So this is the third attempt at uploading this video - so I can only apologise to all you kind people who get notifications of my videos and are beginning to think its Groundhog Day!! Special thanks go to Dave and Ben who are considerably more techy than me (clearly!) and very quickly pointed out yesterday I had revealed the QR Code for my devices and therefore my WiFi network name and password. Dow! It's gestures like that, and generally all the positive comments I get from (most of) you, which keep me doing these videos, so massive thanks to you all, and I hope you find this video useful!
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you probably dont care at all but does anybody know a method to get back into an instagram account?? I was dumb lost my login password. I love any tricks you can give me.
@Dwayne Briggs Thanks for your reply. I got to the site thru google and I'm trying it out now. Seems to take a while so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
So a few months in the cameras are still working well. My major gripe though - which a few people identified at the time - is that there is no automatic setting for Day and Night scenes. You have to switch between them manually, which half the time I forget to do. I've raised this with Reolink and they assure me they're working on a software update to cover this. They need to as this is a major omission in what is otherwise a great product. UPDATE MARCH 2020 About a month ago the cameras stopped notifying me when they detected movement (although the PIR is working because the alarm still sounds when movement is detected). A pretty serious issue. I managed to get one working again by resetting it to factory. Anyone else had this problem? I'll be contacting the manufacturers and will update you once I've heard back from them.
The only problem I have had is lost connection suddenly with my 2 Argus 2s. See the post I posted 1 week ago at the top. I'm working with Support but no luck so far.
Hello Charlie, it's Dec 2022 and I ask if U feel these cameras R worth a purchase now, did U get further feedback/updates about the issues U raised? Vry interest in UR thoughts 👍
Glad you found it useful. You can also set your own custom alarm, which could be you telling them they're being videod and the police have been called 🙂
I have bought so many CCTV systems that claim to work this way, from cheap to not so cheap. They all have shortcomings ranging from reliability, functionality to really shonky un-supported apps that, if they do come with instructions, are written in Chinglish. This review of the Reolink system covers all those issues, showing Charlie has probably had similar experience; thanks for this, it really helps in making a well informed purchasing decision.
Thanks for this Stephen. Yes absolutely. From shonky apps through to hopelessly translated manuals. I've tried to make this review as objective as possible but I can genuinely say after a month of using them, they've been pretty seemless. The main if not only issue is Wi-fi. You have to have a good network as hopefully I explained in the vid. Unfortunately I've got to reprogram them now though after having to change my WiFi password last night 🙄
Just ordered one Charlie off the Reolink website. They currently have a 10% discount on! Plus I used your code for a further 8% off got camera plus solar panel for an impressive £102 👍🏻 cheers buddy keep up the good work
Without doubt the most comprehensive review I have seen regarding these Reolink products. Bravo . I have been looking at loads of products and have finally invested in the Reolink, thanks to your review. Thanks Charlie, great video. 👍
You're welcome. Still using mine. The secret is a decent WiFi connection. I've put one at the bottom of the garden, which wouldn't have been possible without installing another Unifi AC Lite access point 👍 I think the weak point is whether you'd hear the notification in the middle of the night, but what I have done is recorded my own voice as the alarm "YOU ARE UNDER VIDEO SURVEILLANCE, THE OWNER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED!" You might do that as I think that would be a better deterrent than any alarm.
Just ordered this for my mum to have on her balcony aiming down at her car in the parking lot (Its fairly close) Her car has been bonked into by another car door and even keyed ever since moving to her new place. Hopefully this will catch those turds that are being mischievous. Edit: is it possible to have the recording start automatically with an SD card when the camera detects movement? It would be very handy to have it record 5-10 minutes upon detecting movement.
Thanks for that great tip on assigning two different passwords to the cameras before setting up the PC center. I'm sure you will save people a lot of aggravation and time.
Many Thanks Charlie for taking the time and effort to upload this video. Really well explained with clear information on both the good and bad side of installing and setting up the Reolink system
Yes it works well over 4G. My son was in hospital recently and his ability to look at the home cameras (I have two of these and two E1 Pros for inside the house) was a great way of keeping him entertained. And we were on 4G the whole time because the hospital WiFi was nonexistent. The two gripes I have are 1) that you have to manually change the Scenes between day and night (not a problem though if you don't need them to operate differently day and night) and 2) also the way they notify you. I don't know if I would wake up in the night if the notification alarm went. However I've now recorded my own voice as the alarm "YOU ARE UNDER VIDEO SURVEILLANCE THE OWNER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED" which I think it's going to scare off most crims.
Thanks so much for doing this video. I had only just ordered one of these from Amazon yesterday and can't wait to fit it when it arrives especially after seeing your report on how to set it up.
Excellent review Charlie. I appreciate the time and effort you put into providing it. It's been very helpful in make a decision on which system to purchase.
Great video and really useful, plus your patient replies. Having watched it I decided to go for the Argus 3 as it has an automatic night setting. Most of the comments and replies seem to have been made a year ago, so is your system still ok?
Yes it's still going strong. The only issue is not having an automatic night setting, and if I'm critical, I think the push notifications could be better eg if an intruder triggers it in the night I'm not sure I'd know about it with my phone in sleep mode. However it's a great deterrent and I recommend changing the standard alarm to a voice recording. Mine now has me angrily saying "INTRUDER ALERT. YOU ARE UNDER VIDEO SURVEILLANCE THE OTHER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED". It would be a brave burglar to keep on with the job after hearing that!
Can you auto set the “night” & “Dahl time features thru settings? If not, hopefully in a firmware update they could enable that feature. Not a bad diy system, & think it would help some ppl. I’m wondering if the SD card recordings get looped, after so many days?
Great video, thank you for uploading. This camera is advertised on Amazon as having starlight technology which should allow for colour recordings during night, your video shows B/W?
Hi Charlie, I have installed four of theses this week (now have a total of five) with three being external and two being internal. How have you been finding them? Have the solar panels been reliable?
OUTSTANDING review! I've been torn between a few different wireless security cameras and this review helped me make my decision to go with this camera. Thank you!
@@experiment54 I’ve had 3 cameras installed for almost a year and just purchased my 4th. The Reolink cameras are easy to set up. I’m glad I got them, definitely gives me peace of mind. Plus, their cloud is only $36 per year and supports up to 5 cameras.
Hi Charlie, Great video and very informative. I do have a problem. I came across your video in my search for an answer. I have a complete Reolink System. Installed last year, April 30, 2019, 3 POE cams and 2 Argus WIFI Cams. The 2 Argus WIFI Cams last week suddenly went offline and I cannot re-establish a connection to the 2 Argus Cams. Everything else is ok, the 3 POE are OK. I did some research but can't find an answer. Would it be better to delete the 2 Argus cams and reinstall them? Thank you in advance.
Hi Charlie, thanks for posting this very informative video, and pointing out some of the pitfalls with wireless devices. I have installed and used Reolink devices for CCTV use in a Secondary School, and found them mostly very useful and good value for money. They were used in a POE configuration (Power Over Ethernet), so did no suffer from drop outs due to poor wifi. In people are worried about their wifi capability in supporting such equipment, they should consider how easy it is to set up a small home data network using powerline adaptors (powerline adaptors plug in to a standard domestic socket, which then use the mains to create a wired network). The next trick is to then re-use any broadband router that you may have lying around, to create a free wireless access point, thus cheaply extending your wifi capability. When you change Broadband supplier, keep the old router which can easily be re-used. Wifi extenders are pretty cheap to purchase if needed. I have used a wireless alarm system for the last 10 years, which has also been virtually trouble free. Perhaps you could consider this as a future topic?
