Best posts made by md

@boci-levu, kpb, While it would be nice if all brands were compatible with each other, many of them use proprietary firmware and cannnot be mixed together. It's Ring, not Reolink that controls this. Ring is firmly holding on to their system and their paid monthly subscriptions. I doubt they or some other companies will allow their cams to be used with competing brands. Some cams that use ONVIF and RTSP can be hooked up to other firmware like Blue Iris, etc. and other NVR systems. Some Reolink cams can do this. I've heard of Doorbird. I don't know much about them except they are really expensive, no thanks. There must be at least 15 or more companies that sell doorbell cams. I'm glad Reolink is making one. I heard it will be released in the the third or fourth quarter this year. With Covid and supply chain issues...patience.

I have an E1 OD and just got a 823A. The E1 is not capable of looking straight down below itself, the 823A can. The 823A is mounted on my garage corner. It auto tracks left/right, right/left but It cannot track below itself, it stops following someone when they start to walk under it. It seems Reolink is fixing this with a firmware update. The 823A is an amazing camera, very fast and precise guard point, set point movement. I really like it so far. The E1 OD is a good cam for the price too, lots of features for the money, though it could use a firmware update to make returning to set points more accurate.

@nacster_1969 I agree with you sometimes companies release cameras or firmware too early and there are problems. Reolink openly says their firmware can have issues and they actually rely on users for feedback, they appreciate the responses from beta versions so they can improve it. It can be frustrating though. Some users do not update firmware right away, they have auto updates turned off. They wait for others to experience the problems, wait for fixes then update.

For examples of other brands problems, when Arlo released their first Ultra 4K camera it was so bad they had to pull it off the shelves, recalled it. One of Blink XT2 camera versions was also bad, they stopped selling it until a better version was released. Numerous brands have reported data breaches or security vulnerabilities, Amcrest, Wyze, Eufy, etc. A few years ago Ring fired several employees for spying on users live views. Look at the Google play store comments of the various camera brands. They ALL have complaints of apps not working! All camera brands have to keep up with the numerous software updates for computers, phones.

As you know, there are frequent recalls of vehicles for defective parts. So while it's annoying to sometimes have problems with Reolink firmware, they do eventually fix it. They want customers to be happy. I get regular updates with Windows on my PC. When my old PC updated from Windows 10 to Windows 11 it crashed. I had to buy a new computer.

Check out the Announcements, the doorbell is open for trials!! They want 40 and over 900 have already applied.

Sorry you are having false alarm issues with the Argus 3 cams. I have two of them. I also have two of the new 4K 810A cams with person vehicle detection. One covers my driveway, the other by my front door. They work good and the AI has helped reduce false alerts a lot. They don't trigger with blowing leaves or shadows. It's winter where I live and heavy snow still sets off alerts so I turn the sensitivity down when it snows. I don't know about spiders and flying insects yet, I'll wait til Spring for that. I think all camera brands may struggle in your situation with light reflecting off of water. Most cameras have sensor ranges of about 20-30 feet for humans and about 50' for vehicles. I suggest you point the cameras away from the water/trees and toward your building doorways? I'm jealous that you have water/palm tree views! I also have a Blink camera by my front door. It has street view and constantly sent notifications every time a car drove by or people walked on the sidewalk. I wanted the sensitivity high to catch movement asap by the door. So I put a piece of tape on the top half of the motion sensor to block out the street (Blink's motion zones do not work). Now it still has
has street view but I do not get notified with cars and pedestrians.

I know it's frustrating to buy cameras only to have them outdated in about a year. Technology changes fast. Companies put out new product models almost every year, TVs, computers, cell phones, etc. Competition wise, Reolink has to put out new models regularly or they will get behind the curve with new features like person human detection, perimeter alters, higher MP, auto tracking, etc. I like the Reolink brand. Their cameras are a good value for the money. I've had good customer service with them.

@nacster_1969 Sorry you're having problems. There's a few users on Reolink Reddit forum that are having issues as well. I have a one year old laptop running Windows 11, a Samsung phone Galaxy 22+ and the new RLK36 NVR. I haven't had any problems with the updates. I like the newest client and Android phone updates. So far the client does not freeze during live view like the prior version. A stretch mode button was added. The Android update brought back leaving the control icons visible unless you tap them.

