Doorbells are an item that are pretty universal in our homes but until the advent of video doorbell, never got much attention. With numerous video doorbells having flooded the market since the introduction of the Ring camera in 2014, most modern home owners now opt to install a video doorbell. Today we are looking at Reolink’s latest entry into this segment, the Reolink Video Battery Doorbell (2nd Gen).

Straight off the bat, lets let the cat out of the bag. Reolink’s entire ecosystem of cameras operate without the need for an ongoing subscription. In a world of subscriptions and online security breaches, Reolink provides a one off cost system with data sovereignty, albeit with some caveats we’ll discuss later.

Reolink Video Battery Doorbell (2nd Gen): First Impressions

The second generation video doorbell has the same general aesthetic of Reolink’s older doorbell offerings, with its pill shaped form factor but in a larger format. At 160mm in height and 48mm wide, the doorbell is large enough to be easily visible by visitors but also not too large or overbearing. With a thickness of 29.5mm and a weight of 231g, it has some substance to it, primarily due to its large internal battery.

Other than the branding, The front face has two key features, at the top is the camera, microphone and PIR/Infrared sensors, while on the bottom is the large and optionally illuminated, circular doorbell button. The sides are largely unremarkable save for some small perforations for the loudspeaker, located along the bottom curve.

While the rear of the unit is usually hidden, it contains a number of connections and ports that can only be accessed once the Video Battery Doorbell (2nd Gen) is removed from its mount. Between the terminal block for hard wiring, a centrally located power button can be found. Beneath this is a small flap hiding the Gen 2s microSD cart slot, a USB-C charging port and a small reset button.

Gen 2 vs Gen 1

Along with the unit itself, the Video Battery Doorbell comes complete with a mounting plate, angle plate; a mounting template and small packet of fixing hardware. A USB-A to USB-C charging cable is included as well as two hardwiring kits. Rounding out the package are some manuals and tip sheets.

Setup, Installation and Everyday Use

Before installing the hardware, we let the Gen 2 charge overnight and then connected it to our network via the Reolink App. Setup was quick and easy using the app, and within a few minutes, the Video Battery Doorbell (Gen 2) appeared in our app next to our other Reolink Power Over Ethernet (POE) cameras.

After opening the Reolink app, the configuration process involved scanning some QR codes and following some on screen/voice prompts. Interestingly, once the doorbell was connected, the app prompted us with installation instructions, including how to hard wire the doorbell to existing traditional doorbell power cabling. In our installation and testing, we opted for a pure battery setup as we had no existing wiring. Also worth noting is that to increase battery life, we largely set the working mode of the Video Battery Doorbell (2nd Gen) to power saving mode for the majority of its testing.

While connecting the Gen 2 to the IOS app was a snap, getting it to play nice with our Reolink NVR was another story. While we did manage to connect the Gen 2 to our existing Reolink NVS-8 NVR, we found that it wasn’t fully compatible. We were able to change most of its settings and view the doorbell’s camera stream but try as we might, we couldn’t use the NVR to connect the supplied Reolink Chime. More frustratingly, once the Gen 2 was added to the NVR, the Gen 2 stopped working on the Reolink app.

In our experience, it appears Reolink’s POE/wired cameras and their wifi cameras are largely somewhat mutually exclusive when it comes to Reolink NVRs. While Reolink’s multi-port NVRs are excellent for their wired cameras, their wifi devices require a Reolink Home Hub wifi NVR.. which is coincidentally unable to provide POE/other wired services.

After some experimentation, we disconnected the camera from our NVS-8 NVR and for the purpose of review, kept the Video Doorbell (Gen 2) connected via the Reolink app only.

Once we had everything working, we used the included mounting template to fix the camera near our rear door. Installation was very easy and once the mounting plate was fixed, the camera clicked into place neatly. While the older Reolink doorbell cameras came in both white and black, the Gen 2 doorbell currently comes in any colour you like, as long as you like black.