Thanks David, that's really interesting. Trouble with these devices is there's no rj45 socket on them but I take your point about extending the wireless network capability. I've always been a bit sceptical about the power line adaptors. Easy to set up they are but I understand you lose a lot of the signal strength. I've done something similar to what you mentioned, setting up slave routers (so as not to lessen the signal like you tend to do with repeaters) directly connected to the main router, in our cottage before I discovered the wireless access points I featured in the video. The main problem I've got with the Reolink units at the moment as you may have seen from my pinned comment, is that the Day and Night modes aren't automatic, so 6 months in, most evenings I forget to switch on Night mode. 😠
Hi Charlie, the lack of day/night functionality is a major issue and as they have not managed an update after 6 months, then i doubt one is coming. Cheers and thanks again for your excellent videos.
@@davidpriest5253 They assure me they're working on it but as it's so blindingly obvious, such a glaring omission from the software, and something they haven't resolved as yet, I'm inclined to agree with you.
Another great video Charlie, what are your thoughts this many months after the initial review and the update? Did the app get updated yet for auto-switching between day and night? Cheers
Thanks David. No, sadly they've not enabled auto switching, which is a massive oversight, so I've resorted to having the cellar cam permanently alarmed day and night as otherwise I forget to turn on the Night scene. The other issue I have with these cameras is that I just wouldn't hear the notification ping through at night if someone did cross the beam. They're a decent deterrent though and I've recorded my own voice as the alarm for the cellar cam (I didn't realise you could do that when I recorded the video), to say in a maniacal tone "YOU'RE UNDER VIDEO SURVEILLANCE THE OWNER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED". It'd take a brave soul to continue the break in with that knowledge!
And my current gripe is that the cameras are no longer sending notification to my phone when movement is detected. I've managed to partially restore functionality by restoring the camera to factory, but this is a big issue if it continues.
Would have been a better choice with the Amazon Blink XT2 cameras, no servers stored in China with 2bit software. 2 Batteries installation about >10minutes. For no technical people, this is the ideal choice and can have a nice full-screen video on your smart TV if you have an Amazon firestick TV on it.
Hi thanks for your review. For your garage you may also want to think about google home/homekit door sensors. So in my shed I have a motion sensor which will trigger and send me a message when the door is opened. Though I think I will now also get one of these for inside the shed.
Great video as usual. Now that we are nearing winter solstice I was just wondering how the solar panels are fairing? Are they keeping up with demand or do you need to take the batteries out and recharge every now and then? Thanks.
Hi Mark, funny you should ask as I was just about to update my comments feed on this. I've literally a few days ago had to take the cellar cam down for the first time since install and charge it as it has finally run out of juice, being on the north side of the house and not getting enough sunlight through the solar panel to keep it charged. It's been reconnected two days and is still in 100%. The other drive camera is entirely self sufficient and still reading 90%. Pretty impressive in my opinion. Just wish they would automate the Scenes as I forget to switch them over half the time.
@@CharlieDIYte Thanks Charlie, the solar panel does then seem up to the job, I will probably go ahead then and invest in a couple of these despite the issues with day and night time settings.
@@Mark_my_words_YT The one I had to recharge is still on 100% a few days later so yes, they're impressive. Just need to make sure your WiFi network is up to it.
Solid review as always fella, i've just moved from Wansview cameras to Ubiquiti (as i gradually move my whole network to Ubi), £400 for the controller+PoE switch+1 camera isnt super cheap, but its a very good platform, all cabled though (they do have a wifi model but you still need to power it).
Hi. Great review thanks. A query... with the storage on the local SD card.. is this accessible from anywhere via the phone app or do you have to be on the same wifi network as the camera to view it. I would like to be able to check and view the local storage when away from the property. Thanks
I have become an ardent fan after watching your content over the last couple of weeks. I wish I had seen this review before as I just purchased the expensive NEST camera. I have sent you some dosh.
you can get cheap POE (power over ethernet) systems which only require a single cable to get power and video back to an internal recorder or smart phone. Fine if mounting on your property, not so on a tree though.
Hi Charlie. Got one of these cameras. Is it any setting to set overwriting mode when got short space? Have 64gb sd card in it and today checked it , havent got any free space and other thing which worries me that all videos which been recorded for couple of weeks has gone. Will take card tomorrow out and see what it will show on pc. Any ideas about it? Do i need to track every day how much space i got left or there are some settings which i can not find. Thank you.
Cheers Charlie, Watched this video ages ago and have finally gotten around to buying the camera. Only £75 for camera and solar panel on amazon. Also bought the gutter mounts. I'll buy another camera if this works out OK - also living in a rural location and "Three 4g broadband" - should be OK 🤞🏻
You're welcome Colin. I need to do an update video on this. They're a good bit of kit. Change the alarm to a bespoke recording of your voice "YOU'RE UNDER VIDEO SURVEILLANCE THE OWNER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED". Take a brave burglar to continue after hearing that. 👍
These Reolink cameras are great other than 1 very important thing about security.Detection range is 10 feet or less actually.And the delay in which you're alerted to detection can be up to 30 minutes.As a security cam it is basically useless.As a monitoring camera while watching the monitor 24/7 they are great.Mine just arrived 3 days ago.Not worth the money and Reolink lies about the 50ft detection range.
Stephen this is a really tricky one, simply because they all promise a lot and often deliver very inconsistent results. I have a Bosch PMD 7 which is good for metal, and electric but doesn't detect water or stud - although it actually finds studs pretty well because typically studs are littered with old nails (old buildings) or screws (newer) or are actually metal anyway (new builds). It's performed consistently well over the years and in fact much better than the state of the art detector that the fitter who works for me proudly unveiled recently. So I'd go for something like that - I think the Truvo is a newer version of it but I can't vouch for how good the Truvo is.
About 3.5 metres off the ground. It needs to be high enough that an intruder couldn't rip it off, whilst being close enough to detect movement, but mine detects movement brilliantly from this distance. A tip, record your own voice for the alarm. Mine says "YOU ARE UNDER VIDEO SURVEILLANCE THE OWNER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED" You have to shout a bit to get it nice and clear but it's much more intimidating for an intruder than the standard alarm.
Very useful video. Thanks. I just got one of these, I wanted to mount it in my garden pointing at the house. How did you mount your solar panel on the tree? It seems they don't come with a strap like the camera. My plan was to mount it on the top of my kids swing set (15ft). But without the strap this will be tricky. I don't want to drill into the metal. So might have to resort to cable ties :(
I screwed the solar panel to the tree. The tree's a labernum and suddenly started leaning so I had to chop it down. Hope it wasn't the screws 🤣 Yes I think cable ties might be your best bet unless you can make some sort of wooden block with a circular cut out for the swing frame that you can screw the bracket down to, with the block underneath the frame and the bracket above, like a clamp?
Bought two of these cameras off the back of this video, both with solar panels, one of them works perfect, the second had no night vision and the solar panel didn't charge the battery. Sent it back to Amazon for a refund, bought another of the Eco and that too failed to charge with the solar panel, have just requested another refund and have bought a fourth Reolink argus Eco, hope this one works as I need a product that is solar powered.
Thanks Andrew. I'm still using the cameras and they're doing well. Funnily enough my dog's just set off the cellar cam. My only gripe is that the notification can be a bit erratic if your phone is sleeping. There needs to be a more comprehensive way of alerting you. Although I've recorded my own voice on the alarm "YOU ARE UNDER VIDEO SURVEILLANCE THE OWNER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED" which serves as a pretty good deterrent.
HI, realise your video is a few years old but I've only just found the Reolink Argus products. Can you turn off the PIR light for night recordings? When you showed the Day/Night settings it looked like you could but I can't find that information anywhere. My camera is to which dog owner is letting them foul my front garden but don't want to advertise the camera at night as it will be installed in a parked car. thanks
The light that comes on is the night time sensor/ light for the camera. The recording would just be black if it didn't trigger. So, no I don't think you can turn it off.
Thanks, Charlie. That's really interesting and possibly very useful. I gave up on the Ring system a couple of years ago because their products failed and the customer support was a whole new level of awful. With the low cost of the Reolink (and it sounds like there's a slightly different architecture too), I'm tempted to give it a try. Keep up the videos. I really to love it when I see you've posted a new one!. :)
Hi Charlie.... I have a question about the movement notifications. Are the cameras able to distinguish between animals and humans? I'm after notifications, but don't really want them for when cats, foxes and smaller creatures are in the detection range.
