REOLINK Argus Eco+Solar Panel 2K 3MP Solar Security Camera Outdoor for Home Surveilance, Night Vision, Human/Car Smart Detection, 2.4G WiFi, No Subscription, Home Hub Compatible, Local Storage

This is a very solid "standalone" wire-free camera. It is particularly well-suited for a user who wants one or several cameras to watch locations reasonably close to a house but without utilities (tool shed, barn, back-gate, etc.) I purchased two in February 2024 and I'm testing them now as a replacements for end-of-life wirefree NVR cameras. I will likely update this review after the cameras have been in service for a while.Summary of positives:(1) This camera runs off local WiFi (e.g. your house WiFi from your router) and can be powered by a solar panel. As such, you do NOT need a cellphone account, an NVR, or a signal wire to the camera. Moreover, if the location is reasonably sunny, the solar panel will supply sufficient power. As such, it is among the easiest security cameras to install.(2) The camera has a very respectable range (of course this also depends on your house WiFi!). However, in my case, I was able to access the camera over essentially the identical range as a conventional NVR wirefree system.(3) It worked on every WiFi I have tried it on. This includes the router for my point-to-point service, the router for my ViaSat satellite service, and a Verizon Jetpack.Summary of the limitations.(1) This camera has a smaller battery pack than is typical for a wirefree camera. If installed in a location without power, it MUST be sunny enough for the solar panel to be effective. This is NOT a camera that can be successfully operated by retrieving the camera every two months and charging it. It must either be installed in a location with a decent amount of sun and with the solar panel or powered with a USB connection.(2) The camera has a protective weatherproof sheath for the electrical connection to the supplied solar panel. However, it does NOT have one for the regular USB power line supplied in the box. Overall, outdoor installation on USB power is likely not recommended and (if you do it anyway :-)) should probably be done with some aftermarket USB power line with a protective sheath for the connection point to the camera.Some oddball things to be aware of:(1) Initial installation involves the camera "talking" to you. Loudly, and for quite a length of time. (You need to have the camera linked to the Client/App before you can shut down the audio - which means the camera is chattering away in a number of languages for several minutes.) However, switching from one network to another (as long as both are active, and once the camera is installed on one of them) takes about 15 seconds in the Client/App and is quiet. If you are planning to install the camera somewhere that noise is an issue (like your elderly mother's house) I suggest doing the initial installation on a portable WiFi source (like a Jetpack) and then take the portable WiFi with you and simply switch to the new WiFi network on location.(2) As with the above, the camera is delivered with audio enabled. If you want the camera to operate discretely, the audio needs to be shut down in the Client/App before installation.(3) Note that the camera appears to be able to view "live" with a longer range than it appears able to retrieve stored videos. Thus, if you are getting a decent "live" signal, but having trouble recovering videos, the WiFi signal strength may be the issue. Note I had some success with improving the WiFi reception with longer/more sensitive aftermarket antennas on the camera. This is a 2.4GHz camera, by the way, so old 2.4GHz antennas acquired for other purposes are well worth trying.(4) The camera has the very odd feature of activating over-exposed rather than under-exposed. What this means is the videos will begin as white and over-exposed and then come into the correct exposure and focus (rather than activating as black and under-exposed and then coming into the right exposure and focus). I don't think it is a problem, but I've not seen this before, and it weirded me out. I also don't know (yet) if that is just this camera, or all the Reolink WiFi line.(5) The camera needs a micro SD to store videos. Amazon sells a package with the micro SD included, which is how I bought mine. Note the camera will run fine "live" without the micro SD. Note also that not including the micro SD is also a way to further protect the privacy of your videos, as the camera thus only has a "live" video mode.(6) The battery cannot be removed, which is odd for a lithium battery. I presume (but don't know) that the whole camera is recycled at end-of-life.I own six Reolink Go Plus 4G wire-free cameras, and over 40 Lorex wire-free NVR cameras of a variety of ages and vintages installed in multiple locations. The Reolink WiFi cameras were purchased as possible replacements for older Lorex systems reaching end-of-life.

