Reolink - good & bad

[TL1096r]

Cool, I may go that route eventually but have to start somewhere. So NVR is a good start for now and hopefully this is a good model. I would think a linux based software system would be better on resources.

NVR can push notifications to phone, through email? New to it so not sure, I just see BI + dedicated windows10 running core i7/Bi/WD purple HD seems to be the best route for many.

I wish I did not buy a NVR and went that route, better interface, easier, etc etc.

 

[samuel777]

reolink is not a prominent brand..they just market heavy on amazon and pad their products with fake reviews....search the forum for reolink and you will see why you are an idiot...the image quality is subpar, the firmware is subpar, the company blatantly LIES to its customers AND spams this forum...what more do you need? Fake reviews - Fakespot | Reolink Argus 100 Wire Free Battery Powered Outdoor Indoor 1080p Hd Fake Review Analysis
There is no reolink subforum because reolink is a horrid company and will not be provided a platform here. They have not only deliberately lied to end users about firmware issues but lied directly to me when they spammed this forum. Problem was that they used a reolink.com email - morons. There are much better options at the reolink price point, it makes ZERO sense to go with them. You are VERY misguided about reolink, they are a nothing brand...they dont even register on a sales graph...they are NOT a brand of "scope"..they are a group of shady liars...this site was specifically started to provide accurate information to those who fell for the fake foscam reviews and the like...seems like either you are affiliated with them (I have a bullshit meter too) or you suffer from the same disease that many users suffer from, they cannot admit they failed to do proper research and purchased a piece of crap.

Hey im new to all this ipcam home security talk. I am planning to get a reolink but with all these forums im not going to buy it anymore. I'm not looking for anything too crazy just a 4 camera system that required little maintenance to surround my home. It's either a pre-set of nvr,poe 4 cameras or a custom one with a nvr, and 4 custom cameras. Do you recommend anything that could help?

 

[fenderman]

Hey im new to all this ipcam home security talk. I am planning to get a reolink but with all these forums im not going to buy it anymore. I'm not looking for anything too crazy just a 4 camera system that required little maintenance to surround my home. It's either a pre-set of nvr,poe 4 cameras or a custom one with a nvr, and 4 custom cameras. Do you recommend anything that could help?

there is lots of info on the forum...start with the dahua starlight turret threads.

 

[Burton_Flooring]

I can concur that Reolinks are garbage. However, Swann is worse, because I had Swann NVR and Cameras that I flashed to REolink and have been much happier ever since.

Swann doesn't let you access the cameras individually, will not accept 3rd party cameras, doesn't update their firmware....like, ever...has camera controls that DON'T WORK (shutter speed 40ms is faster than 10ms????)

Reolink, for the most part, fixes all that. Yes, the cameras are still not going to output Starlight quality images, but they update their firmware on a regular basis, let you use 3rd party cameras on their system, allow access to the camera via Web UI (meaning I can setup a single camera for standalone use), and have exposure settings that ACTUALLY MAKE SENSE. Plus Reolink's Software is LOOOOOOOOOADS better than the SWANN version it replaced (did I mention they actually update it?)

ALSO, they let you turn off the IR...you heard me right, their is a switch on their current firmware update (RLC-411) that lets you disable it.

Now, why you would want to (with their pathetic low-light performance) is another story

Granted, this is a Home/Beginner Security System, so not much is expected. However, once we started trying to capture license plates, reduce blur at night time, and remotely configure the Shutter Speeds (cause who wants to stay @ work after dark to test?) things quickly fall apart.

So I'm glad I found this forum. fenderman is correct, Reolink is ….meant for the DIY home owner who wants a plug and play system that lets them see their kids playing in the yard. Anything beyond that...is wishful thinking

Cheers.

 

[fenderman]

I can concur that Reolinks are garbage. However, Swann is worse, because I had Swann NVR and Cameras that I flashed to REolink and have been much happier ever since.

Swann doesn't let you access the cameras individually, will not accept 3rd party cameras, doesn't update their firmware....like, ever...has camera controls that DON'T WORK (shutter speed 40ms is faster than 10ms????)