@@CharlieDIYte You might have missed the humour ... or, as I'm autistic, I may not have made it plain. I do that : / Either way, no offense was meant. I'm new to CCTV... however as their resident IT guy I managed to blag an install job at a family estate ... PTZ cameras were controlled using a map on the family tablets... put your finger on a disturbance and track it, and the relevant cameras automatically get all available angles... use multi-touch to drag a circle and the cameras widen or tighten and continue to track. When not being controlled, movement and face-rec cause the cameras to track intermittently. I was quite proud of it... but it's only really suitable for large grounds with a large number of cameras. But it does make capturing events really very simple, and no need to remember which cameras are where, or try to juggle controlling them individually... I was surprised that couldn't find anything similar available commercially... also, just how many PTZ cameras only work relatively, not on absolute indexes. I'm about to wire my own home for CCTV and integrate it with my other systems... which is why I'm looking around at what others have done. I'm thinking of going with a simpler autotracking setup, movement tracking, auto-searching ... probably recorded and accessed via blue-iris with some offline storage thrown in. I got a free RING doorbell to try ... I really wasn't impressed. Security was abysmal and the high latency was inexcusable. Sometimes it took up to 30s to alert the phone. I could do better myself. Anyway, glad to see you've found something that mostly works for you. I agree on the criticality of strong wifi. ISP provided or retail routers really ain't great. I use a mixed setup here... some ubiquity and a failover cisco aironet. Anyway, thanks for sharing. And, again, apologies if my lack of social etiquette caused offence... it's just an autism thing : / o/
One comment. You haven't mentioned a word regarding the cloud function of the Reolink Argus 2. In Europe, the Reolink cloud CANNOT be used due to GDPR restrictions! I think this is an important negative. Also you cannot bind this camera to a Synology NAS.
Good video. I have 4 Arlo cameras outside not connected to a solar panel, which work really well but the two Arlo Pro burn through the re-chargeable batteries every 6 weeks so I have 2 spare and ready charged.. Had these been around then I might have gone for Reolink. My Broadband/WiFi is Virgin’s highest so range for the one at the bottom of the garden (30 metres away) so .these would work fine for me and they’re loads cheaper than Arlo when comparing like for like with extra batteries and off-camera 2 battery charger etc. Maybe I should have fitted a solar panel.
Great review and very informative thanks. I fitted an Argus 3 Pro a few months ago with mixed results. Even though I have 100meg broadband with the router about 3 metres from the camera, it just about starts recording when the delivery man is getting back into his van and it has never notified me, even though it is set to. It will only detect motion moving across the field of view, rather than directly towards the camera. When it does work it's great, but short of having a sign requesting potential burglars to walk in a zig zag fashion it's not much use, so sadly I cannot recommend it as much as I would like to.
Nice review Charlie, Is there a possibility to schedule the day & night times. e.g switch to night mode on automatically at 19:00 and off again at 06:00? Keep up the great videos
I've asked my contact at Reolink to look into this and she's forwarded it to the R&D department. I agree, seems obvious and you're not the first to mention this.
Iv been looking for a cctv camera set up and then you pop up. This looks great and will be investing in some soon. I take it when your internet is down they still record so when the internet is back up you can then reply videos ? And a nice video with no nonsense just straight to the point and good explanation. Big 👍 up
Does the camera send image packets by HTTP:// or HTTPS:// - if like many cameras it sends by HTTP then a program like Wireshark, and terminal to force a reconnection, by kicking you off the network for a few seconds, in order to capture the password can filter out all the images on your IP and convert the packets to video hence watch what the cameras see.
Nice review Charlie as a result I purchased 2 x argus 2 with sp's and love them, the only draw back ive got is where I've installed one of them on the side of our property with arcs covering the side of the house im getting so much glare at night through the IR lights it's impossible to see anything (house in light grey pain). If you or any others have had this problem and over come it I'd be eager to find out. Cheers
Hi Tom. I have that a bit with the cellar cam. The only thing I can suggest, other than extending the camera out from the wall on some sort of bracket, is to play around with the settings. When you click on the camera so you're seeing the real time footage, click on the three dots in the top right of the screen, click on Day and Night, and change it from Auto, to Color. It automatically switches to Black and White at night, which generally gives you better visuals than Color mode, but this might help you...
@@CharlieDIYte I didn't see your affiliated links sorry mate I did mention your name to reolink however so hopefully they do the right thing and give you a kick back of some kind, in future I'll check before buying. Cheers for your help.
Super review once again Charlie! Hilarious timing, I've just installed loads of Tower Conduit around the house...metres of the stuff in readiness for the multi-cams and shotgun cable. DOH! Will definitely look into this more. I was after lots of cams tho so may still add up financially.
Great detailed review, does this cam have person detection? My Wyze cam has pretty good AI that only notifies you if a person is in your detection area as opposed to a cat etc 🙂. But yea awesome vid!
Yes. Or you can record your own voice which I've done on the cellar cam - which is scarier than the alarm "intruder alert, you are under video surveillance. The owner has been notified". Problem is, notifications aren't particularly obvious on your phone, and it still annoys me they haven't automated the day and night scenes.
Hi Charlie, Having purchased a number of items that you have recommended and not been let down I was very interested in the security camera. First thing I did was read up on it after your excellent video and then check numerous reviews. Its still 50 50 as to how good it is according to reviews, main problems wi fi connection, length of time battery lasts as I wish to put two inside my property and how quick it records as a lot of people state that it records people walking away rather than when it first activates as its slow. Most of these complaint also seem to arise after a number of months use so I would be very interested to see what you think of this item after six months. Regards Chris
Hi Chris. I hear you, and I had read a fair few of these reviews too. All I can say is that over the couple of months I've been using them they've been pretty much glitch free. I will of course keep you all updated and will make a point of posting an update after 6 months. You can discount the WiFi comments because in the most part that will be people blaming the cameras for their rubbish WiFi/broadband speed. I can't comment on the battery life because mine are solar charged but it would be a pain to keep having to recharge them. I suspect they haven't bothered to set them up properly and they're perhaps constantly recording or similar but that's anyone's guess. I'm upgrading my broadband from Airband to super fast fibre in a few weeks ago it will be very interesting to see what effect that has. I'll post a comment with my findings. I'll also see if I can get anything out of Reolink on the battery life issue.
Great review, as ever Charlie, thank you. Does the system require any monthly subscriptions for cloud access? I know the Amazon Blink system does not have monthly fees, which is just one benefit over and above the Nest and Ring cams. As others have said, shame about the lack of an automatic day/night scheduling (like most mobile phone ability) perhaps worthy of dropping the R&D dept a note, I am sure it would be a simple software upgrade for the app? It will be interesting to see how the weatherproofing holds up, specifically when using the USB cable for the Solar Panel solution Keep up the good work! Thanks again
Hi Will. Thanks for that! It looks like there are monthly subscriptions bit.ly/2KNqcMZ I've got to say though there really isn't any need for cloud storage (which by the way hasn't been rolled out in Europe yet) because for £5 per camera you can get an SD card. Cloud storage generally is all well and good, but even the free providers are only doing it to lure us in so that later on they can introduce a fee when it's too late and you're too dependent on the storage to leave. You've raised a good point re the automatic Day and Night scene scheduling. I've asked Reolink if there's any plan to introduce this and will let you know when I hear back.
Reolink have thanked us for the feedback on the automatic Day/Night Scene scheduling and have passed this onto the R&D department so that "this function will be improved in the future". Watch this space...
Thanks Alan. I've recorded my voice instead of the alarm for my cellar cam which I think is more of a deterrent. You might try that "INTRUDER ALERT, YOU ARE UNDER VIDEO SURVEILLANCE. THE OWNER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED!"