Update July 29, 2020:Well. the new 5 dBi antenna has been on for sometime now and has improved the situation to a large extent. I now use the HD (1080P) setting full time and only rarely get the "Poor Network" message, but I do still get it.Update July 2, 2020:1. Make certain battery is charged to 100% before you use it, I can't stress this enough.2. Unless you don't care if you can use the 1080P video you paid for, have this camera as close to your very powerful router as you can get or it will force you to use :Fluent: which is kind of blurry. I have tried everything I can think of and even though my camera is only about 15 feet from my very expensive Range Extender )Linksys RE7000 *) I can't get it to run 1080P successfully. It keeps telling me that my network is flaky. Anyway, I really like all the other aspects of this camera. It seems very stabile and provides a very wide image and, at 1080P it has a very clear image. Even though ReoLink recommends against it I am going to try a different antenna. The one the ship is only 2dBi gain which is ok in normal circumstances but I guess my circumstances aren't normal.. I found one on Amazon (where else?) that was designed to work with Security Cameras and is 5dBi gain and maybe longer. I know it can't damage the camera and I feel it could help me in this situation. I will come back here to update this review either way.* This is a different one from the one I talk about below===================================================================================Update June 26, 2020: I finally have one gripe, sorry.. I actually went out and bought a good Wi-Fi extender, to see if it would solve the apparent bandwidth problem even though my iPhone was seeing max bars a the install location the camera would present the "Due to poor Wi-Fi reception it is suggested that you use "Fluid" resolution (whatever that is) instead of 1080P". Sorry to say it didn't help. I am presently working with Reolink support to resolve this hopefully. Having said all that I still feel this is a great productUpdate June 15, liking it more all the time. Reolink customer service has indicated a willingness to listen to some of our suggestions, perhaps even implementing some of them, of course I won't hold my breath.On a more positive note:1. The battery hasn't dropped lower than 82% that I know of, maybe at night, however. Of course we have had a load of the big yellow light in the sky known as the sun. Can hardly wait until next week when we get a week or so of rain.2. False triggering of alarms remains low, except for the one very windy day we had, when I got a bunchUpdate June 14, 2020:1. Finally got email alerts to work. During the setup process you need to input the port used by your email server, in my case Outlook. The number suggested by the setup process is wrong you need to use port 587. However, if you get a lot of false detections you are going to get a lot of emails. I turned this feature off.2. As for the windows client problem, my advice is to read the user guide provided. You need to use the camera's UID not the IP address.I finally did heard from Reolink service and they seem to want to be very helpful. They told me that the phone number I contacted is a scam. They don't charge for in warranty and sometimes, out of warranty service. The say they are looking into some of the problems:1. Having to renew the "free" cloud subscription every month2. The inability to delete images/videos from the SD cardI consistently have been getting 4 bars of 2.4g WiFi yet sometimes I have trouble connecting in the app. Yesterday I was in my car in the driveway the app told me I was using cellular when I clearly had a strong WiFi connection on my iPhone 6s===========================================================Original post:Installed yesterday, first what I like, it is easier:1. Image is acceptable.2. Alerts aren't too bad, yet3. Same with night vision4, Hardware and camera are first rate. I totally disagree with negative comments about the Solar Panel mounting arm. I couldn't get the locking screw hole in the camera mount to line up with the screw so I left it out. Unless we have an earthquake or tornado I don't see the camera coming loose5. The Solar Panel seems to do a great job keeping the battery topped off.Now on to what I don't like:1. Setup is NOT easy, for some reason you need to be within a couple of feet for it to connect to the router. I must have gone thru setup a dozen times.2. Installation was NOT a breeze, see also number 4 above3. Support from the company is basically non-existent. i contacted their Support number only to be told that I would have to pay $50 for the support I needed4 Setting up email alerts is difficult I never did get it to work5. Support documentation is almost non-existent. I guess this is to be expected when you consider number 3 above6. The "free" cloud must be renewed each month, once a year or lifetime of camera, would be more appropriate7. I don't like the fact that you can't erase individual videos from he Micro SD Card. In order to get rid of they you need to format the card which forces a reboot. Yet they let you erase individual or all videos in the cloud, an oversight perhaps8. I never got the Windows client to hook to my camera How do I know who the user is and what password is needed?When all is said and done, however, I feel this camera is one of the best on the market at this price point. Maybe that doesn't say much about the competition, however.I am hoping the company sees this review