I admit, I am confused by all of the technological terms people are using on this site. Obviously, there is a lot of communication and social interaction occurring on the site in the Reolink Community and most of the cameras being mentioned are not the type I have. I was told by Reolink support that a new camera could help because I have been having problems controlling my camera and being able to change the passwords. Someone who knows more about it told me the camera was hacked and I sort of suspected that because the camera never worked when it was supposed to. Most people whose comments I have read on the site do not have any problems with hacking and then one person said the cameras are not reliable even if you haven't had problems, so I'm confused. I don't think I would buy another camera from Reolink, main reason being that if someone hacks the cameras, there are a lot of options for them. They can even block your connection to your device by hacking the password for your account and logging you out of your camera, then changing your password so you don't have it. I have not been able to find anything in the app that tracks all the activity for the camera. Does anyone know how to check this?

@user_815269787893924_815269787893924

I have a Go camera. It is hard to say, with all the complicated technological terms used to describe various aspects of the 4G Reolink (and WiFi) devices' set up and operation, data transmission, etc. what the actual potential for hacking your Reolink account log-in to obtain the ID number for the device is. I can testify only to the fact that it is possible to add an active and connected device to a completely different Reolink account by manually entering the device's UID number. Why this option exists is a bit confusing, but the person adding a camera this way would still be in need of the device password to access an actively connected device.

If you are like me, you want everything to be simple and assume when you connect your camera/s in a secure way and use passwords with the maximum number of characters, that the device is fairly safe from hacking and access by any random outside party, which is not true. I cannot do enough research to ensure that my log-in data and passwords are safe and properly encrypted and do not have the time to enroll in a computer course that will help me understand how to navigate the various online systems under which these websites, accounts, and devices integrate and operate to assure that data that is supposed to be encrypted and would allow access to my device and account is encrypted adequately across all interfaces and platforms to prevent hacking . For lack of any better wording, I can only say that the cameras are a perfect example of what you might call a paradox. If you are in a hurry to connect them, that's where your problem lies. I hope this helps!

Again, still looking at Arlo but don't want to get caught up in another situation like this. If you have one of the Go devices and are interested in the cellular security cameras, investigate Arlo's Go 2 camera and some of the features and options available for this one. This is the best option I have found outside of the Reolink line for this type of camera (cellular/mobile) if you want video recording.

If you are like me, however, you won't necessarily think that problems with encryption can be resolved by simply adding more expense or taking on another brand or type of camera without fully understanding all of the ways that encrypted data can be insecure.
You can also check out less than honest reviews of do-it-yourself security cameras like Arlo 2 (and the Reolink cameras) on YouTube and might want to check out "Arlo: The Security Camera I'm Ditching for Something Better".

@joseph_1979
Well it sounds like you know a bit more about the networks/encryption, etc., than I do. I did definitely try to understand the important things about the device I purchased. It isn't very cost-effective to simply dive in to a lot of different cameras and types of cameras if you don't actually examine the situation for anything obvious that could be causing the problem.

I appreciate your insights. I have wondered, as I'm sure many others have also, why the cellular security cameras aren't more common because I do like the ease of set-up for this camera and the fact that it can be operated independently of an ethernet/WiFi connection. Also, it does not rely on electrical power and is highly portable. This is a great invention!

I doubt that I will able to learn much from your descriptions, but I was able to surmise that the form of access that would provide the most continued and easiest access to any individual device would be to add the device via the UID number to another account and hack it via the device password, but I think hackers can go both ways. I do appreciate your insights .

@joseph_1979
Yes, I realize that, but the Reolink cameras are a complete rip-off. This was my first security camera, so I have not tried Vivint, SimpliSafe, or Arlo, but not every company that sells security cameras offers the 4G LTE cameras. I am not one of those who does not have internet, but when I first bought the Reolink Go camera I did not have it and I do now. I still would prefer to leave my ethernet and WiFi off when I'm away from my place and rely on the separate connection for a cellular camera.

I'm no tech-wizard and couldn't tell you anything much about encryption, but I think it's fairly safe to say that anti-hacking measures for the Reolink website and Android app leave way too much to be desired for them to be selling the cameras for the amount that they are. Just get an under $30 WiFi camera if you have WiFi connectivity. At first, I replaced my device. It was clear that someone had been in the area, but I didn't receive an alert and no motion-detected video, and this happened multiple times. If the device is new and has not been hacked, the UID number can likely be obtained through the same methods used for accessing a device that has been added to an account to hack a Reolink account and obtain the UID number for the device. With the type of freedom Reolink provides, it's not hard to believe that anyone would go to that amount of trouble, and it may not even be that difficult with the right tools.

I'm probably going to go with one of the other companies for another camera and see what they have to offer, but a similar problem might be hard to detect if the set-up is the same and the ability to hack the account/camera doesn't surface right away. Arlo does have a cellular camera, but it is dual WiFi. I don't know how this works out- if this means you can go with either or can use both simultaneously, but I am going to investigate it further.

Here's what is says about the encryption for the Reolink website and app, I'm a*suming:

https://reolink.com/security/

It says HTTPS is used.
Regardless of what it says, however, I can testify to the fact that the cameras can easily be hacked via the UID numbers, which a hacker uses to add your device to another Reolink account. Once the ID number is obtained by whatever means, there's not a lot you can do because they utilize pa*sword cracking apps to access the camera/s after you have deleted, reset, and added them to your Reolink account again. This can be done very quickly after you have gone through all of the steps involved with resetting the device and changing its pa*sword, and possibly changing the pa*sword for your connected email account as well. They are good if you're just looking for a dummy camera that will always work for you when the PIR is enabled, but fails to work for some reason when you are out of the area.

The cameras have to be operated under the shoddy, hacker-friendly set-up Reolink employs, which is probably very similar to the set-up other companies, such as Arlo, are employing. And who knows that Vivint, SimpliSafe, and the others don't have a similar set up? The Reolink devices sadly aren't even worth even fifty dollars because they are so highly hackable, yet those who own the Reolink cellular cameras pay a fairly hefty purchase price, then an ongoing, additional monthly cost for a data plan to operate them. It is a public website that these devices are operated through, and technically, your next door neighbor could create an account with any email/username even if they don't own a Reolink device, to which they could add any active Reolink camera by manually entering the UID number. Technically it could be your next door neighbor. But odds are, if you experience problems with camera failure, this is being done from a completely different location by someone who has nothing to do with you.