Charlie DIYte Thanks for the follow up Charlie, seems crazy that they hadn’t thought of this before now! Great videos by the way, always very informative and useful.
It's a nice little system, the only big weakness it has is that it's easily disabled by using a WIFI jammer, info on WiFi jammers is also easily found here on RUclips, so that is something to be aware of
Hi Charlie love your videos, i have been thinking for a while about cctv and smartphone security cameras, i like this one as you dont have to run wires across the outside and inside of the house which is great, thanks for sharing this one. I dont know if your DIY skills allow you to do a video on how to install a stand alone photocell dusk to dawn switch, as i would like to add one to my outside garden lights but i cant seem to find a good uk version of this, only foreign versions seem to keep coming up on my searches. keep up the videos mate good work, kevin
Whilst the website says it's Full Hd 1080p is doesn't mention how many frames per second. I'd love to see one first hand to see if it is 30 frames or 60. With 60 frames you can read the number plate of a moving car with 30 frames you cannot.
Thanks for sharing this video, I've installed a with a friend (who went in the loft lol) wired system & when u said about the cost being in thousands yes they can be but for a small outlay of approx £200 you can get a system off amazon. (IN SYSTEM I ORDED) This system comes with 2 1080 full HD cameras the recorder box mouse & all power leads that are required. You do however need to buy a hard drive to use in the system I would go with about 1TB video grade hdd something like the Western Digital Blue yes you have to run cables but you would be able to run 4 cam (buy 2 extra) & the quality of the videos are recorded on the hdd & you can leave it on perminant record 24/7. The system is easy to fit that even my dad who is 77 this year could have if he was more able-bodied would have been able to fit the system in place. Its just to say that don't be to hastey in dismissing a wired system even at low price
Like stevebray I have had a wired system from Sanncee from amazon with 8 cameras and full recording to harddrive for about 3 years now, never had a problem with them and it cost me about £150, well worth the cost
Great video Charlie, exactly the sort of thing I will be buying. Good point about not having them switched on when the family are about or in my case the dog running around the garden. Do you know if they are sensitive to rabbits / wildlife in the garden triggering them?. I use Develo dlan adaptors to create remote Wifi in my garage and summerhouse that works well, rather than relying on the range of my house router, it also gives me wifi in the garden for the kids...
Hi Chris, thanks for that. I suspect it would pick up the dog, but probably not rabbits, although it's one of those things you'll just have to experiment with as you'll get this problem with any surveillance camera. You should be able to perfect the placement/ angle of the camera so that it doesn't detect things marauding around close to the ground. The issue I've got with that one up the tree is branches moving in the wind - which tend to set it off, but again, I've just got to get up a ladder and trim the offending branches. Good thinking with the Devolo adapters. I might try that if I decide to put one outside the shed at the bottom of the garden!
Pretty instant but I wouldn't rely on it particularly if your phone is in sleep mode. What I've done is record my own aggressive shouty voice as the alarm "INTRUDER ALERT. YOU ARE UNDER VIDEO SURVEILLANCE THE OWNER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED" It would take a brave thief to keep going after hearing that!
They are good. Mine still going strong. Record your own voice as the alarm, rather than the default. I've done that on my cellar cam and it's really intimidating "INTRUDER ALERT, YOU ARE ON VIDEO SURVEILLANCE. THE OWNER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED".
Wireless cams and other security products that rely on wi fi to work are still pretty unreliable at present and encounter many problems such as the ones you discovered and many others......maybe one day if we get nationwide fibre broadband that we keep getting promised is coming things will be different , but until that happens your better off sticking to hard wired systems that can be routed back to a hard drive that is connected to your hub with wires and can be viewed anywhere remotely ( providing your telephone line doesn't get snipped by mr scallywag...! ) cheers for the demo......👍
Yes it can, but there's no cloud storage option in Europe right now. That said, there's a fee for cloud storage and to my mind it's much easier and cheaper to just buy an SD card for each camera.
Hmm. Tricky one. Is this a new phenomenon? Under your sink there's a pipe from the washing machine that connects into the sink waste. If this has only just started happening, I suspect your sink waste needs a good flush through. You can do this yourself by disconnecting everything and gradually clean the waste in a nice big bucket of soapy water.
So this is the third attempt at uploading this video - so I can only apologise to all you kind people who get notifications of my videos and are beginning to think its Groundhog Day!! Special thanks go to Dave and Ben who are considerably more techy than me (clearly!) and very quickly pointed out yesterday I had revealed the QR Code for my devices and therefore my WiFi network name and password. Dow! It's gestures like that, and generally all the positive comments I get from (most of) you, which keep me doing these videos, so massive thanks to you all, and I hope you find this video useful!
You're considerably more competent at DIY than me Charlie so I think we're even :)
Very Useful, thanks
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you probably dont care at all but does anybody know a method to get back into an instagram account??
I was dumb lost my login password. I love any tricks you can give me.
@Jadiel Rhys instablaster =)
@Dwayne Briggs Thanks for your reply. I got to the site thru google and I'm trying it out now.
Seems to take a while so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
@Dwayne Briggs It did the trick and I now got access to my account again. I am so happy:D
Thank you so much, you saved my ass!
@Jadiel Rhys you are welcome :)
Hey charlie... how did the solar work for the winter, ready to buy but cautious...
So a few months in the cameras are still working well. My major gripe though - which a few people identified at the time - is that there is no automatic setting for Day and Night scenes. You have to switch between them manually, which half the time I forget to do. I've raised this with Reolink and they assure me they're working on a software update to cover this. They need to as this is a major omission in what is otherwise a great product. UPDATE MARCH 2020 About a month ago the cameras stopped notifying me when they detected movement (although the PIR is working because the alarm still sounds when movement is detected). A pretty serious issue. I managed to get one working again by resetting it to factory. Anyone else had this problem? I'll be contacting the manufacturers and will update you once I've heard back from them.
The only problem I have had is lost connection suddenly with my 2 Argus 2s. See the post I posted 1 week ago at the top. I'm working with Support but no luck so far.
Any update for both issues?
any update?
Hello Charlie, it's Dec 2022 and I ask if U feel these cameras R worth a purchase now, did U get further feedback/updates about the issues U raised? Vry interest in UR thoughts 👍
I ordered two of these due to a recent break-in to my car on Christmas Eve. Found this video afterward and it's extremely helpful. Thanks!
Glad you found it useful. You can also set your own custom alarm, which could be you telling them they're being videod and the police have been called 🙂
I have bought so many CCTV systems that claim to work this way, from cheap to not so cheap. They all have shortcomings ranging from reliability, functionality to really shonky un-supported apps that, if they do come with instructions, are written in Chinglish. This review of the Reolink system covers all those issues, showing Charlie has probably had similar experience; thanks for this, it really helps in making a well informed purchasing decision.
Thanks for this Stephen. Yes absolutely. From shonky apps through to hopelessly translated manuals. I've tried to make this review as objective as possible but I can genuinely say after a month of using them, they've been pretty seemless. The main if not only issue is Wi-fi. You have to have a good network as hopefully I explained in the vid. Unfortunately I've got to reprogram them now though after having to change my WiFi password last night 🙄
Just ordered one Charlie off the Reolink website. They currently have a 10% discount on! Plus I used your code for a further 8% off got camera plus solar panel for an impressive £102 👍🏻 cheers buddy keep up the good work
Without doubt the most comprehensive review I have seen regarding these Reolink products. Bravo .
I have been looking at loads of products and have finally invested in the Reolink, thanks to your review.
Thanks Charlie, great video. 👍
You're welcome. Still using mine. The secret is a decent WiFi connection. I've put one at the bottom of the garden, which wouldn't have been possible without installing another Unifi AC Lite access point 👍 I think the weak point is whether you'd hear the notification in the middle of the night, but what I have done is recorded my own voice as the alarm "YOU ARE UNDER VIDEO SURVEILLANCE, THE OWNER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED!" You might do that as I think that would be a better deterrent than any alarm.