Reolink, for the most part, fixes all that. Yes, the cameras are still not going to output Starlight quality images, but they update their firmware on a regular basis, let you use 3rd party cameras on their system, allow access to the camera via Web UI (meaning I can setup a single camera for standalone use), and have exposure settings that ACTUALLY MAKE SENSE. Plus Reolink's Software is LOOOOOOOOOADS better than the SWANN version it replaced (did I mention they actually update it?)

ALSO, they let you turn off the IR...you heard me right, their is a switch on their current firmware update (RLC-411) that lets you disable it.

Now, why you would want to (with their pathetic low-light performance) is another story

Granted, this is a Home/Beginner Security System, so not much is expected. However, once we started trying to capture license plates, reduce blur at night time, and remotely configure the Shutter Speeds (cause who wants to stay @ work after dark to test?) things quickly fall apart.

So I'm glad I found this forum. fenderman is correct, Reolink is ….meant for the DIY home owner who wants a plug and play system that lets them see their kids playing in the yard. Anything beyond that...is wishful thinking

Cheers.

fyi, the swann systems you are referring to are older systems made by the same OEM that makes the reolinks...the newer swann systems are hikvision.

 

[sorka]

I was recommended Reolink on another forum and so I bought 3 RLC-410 cameras.

Beware that the RLC-410's focal point is only about 4 feet out. After that, it starts to get blurry. I fixed this by sending the 410 back and buying the 411. However, then I didn't have audio. The upgraded camera with auto focus deletes the audio. I contacted Reolink and they told me no audio on the 411. I pointed to the Amazon product page that says it has audio. They replied that it was a mistake and that they'd correct it. A week later, it was corrected for the 411, but the 411s page continues to say records and plays back audio.

The 410 was useless given it's focus, so I decided to add a microphone to my RLC-423 which has had no issues since I got. Well it did but I just didn't realize the audio didn't work. I bought a cctv microphone that Reolink recommended(which also works on my sunba's).

All I get is loud static. Tried another microphone. Same issue. Contacted Reolink who asked for video showing issue. They confirmed mic hooked up OK but that camera must be defective.

Now get this, there's a two year warranty on the camera, but they will only do warranty repairs in China and shipping is only covered for the first year. After that, I'd have to pay for shipping there and back and they advicsed me that it would cost more than a new camera.

So it's a total crap shoot. You might be happy. You might not be. Hope you never have to have service after a year because it won't be worth it with shipping.

To their credit, they did give me a $75 refund on the RLC-423.

 

[fenderman]

Beware that the RLC-410's focal point is only about 4 feet out. After that, it starts to get blurry. I fixed this by sending the 410 back and buying the 411. However, then I didn't have audio. The upgraded camera with auto focus deletes the audio. I contacted Reolink and they told me no audio on the 411. I pointed to the Amazon product page that says it has audio. They replied that it was a mistake and that they'd correct it. A week later, it was corrected for the 411, but the 411s page continues to say records and plays back audio.

The 410 was useless given it's focus, so I decided to add a microphone to my RLC-423 which has had no issues since I got. Well it did but I just didn't realize the audio didn't work. I bought a cctv microphone that Reolink recommended(which also works on my sunba's).

All I get is loud static. Tried another microphone. Same issue. Contacted Reolink who asked for video showing issue. They confirmed mic hooked up OK but that camera must be defective.

Now get this, there's a two year warranty on the camera, but they will only do warranty repairs in China and shipping is only covered for the first year. After that, I'd have to pay for shipping there and back and they advicsed me that it would cost more than a new camera.

So it's a total crap shoot. You might be happy. You might not be. Hope you never have to have service after a year because it won't be worth it with shipping.

To their credit, they did give me a $75 refund on the RLC-423.

If you had listened to me a year ago instead of defending this shit company.

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

fyi, the swann systems you are referring to are older systems made by the same OEM that makes the reolinks...the newer swann systems are hikvision.

Reolink boss is from Swann, before as a product manager in Swann, their quality is better than some other small brands on amazon, Amazon 5 star review, 90% is fake....but bad feedback always 100% true, lol.

