Reolink Doorbell Battery review: This video doorbell sees it all

Price When Reviewed

$145.99

Best Prices Today: Reolink Battery Doorbell

Smart doorbells have become a staple in modern home security systems, offering solid frontline defense against intruders, porch pirates, ding-dong ditchers, and other miscreants. And who doesn’t want advanced notice of even a well-intentioned visitor in this age of social distancing?

Traditional doorbell cameras have a significant shortcoming, though. They typically come with 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratios, which are great for viewing people’s faces but lack the vertical field of view necessary for seeing things below the eyeline–including packages left on your doorstep. The Reolink Doorbell Battery addresses this with a 1:1 aspect ratio, which offers a full head-to-toe view of visitors and provides a more comprehensive view of the environment outside your door.

Design and features

The doorbell has a clean, modern design with a matte black finish. The button, microphone, lens, and motion, and light sensors are subtly integrated into the doorbell’s faceplate, keeping the essential components nearly invisible. This minimalistic design keeps the doorbell relatively unobtrusive, ensuring it can blend seamlessly with most home exteriors.

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

The doorbell’s head-to-toe aspect ratio is augmented with a 180-degree diagonal field of view (150 degrees horizontal and vertical). It captures video in 2K, 4-megapixel resolution in daylight and it can distinguish between people, vehicles, and packages, even at night. A microSD card slot provides up to 256GB of local storage (card not included), which can be expanded to 1TB when paired with the $100 Reolink Home Hub and a pair of 512GB microSD cards.

This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best video doorbells.

Setup and installation

The doorbell can be powered by its 7000mAh battery or, if you’re replacing an existing wired doorbell, with that device’s transformer (8~24VAC, 5VA-40VA). In either scenario, the first step is to pair the doorbell with the Reolink mobile app. The process is similar to other smart devices, wherein you add the doorbell and then follow the app prompts to connect it to your Wi-Fi network (note that this device supports both 2.4- and 5GHz networks). It took me only a couple of minutes.

If you’re hardwiring the doorbell, you’ll need to locate the chime—pressing your existing doorbell’s button and following the ring is a good tactic—remove its cover and use a multimeter to read the transformer voltage. Once you confirm it falls in the required voltage range, you can begin the installation. Reolink’s accompanying setup guide provides step-by-step instructions for turning off power to the doorbell, removing it, and wiring and mounting the Reolink doorbell. Note that you need to supply your own tools.

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

Wireless installation is considerably simpler. Once you’ve fully charged the doorbell’s battery with the included USB cable, you can pick a mounting spot. Reolink recommends you mount the doorbell 48 inches (1.2 meters) above porch level, and the company supplies a mounting template to ensure accuracy when drilling the holes. If you’re mounting the doorbell to brick, concrete, or another hard surface, you’ll insert the provided wall anchors; if you’re mounting to a softer surface, such as wood siding or molding, you can skip this step. Then you’ll screw the mounting bracket to the wall and snap the doorbell in place.

If you’re performing a wireless installation, you likely don’t have a doorbell chime. Reolink offers two options, both sold separately: the aforementioned Reolink Home Hub can serve as a chime, or you can opt for the $20 Reolink Chime, which plugs into a wall socket. The company provided me with the latter for this review.

Performance

When someone presses the doorbell button, you receive a phone alert similar to an incoming call, which you can decline or answer. In the latter case, you’ll use your phone’s audio and video to communicate with the visitor. These interactions worked smoothly and without lag during my tests.

You’ll also receive alerts when any of the three types of motion are detected. These settings are highly customizable. You can configure each one individually using a sensitivity slider to improve the accuracy of your alerts and filter out detection objects by size. You can also mask non-detection zones for each type of object you don’t want to monitor. The detection setting worked well in my tests, keeping me apprised of activity at my door without inundating me with unnecessary notifications.

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

During my evaluation, the doorbell captured sharp video with bright and accurate colors. My narrow porch resulted in considerable fisheye distortion, but the vertical view captures everything from the step outside my door to the sky above my neighbor’s rooftop.

Operating the doorbell and managing its settings is similar to using a home security camera. The doorbell’s live video feed is accessed through the Reolink app, from which you can record video, issue canned replies like “Hi, please leave the package at the door. We’ll get it later,” and even trigger an alarm to ward off suspicious visitors.

The app also allows you to manage your chime settings. It will detect your current mechanical or digital chime and adjust its settings accordingly. If you opt for the Reolink chime, you can choose from 10 sounds and assign different chimes to each type of motion detection. Alternatively, you can connect the doorbell to Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa to receive voice notifications via a compatible device rather than sound alerts.

Should you buy the Reolink Doorbell Battery?

There are cheaper doorbells than the Reolink Doorbell Battery, which is being sold for $145.99. Most notably, the new Ring Battery Doorbell Pro, which also provides a head-to-toe view, goes for just $100. Unlocking all of that doorbell’s features, however, requires a Ring Protect Plan subscription: $5/month or $50/year for one Ring device; $10/mo or $100/year for all your Ring cameras and doorbells. The Reolink Doorbell Battery offers full functionality any subscription fees, although you will need make a one-time outlay for one type of storage or another (e.g., a microSD card or one of Reolink’s network-attached storage devices).

For many users, this will make the Reolink a better long-term value, especially in our overheated economy where most of us are pinching pennies.