Just ordered this for my mum to have on her balcony aiming down at her car in the parking lot (Its fairly close)
Her car has been bonked into by another car door and even keyed ever since moving to her new place.
Hopefully this will catch those turds that are being mischievous.
Edit: is it possible to have the recording start automatically with an SD card when the camera detects movement? It would be very handy to have it record 5-10 minutes upon detecting movement.
Charlie, this is very helpful…thank you for taking the time to produce and upload the video - much appreciated!
Would've preferred the night/day mode switch to be time based so automatic. A manual override still helps. Custom modes would be nice too.
agreed, who wants to go into an app all the time, nobody got time for that haha
Thanks for that great tip on assigning two different passwords to the cameras before setting up the PC center. I'm sure you will save people a lot of aggravation and time.
You're welcome - thanks for the comment!!
Many Thanks Charlie for taking the time and effort to upload this video. Really well explained with clear information on both the good and bad side of installing and setting up the Reolink system
Good review Charlie, thank you. Am amazed you have break ins there. Thought only we get them. Take care as always
Thanks for the video. Would you plz share your experience about accessing your camera over 4G internet remotely when away from home wifi?
Yes it works well over 4G. My son was in hospital recently and his ability to look at the home cameras (I have two of these and two E1 Pros for inside the house) was a great way of keeping him entertained. And we were on 4G the whole time because the hospital WiFi was nonexistent. The two gripes I have are 1) that you have to manually change the Scenes between day and night (not a problem though if you don't need them to operate differently day and night) and 2) also the way they notify you. I don't know if I would wake up in the night if the notification alarm went. However I've now recorded my own voice as the alarm "YOU ARE UNDER VIDEO SURVEILLANCE THE OWNER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED" which I think it's going to scare off most crims.
@@CharlieDIYte Thanks for your reply.
Thanks so much for doing this video.
I had only just ordered one of these from Amazon yesterday and can't wait to fit it when it arrives especially after seeing your report on how to set it up.
Thanks David - you're welcome! Hope it does as good a job for you as it has for me!
How did it go David? Are you happy with the Reolink Argo 2? I'm considering getting them and was curious.
Great review. I’ve been using Reolink cameras for a while and they are superb. I have a PVR system and some stand alone WiFi camera. Great system.
Still really pleased with mine mate and I've recorded my own voice instead of the alarm which I think is a greater deterrent.
Excellent review Charlie. I appreciate the time and effort you put into providing it. It's been very helpful in make a decision on which system to purchase.
Great cameras, I bought one for the garden after watching your video, and I've just bought another camera for the driveway. Thanks for the video.
Thanks you very much Charlie. I wish I saw this before buying my Arlo cams... they work great but way too expensive
This has been a very enjoyable and thorough review. I appreciate all of the detail and testing you've shown.
Great video and really useful, plus your patient replies. Having watched it I decided to go for the Argus 3 as it has an automatic night setting. Most of the comments and replies seem to have been made a year ago, so is your system still ok?
Yes it's still going strong. The only issue is not having an automatic night setting, and if I'm critical, I think the push notifications could be better eg if an intruder triggers it in the night I'm not sure I'd know about it with my phone in sleep mode. However it's a great deterrent and I recommend changing the standard alarm to a voice recording. Mine now has me angrily saying "INTRUDER ALERT. YOU ARE UNDER VIDEO SURVEILLANCE THE OTHER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED". It would be a brave burglar to keep on with the job after hearing that!
Can you auto set the “night” & “Dahl time features thru settings? If not, hopefully in a firmware update they could enable that feature. Not a bad diy system, & think it would help some ppl. I’m wondering if the SD card recordings get looped, after so many days?
I've passed this on to their R&D department. I agree, seems bonkers not to have this option.
Great video, thank you for uploading. This camera is advertised on Amazon as having starlight technology which should allow for colour recordings during night, your video shows B/W?
Hi Charlie, I have installed four of theses this week (now have a total of five) with three being external and two being internal. How have you been finding them? Have the solar panels been reliable?
Maybe they should do a black colour version, including the strap, to help reduce the visibility of the cameras.
I agree , i think they do a camouflage though .
Like it makes a difference, you’ll never catch the thieves and the police will certainly do nothing...too busy sorting malicious tweets out.
OUTSTANDING review! I've been torn between a few different wireless security cameras and this review helped me make my decision to go with this camera. Thank you!
how did it work out?
@@experiment54 I’ve had 3 cameras installed for almost a year and just purchased my 4th. The Reolink cameras are easy to set up. I’m glad I got them, definitely gives me peace of mind. Plus, their cloud is only $36 per year and supports up to 5 cameras.
Hi Charlie, Great video and very informative. I do have a problem. I came across your video in my search for an answer. I have a complete Reolink System. Installed last year, April 30, 2019, 3 POE cams and 2 Argus WIFI Cams. The 2 Argus WIFI Cams last week suddenly went offline and I cannot re-establish a connection to the 2 Argus Cams. Everything else is ok, the 3 POE are OK. I did some research but can't find an answer. Would it be better to delete the 2 Argus cams and reinstall them? Thank you in advance.
Hi Charlie, thanks for posting this very informative video, and pointing out some of the pitfalls with wireless devices. I have installed and used Reolink devices for CCTV use in a Secondary School, and found them mostly very useful and good value for money. They were used in a POE configuration (Power Over Ethernet), so did no suffer from drop outs due to poor wifi.
In people are worried about their wifi capability in supporting such equipment, they should consider how easy it is to set up a small home data network using powerline adaptors (powerline adaptors plug in to a standard domestic socket, which then use the mains to create a wired network). The next trick is to then re-use any broadband router that you may have lying around, to create a free wireless access point, thus cheaply extending your wifi capability. When you change Broadband supplier, keep the old router which can easily be re-used. Wifi extenders are pretty cheap to purchase if needed.
I have used a wireless alarm system for the last 10 years, which has also been virtually trouble free. Perhaps you could consider this as a future topic?
Thanks David, that's really interesting. Trouble with these devices is there's no rj45 socket on them but I take your point about extending the wireless network capability. I've always been a bit sceptical about the power line adaptors. Easy to set up they are but I understand you lose a lot of the signal strength. I've done something similar to what you mentioned, setting up slave routers (so as not to lessen the signal like you tend to do with repeaters) directly connected to the main router, in our cottage before I discovered the wireless access points I featured in the video. The main problem I've got with the Reolink units at the moment as you may have seen from my pinned comment, is that the Day and Night modes aren't automatic, so 6 months in, most evenings I forget to switch on Night mode. 😠
Hi Charlie, the lack of day/night functionality is a major issue and as they have not managed an update after 6 months, then i doubt one is coming.
Cheers and thanks again for your excellent videos.
@@davidpriest5253 They assure me they're working on it but as it's so blindingly obvious, such a glaring omission from the software, and something they haven't resolved as yet, I'm inclined to agree with you.
Another great video Charlie, what are your thoughts this many months after the initial review and the update? Did the app get updated yet for auto-switching between day and night? Cheers
Thanks David. No, sadly they've not enabled auto switching, which is a massive oversight, so I've resorted to having the cellar cam permanently alarmed day and night as otherwise I forget to turn on the Night scene. The other issue I have with these cameras is that I just wouldn't hear the notification ping through at night if someone did cross the beam. They're a decent deterrent though and I've recorded my own voice as the alarm for the cellar cam (I didn't realise you could do that when I recorded the video), to say in a maniacal tone "YOU'RE UNDER VIDEO SURVEILLANCE THE OWNER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED". It'd take a brave soul to continue the break in with that knowledge!
And my current gripe is that the cameras are no longer sending notification to my phone when movement is detected. I've managed to partially restore functionality by restoring the camera to factory, but this is a big issue if it continues.
Do you still recommend and use these cameras a year later?
Would have been a better choice with the Amazon Blink XT2 cameras, no servers stored in China with 2bit software. 2 Batteries installation about >10minutes.
