Reolink Doorbell (Battery) review: well-constructed, weather-resistant and attractive subscription-free battery video doorbell

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Reolink Doorbell (Battery): one-minute review

The Reolink Doorbell (Battery) is simply a wireless video doorbell that's solidly built and useful without a subscription, but has a fewer drawbacks erstwhile it comes to video latency and smart location compatibility.

The built value of nan Reolink Doorbell (Battery) impresses arsenic soon arsenic you return it retired of nan box. Reolink has years of acquisition making outer information cameras (including nan precocious launched Reolink Altas PT), and has brought that acquisition to carnivore connected this product.

It feels important and purposeful erstwhile compared to thing for illustration nan Aqara video doorbell G4 aliases nan Ring Battery video doorbell Plus pinch its wafer-thin metallic beforehand cover. Superior upwind protection is astir invited present successful nan UK, particularly if you person a beforehand entranceway exposed to nan elements.

It boasts a characteristic group that we've travel to expect from nan best video doorbells, including package detection, head-to-toe section of view, nighttime vision, and 2K resolution. Plus, dissimilar immoderate competing products, it useful subscription-free; location is nary request to shop your video successful nan unreality arsenic you tin support it connected a microSD paper wrong nan portion (purchased separately).

With its rechargeable artillery and Wi-Fi capabilities, installation tin beryllium arsenic elemental arsenic downloading nan app to your phone, drilling 2 holes, and attaching nan doorbell to nan doorway aliases wall. Reolink produces a scope of devices including information cameras, hubs and web video recorders, and nan lineage of this battery-powered doorbell is easy to trace.

However, The Reolink Doorbell (Battery) misses nan people successful a fewer cardinal areas; it has constricted location automation connectivity and a slow and unreliable relationship betwixt nan app and nan doorbell, positive it’s easy removed from nan wall.

Reolink Doorbell (Battery): value and availability

• List price: $145.99 / £159.99 / AU$186.99
• Chimes and smart hub sold separately

The Reolink Doorbell (Battery) launched successful September 2024 for $145.99 / £159.99 / AU$186.99, and astatine nan clip of penning nan institution is holding a waste that knocks astir 10% disconnected its database price. It tin beryllium bought direct from Reolink's online store (which ships worldwide) aliases from Amazon.

There are besides Reolink chimes that fto you perceive nan doorbell easy from anyplace successful your home. These costs $19.99 / £23.99 / AU$49.99 each.

Reolink offers a compatible hub for $99.99 / £99.99 / AU$199.99, but I was disappointed that nan brand’s star panels do not look compatible pinch nan doorbell. It's besides not clear really to hardwire nan doorbell if you do not person an existing doorbell circuit.

Reolink Doorbell (Battery): specs

Reolink Doorbell (Battery): design

• Sleek and charismatic design
• Battery is not removable

The Reolink Doorbell (Battery) is simply a pill-shaped instrumentality topped by nan camera and sensor lodging pinch a sizeable information fastener connected nan little half. It’s elemental and unobtrusive, opting for a little boxy shape facet than nan market-leading Ring doorbells person to offer. It’s robustly built pinch semipermanent outdoor usage successful mind but has a fewer quirks that make it a less-than-optimal prime for immoderate households.

It's imaginable to show rather a batch astir a merchandise and nan institution that produces it from nan container that it comes in. I for illustration a bully box, and admit nan clip and effort required to creation it; Reolink 'gives bully box'.

The manual pinch readable matter larger than that recovered connected microfilm impressed me, but nan insubstantial template for drilling nan holes successful your door/wall is simply a funny inclusion. If you can't fig retired wherever nan holes request to spell utilizing nan provided plates and screws I would propose that you put nan devices down, clasp your hands aloft, and measurement distant from nan powerfulness drill.

The USB-C complaint larboard is sensibly placed astir halfway up nan backmost of nan doorbell nether a protective rubber flap. Lifting nan flap besides revealed nan MicroSD larboard into which I inserted a spare paper and nan supplied USB-C cable.

I admired nan nicely illuminated doorbell fastener and then…

“Welcome to Reolink, please instal nan Reolink app and scan nan QR codification connected nan camera,” said nan bully woman connected nan doorbell.

“No convey you, I americium going to furniture now,” said I, but nan doorbell had different ideas. “Willkommen bei Reolink, bitte installieren Sie dice Reolink-App und scannen Sie den QR-Code auf der Kamera“, sagte dice nette Dame an der Türklingel.

I replied to nan now very annoying woman utilizing each of nan four-letter Anglo Saxon words I could deliberation of, hoping that it would unopen up aft a while, but nary - it repeated nan aforesaid connection successful six languages again and again and again. Further vexation ensued erstwhile I searched for a QR codification to scan since nan connection did not specify “scan nan QR codification from wrong nan app”.

Eventually, I recovered nan alternatively hidden powerfulness fastener and consulted nan manual to find that it needed holding down for a fewer seconds to powerfulness down. All nan while nan doorbell is bellowing for illustration a Eurovision people round. Who thought each of that was a bully idea?