 

[TL1096r]

Good info as amazon sucks in a lot of people 1) looking for a quick buy 2) looking at positive reviews 3) looking for 4MP not knowing it doesn't mean anything.

They got me but going on 2 years without issue knock on wood. I hope when these go out better options out there than what is out there now. EMPIRETECANDY I will go to you as my friend did and loves it. Quick email replies and shipment. Thank you!!

Side note running into issue where I need wifi as wires cannot run through this particular area. While not recommended do you have anything?

Thank you

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

Good info as amazon sucks in a lot of people 1) looking for a quick buy 2) looking at positive reviews 3) looking for 4MP not knowing it doesn't mean anything.

They got me but going on 2 years without issue knock on wood. I hope when these go out better options out there than what is out there now. EMPIRETECANDY I will go to you as my friend did and loves it. Quick email replies and shipment. Thank you!!

Side note running into issue where I need wifi as wires cannot run through this particular area. While not recommended do you have anything?

Thank you

can try SD1A203T-GN-W, you can search the reviews here~

 

[TonyR]

As far I am concerned, the Reolink RLN8-410 setup is very easy. All you need is follow the simple screen prompts like changing your password and redirecting to the setting where you can set date and timezone. is a plug and play, you won't run into bottleneck with the setup. You can also read the advantage and disadvantage of this model .

May I ask did you author the following articles on Quora?
______________________

"How do you shoot out video surveillance cameras"

"It is so simple, find a riffle with a scope on it, and aim at the lens, boom!! the surveillance camera is gone. Why would you want to do that? You can also find a spray paint and aim it at the camera to blow the lens out with paint, cutting the cable is another option you can not easily locate if the camera was properly installed. The safe method is to temporarily or permanently blind the CCD/CMOS of the camera depending on how long you can hold the laser beam and how strong it is.

Note: It is illegal to try any of the above steps, this is meant for educational purpose."
______________________

"How do I protect my CCTV cameras from being hacked?" Wherein no mention is made of the use of a VPN as the best solution?

"To protect your CCTV cameras from being hacked, you ’ve got to do few things.
1.You need to change the default username and password of each CCTV camera to a strong password that consist special characters like (@, #, $, %, etc.)
2.You need to change your Wi-Fi network key to a very strong password combination involving at least 1 capital letter, 1 digit and special characters.
3.Use a very strong password combination for your cloud account.
4.Never use the same password associated with your email address when registering for your cloud account."
______________________

 

[fenderman]

As far I am concerned, the Reolink RLN8-410 setup is very easy. All you need is follow the simple screen prompts like changing your password and redirecting to the setting where you can set date and timezone. is a plug and play, you won't run into bottleneck with the setup. You can also read the advantage and disadvantage of this model .

I have removed your spam links..thanks for bumping this thread so others can know what crap reolink is and that they lie to users and spam forums.

 

[fenderman]

Yes I did, and do you want to nail me for that? What I authored in Quora stays in Quora and why are you bringing Quora topics on here, what is your name in Quora so that I can look u up?

because you are a damn spammer, thats why. This forum does not tolerate that kind of bullshit.

 

[fenderman]

You simply base your judgement on zero ground, I have never spam in all the forums I am, I wonder why you would just called me a Spammer, and again I see your strong passion for condemning Reolink Products, the fact that one model failed does not render other models useless. There are many happy customers of Reolink who love Reolink performance.

I see the rage you have for Reolink, there is no problem about it, you can keep it up. I am just an home security technician with vast experience across major CCTV cameras in the market.

It is not a do or die affair to remain here.

You are not a home security technician... You are a scammer.... I base my accusation on the spam links you posted in your first post.... Listen to me carefully buddy you will not post spam on this forum and when you do it's going to make it worse for the company you work for.... No self-respecting person let alone technician would install reolink garbage... Again thank you for bumping this post so others can learn about the garbage that reolink is....I don't need you here either so if you don't like it don't let the door hit you on the way out...