For no technical people, this is the ideal choice and can have a nice full-screen video on your smart TV if you have an Amazon firestick TV on it.
Hi thanks for your review. For your garage you may also want to think about google home/homekit door sensors. So in my shed I have a motion sensor which will trigger and send me a message when the door is opened. Though I think I will now also get one of these for inside the shed.
I like the sound of those. Thanks for that! Who manufactures them out of interest?
Great video as usual. Now that we are nearing winter solstice I was just wondering how the solar panels are fairing? Are they keeping up with demand or do you need to take the batteries out and recharge every now and then? Thanks.
Hi Mark, funny you should ask as I was just about to update my comments feed on this. I've literally a few days ago had to take the cellar cam down for the first time since install and charge it as it has finally run out of juice, being on the north side of the house and not getting enough sunlight through the solar panel to keep it charged. It's been reconnected two days and is still in 100%. The other drive camera is entirely self sufficient and still reading 90%. Pretty impressive in my opinion. Just wish they would automate the Scenes as I forget to switch them over half the time.
@@CharlieDIYte Thanks Charlie, the solar panel does then seem up to the job, I will probably go ahead then and invest in a couple of these despite the issues with day and night time settings.
@@Mark_my_words_YT The one I had to recharge is still on 100% a few days later so yes, they're impressive. Just need to make sure your WiFi network is up to it.
I just ordered one from America and i dont have the day and night option i am still playing with it and hope that the night vision is good!!!
Solid review as always fella, i've just moved from Wansview cameras to Ubiquiti (as i gradually move my whole network to Ubi), £400 for the controller+PoE switch+1 camera isnt super cheap, but its a very good platform, all cabled though (they do have a wifi model but you still need to power it).
Nice work. Anything Ubiquiti is quality, so you can't go wrong there! Thanks for the comment!
Hi. Great review thanks. A query... with the storage on the local SD card.. is this accessible from anywhere via the phone app or do you have to be on the same wifi network as the camera to view it. I would like to be able to check and view the local storage when away from the property. Thanks
Thanks Peter. Yes it is. I've just tried it.
I have become an ardent fan after watching your content over the last couple of weeks. I wish I had seen this review before as I just purchased the expensive NEST camera. I have sent you some dosh.
Thanks for the review, I bought one but I get a good 10 minute delay from activity to notification. I wondered if that's the same for you?
Great review clear and comprehensive and I totally agree bad reviews are most solely down to users poor WiFi
you can get cheap POE (power over ethernet) systems which only require a single cable to get power and video back to an internal recorder or smart phone. Fine if mounting on your property, not so on a tree though.
Hi Charlie. Got one of these cameras. Is it any setting to set overwriting mode when got short space? Have 64gb sd card in it and today checked it , havent got any free space and other thing which worries me that all videos which been recorded for couple of weeks has gone. Will take card tomorrow out and see what it will show on pc. Any ideas about it? Do i need to track every day how much space i got left or there are some settings which i can not find.
Thank you.
Cheers Charlie,
Watched this video ages ago and have finally gotten around to buying the camera.
Only £75 for camera and solar panel on amazon. Also bought the gutter mounts.
I'll buy another camera if this works out OK - also living in a rural location and "Three 4g broadband" - should be OK 🤞🏻
You're welcome Colin. I need to do an update video on this. They're a good bit of kit. Change the alarm to a bespoke recording of your voice "YOU'RE UNDER VIDEO SURVEILLANCE THE OWNER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED". Take a brave burglar to continue after hearing that. 👍
@@CharlieDIYte even better than I expected. Will definitely get a second one for the rear of the property
Hi Charlie quick question I can see this was filmed 7 months ago can I ask you do you still feel the same about these camaras? Stay safe regards Barry
These Reolink cameras are great other than 1 very important thing about security.Detection range is 10 feet or less actually.And the delay in which you're alerted to detection can be up to 30 minutes.As a security cam it is basically useless.As a monitoring camera while watching the monitor 24/7 they are great.Mine just arrived 3 days ago.Not worth the money and Reolink lies about the 50ft detection range.
Is there any issue with power from a solar perspective? Uk and Ireland not great in winter for solar
Dear Charlie, do you have any preference with regard to a good stud, pipe and electric wire finder, behind plaster board and in concrete.
Stephen this is a really tricky one, simply because they all promise a lot and often deliver very inconsistent results. I have a Bosch PMD 7 which is good for metal, and electric but doesn't detect water or stud - although it actually finds studs pretty well because typically studs are littered with old nails (old buildings) or screws (newer) or are actually metal anyway (new builds). It's performed consistently well over the years and in fact much better than the state of the art detector that the fitter who works for me proudly unveiled recently. So I'd go for something like that - I think the Truvo is a newer version of it but I can't vouch for how good the Truvo is.
Hi Charlie, can you tell me the height that you set the camera. Reolink suggests 10 feet but yours looks a little bit higher with a good picture.
About 3.5 metres off the ground. It needs to be high enough that an intruder couldn't rip it off, whilst being close enough to detect movement, but mine detects movement brilliantly from this distance. A tip, record your own voice for the alarm. Mine says "YOU ARE UNDER VIDEO SURVEILLANCE THE OWNER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED" You have to shout a bit to get it nice and clear but it's much more intimidating for an intruder than the standard alarm.
Very useful video. Thanks. I just got one of these, I wanted to mount it in my garden pointing at the house. How did you mount your solar panel on the tree? It seems they don't come with a strap like the camera. My plan was to mount it on the top of my kids swing set (15ft). But without the strap this will be tricky. I don't want to drill into the metal. So might have to resort to cable ties :(
I screwed the solar panel to the tree. The tree's a labernum and suddenly started leaning so I had to chop it down. Hope it wasn't the screws 🤣 Yes I think cable ties might be your best bet unless you can make some sort of wooden block with a circular cut out for the swing frame that you can screw the bracket down to, with the block underneath the frame and the bracket above, like a clamp?
Thanks for the video. Super helpful. Thanks to it, I took the decision to buy.
Bought two of these cameras off the back of this video, both with solar panels, one of them works perfect, the second had no night vision and the solar panel didn't charge the battery. Sent it back to Amazon for a refund, bought another of the Eco and that too failed to charge with the solar panel, have just requested another refund and have bought a fourth Reolink argus Eco, hope this one works as I need a product that is solar powered.
what happened?
Excellent presentation and explanation 😎👍🏼
Thanks Andrew. I'm still using the cameras and they're doing well. Funnily enough my dog's just set off the cellar cam. My only gripe is that the notification can be a bit erratic if your phone is sleeping. There needs to be a more comprehensive way of alerting you. Although I've recorded my own voice on the alarm "YOU ARE UNDER VIDEO SURVEILLANCE THE OWNER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED" which serves as a pretty good deterrent.
HI, realise your video is a few years old but I've only just found the Reolink Argus products. Can you turn off the PIR light for night recordings? When you showed the Day/Night settings it looked like you could but I can't find that information anywhere. My camera is to which dog owner is letting them foul my front garden but don't want to advertise the camera at night as it will be installed in a parked car. thanks
The light that comes on is the night time sensor/ light for the camera. The recording would just be black if it didn't trigger. So, no I don't think you can turn it off.
@@CharlieDIYte thanks for the prompt reply. I'm a Brit living in NZ and have learned a lot from your videos. Cheers
great video. do you know is it possible to turn the cameras on demand and for all other time camera to stay turned off to preserve battery power?
Yes you just turn the PIR off. It doesn't completely switch off the camera but it effectively puts it into standby.
Enjoyed the video. Just wondering, can you run 2 cameras from 1 solar panel or does 1 camera need 1 solar panel?
One solar panel per camera.
does this camera work while charging? could you have it plugged indoors and have it work?
Another great vid. Can you delete the files recorded on the sd card remotely from your phone?
Thanks Timothy! Yes, you simply go to the format SD card menu in the App - which I think I showed towards the end of the vid.