Installing nan doorbell successful artillery mode aft charging it was elemental enough, but I did announcement that nan mounting sheet does not let for powered installation wherever a powerfulness cablegram does not coming itself straight down nan doorbell. It’s improbable that existing doorbell wiring will beryllium astatine nan correct height, fto unsocial nan correct location, meaning nan powerfulness ligament will astir apt request to participate nan portion from 1 broadside aliases nan different and location are nary slots successful nan mounting sheet to let for this.

The 2 awesome creation flaws are nan non-removable rechargeable artillery and nan easiness pinch which nan doorbell tin beryllium removed from nan wall. I admit that utilizing wide disposable removable rechargeable batteries restricts creation choices, but everything other astir nan doorbell is built to past isolated from for nan battery.

Far worse is nan easiness pinch which nan doorbell tin beryllium removed from nan mounting plate. Yes, Reolink provides a sturdy removal tool, but you tin region it pinch a paperclip and, much worryingly, you tin besides region nan MicroSD card.

Reolink Doorbell (Battery): performance

• Mobile app is easy to navigate, but a small clunky
• Connecting to doorbell via app is slow
• Battery life is shorter than galore different doorbells

As overmuch arsenic I for illustration nan build value and Reolink’s attraction to detail, it has to beryllium said that connecting to nan doorbell done nan exertion is very slow. While nan app is uncluttered and easy to navigate, immoderate of nan settings could beryllium branded much clearly. For instance, why are nan video value settings called 'Clear', 'Balanced' and 'Fluent', particularly erstwhile nan onscreen icon uses nan unpretentious 'High', 'Mid' and 'Low' descriptors?

Drawing nan privateness disguise for your location is simply a pain, arsenic you can’t spot precisely what you’re doing erstwhile your comparatively ample digit is blocking nan screen. Reviewing video is besides a spot clunky arsenic it only displays nan existent day’s captures. If you want to spot what happened nan erstwhile time you request to alteration nan day and past hold for it to load.

The doorbell has been designed to conserve nan artillery wherever imaginable by only capturing video erstwhile nan portion detects movement. This is simply a laudable creation rule but arsenic is often nan case, it affects nan performance; its standby mode leads to a longer relationship clip arsenic it boots up. Two aliases 3 seconds is nan accustomed relationship play connected different video doorbells and cameras that I person experienced, but nan Reolink takes 5-10 seconds. Occasionally, it does not link astatine all, which is very frustrating.

The seeds of uncertainty germinate arsenic nan artillery besides doesn't look to past arsenic agelong arsenic nan different doorbells that I person tested. The Reolink website states “the 7,000mAh built-in artillery provides up to 5 months of protection,” though they do caveat that this conclusion is based connected testing “under laboratory conditions pinch 20 triggers per day, each signaling lasting 8 seconds.” I'm consenting to judge that nan artillery won’t past rather truthful agelong erstwhile I person vanished my testing, but 5 months is, astatine best, optimistic.

Reolink provides package for some Windows and OSX which is commendable; I walk astir of my time astatine nan machine and interacting pinch nan doorbell done nan telephone app is little than ideal. It’s overmuch easier to spot nan video output connected a larger surface and nan aliasing is not specified an rumor erstwhile nan camera value is group to precocious (or 'Fluent'). It goes immoderate measurement toward redemption for having specified constricted location automation capabilities. The nighttime imagination is darker than connected different doorbells which is simply a spot of a double-edged sword. It is sometimes difficult to spot what has been captured, but connected nan different hand, it does not trigger unnecessarily erstwhile nan information ray connected nan location other lights up for illustration different doorbells I’ve tested.

I person mixed feelings, ultimately, astir nan Reolink doorbell (battery). I want to judge successful this merchandise but astatine its value and pinch its package being truthful middling, it’s apt to beryllium a somewhat disappointing purchase.

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Reolink Doorbell (Battery): besides consider

How I tested nan Reolink Doorbell (Battery)

• I tested nan telephone exertion and OSX exertion
• I tested package recognition
• I compared consequence times and video output to different smart video doorbells
• I attempted to adhd it to Google Home
• I attempted to adhd it to Apple HomeKit utilizing Homebridge
• I accessed nan doorbell remotely via 4G and Wi-Fi

The trial situation consisted of 3 smart doorbells (including nan Reolink) each connected to nan aforesaid Wi-Fi network. All doorbells were accessed via their accompanying applications during nan testing for this review. The contents of nan MicroSD cards were compared for record size and seizure wave (how often nan doorbell captures video). The attempts to link to Google Home and Apple HomeKit via Homebridge were time-limited to an hr each.

The drawback of nan 'only seizure erstwhile detecting movement' paradigm is that it is not imaginable to reappraisal nan full day's video to analyse discovery misfires aliases failures. The privateness disguise seemed to activity really well, for example, but conversely, possibly it was not picking up everything that it should. Still, I checked to my champion expertise erstwhile I knew location was extracurricular activity and by acting retired my ain doorbell-ringing scenarios.

I’ve been utilizing smart location devices for respective years now, and person a whopping 30+ years of tech enthusiasm and acquisition nether my belt. Read much astir how we test.

First reviewed November 2024