Posts made by dbchase69_31542880493761

This firmware is not ready to be installed on the cameras. As noted by the above issues another issue is once again, the inability to turn off the motion detection on the RLC-420-5MP as after disabling the option is re-enabled.

Reolink really needs to get it together to stay competitive. We're literally heading into the realm of YEARS of broken firmware upgrades.

I am seriously thinking of junking all these cameras and buying a competing brand.

March 14/2020 Firmware for the 5MP cameras:

RLC-410-5MP here

RLC-420-5MP here

The March firmware functions as expected. This is only for the 5 megapixel versions.

The newly released firmware that replaced the previous June update that borked the RLC-410-5MP and the RLC-420-5MP did fix the broken FTP upload but is still having at least one glaring issue:

The inability to turn off Motion Detection.

You uncheck the box for motion detection & click Save, then click to any other area of the Settings, go back to motion detection, and the box has magically been enabled again. The save button is clearly not saving the preference, and this was a bug that was present in the June firmware as well. I guess it got missed.

A temporary workaround is to clear the motion zone.

My RLC-420-5MP for some reason refuses to accept the new *.pak file at all, and won't update at all, but that seems just as well as the firmware still seems to have failed QC again. Restored all cameras back to the March firmware.

Hi, different cameras have different model names and different hardware versions.
When you download the firmware, please compare both the model name and the hardware version.
If you install the incorrect firmware, it may damage the camera functions.
You can find the latest firmware on Reolink website: https://support.reolink.com/hc/en-us/sections/360002374874-Firmware

Yes cukeuk, make sure you get the correct version.

Also, Cynthia, Reolink should NOT remove the download links for the previous version of firmware when new versions are released. They should always have at least one prior version available for when this kind of thing happens. And it is not the first time this has happened. You'd likely have far less anger directed at Reolink by doing this one simple thing.

How can I download this new firmware for RLC-410W?

You can get it for the RLC-410-5MP here

Does it get broken up into ”chunks”?

[/quote]

Yes, you can specify chunk size for videos from 10MB-1GB. I currently have a 4TB USB3.0 drive attached to my router (which runs the FTP server) and recording 3 of my 4 cameras 24/7 the drive will last 1.5-2 weeks before it has filled up.

[quote quote=611445]When you downgrade, be sure to check the ‘update configurations' box. I forgot to check it on one of my cameras and got locked out. Had to hard reset with the physical reset button.

[/quote]

I have had firmware issues with these cameras twice now. I did not have to do this with any of my cameras and they are functioning fine. YMMV however.



[quote quote=611251]How do I downgrade to the previous version?

Email support and "demand" the previous version be sent to you. I managed to get mine yesterday through careful Google searches, since it took me 3 days of emailing with support before they relented the last time I had firmware issues.

I do not know why like most companies they do not just leave the links to the previous version active on their downloads page for situations like this. You think by now they would realize that removing them is not helping their customers at all.

As far as I am aware, continuous recording is only available when cameras are connected to an NVR.
Sorry to be slow to understand. The cameras WERE recording correctly before the firmware upgrade, correct?

Negative. I have been continuously recording 24/7 on my cameras since the day I installed them. That's what enabling the blue schedule (NORMAL) does. Green is (MD) motion detection. White is off.

Yes, the cameras were working flawlessly before the update. The issues were apparent immediately after the cameras rebooted.
Screen-Shot-2020-06-06-at-9.43.49-PM.png

I completely neglected to inquire if FTP was working correctly before the firmware update?
My FTP is set up for ”clear video and picture”, and both show up.
I have not tried ”fluent” or ”balanced” (Bought 5MP cameras, so I want 5MP!)

You said you have your FTP set up to receive "motion recordings", I have mine set up to record 24/7 (blue squares on schedule) and it will not upload anything inside the directories on the FTP using the new firmware.

Mine are also set to do clear video & picture.

Everything running smooth now after downgrade.

I keep past versions of camera firmware in order to ”go back” if I need to, but so far have never done so.

This I should have done. However, Google has not let me down again and I managed to acquire the March 14th version of the firmware directly from Reolink's servers for 410-5MP & 420-5MP, despite their attempts to hide previous versions.

Downgraded all cameras affected back to this version and instantly I no longer have stuttering video, and all cameras report "PASSED" on the FTP test and are recording properly.

My home feels better protected again.

I updated firmware on two RLC-410-5MP and two RLC-420-5MP cameras on 6/3. Process went smoothly and cameras function well. No stuttering video on live play or playback through client app. I also FTP motion recordings to my PC (using Filezilla FTP server) and they continue to show up. Those recordings play well also.

I keep past versions of camera firmware in order to ”go back” if I need to, but so far have never done so.

Glad to hear yours has gone smoothly. Nothing changed on my end, settings wise. Only the update, and then the cameras no longer record to the FTP, the FTP Test "Fails" on those cameras now, yet the "Test" directory is created on the server, and the daily recording directories are created, but they are empty, no recordings are being created. The choppy video is also only on the updated cameras.

