Thank you for a very complete and well thought out review. Please allow me to add/confirm a few observations of my own. I have several Reolink systems that I’ve installed at various properties using the wired POE RLC-823A PTZ cameras and have been extremely satisfied with their durability and connectivity. After dabbling with the wireless battery powered Blink cameras from Amazon, I decided the technology has advanced to the point that I’d take the plunge with the TrackMix WiFi battery powered PTZs with the solar options. I actually bought a POE system that I was going to install originally but the building is an old brownstone that has massively thick stone walls that I was not looking forward to having to drill through and being in New York City I would have to put everything in conduits to prevent vandalism. I'm not sure what the advantage of putting a non replaceable battery in such a power hungry device would be; the only possible application I could imagine would be pairing it with a solar panel if that actually worked, but even on the sunniest of days, the battery quickly became discharged. (Edit: In all fairness, I am situated in a “valley” between much taller buildings, so I actually get about 4 hours of direct sunlight a day). The simpler systems like the Blink were a reasonable stopgap measure; they purport a 2 year maximum battery life and I was getting results in the 2 month ballpark, but at least they were replaceable AA lithium cells. I had to resort to hard wiring the TrailMix cameras to a usb charger spliced into the existing exterior lights, which actually worked well but kind of defeated the purpose. Although I still had wireless data connectivity (with very well executed 5Ghz abilities), the shortcomings of sacrificing the wired features as mentioned in your review left me feeling that had I just put in the effort of a POE installation, I’d have been happier. Lack of system integration, no web admin interface or robust cloud management features, no PATROL abilities, and a mere illusion of 24/7 recording capabilities leave me feeling I was too early an adopter. Poor pre-roll performance, zoom settings that don’t stick and a ridiculous lack of cable management on the solar side are some other gripes. (BTW, why not integrate the battery on the solar panel?) I really love Reolink’s over engineered products and will continue to use their platform but I just wanted to share my experience with others and vent a little. Oh and one more thing- the app disconnects from the cameo after 20 minutes. Another reason for web admin access.
The phone doesn't need to be near the camera. The camera connects to your Wi-Fi router, so that's what matters. Your phone of course needs to have a good Wi-Fi signal from the router as well in order to use the mobile app and get push notifications etc.
Thank you for a very complete and well thought out review. Please allow me to add/confirm a few observations of my own. I have several Reolink systems that I’ve installed at various properties using the wired POE RLC-823A PTZ cameras and have been extremely satisfied with their durability and connectivity. After dabbling with the wireless battery powered Blink cameras from Amazon, I decided the technology has advanced to the point that I’d take the plunge with the TrackMix WiFi battery powered PTZs with the solar options. I actually bought a POE system that I was going to install originally but the building is an old brownstone that has massively thick stone walls that I was not looking forward to having to drill through and being in New York City I would have to put everything in conduits to prevent vandalism. I'm not sure what the advantage of putting a non replaceable battery in such a power hungry device would be; the only possible application I could imagine would be pairing it with a solar panel if that actually worked, but even on the sunniest of days, the battery quickly became discharged. (Edit: In all fairness, I am situated in a “valley” between much taller buildings, so I actually get about 4 hours of direct sunlight a day). The simpler systems like the Blink were a reasonable stopgap measure; they purport a 2 year maximum battery life and I was getting results in the 2 month ballpark, but at least they were replaceable AA lithium cells. I had to resort to hard wiring the TrailMix cameras to a usb charger spliced into the existing exterior lights, which actually worked well but kind of defeated the purpose. Although I still had wireless data connectivity (with very well executed 5Ghz abilities), the shortcomings of sacrificing the wired features as mentioned in your review left me feeling that had I just put in the effort of a POE installation, I’d have been happier. Lack of system integration, no web admin interface or robust cloud management features, no PATROL abilities, and a mere illusion of 24/7 recording capabilities leave me feeling I was too early an adopter. Poor pre-roll performance, zoom settings that don’t stick and a ridiculous lack of cable management on the solar side are some other gripes. (BTW, why not integrate the battery on the solar panel?) I really love Reolink’s over engineered products and will continue to use their platform but I just wanted to share my experience with others and vent a little. Oh and one more thing- the app disconnects from the cameo after 20 minutes. Another reason for web admin access.
Thank you for taking the time to make a quick Insight thorough and honest review
Glad you liked it!
Your video is very good and helpfull so thank you very much.
Why would you need a top of the range tracking camera on a 10th story appartment balcony!
Hello . Thanks for the informative video . Can I always get notifications on my phone while being away from home?
Hi does the camera stays connected if my phone was far from it
The phone doesn't need to be near the camera.
The camera connects to your Wi-Fi router, so that's what matters. Your phone of course needs to have a good Wi-Fi signal from the router as well in order to use the mobile app and get push notifications etc.