@john_350143387672724 Thanks so much!!

@user_588567793635436_588567793635436

Hi John:

Two things to update/touch base with you on.

1) I've concluded the PT 2K PIR detection range I was trying to achieve is right at its limit, giving marginal and erratic detection results, with detection variations happening due to changing lighting conditions and variations in target motion.  I am going to try using the PT 2K in a different part of my installation.

2) I found a Reolink web page saying the PT 2K does not distinguish between an admin user and other users like the non-battery cameras. But I have been controlling the PT 2K from two different devices and I think that is contributing to some unusual behavior. I suspect Reolink has some bugs to work out for use cases associated with accessing the PT 2K from more than one instance of the app. I've asked them about this and am waiting for their reply.

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@john_350143387672724 Thanks so much!!

@john_350143387672724

The link shows the number of users for viewing a stream but I think my question is different. My question involves playback simultaneously with recording--which requires two different types of access (read and write) to the SD card. Would you be able to do a test at your end? Fire up your app and do some playback while at the same time try to trigger your camera to detect and record. I'd be curious if your camera can do it. And if it can, that seems like another reason for me to return my camera.

@john_350143387672724

I bought it from Reolink on eBay and have already informed them I may need a return. I haven't registered it yet.

Around noon it wasn't working and started after I tapped the camera. Then around five it stopped detecting for 10 minutes, then started again.

Do you happen to know if it can do a detection/recording while using the app to play back an earlier recording?

@john_350143387672724

You're not going to believe this but I was recalling that every time I touch the camera--e.g. to do a power cycle--things start working.

So there had been no detections, push notifications or detections for a few hours, so I went outside and tapped the camera a few times and everything started working again. Did I mention the package was a little crushed when it arrived?

@john_350143387672724

Thanks, I see. My AT&T phone doesn't have those options.

On your screen, can you enable both types of alerts at the same time?

@john_350143387672724

Interesting....the app installed on both of my devices doesn't have these options. Version 4.31.04

@john_350143387672724

Thanks John. Yes, I'm familiar with the many notification settings and I know they vary from one device to another. Case in point is the notification LED which comes and goes for different hardware designs and device generations.

In this case I think my settings are fine, but as shown in the graphic the camera is sending this notification as a silent notification, which is an Android capability for minimizing the intrusiveness of lower priority notifications. I'm pretty sure the choice to make a notification silent is made by the originator, in this case the camera. As I said the notifications to my tablet are not silent, perhaps Reolink thinks my tablet is the primary monitoring device and my phone is secondary, therefore it sends a silent notification there.

Right now I'm running an add-on app on my phone that plays an audible signal when the silent notification from the camera arrives. All of my notifications from other apps are working as I intend. But I'd like Reolink to explain how and why one device gets a silent notification and the other does not, and to give me a little more control over the operation. I suspect accessing the camera by more than one device is a fairly common use case--e.g. husband and wife each want to be able to access the camera.

@john_350143387672724 Right now notifications to my tablet include the audible alert but notifications to my phone are Android silent. I have asked Reolink about this.

@john_350143387672724 Great info--I will look into the GCM stuff.

One thing I think I've noticed is that the notifications seem to not arrive at a device if I have the Reolink app open, but if I close the app notifications can then arrive at that device. Perhaps Reolink feels that if you have the app open you don't need notifications at that device. Do you have anything to share in this regard?