around a list of "Camera 4 is port xxx4. My public IP is now..." we just open the app and it shows us the "name" of each camera. We click, and we're connected.

I have had good results with questions like this by emailing support@reolink.com. Answering questions is their job. On this forum, most of the participants are "users like me" who have random knowledge and opinions, but no access to engineers.

Depending on the model, I believe the IR lights are controlled by a light sensor. In other words, "It's too dark, so I'll turn on the IR lights now." On some models, there is a setting to prevent the IR lights from every coming on. I actually use that feature because I realized that flying insects are drawn to the IR lights and show up as VERY BRIGHT IMAGES to the camera, which records them as "motion." What I did was purchase separate "IR illuminators" and mounted them at least 5-6 ft. away from the camera. Bugs can fly near them all they want and do not influence my cameras.

For remote access, cameras have to be added to the Windows client app using their UID's, not IP addresses. The UID is the key into Reolink's "cloud" that the app queries to find the camera.

If a person were to breach security (i.e. learn the UID/password, they could use the app to turn recording back on.)
The Reolink cameras all include a "schedule" function of one type or another. You could, for example, set the cameras to record only when you expect the house to be empty and not record when you expect someone to be home.
A number of systems have enabled "geofencing", where the camera turns on only when the cell phone is away, and turns off when the cell phone returns. This, of course, is little help when more than one person could be home.
The Simplisafe camera addresses this issue by having a way to cover the lens (https://simplisafe.com/simplicam-security-camera)

I am afraid that this issue is too complicated for simple solutions. "I want the cameras to view and record when no one is home (security). But, I don't want it to view or record when my wife or I are home. But, I do want it to view/record when a housekeeper comes in (and turns off the alarm!), or when the kids are home with a babysitter, or...."

Reolink is a fantastic purchase for price and quality. In terms of software development, not so much. If it doesn't do what you want, chances are it never will.

Absolutely, 100% guaranteed, no.
Reasonably certain, yes.
Unless you have deliberately opened ports through your home router, the only pathway into the modem is through the connection that the camera has set up to the Reolink cloud using the camera UID. Then, the person wanting to view the camera has to have the password to log in.

When I asked Reolink support to troubleshoot an issue for me, they needed to know the UID (There are thousands of cameras. How do they know which one is mine? UID), and they had me set a temporary password on the camera so they could log in. (I actually created a new login ID/password. When they finished, I erased both.)

So, if someone learns the UID and password of your camera, they can install the Reolink app and look at your camera feed.

You could be correct. My Sony Android streams both live and playback from my RLC-410, RLC-420 and from my (original) Argus cameras. What a bummer!

Might help to identify by model number the cameras that the app cannot show recording from.

The specification page I looked at very clearly says "Web Browser - No". Here's a link to the PDF version of the specs:
https://home-cdn.reolink.us/files/docs/specs/E1-IP-Camera-Specifications.pdf

What I see is that the camera works with the Reolink "app", not with a web browser.

The difference between "ordinary" and "administrative" users is that only administrators can modify settings. Ordinary can only view. Playback is part of view. If you happen across some NVR that has a provision to allow only live view, please post about it.

There are any number of web sites explaining the different types of twisted pair ethernet cables. If you want to "future proof" to the extreme, then Cat8 cables may be worth the extra cost, especially considering that labor cost will be a huge percentage of the total installation cost.

HOWEVER, even 8MP cameras ("4K") will not come close to the capacity of ordinary Cat 5e or Cat 6 cable. There are usually markings on ethernet cable. What do the marking say? (All it says on the web site is "18m network cable".) Whatever cable they include in the box is certainly "good enough."

Looks like only certain models of Argo support the "Look Back" feature, and only if the camera is plugged into a power source, and the solar panel does not count as a power source.

https://kb.arlo.com/000062053/How-does-the-Look-Back-feature-work-on-my-Arlo-camera

The Argus PT has only a 2.4G radio in it. (Most of the battery powered cameras I have seen are 2.4G.)
Even if it is physically possible to install a 5G antenna, all that will do is produce a "miss match" which will reduce performance.

The video resolution on the Argus PT is 1080p at 15 frames/sec. 2.4G WiFi is perfectly capable of providing enough bandwidth to carry that signal. My original Argus cameras are connected at 2.4G and they work just fine. If the camera is reporting "full bars" and does not transmit video correctly, there is likely some other issue. I would contact Reolink support directly at mailto://support@reolink.com

Perhaps there is a misunderstanding. When the device setting "Alarm" is used to define the "Active Area", only motion within the area triggers a recording on my RLC-410, RLC-410-5MB, RLC-320-5MB cameras. I have some flowers close to the front door that are always moving in the breeze and a hummingbird feeder that the camera picks up. I excluded those parts of the image and no longer get recordings for motion there.

That was actually one of the gimmicks someone used to keep insects from triggering 'motion'. He blocked out squares all over the picture field so that a very small object could not affect enough of the picture at one time to trigger recording, but a LARGE object, such as a person, would block out enough of the picture to do so. (I never tried that step. I installed separate infrared lights so that insects were not drawn to my camera LEDs.)

I would contact support@reolink.com The Reolink Client software on my Windows 10 PC is able to display and manage a total of 7 Reolink cameras: (1) RLC-410WS, (2) RLC-420 PoE, (2) RLC-410 PoE and (2) Argus (the original). I set schedules, download recordings, change settings, etc. etc. Don't get me wrong. I have some real disappointments with the Windows Client, and have made suggestions several times that "go nowhere." But it certainly functions.

It is probably worth asking how these cameras are being added to the client: by IP or by UIC?

The Windows Client has a tab for Network Advanced Settings. There are options to set the "schedule" under email, FTP, etc. etc. Also, one could put the sensitivity down to 1 for the hours when no recording is wanted and that would eliminate almost everything.

I agree 100% that the thing that frustrates users the most is motion detection. Alas, I fear there will not be a change in this feature any time soon. It's pretty obvious that whoever programmed the camera firmware thought this "sensitivity" plus different hours of the day, plus exclusion zones was the way to go. I doubt that person even works for Reolink, and may no longer work at the place that designed the camera. Massive companies like Wyse have a lot more leverage over engineering than smaller firms like Reolink.

There are a whole bunch of things that customers have been asking for that seem to always be "on the horizon, but not here yet." Things like IFTTT integration, geofencing, what can be put in the Cloud, What countries the Cloud operates in, changes to the Windows/Mac client, how IP addresses are configured, changes to how much is recorded. The list goes on and on. BUT... there is no facility where customers can do things like support/reject or vote on ideas.

I knew going in that purchasing this brand rather than the "Big Names" that I see in all the stores was taking a chance. So far, it does what I want and it didn't cost nearly what 4MP cameras (now 5MP) did from the "Big Boys."

With the benefit of hindsight, the only two things I regret are (1) not "biting the bullet" to pull ethernet cable and install PoE cameras rather than WiFi, and (2) dabbling with the battery cameras. I now have two of them hooked up to USB plugs (using the hidden USB inspection port). Could just as easily done PoE, but I had the cameras already.

Would I buy Reolink again? I think so, yes.

During setup, when adding cameras, the password has to be entered for every camera, but AFTER SETUP, when simply opening the app, it does not ask for passwords, correct?

My Android app works this way. Add cameras once, access over and over.

My router allows me to "assign" IP addresses to WiFi devices so that when they ask for an IP, the DHCP server gives them the address I specified every time. All of my "permanent" devices (TV, desktops, printers, IP cameras, thermostat, DVR, etc.) have assigned IP's.