The Video Battery Doorbell (2nd Gen) has been designed with battery longevity in mind and along with its 15fps video stream, has a power saving mode that essentially keeps the doorbell asleep until the button is pressed. In this mode, Reolink claims it will keep its charge for approximately 300 days, even with daily button presses and short video streaming events.

We found the image quality to be quite good, considering this is a doorbell and not a dedicated surveillance device. The 15fps does make the video a little choppy but more than adequate for talking to the postman or letting folks know you will be down in a second.

We tried out the package detection mode and found that it worked as expected, detecting packages left by the door. All in all, in daily operation we had no complaints with the Video Battery Doorbell (Gen 2). It provided clear audio and video communication via the Reolink app, and on more than one occasion, allowed us to speak to visitors while we were away from home. As mentioned earlier, the video wasn’t exactly silky smooth, but the audio on both ends was perfectly acceptable and allowed for effective communication.

Overall, the doorbell worked well, looked good mounted and its battery life seemed to be in line with Reolink’s claims. Our main gripe was really to do with how the Gen 2 was unable to integrate seamlessly into our existing Reolink infrastructure. Not only was it unable to work effectively with our existing NVR, but it also wasn’t able to share (as opposed to just use) any of our existing doorbell chimes. While we admit most homes are likely to have only one video doorbell connected, homes with two entrances (and two video doorbells) will need to have an independent chime plugged in for each of their Reolink Video doorbells. Not a deal breaker, but it is a bit of a zonk.

Despite these limitations, the overall experience was good, with easy installation and suitably long battery life – We only operated the camera for a few weeks but Reolink’s claimed 300 day battery life didn’t seem unreasonable according to our usage. Unless you have daily visitors having minutes long two way conversations using the Gen 2 Doorbell, we think the battery will easily last 6-9 months as a pure video doorbell (Power Saving Mode).

With regards to storing video, while we didn’t have much success with the NVR, its worth noting that the Video Battery Doorbell (2nd Gen) is able to store video internally. The app can then be used to playback interactions on your preferred mobile device.

Throughout our testing, we found wireless connectivity to be flawless at both 5 and 2.4Ghz. Our Ubiquity Express 7 router reported no issues with the connection, despite the Gen 2 being located at our property boundary a full storey and approximately 12m away (through numerous walls).

Reolink Video Battery Doorbell (2nd Gen) Specifications

Image Sensor: 1/3″ CMOS sensor
Resolution: 2048 × 2048 (4 megapixels) @15fps
Video Compression: H.264/H.265
Field of View: Diagonal: 180°; Horizontal:150°; Vertical: 150°
Audio: Two-way audio
Battery: Up to 300 days of battery life (Based on 5-min recordings per day)
Hardwire Capability: Both 8-24V AC and 24V DC
Power Port: USB-C
microSD Card: Supports upto 512GB
Wifi: 2.4Ghz/5Ghz IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n with WPA/WPA2
Weatherproofing: IP65

For a full list of technical specifications, please visit Reolink’s Second Gen Doorbell product page.

Reolink Video Battery Doorbell (2nd Gen): Conclusion

While we tend to prefer wired devices for their unlimited power and security, the Video Battery Doorbell (Gen 2) made for an interesting alternate proposition. Not only does its wireless connection and battery allow it to be placed in difficult places, but with its suitably long battery life, alleviates most of my personal wireless anxieties. And even better, if you are replacing an existing (non-video) wired doorbell, the Video Battery Doorbell (2nd Gen) can utilise existing cabling to be mains powered.

As a pure (video) doorbell, we found the Gen 2 to be an excellent battery powered proposition. While the included battery proved up to the task, we would recommend wiring the Video Battery Doorbell (2nd Gen) up to mains power if you wanted it to undertake a more surveillance (and power hungry) role.

The picture quality was clear (despite its power saving frame rate) and the audio quality at both ends was even better – There is something to be said for being miles away from home while interacting with a delivery person at your front door!

The Battery Video Doorbell is available direct from Reolink online for $229.99AUD or just under $275AUD when bundled with a mains powered doorbell chime (as reviewed).