Posts made by md

Just checked my Reolink Client on my computer. Cameras are working on it, but not on my phone app.

Having a similar problem on my Android phone this morning. I can see one of my 810A, when I try to see the other cameras the screen turns white, then the phone quits the Reolink app. I also have a few Blink cameras, they are working fine so this should not be a problem with my router or Wi-Fi. I wonder if Reolink tried to do an update?

Spiders, wasps, bees, birds are a common problem with all camera brands. Some say dome cameras are less likely to attract spiders than turret type, but I don't know if that's true. I had a bird attack one of my cameras last summer. Wasps and bees sometimes land on my cameras. Some people routinely use a soft broom to get rid of spider webs around cameras. At night insects are attracted to camera IR light. Some have installed IR illuminator lights several feet from the camera to attract insects away from the camera. A few months ago I installed a bright two bulbs flood light above the garage and it helps pull bugs away from the camera. Of course this means I have to leave it on all night. Looks like you live in a nice wooded area!

A little silicone caulk could help on the low voltage connection, but I don't know how easy it would be to remove. There is a product called Dielectric grease that repels moisture for electric connections, maybe a better plan than caulk. But don't use too much and get it inside the USB connectors themselves on the copper wires, it could stop the current. After the wire is plugged in, put some grease around it. You should check it once in a while to see how the grease holds up to the weather. You might put some electric tape on the camera over the grease to protect it? A bead of silicon caulk around the base of the 410 camera after it's installed should work. If you need to remove the camera, use a utility knife to cut the caulk.

Reolink has warehouses in USA. I assume if what you bought is not in stock here, it comes from Reolink headquarters in Hong Kong. I don't know how long shipping may take. I doubt you'll pay for import fees/taxes, Reolink takes care of it. Most cameras are made in Asia like other products, TVs, computers, cell phones, etc. The USA camera companies have their cameras made in Asia. Cheaper labor.

I've had good customer service with Reolink. They honor their warranty. I hope you get your system soon. Ask Reolink if you'll get a tracking number so you'll know when the system arrives in the USA.

Here is a rain cover for cameras on Amazon.
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Unless it is a battery camera, all the wired camera brands I know of use the same design as Reolink, the wires come out of the back of the base. This is to completely hide and protect the wiring once installed. For putting a camera on a pole, etc. I would use a water resistant junction box and conduit to protect the wiring. A hassle to install, but once done it's not much effort to uninstall a camera or get to the reset button in the box. Reolink sells junction boxes as do hardware stores. The Reolink boxes may fit your cameras, check them out. If buying something else you'll need to drill your own holes on the plate cover to insert the wires and screw the camera into the cover, or use small bolts/nuts. If you don't know how to do this maybe a friend could help or hire an electrician. It was a lot of work but I ran ethernet cables in the attic of my house down through the soffit. My roof trusses are 24" apart so there wasn't much to screw the cameras onto the soffit. I bought some plastic boards, cut them to fit and attached them to the soffit so I could mount the cameras further back closer to the wall than the rain gutter. See pics. I don't know how your house is constructed so my solution may not work for you.

I have a couple outdoor battery Reolink cameras that are wired to charge them. The wires to to an outlet in my garage, but only plug them in when they need to be charged. A few inches of the cable is exposed. I got reolink cables that have round protectors on the end to protect the connection. Or a person could use electrical tape to cover the connection.
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I have a mix of three POE Reolink cameras with Human/Vehicle detection, three Reolink battery cameras without H/V detection, a few Blink battery cameras. Several times a fox has walked through our yard at night. The Blinks and battery Reolinks detected and recorded them, the POE's did not. I use a POE switch and record to SD cards, I'm not as yet using an NVR. Of course I also get unwanted notifications/recordings, leaves, wasps, bees, etc. I've seen on YouTube reviews a couple other brand apps that have package and animal detection settings but I don't know if they work well. Maybe a battery trail camera would do the trick for you.

I've bought Reolink cameras from the Reolink store on Amazon and eBay. They always came in a cardboard box for protection. A couple weeks ago I bought three E1 Zoom cameras on Reolink eBay store. When they arrived they were only wrapped in plastic, no outer box. When I opened them two cameras were damaged. The upper back half on two had come loose. I tried to pop them back but they were still loose. Reolink sent me a return label to send them back for replacements. I emailed them and asked that they send the replacements in a box. They arrived today from the New Jersey warehouse. Again they only came in plastic wrap just as before, not even bubble wrap. I opened them and two were damaged AGAIN. One has the screws broken away from the white plastic. The other had the back half loose but I was able to pop it together. I installed one camera and it works fine. The other two are for gifts to my sons. I don't yet know if the one I popped back together works. My disappointment from the first return changed to being upset about the second broken batch. See photos. I just emailed Reolink, saying I'll have to return the broken screws one and maybe the other. But this time I asked that they send me the replacement in a box THEN I will send them back the broken one to reduce the days I have to wait to get it.