I wonder if those having problems are running on older devices or having issues with third party apps like Home Assistant, etc. I'm just guessing. Someone had problems with Java and the Reolink updates. Someone else said on Reddit in the updates some of the camera settings by default turned off. Check the server and network settings for each cam if you can, UID on, http on, etc.

If you have not done so, you could contact Reolink support, start a ticket, specifically say what devices and firmware versions you are using, hopefully they can fix it.

https://support.reolink.com/hc/en-us/requests/new/

@reolink-fiona Thanks much! I'll download it and install.

What happened to Reolink planning to release a wifi plug in to control devices like lights? Did you decide not to make it? If so, that is very disappointing!!

@farmeunit_845196579786910 You can record to PC using the Reolink client. Find it clicking the upper right gear icon. But I don't think many do that. It requires a massive hard drive and fast processor to have reliability. Your hard drive will fill up faster than you think. Give it a try if you want. The Reolink client is best used for live view, changing settings, update firmware, not 24/7 recording in my opinion. If you only have a few cams recording motion only events it might be okay, more and you may have issues. It's better to record to a Reolinnk NVR or something like Synology. See below links:

https://support.reolink.com/hc/en-us/articles/360003593554-How-to-Record-to-PC-New-Client/

https://support.reolink.com/hc/en-us/articles/360006073894-How-Long-Can-Reolink-NVR-Record-for/

@martin-kistell_73972976554167 Yup, that's it where it will show. What's your phone app version? The new version is 4.34.0.5, they just released it. I downloaded the new 823A firmware to my computer, installed it to the Reolink client, it auto upgraded the phone app. In the phone app I initialized the 823A using the password, naming it etc. Or if you don't use Reolink client on your computer, you can try using the Device info page to upgrade firmware for the 823A but I've found sometimes that doesn't work. If that doesn't work download the whole app new version from Google Play for Android, or go to Apple for iphone.

@gaël-vanhuynegem_409453155840166 I have four 811a installed, I like them. During the 2021 winter when it got very cold, zero and below, one of them sometimes disconnected during the night and made the same sound as yours. When it warmed up a little during the day I could reconnect it. In the Spring, Summer, Fall it worked fine. Then this winter when it got very cold, it started disconnecting again sometimes making the same noise. I decided to just buy another 811a and replaced the one that had cold disconnections. My other three 811a have worked fine in cold, don't know why one struggled. But freezing temps may not be your problem, it could be disconnecting for another reason. Did you water protect the cable ends when you installed it? The ethernet cable, reset button and low voltage power option need to be protected from moisture or the cam can short out. In the install guide it says to protect these cable ends from moisture. Some use junction boxes, others silicone tape or put the cables up inside the soffit when possible. If yours is still under warranty you could contact Reolink for replacement, I decided to just keep mine for parts. I've had good performance from my Reolink cams in freezing temps below their specs rating except for the one 811a. My Reolink battery cams keep working in freezing temps but as with any battery they don't charge well below freezing, I bring them in to warm up to charge.

@phenri01_659436511346703 It's best to install a good quality SDcard in the cam for dual recording. The videos will be uploaded to the cloud but also put on the card. Once in a while a server can go down or be off line for maintenance, if that happens you'll still be able to record on the card. Also, if your router or electricity goes out, a battery cam can still work, record to card until its battery drains. But I don't know what camera you are talking about. Reolink POE cams don't record to the cloud, they record to card, NVR or FTP server.

@martin-kistell_73972976554167 Reolink often does not update everything all at once, they release them in stages. In their release statement in what's new, item 1, it says for App and Web only, so I assume the NVR update will be coming.

@user_674994268450889_674994268450889 Security cameras use either PIR (infrared) detection or pixel based detection. You can read about their differences online. I think the 511WA is pixel based, it senses variations of dark/light pixel changes in the field of view. The field of view is the detection area, zoomed in or not, unless you paint out zones you don't want. You can adjust the detection settings in the app, sensitivity, vehicle, person, etc. I don't know the detection range of the 511WA, I don't have one. My Reolink 4k cams can detect movement about 80-90 feet away during the day to people walking on the sidewalk across the street. Zoomed in the 511WA should detect further away during the day. At night its IR night vision and spotlights won't work good at 150 feet, their range limit is less. It's spotlights are just 450 lumens, good close up but not far away. The camera can zoom in but the IR and spotlights don't. If you have another light source like floodlights that would help a lot. If this is a critical area to monitor you might consider 24/7 recording rather than just motion detection recording.