Thanks, Charlie. That's really interesting and possibly very useful. I gave up on the Ring system a couple of years ago because their products failed and the customer support was a whole new level of awful. With the low cost of the Reolink (and it sounds like there's a slightly different architecture too), I'm tempted to give it a try.
Keep up the videos. I really to love it when I see you've posted a new one!. :)
Thanks AJ - really appreciate that. Don't worry, I'll keep them coming one way or another!
Hi Charlie.... I have a question about the movement notifications. Are the cameras able to distinguish between animals and humans? I'm after notifications, but don't really want them for when cats, foxes and smaller creatures are in the detection range.
no distinguish human and animals.
*Charlie :* _So I'm going to be as critical and objective as possible,,,_
*Title :* The BEST home security camera evar!
: O
There was a question mark in the title, and if you read my updates in the comments section I think I've been pretty objective.
@@CharlieDIYte You might have missed the humour ... or, as I'm autistic, I may not have made it plain. I do that : /
Either way, no offense was meant.
I'm new to CCTV... however as their resident IT guy I managed to blag an install job at a family estate ... PTZ cameras were controlled using a map on the family tablets... put your finger on a disturbance and track it, and the relevant cameras automatically get all available angles... use multi-touch to drag a circle and the cameras widen or tighten and continue to track. When not being controlled, movement and face-rec cause the cameras to track intermittently. I was quite proud of it... but it's only really suitable for large grounds with a large number of cameras.
But it does make capturing events really very simple, and no need to remember which cameras are where, or try to juggle controlling them individually... I was surprised that couldn't find anything similar available commercially... also, just how many PTZ cameras only work relatively, not on absolute indexes.
I'm about to wire my own home for CCTV and integrate it with my other systems... which is why I'm looking around at what others have done.
I'm thinking of going with a simpler autotracking setup, movement tracking, auto-searching ... probably recorded and accessed via blue-iris with some offline storage thrown in.
I got a free RING doorbell to try ... I really wasn't impressed. Security was abysmal and the high latency was inexcusable. Sometimes it took up to 30s to alert the phone. I could do better myself.
Anyway, glad to see you've found something that mostly works for you.
I agree on the criticality of strong wifi. ISP provided or retail routers really ain't great. I use a mixed setup here... some ubiquity and a failover cisco aironet.
Anyway, thanks for sharing. And, again, apologies if my lack of social etiquette caused offence... it's just an autism thing : /
o/
One comment. You haven't mentioned a word regarding the cloud function of the Reolink Argus 2. In Europe, the Reolink cloud CANNOT be used due to GDPR restrictions! I think this is an important negative. Also you cannot bind this camera to a Synology NAS.
Does it mean that anytime someone approach the door example post man, bin man , the alarm will go on ?
Good video. I have 4 Arlo cameras outside not connected to a solar panel, which work really well but the two Arlo Pro burn through the re-chargeable batteries every 6 weeks so I have 2 spare and ready charged..
Had these been around then I might have gone for Reolink. My Broadband/WiFi is Virgin’s highest so range for the one at the bottom of the garden (30 metres away) so .these would work fine for me and they’re loads cheaper than Arlo when comparing like for like with extra batteries and off-camera 2 battery charger etc. Maybe I should have fitted a solar panel.
Great review and very informative thanks. I fitted an Argus 3 Pro a few months ago with mixed results. Even though I have 100meg broadband with the router about 3 metres from the camera, it just about starts recording when the delivery man is getting back into his van and it has never notified me, even though it is set to. It will only detect motion moving across the field of view, rather than directly towards the camera. When it does work it's great, but short of having a sign requesting potential burglars to walk in a zig zag fashion it's not much use, so sadly I cannot recommend it as much as I would like to.
Nice review Charlie, Is there a possibility to schedule the day & night times. e.g switch to night mode on automatically at 19:00 and off again at 06:00? Keep up the great videos
I've asked my contact at Reolink to look into this and she's forwarded it to the R&D department. I agree, seems obvious and you're not the first to mention this.
Can you change the batteries on these things after so many years?
Iv been looking for a cctv camera set up and then you pop up. This looks great and will be investing in some soon. I take it when your internet is down they still record so when the internet is back up you can then reply videos ?
And a nice video with no nonsense just straight to the point and good explanation. Big 👍 up
Thanks mate. Yes I think that must be the case. You just won't get a notification.
Does the camera send image packets by HTTP:// or HTTPS:// - if like many cameras it sends by HTTP then a program like Wireshark, and terminal to force a reconnection, by kicking you off the network for a few seconds, in order to capture the password can filter out all the images on your IP and convert the packets to video hence watch what the cameras see.
Nice review Charlie as a result I purchased 2 x argus 2 with sp's and love them, the only draw back ive got is where I've installed one of them on the side of our property with arcs covering the side of the house im getting so much glare at night through the IR lights it's impossible to see anything (house in light grey pain). If you or any others have had this problem and over come it I'd be eager to find out. Cheers
Hi Tom. I have that a bit with the cellar cam. The only thing I can suggest, other than extending the camera out from the wall on some sort of bracket, is to play around with the settings. When you click on the camera so you're seeing the real time footage, click on the three dots in the top right of the screen, click on Day and Night, and change it from Auto, to Color. It automatically switches to Black and White at night, which generally gives you better visuals than Color mode, but this might help you...
@@CharlieDIYte I didn't see your affiliated links sorry mate I did mention your name to reolink however so hopefully they do the right thing and give you a kick back of some kind, in future I'll check before buying. Cheers for your help.
Superb review. Thanks so much. Especially like the info on mobile data use for live feeds.
Super review once again Charlie! Hilarious timing, I've just installed loads of Tower Conduit around the house...metres of the stuff in readiness for the multi-cams and shotgun cable. DOH! Will definitely look into this more. I was after lots of cams tho so may still add up financially.
I shouldn't worry - wired is the ultimate robust solution which I think we'd all go for if we had the foresight and wherewithal.
Fails to Connect to WIFI despite correct scan and settings. Ready to send it Back.
That's normally because you've put the wrong wifi password in or the wifi signal isn't strong enough.
So if you have no WiFi you can stream live video from your cellphone or am I missing something here.thks mate
Yes, through your phone 4G signal. When you click on the stream you get a message prompting you to play over cellular data.
Great detailed review, does this cam have person detection? My Wyze cam has pretty good AI that only notifies you if a person is in your detection area as opposed to a cat etc 🙂.
But yea awesome vid!
Amazing product
Still going strong 👍
Dont like the sound of those alarms going off all time,can you switch that off?
Yes. Or you can record your own voice which I've done on the cellar cam - which is scarier than the alarm "intruder alert, you are under video surveillance. The owner has been notified". Problem is, notifications aren't particularly obvious on your phone, and it still annoys me they haven't automated the day and night scenes.
@@CharlieDIYte friendly advice charlie,cut the hedge down abit,no wonder you keep getting broken into,thieves love cover
Got mine today,it's pretty awesome,just can't get the email notifications,any ideas?
Great video, can you do an updated review and compare it to the ring camera?
I'll be doing an update at some point over the next few months. 👍
Hi Charlie,
Having purchased a number of items that you have recommended and not been let down I was very interested in the security camera.
First thing I did was read up on it after your excellent video and then check numerous reviews. Its still 50 50 as to how good it is according to reviews, main problems wi fi connection, length of time battery lasts as I wish to put two inside my property and how quick it records as a lot of people state that it records people walking away rather than when it first activates as its slow.
Most of these complaint also seem to arise after a number of months use so I would be very interested to see what you think of this item after six months.
Regards Chris
Hi Chris. I hear you, and I had read a fair few of these reviews too. All I can say is that over the couple of months I've been using them they've been pretty much glitch free. I will of course keep you all updated and will make a point of posting an update after 6 months. You can discount the WiFi comments because in the most part that will be people blaming the cameras for their rubbish WiFi/broadband speed. I can't comment on the battery life because mine are solar charged but it would be a pain to keep having to recharge them. I suspect they haven't bothered to set them up properly and they're perhaps constantly recording or similar but that's anyone's guess. I'm upgrading my broadband from Airband to super fast fibre in a few weeks ago it will be very interesting to see what effect that has. I'll post a comment with my findings. I'll also see if I can get anything out of Reolink on the battery life issue.
