Review on REOLINK Argus Pro: Outdoor Wireless Security Camera System with Rechargeable Battery & Solar Power, 1080p HD Night Vision, 2-Way Talk, Motion Alert, Cloud Storage - Smart Home Compatible (Pack of 2) by Zachary Jackson

My neighbor's house was infiltrated so I did some research on outdoor cameras and this seems to be the best value and still good quality to offer . I needed battery powered cameras (because my apartment building didn't allow for wiring), a WiFi connection, and at least 2 cameras. I didn't find many other options and the big names were really expensive for two cameras. They were easy to install - just screw on a small plate with three screws and then remove and turn on with a small button. It also rotates in all directions with a simple adjustment knob, so it's really easy to attach to anything, and it even comes with a strap so you can tie it to a tree, although I wasn't able to use that option. Keep in mind that you'll need a 64GB microSD card for each of the cameras, so add another $25 to the price (I just bought a Kingston card for $12 each and it works great). Speaking of SD cards, that's the main problem I had initially. Turns out you need to make sure you hear a "click" when you put them in the slot, and using my finger or nail isn't enough. At first I thought they were broken, so I emailed their support (support@reolink.com) and they suggested using the included reset pin to press the card until it clicks, after which the SD cards were recognized. Speaking of email support, it was really good quality and fast and they had great English. They also included a bunch of pictures showing how to do it and they have some good FAQ pages. Another problem I had was that the camera could only connect to a 2.4GHz WiFi network. Most routers are both 2.4 and 5GHz, but they have different names, so make sure you're using the correct name for the 2.4GHz network. Of course you want to make sure the cameras are within range of your WiFi router and there is no metal between them so there is a clear signal. All of the cameras I've researched have many 1-star reviews and people say they won't connect, which is almost certainly due to poor WiFi connectivity. So I think it's quite unfair that they give 1 star ratings. Just buy a wifi repeater or similar so the cameras have a clear signal. The last problem I had was that I couldn't get email to work initially. I was using a Gmail account, but it turns out that the default Gmail security is preventing cameras from sending emails, even though I used my Gmail email address and password. Gmail has an option that lets you turn off this security feature, but if someone ever gets your email address and password, they can log in and access your email from anywhere. So the security feature of Gmail is good. Big. I'm not sure what Reolink needs to do to make it fully compatible, but maybe they'll work on that in a future update. Speaking of which, the cameras appear to update over WiFi, which is good in case there are similar fixes in the future. For email I run my own mail server so I just used my own SMTP host and user and password and everything works great. This is really nice because every time the motion sensor "sees" someone, it sends me an email with a picture. It's really great because no matter where I am at home or on the go, I get instant notifications when someone is at my door. This is probably my favorite feature. After that I installed the app on my tablet and the setup was pretty good. The whole experience was very well done and polished and even the camera packaging is well done and polished. I was concerned that it might be inferior material from China, but it is of very high quality in terms of both hardware and software, support and documentation. a camera view. Of course, you don't want to use it for live viewing too often as that eats up battery life, but it's great when someone's outside and you want to see who it is before you open the door. There is even an option to speak through the camera as it has a speaker. It is also possible to turn on the siren, which is very handy when there is a weirdo at the door. The application also allows you to take photos or videos. The app allows you to customize each camera and there are many options. You can give each camera a custom name to show in the image, which is nice. The app shows the battery percentage, although I don't know yet if it sends an alert when the battery is low. Overall this is the best price I could find for any camera and everything is really well done, I've recommended it to friends and family too. Of course there is room for improvement, but so far it seems that the support people are quick to respond and very open to feedback on future updates.