 

[Burton_Flooring]

You are not a home security technician... You are a scammer.... I base my accusation on the spam links you posted in your first post.... Listen to me carefully buddy you will not post spam on this forum and when you do it's going to make it worse for the company you work for.... No self-respecting person let alone technician would install reolink garbage... Again thank you for bumping this post so others can learn about the garbage that reolink is....I don't need you here either so if you don't like it don't let the door hit you on the way out...

For the average user, you could do a lot worse, I setup a Lorex system for a friend and it's not any better really in the camera department. (8MP "color nightvision") My gripes w/ Reolink/Swann has and always will be the same as for Lorex (which I have yet to see a firmware update for ). REolink's only weakness , WHEN SPEAKING ABOUT THE PRODUCT ITSELF, is that they lack good night time performance.

Besides buying a Hikvision or Dahua camera, I'm not sure that the average consumer could even setup, much less bother with any of the other brands and say that the PRODUCT ITSELF is any better.

That said, I'm Dahua 100%. But when I tell people I buy them directly from China, they go......eyes glazed over..."yeah, I'll just go see what Best Buy has..." and you lose them.

Reolink is a very easy to use product and I think that should count. I've owned and worked with Swann (old and new), Lorex, Reolink, Dahua, and Hikvision products extensively and none of them are as easy to use. Dahua just has such superior camera tech that I was forced to deal w/ the un-user friendly interface. (and I got used to it )

I WILL GRANT TO YOU THAT CUSTOMER SUPPORT MATTERS A LOT. AND I WOULD FEEL THE SAME WAY AS YOU IF I HAD BEEN BURNED, I just haven't...

 

[fenderman]

Th


The fact that you are the administrator here does not mean you should be a RACIST man. Come to Quora or Reddit, let us meet there. Search me up with Toyese Awoyefa either on Quora or search engine, you will differentiate between an home surveillance technician and a scammer.

You are a retarded psycho.

For the average user, you could do a lot worse, I setup a Lorex system for a friend and it's not any better really in the camera department. (8MP "color nightvision") My gripes w/ Reolink/Swann has and always will be the same as for Lorex (which I have yet to see a firmware update for ). REolink's only weakness , WHEN SPEAKING ABOUT THE PRODUCT ITSELF, is that they lack good night time performance.

Besides buying a Hikvision or Dahua camera, I'm not sure that the average consumer could even setup, much less bother with any of the other brands and say that the PRODUCT ITSELF is any better.

That said, I'm Dahua 100%. But when I tell people I buy them directly from China, they go......eyes glazed over..."yeah, I'll just go see what Best Buy has..." and you lose them.

Reolink is a very easy to use product and I think that should count. I've owned and worked with Swann (old and new), Lorex, Reolink, Dahua, and Hikvision products extensively and none of them are as easy to use. Dahua just has such superior camera tech that I was forced to deal w/ the un-user friendly interface. (and I got used to it )

I WILL GRANT TO YOU THAT CUSTOMER SUPPORT MATTERS A LOT. AND I WOULD FEEL THE SAME WAY AS YOU IF I HAD BEEN BURNED, I just haven't...

You cant do much worse, they are a lying scamming company with subpar products...only a fool would buy it...
there is nothing friendlier about the reolink interface than the dahua...complete novices have no problem setting up dahua..this is a company that LIED to end users about its firmware, its compatibility with blue iris, its onvif conformance, they spammed this forum then lied to my face about it, despite the fact the reolink email addresses and ip addresses were used and their cameras are unreliable and suck. They post FAKE amazon reviews.

 

[J Sigmo]

I WILL GRANT TO YOU THAT CUSTOMER SUPPORT MATTERS A LOT. AND I WOULD FEEL THE SAME WAY AS YOU IF I HAD BEEN BURNED, I just haven't...

That's pretty much the way I feel. I suckered for some cameras made by "the company who must not be named" when I was first setting things up, and honestly have had no problems with them whatsoever. They've worked fine with Blue Iris for me, and were cheap.

