Reolink Video Doorbell WiFi Review

Smart doorbells offer a safe, convenient way to see who is at your door before you open it. The Reolink Video Doorbell WiFi ($99.99) goes one step further by automatically recording what happened in the few seconds before a doorbell press or motion event. Other highlights include dual-band Wi-Fi, 2K video capture, local video storage, and voice controls. But there are some downsides: It requires wiring and doesn't work with IFTTT. The Wyze Video Doorbell Pro ($93.99) doesn't have these disadvantages, so it remains our Editors' Choice winner.

The Reolink Video Doorbell WiFi includes the doorbell unit, a plug-in chime box, a mounting plate, screws, a mounting wedge, a LAN cable for wired network connections, a power adapter, a power extension cable (for homes that don't have doorbell wiring), jumper cables, and a user guide. Reolink also offers a Power over Ethernet (PoE) version of this doorbell for the same price.

At 5.2 by 1.8 by 0.9 inches (HWD), the device is just a bit smaller than the Wyze Video Doorbell Pro (5.5 by 1.8 by 1.1 inches). The black weatherproof enclosure holds the camera assembly, a built-in microphone and speaker for two-way communication, a daylight sensor, two small infrared LEDs for black-and-white night vision, and a doorbell button. The LED ring around that last button glows blue when the camera detects motion, flashes blue when someone presses it, and pulses white during setup.

The camera has a resolution of 2,560 by 1,920 pixels, captures video at 20fps, and has a 180-degree diagonal field of view. The rear panel is home to two wiring terminals, an Ethernet port for wired networking, and a microSD card slot for local video storage. An internal dual-band Wi-Fi radio means you can connect to both 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks.

The plug-in chime box is white and measures 3.4 by 2.0 by 1.0 inches (HWD). The front has a status LED ring that flashes blue when someone rings the doorbell and the back includes a speaker and a two-prong plug. The left side has a settings button that enables pairing, an audio button for choosing between the 10 available chime tones, and a volume button.

The doorbell can record video and send a push alert when it detects motion or when someone presses the doorbell button. It uses buffering to capture the six seconds of activity before those events, thus providing helpful context.

The doorbell can store video locally to a microSD card you provide, otherwise, you need to pay for a cloud storage subscription. The Reolink Standard plan ($6.99 per month) gives you 30 days of video history and up to 30GB of storage for up to five cameras. The next step up is the Premier plan ($10.99 per month), which provides 30 days of recordings with a storage limit of 80GB and supports up to 10 devices. Finally, the $15.99-per-month Business plan gives you 60 days of video history and 150GB of storage with support for up to 20 cameras.

The Reolink Video Doorbell WiFi works with Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands, and pairs with other Reolink devices such as the Reolink Go PT Plus camera. If you need Apple HomeKit or IFTTT interoperability, however, you need to look elsewhere.

The Reolink Video Doorbell uses the same mobile app (available for Android and iOS) as other Reolink devices. Once you set it up, the device appears in a panel on the Cameras screen. Tap that panel to launch a live video stream with buttons for pausing the video, taking a snapshot, recording a video clip, muting the sound, setting the video quality, and switching to a landscape orientation.

There are three additional buttons near the bottom of the screen: Quick Reply, Tap to Talk, and Playback. Press the Quick Reply button to select or create a response to play for visitors at your door; select the Tap to Talk button to speak freely with whoever is out there; and choose the Playback button to view recordings of events. The app lets you conveniently filter by motion events involving people and cars, as well as download videos to your device.

The button in the upper right side of the screen activates the built-in siren, while the gear icon takes you to the device settings. The latter section lets you see how much space remains on your SD card, edit network preferences, adjust display and audio settings, and toggle the LED light ring. You can also set up motion zones, tweak motion sensitivity, create recording schedules, enable push and email alerts, and configure time-lapse recording sessions.

Installing the Reolink Video Doorbell is simple. I used my existing doorbell wiring for the setup, but if you don't have that already, use the included power adapter and extension cable. Just keep in mind that you need to find a way to run the cable into your home because the adapter is not weatherproof. In either case, you also must download the Reolink mobile app and create an account.

To begin, I attached the power adapter to the doorbell's wiring terminals, plugged the doorbell into an outlet in my house, and tapped the plus button in the upper right corner of the app's home screen. I used my phone to scan the QR code on the back of the camera and opted for the Wi-Fi connection method. After a voice prompt, I signed into my network and then held my phone in front of the doorbell so it could scan the QR code in the app that appeared. After a beep confirmed the connection, I created an admin password and gave the doorbell a name. Then, I plugged the chime box into an outlet and pressed the doorbell button to verify the connection.

After I removed my existing doorbell, I ran my wiring through the mounting plate Reolink provided and then connected those wires to the new doorbell's terminals. To complete the installation, I popped in a microSD card, attached the mounting plate to the side of my house, and snapped the doorbell onto the plate.

The Reolink Doorbell delivers good video quality. Daytime capture shows excellent detail and good color saturation, while black-and-white night video looks sharp and has sufficient contrast. Push alerts arrive quickly and the pre-buffer feature never fails to capture the lead-up to motion events.

I had no trouble streaming video to either a Google Nest Hub or Amazon Echo Show smart display in testing. Both two-way audio and Quick Responses came through loud and clear as well, though we would prefer if the siren was just a bit louder.

If you already use a Reolink camera to monitor your property, the Reolink Video Doorbell is a worthwhile addition to your home security setup. It provides high-quality 2K video as well as accurate motion alerts. The main drawbacks are that it requires wiring and can't integrate with third-party devices via IFTTT. If you haven't already built an ecosystem of Reolink devices, the Wyze Video Doorbell Pro offers wire-free installation and IFTTT support for less money, earning it our Editors' Choice award.

The Reolink Video Doorbell WiFi would benefit from more third-party device support, but it works with voice commands and can save 2K video locally.

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