Hiya Charlie great video.is there any cost for using the app?
no any cost. unless you choose cloud services
Great review, as ever Charlie, thank you. Does the system require any monthly subscriptions for cloud access? I know the Amazon Blink system does not have monthly fees, which is just one benefit over and above the Nest and Ring cams.
As others have said, shame about the lack of an automatic day/night scheduling (like most mobile phone ability) perhaps worthy of dropping the R&D dept a note, I am sure it would be a simple software upgrade for the app?
It will be interesting to see how the weatherproofing holds up, specifically when using the USB cable for the Solar Panel solution
Keep up the good work! Thanks again
Hi Will. Thanks for that! It looks like there are monthly subscriptions bit.ly/2KNqcMZ I've got to say though there really isn't any need for cloud storage (which by the way hasn't been rolled out in Europe yet) because for £5 per camera you can get an SD card. Cloud storage generally is all well and good, but even the free providers are only doing it to lure us in so that later on they can introduce a fee when it's too late and you're too dependent on the storage to leave. You've raised a good point re the automatic Day and Night scene scheduling. I've asked Reolink if there's any plan to introduce this and will let you know when I hear back.
Reolink have thanked us for the feedback on the automatic Day/Night Scene scheduling and have passed this onto the R&D department so that "this function will be improved in the future". Watch this space...
@@CharlieDIYte But if you don't upload to cloud and camera is stolen you loose video that's on the card?
Great Video Pal and the main reason I bought 2 for my property. Thanks 🙏
Thanks Alan. I've recorded my voice instead of the alarm for my cellar cam which I think is more of a deterrent. You might try that "INTRUDER ALERT, YOU ARE UNDER VIDEO SURVEILLANCE. THE OWNER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED!"
Charlie DIYte Like it !! I might just try that 👍
Charlie DIYte Charlie, I’m struggling to add both cameras to my Apple MacBook Pro 😬. Any ideas ?
Very good review my friend. Subbed. Thanks Mate
Shame there isn’t a schedule to automatically switch the day and night time settings
That's a damn good point Gareth. I'll look into that - maybe I've missed something.
I was thinking the same thing. That aside...top video Charlie!
Hi Gareth. I've passed this onto Reolink and they're going to get their R&D department on the case.
Charlie DIYte Thanks for the follow up Charlie, seems crazy that they hadn’t thought of this before now! Great videos by the way, always very informative and useful.
@@garethpegg4823 That's really kind - thanks!!
It's a nice little system, the only big weakness it has is that it's easily disabled by using a WIFI jammer, info on WiFi jammers is also easily found here on RUclips, so that is something to be aware of
Thanks David. I wasn't aware of WIFI jammers. Appreciate the heads up!
Hi Charlie love your videos, i have been thinking for a while about cctv and smartphone security cameras, i like this one as you dont have to run wires across the outside and inside of the house which is great, thanks for sharing this one. I dont know if your DIY skills allow you to do a video on how to install a stand alone photocell dusk to dawn switch, as i would like to add one to my outside garden lights but i cant seem to find a good uk version of this, only foreign versions seem to keep coming up on my searches. keep up the videos mate good work, kevin
How does Ring doorbell 2 compare to this?
Whilst the website says it's Full Hd 1080p is doesn't mention how many frames per second. I'd love to see one first hand to see if it is 30 frames or 60. With 60 frames you can read the number plate of a moving car with 30 frames you cannot.
the specs mentions it is 15 frames/sec
Thanks for sharing this video, I've installed a with a friend (who went in the loft lol) wired system & when u said about the cost being in thousands yes they can be but for a small outlay of approx £200 you can get a system off amazon. (IN SYSTEM I ORDED) This system comes with 2 1080 full HD cameras the recorder box mouse & all power leads that are required. You do however need to buy a hard drive to use in the system I would go with about 1TB video grade hdd something like the Western Digital Blue yes you have to run cables but you would be able to run 4 cam (buy 2 extra) & the quality of the videos are recorded on the hdd & you can leave it on perminant record 24/7. The system is easy to fit that even my dad who is 77 this year could have if he was more able-bodied would have been able to fit the system in place. Its just to say that don't be to hastey in dismissing a wired system even at low price
Like stevebray I have had a wired system from Sanncee from amazon with 8 cameras and full recording to harddrive for about 3 years now, never had a problem with them and it cost me about £150, well worth the cost
Great video Charlie, exactly the sort of thing I will be buying. Good point about not having them switched on when the family are about or in my case the dog running around the garden. Do you know if they are sensitive to rabbits / wildlife in the garden triggering them?. I use Develo dlan adaptors to create remote Wifi in my garage and summerhouse that works well, rather than relying on the range of my house router, it also gives me wifi in the garden for the kids...
Hi Chris, thanks for that. I suspect it would pick up the dog, but probably not rabbits, although it's one of those things you'll just have to experiment with as you'll get this problem with any surveillance camera. You should be able to perfect the placement/ angle of the camera so that it doesn't detect things marauding around close to the ground. The issue I've got with that one up the tree is branches moving in the wind - which tend to set it off, but again, I've just got to get up a ladder and trim the offending branches. Good thinking with the Devolo adapters. I might try that if I decide to put one outside the shed at the bottom of the garden!
I followed in letter your information, my Argus2 still doesn't record on my SD card to playback.
Sorry to hear this. You might check with customer support. Could it be the SD card?
How many seconds does it take to get a notification on your phone after motion detection?
Pretty instant but I wouldn't rely on it particularly if your phone is in sleep mode. What I've done is record my own aggressive shouty voice as the alarm "INTRUDER ALERT. YOU ARE UNDER VIDEO SURVEILLANCE THE OWNER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED" It would take a brave thief to keep going after hearing that!
Great Video Charlie DIYle Convinced me to buy set
They are good. Mine still going strong. Record your own voice as the alarm, rather than the default. I've done that on my cellar cam and it's really intimidating "INTRUDER ALERT, YOU ARE ON VIDEO SURVEILLANCE. THE OWNER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED".
Wireless cams and other security products that rely on wi fi to work are still pretty unreliable at present and encounter many problems such as the ones you discovered and many others......maybe one day if we get nationwide fibre broadband that we keep getting promised is coming things will be different , but until that happens your better off sticking to hard wired systems that can be routed back to a hard drive that is connected to your hub with wires and can be viewed anywhere remotely ( providing your telephone line doesn't get snipped by mr scallywag...! )
cheers for the demo......👍
All cctv is crap if you have a carrier bag and a long pole.
Good video. Could you do a video of the airband broadband that would be good.
reolink also does a wired 4k NVR system with 4 cameras for £500, so not quite thousands
Very informative Charlie, thanks very much indeed.
Your'e welcome. Thanks for the comment.
New subscriber here from Montreal Charlie! Very Good review by the way!
Really useful thank you
Thanks!
Can you confirm if video can be uploaded to cloud storage? rather then using a memory card? thanks.
Yes it can, but there's no cloud storage option in Europe right now. That said, there's a fee for cloud storage and to my mind it's much easier and cheaper to just buy an SD card for each camera.
Day jar view... Day jar view...😎😎😎👍👍👍
Charlie is there a way to stop water coming up my sink when the washing machine is running!!!! Thank you... Joe
Hmm. Tricky one. Is this a new phenomenon? Under your sink there's a pipe from the washing machine that connects into the sink waste. If this has only just started happening, I suspect your sink waste needs a good flush through. You can do this yourself by disconnecting everything and gradually clean the waste in a nice big bucket of soapy water.
joe hanley plug
Get a reolink security camera
@@hoog111 I wish I had thought of that! 🤣
change your washing powder might work too, "less suds bubbles".