Reolink is just loosing money not having their shipments sent safer. The warehouses are likely third party shippers not Reolink employees. Reolink could insist they use boxes. I really like Reolink cameras and their customer service has been good so far. Reolink should not expect UPS and USPS to gently handle packages. At the factory Reolink could put bubble wrap or paper around the E1s so the cameras wouldn't be able to move around so much in shipment.
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I posted comments but it said Error I had links not allowed. But there were NO LINKS in my comments. This forum is not working correctly. Reolink has boxes or go buy a PVC box with cover plate.

Sorry, I tried to comment but this site cancelled my prior comments

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Oops, in my prior post my photos were too large to download and I could not edit to add them. Here they are:
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On YouTube The Hook Up channel just released a comparison of the Reolink 4K NVR system to a Blue Iris system and Unifi Protect. Overall Reolink is the obvious winner for price and performance! Congrats Reolink! The Hook Up did suggest Reolink update it's client software to have more functions like the phone app.

One important thing I have learned since having home security cameras is good night vision is difficult. Most home security cameras go from about 25-30 frames per second down to 10-15 to let more light in the lens at night. This can make night videos have image noise, grainy. IR light is a challenge. Too close to the camera and a face can become an overexposed white blur. Too far away from the camera and a face becomes unrecognizable. My Reolink 810A cameras are great during daylight. At night they have pretty good face images when a person is standing still or walking. But if someone is jogging or running the images become blurred a face cannot be recognized. This is true for all brands, unless you want to pay for expensive professional cameras that have large sensors and fast 60 frames per second ability. Professional cameras are used at banks, casinos, stadiums, etc. but they are much more costly. Most home owners don't really need that much quality IMO.

I added a couple more floodlights to the front of my house. This lets the 810A switch to color night vision which helps clarity. My neighbor wondered why my front driveway is so bright at night! I posted here snapshots of daytime jogging, night jogging in IR black/white light, night jogging when the 810A switched to color night vision with the floodlights. The color night vision is much better. I haven't played with the 810A settings yet to see if I can get better IR images.

So thanks Reolink for good cameras at a reasonable price! Keep it up!

Thank you Cynthia for responding.

Hi family,
Thanks for explaining further. I am sorry for not understanding. Having a system without Cloud is the most secure way to go. I don't want the Cloud and don't want subscription fees. You are correct, too many companies have proprietary products and require subscription fees for cameras to work. But I looked on Google Play Store, there are over 10 million downloads of the Ring app. Obviously a lot of people are willing to pay subscription fees for cameras and an easy to use app. In 2017 it was discovered Ring customer video data was being rerouted to foreign servers not related to Ring. In 2020 Ring fired several employees for improper viewing of customer videos. Reolink app has over 1 million downloads. I hope Reolink never requires subscription fee. I hope Reolink makes cameras widely compatible rather than restrictive. Cynthia will you please respond to family?

Okay, I read your original post several times. Just maybe I'm beginning to understand. The most sophisticated and detailed program I know of is what I mentioned before, Blue Iris. Their PC program and phone app is a favorite of camera tech people who want more than basic system control. You might contact them. If their software does not do what you want, I am clueless who does.

I don't mind pushing a few buttons on the app and going through a few hoops to get the clips I want. You seem to be more tech savvy than me. So you are right, I don't understand your frustration. If you find a brand that does what you want, by all means let me and others know.

I will add Reolink is making good technology advances in their products, 4K, human vehicle detection, etc. Watch YouTube reviews. I like LifeHackster and The Hook Up. They show side by side video comparisons. This makes Reolink look pretty good. The Hook Up compared 2021 4K cameras and his choice is Reolink for best value. So when you say you are getting rid of your Reolink cameras for something better, well....


I will add if you want a generic system where you can swap out various brand cameras then wired cameras with NVR, DVR is the way you should go. Brands like Dahua, Hikvision make some of the more advanced security cameras. Their night vision is among the best. But these are also more expensive. By the way, the USA banned Dahua and Hikvision from government contracts do to hacking and spying vulnerability, just so you know.