You didn't say if you already own this cam. If not, there are a few reviews of it on YouTube and other Reolink cams.

I like my Reolink cams. I like the app. There is an ongoing problem however with the camera cable ends. The Quick Start Guide fails to explain how important it is to protect the reset button, low voltage cable, ethernet cable from moisture/water. The guide only has one line on page 7 which mentions this. While Reolink provides a cover for the ethernet cable, there's nothing for the other two ends. I've had Reolink cams for about three years. Over and over again, numerous times new users install cams or have someone else install them but they don't protect the cable ends, moisture gets in and the cams fail. They post the problem here or on Reolink Reddit, one just posted on Reddit yesterday. They get angry their cams fail due to moisture/water getting on the cable ends. It's common sense to protect electrical cables from moisture, Christmas lights, etc, but inexperienced people don't realize how serious this is, maybe they don't read page 7 in the guide. Please Reolink rewrite page 7 in the user guide and FULLY say the reset button, low voltage cable need to be protected from moisture/water, SPECIFICALLY tell new users to use a junctions box, put cable ends inside wall or up in the soffit, use waterproof plumbers tape, etc. Or print and add a paper note to each camera box explaining the importance of protecting these ends. Even with a detailed explanation some users may not read it and still do a bad install. But at least Reolink could not be blamed. Manuals should be written for the least knowledgeable, as if they don't have a clue, not for those who know something. I heard one of the new Reolink cams has caps for these ends, that's good.

@user_715880657940615_715880657940615 I don't think the problem is Reolink. I've heard it's because most web browers do not support yet H265 streaming which 4K cams use. I've tried the web interface. I prefer Reolink client app on my laptop which does playback in 4K. Your cam can record 4K. Check your day and night setting, resolution, bitrate, frame rate in the phone or client app. Depending on your settings the frame rate will auto drop down at night to allow more light in each frame.

@joldham320_363419968991360 People can't help unless you provide more info, otherwise we are just guessing. Have you tried rebooting or restoring the cam? With restoring you'll need to use your password. How long have you had the camera? Was it working good before then started having problems? Is the cam plugged into a Reolink NVR or POE switch? Often it is wire connection/power problems and not hardware failure. The cable ends may have been exposed to water, not protected and they become corroded, etc. If it's installed you could take the cam down, bring it inside and test it with a short good cable. Or run another long temporary cable out the door to the cam, test that. If the cam works then you know your cable/connection is bad. Also, you could contact Reolink support, they'll need to know your setup specifics.

@bamainark_709557840093322 You could watch LifeHackster YouTube channel. He has reviewed both cams. Maybe that would help you decide. As you install cams and look at their fields of view on your house, it's likely you'll do some experimenting with locations, cam angles etc.

A lot of users end up buying several different models to better fit certain areas around the house with wider field of view or narrow like an entryway. Buying a system in a bundle saves some money but doesn't have the flexibility of having different camera models. I and others bought cams separately and run them through a POE switch connected to the NVR which gives us more options. Buying a bundle may work fine for your needs though, it's up to you to consider and you could add different cams later up to the number of channels the NVR can handle. I have two 811A, one 833A, one 823A, one Duo 2, one of the new low light cams CX410 which is a great cam for night vision IMO. The Trackmix is a great cam too but I don't need one, for now LOL.

See the first welcome post on Reddit Reolink which has a lot of info including camera specs comparisons.

https://www.reddit.com/r/reolinkcam/comments/133vod7/welcome_to_the_official_reolink_subreddit_please/

@matthew-willey_71877025214 On Reolink's cloud storage site there's a drop down menu that shows what cams are supported in the country you live in. It's wise to research before a person buys so they know what features are offered. A lot of users do not want to use the cloud on the small chance their cameras might get hacked. A strong password prevents hacking in most cases. You don't say what camera models you bought. Depending on the model, Reolink cams can record several ways, to memory card in the camera, to an NVR, notification videos sent to your email, FTP to another company server if you want. It takes time to learn how to do these but it's good to have multiple places to keep videos. I don't use cloud storage.

@user_730633382940830_730633382940830 I have two 811A, they don't have this issue. Have you looked close at the lenses to see if there is any condensation or dirt on the lenses? But it's likely due to the IR light reflection from the roof overhang (soffit). Try pointing the cams down a little to get the roof overhang out of view. You could also move the cams a little forward to get the overhang out of of view.