They're 3 megapixel units, and in good light, their image quality is noticeably better than the 2MP Dahua starlights I have. In dim light, the Dahua Starlights are much better, of course, and that turns out to be important for me, so I do wish I'd found this site and started off buying the better cameras to begin with. Still, for the price, and what they are, I have no real complaints (yet) with my cameras from "the company who must not be named".

I'll slowly replace them with better cameras, I'm sure. All of the new cameras that I've bought have been Dahua units sourced through Andy. No complaints at all with them, and fantastic service from Andy, of course!

I'm sure there's a story behind Reolink doing something bad to fenderman and perhaps others, to earn them the extreme hatred I see in this forum. I suppose I'd find out what that is/was if I searched enough.

If mine start failing, I may well feel a lot differently, of course!

Meanwhile, don't tell anyone here that I am running some of these infernal, loathsome gadgets. It's just a dirty little secret of mine. Shhhh!

 

[fenderman]

That's pretty much the way I feel. I suckered for some cameras made by "the company who must not be named" when I was first setting things up, and honestly have had no problems with them whatsoever. They've worked fine with Blue Iris for me, and were cheap.

They're 3 megapixel units, and in good light, their image quality is noticeably better than the 2MP Dahua starlights I have. In dim light, the Dahua Starlights are much better, of course, and that turns out to be important for me, so I do wish I'd found this site and started off buying the better cameras to begin with. Still, for the price, and what they are, I have no real complaints (yet) with my cameras from "the company who must not be named".

I'll slowly replace them with better cameras, I'm sure. All of the new cameras that I've bought have been Dahua units sourced through Andy. No complaints at all with them, and fantastic service from Andy, of course!

I'm sure there's a story behind Reolink doing something bad to fenderman and perhaps others, to earn them the extreme hatred I see in this forum. I suppose I'd find out what that is/was if I searched enough.

If mine start failing, I may well feel a lot differently, of course!

Meanwhile, don't tell anyone here that I am running some of these infernal, loathsome gadgets. It's just a dirty little secret of mine. Shhhh!

They did nothing bad to me...Except spam this forum and lie to me and other users here. They are shit cameras from a shit company. Only a complete fool would consider them for surveillance, same goes for all the no name brand crap that folks who are pennywise and pound foolish buy. Spend a few more dollars and by quality gear, there are many to choose from, hikvision, dahua, uniview, hanwa, etc...both of you have little surveillance camera experience, and it shows.

 

[Burton_Flooring]

...and I'm telling you I've used the product, they update their firmware, they are onvif compliant (using one right now on my Dahua NVR), yes their cameras suck (but so do most box systems), I don't doubt that someone lied to you, and it's definitely not cool when fake reviews are posted. 100% agree with you.

I would disagree with you on ease of use and initial setup, but that is entirely subjective and to a Novice (me) when looking back, the learning curve for Swann/REolink was much gentler than Dahua/Lorex and Hikvision. But that's just my $.02.

I'm very thankful for this forum, because otherwise I would never have learned how to use the Dahua products. (Dahua's manual is about as helpful as REolink's) . Also, I'm glad you've posted your experiences on here so people can be aware. I also hope they will understand that not everyone's experience is the same.

Not trying to pick a fight, just stating real world experience, which is what is so wonderful about this forum.

 

[J Sigmo]

They did nothing bad to me...Except spam this forum and lie to me and other users here. They are shit cameras from a shit company. Only a complete fool would consider them for surveillance, same goes for all the no name brand crap that folks who are pennywise and pound foolish buy. Spend a few more dollars and by quality gear, there are many to choose from, hikvision, dahua, uniview, hanwa, etc...both of you have little surveillance camera experience, and it shows.

Well, I certainly don't condone them lying, faking reviews, or selling crap.

I'm loving the various Dahua cameras I've bought from Andy since finding this forum. They've been easy to set up and worked correctly right out of the gate.

And if my Reolinks fail, they'll be replaced, more than likely, with Dahuas, but I'll also look at the other brands you mentioned, too. I've just had good luck with, and am comfortable with the Dahuas, and with Andy's fast service.

Still, where the Reolinks are working well for me, I don't have any reason to swap them out until they do crap out on me.