My RLC-411-5MP that has been on year old firmware due to no updates for it, continues to function and record fine, FTP Test = "PASS" and there are no issues.

Seemingly the firmware update went smoothly, no errors and cameras rebooted, but then they behave like this.

I'm stumped.

Cynthia,

I have sent a detailed email describing how your firmware update is faulty & not recommended to be installed.

They will not be "helping me to solve" anything. The issue is your firmware, again.

Cameras are nice, but the software quality over the years often leaves much to be desired.

I "upgraded" the firmware for my 2x RLC-410-5MP and my RLC-420-5MP today and they are completely ruined.

They were completely fine on the firmware from March. Now I have stuttering video and connecting to FTP is no longer working properly.

The FTP Test comes back "Failed", but I can see the "test" directory it created on the server. Enabling FTP results in the proper directories being made, however no files get uploaded.

My RLC-411WS-5MP did not receive an "update" and it continues to work fine. FTP test is "Successful" and files are saved as normal.

You need to put out a updated firmware ASAP as 3 of my cameras are not able to record to the FTP server now, and the video is all choppy, or send me the March firmware to downgrade.

Yeah I wasn't going to have my cameras useless for days or weeks while they "confirm the issue".

They already provided me with the previous firmware without this step.

Well, next year is almost here. Let's get on it.

Getting lots of dropouts on live viewing through the MacOS app or through the web interface on the latest firmware. Black screen with spinning wheel trying to reload live view. Have tried contacting Reolink Support for a copy of the previous version firmware, which seemed to work fine, however the person answering my emails is giving me the runaround. At first they asked which version of the firmware I wanted, then replied to me that no Reolink cameras can be rolled back to the previous version, which is complete BS, as you can read on these forums many people rolling back to previous versions when they have an issue. It takes nearly a full day to receive a reply from support. So far have wasted 2 days going back & forth in email with this person, and they refuse to send me the firmware. This is going to HIGHLY discourage me from adding any further Reolink cameras to my system. Such poor support.

Carl,

No one is asking Reolink to provide support for 3rd party antennas.

Why would anyone "purchase" new antennas from Reolink if the old ones are "broken" or in some way not functioning?

These cameras are new. Everything, including the antennas should be under full warranty.

Asking people to purchase new pieces to your product that come defective, is quite shady.

Techtoo 2.4/5.8Ghz 7dbi IP Camera Antennas

There is no way I have to verify I am getting the advertised 7dbi gain.

Nor am I going to bother.

As I explained above, I went from not being able to detect my own WiFi network half the time, and certainly not detecting anyone else's in my neighbourhood, and having 1 bar of signal strength in the Reolink app (which is the camera detecting my router), to detecting probably 15+ different WiFi networks in my neighbourhood and having full bars of signal strength.

That's a good enough test for me. YMMV.

I have an RLC-411WS 5MP and the camera, I will say, is amazing for video quality. However, like you, I had issues with it out of the box for WiFi. Either zero networks would be detected at all, despite my AirPort Extreme 6th Gen sitting 10 feet away, or it would briefly detect the network, but crash/reboot the camera while trying to connect. I was going to RMA the camera, but then for some unknown reason, the WiFi sprang to life, and connected, sort of.

Even with this herculean feat, and with the camera "connected", it would show no networks detected in the WiFi Settings, and hitting the Scan button would still cause the camera to crash at times. But I got it connected, mounted outside, but then I also had to move my AE Base Station around so the camera had a signal. It now sits in a window, about 20ft from the camera. Even at this close range, with line of sight and zero obstructions (as glass does not obstruct WiFi signals), the WiFi Settings showed the camera only had 1 bar out of 4 of signal level detected from my router. In reality, barely usable, lots of drop outs on the live streams.

But I was not yet defeated. I had read somewhere on the net that with WiFi IP cameras, often the antennas that you receive with them, are junk. You'll be lucky to even have 1.5-2db gain out of them. And it seems, these ones are no different.

So after scouring trusty old Amazon, I came up with a set of 7db gain antennas that fit IP cameras for $12. They are black and not white, and larger than the originals, but they fit & who cares, if they worked.

After installing these antennas, the camera is now able to detect every WiFi network in the neighbourhood, and in the camera WiFi settings, clicking "Scan" no longer crashes the camera while searching, and my own WiFi network is detected at full bars. Just overall everything seems to work properly now with a good signal.

So for a few bucks I was able to conquer my WiFi issues, and as I add cameras, I will probably just change out the antennas.

Hope this story might help anyone else with issues.

Adobe Flash is depreciated, no longer recommended to install on any OS, even Adobe is done with it.

Reolink used HTML5, and then you disabled it, and went back to Flash.

There are many reviews on the internet of how nice Reolink's HTML5 implementation looked and performed in the browser.

Flash is garbage. Enable HTML5 in Safari/Chrome/Firefox etc...