Mini Review - Reolink Doorbell

What Is It?

The Reolink Video Doorbell WiFi is a WiFi based doorbell camera.

The doorbell comes in a number of variants:

• WiFi - Portrait (White) / Landscape (Black)
  • Takes power from hardwired power connections (12-24V AC 50/60Hz, DC 24V), and connects to WiFi for data connection.
  • Has versions with either a portrait (head-to-toe), or landscape (side-to-side) camera
• PoE - Portrait (White) / Landscape (Black)
  • Takes both power and data over the wired ethernet connection.
  • Has versions with either a portrait (head-to-toe), or landscape (side-to-side) camera
• Battery - Portrait (Black)
  • Takes power from either a hardwired connection or onboard rechargable battery.
  • Portrait (head-to-toe) version only

I have the white WiFi variant which gives a portrait / head-to-toe view, and connects to my home network over WiFI.

Photo of the Reolink Video Doorbell WiFi mounted to a door frame

The WiFi doorbell comes with a region appropriate power supply and a set of power cables to connect the doorbell and PSU; I don’t have any existing doorbell wiring, so did use the supplied PSU and cables to wire it in. It also comes with a plug-in chime to site somewhere in the house, which is pre-paired with the doorbell.

The doorbell has a number of options for storing footage depending on your preference:

• Local MicroSD card (up to 256Gb)
• Reolink cloud storage
• Local NVR, either from Reolink or 3rd party
• Local FTP/NAS

Whichever option you choose, you get free remote access to the doorbell via the Reolink app, including customisable notifications on movement, button press, etc., remote playback (if using MicroSD), and 2-way talk

The doorbell also integrates straight into HomeAssistant using the Reolink Integration, which provides full control and visibility of the doorbell in HA, including being able to view streams and trigger automations from doorbell events.

For reference I have an existing UniFi Protect setup with a pair of their G4 Instant cameras. Prior to adding this I didn’t have a smart doorbell.

What Did I Like?

• It was fairly easy to wire in. I used the supplied cabling, which took a little longer as I had to drill a couple of holes and fix the cabling to the door frame and skirting board. If you have existing doorbell wiring it should be even simpler (note I don’t believe you can use an inline wired doorbell).
• It doesn’t force you down a particular route for storing footage. You can mix-and-match between the various options as you want without issues.
• It looks physically good (my opinion), not as chunky or blocky as some other doorbells on the market.
• No batteries (for the WiFi or PoE versions), so you can record as and when you want without worrying about charging or replacing batteries.
• It is quite easy to get started with the MicroSD option and not have to also shell out for a separate hub, NVR, etc. (see caveat below).

What Didn’t I Like?

• The setup process was a bit of a struggle. It uses this slightly strange method of giving the app your WiFi settings, the app then generates a QR code you need to “show” to the camera. This part seemed a little hit-and-miss, with it taking a few goes for the doorbell to read the QR code. It would have been a lot simpler I think had the app just set-up the doorbell over bluetooth.
• If you go the MicroSD route, the card is stored in the doorbell, which is outside your house, so if someone were to steal the doorbell you lose your footage as well (unless you have a secondary copy on NVR, NAS, etc). It would have been nice had it provided the option of the Aqara Doorbell and put the MicroSD in the chime.

Overall

Happy with the purchase, will very likely get some more Reolink cameras in future and replace my UniFi setup - 9/10.

Posted 25 March 2025

In HomeAutomation SmartHome HomeAssistant Review