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Recent problems with Reolink cameras

edited March 2018 in SecuritySpy
Having upgraded my cameras over the last few months I am very happy with them, they are Reolink 410 and 423 models. For some reason I have however started to encounter problems with them which despite my best efforts I have been unable to fix - basically there are huge numbers of disconnects, which didn't happen before.

I have found that the 423 requires more power (803.2at rather than 803.2af) as it is PTZ but weirdly that one seem a lot more reliable than the others, all are running through POE injectors (803.2af compatible).

So, in my efforts to solve this, is there any reason why none of the cameras work with the Reolink setting in SS? I have them setup with ONVIF and that seems fine to a point but don't know if there is some slight incompatibility - if I use that setting I just get 'unexpected data' - that is causing my issues. Many of the errors are as follows:

08/03/2018 21:02:48: Error communicating with the network device "hutCam". 4.2.3,8440,8871 Failed to obtain video frame from network device.

08/03/2018 21:06:42: Error communicating with the network device "hutCam". 4.2.3,70900,800 Failed to obtain video frame from network device. The operation timed out.

08/03/2018 21:08:25: Error communicating with the network device "hutCam". 4.2.3,80210,999 Failed to obtain video frame from network device.

08/03/2018 21:09:57: Error communicating with the network device "hutCam". 4.2.3,8440,8800 Failed to obtain video frame from network device. Connection closed by the other side.

I know this is all a little vague, but any ideas where I can start? I have ordered a new POE injector that is 803.2at compatible for the 423 PTZ camera just to be on the safe side.
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Comments

  • I should add that I have no problems viewing the cameras using the Reolink app on my iPad, as i type this SS has hardly connected to one of my cameras all evening but i can view it perfectly in the reolink app so that would indicate to me that there could be an incompatibility with SS or could it be that the app is rather more forgiving of minor network problems? My iMac is connected via Ethernet but I have also tried over 2.4 and 5ghz with no difference.
  • ok, a bit of progress, it seems like the signal from the rlc-423 ptz camera is causing problems, when I connected it up using its actual power supply rather than poe the connection problems across all the cameras seems to have reduced. I therefore currently have 4 cameras connected, 3 over poe, one over its power supply, connection seems more stable but is still not 100%. Could this remaining problem be because I am using ONVIF rather than the reeling profile which doesn't work?
  • This problem won't be due to using the ONVIF profile as opposed to the Reolink profile (though both should work).

    If you are now sure that the power supply to the cameras is working correctly, then the only thing left to cause the instability is the network. How are the cameras connected to the Mac? Are any on WiFi, or are they all connected by wired Ethernet? Are you using a high-quality switch to connect everything together.

    There is one more thing that could be going on here: with some Reolink cameras, after a disconnection, we have seen the reconnection fail due to the camera sending bad data. This is consistent with some of the errors you are seeing. We have contacted Reolink about this and are awaiting a reply - I will let you know what I hear back from them.
  • edited March 2018
    All are connected wired ethernet via home plugs. I am aware home plugs can sometimes be a little flakey but from the hours of switching around I have done over the last couple of days it would seem that the real source of the issue was the rlc-423 camera. As it requires more power than the others it seemed to be getting enough to work, but not enough to work 'properly' - it must have been sending a signal that was somehow interfering with the rest of the network.

    I found that when I removed it completely the other cameras settled down. The 423 is now plugged in in another location in the house via its proper power supply and it too is working great, I started recording on schedule at 1700hrs, it is now 2000hrs and there have been no disconnects of any camera.

    So, potentially the problem may have been solved - I have ordered a 803.2at injector which should hopefully arrive on Monday so will try the 423 with that, if it works - great, if it causes problems still I will have to buy a power lead extension and just run two cables to that particular camera.

    I am pretty unknowledgeable with all the CCTV stuff so it is a bit of a learning curve for me, just finding out about different poe standards was a revelation.

    Hopefully Reolink will get back to you, I have found their customer service pretty good myself. Out of interest, what is the difference between the Reolink and ONVIF settings and any idea what the Reolink one doesn't seem to work?
  • I have very similar problems as Chubsta. I have been using SS for about 10 days as demo and DESPERATELY would like to use full time but unfortunately I am heavily invested in Reolink. 411s and 423 mainly. Reolink is very good with support for me and I have yet to find another camera with image quality as good as Reolink. That said - my connections are very spotty. A camera will stay connected for a couple hours at times - then disappear and not find its way back on SS for long periods even though the Reolink app picks it up immediately. I have been reading the forums here and working with Reolink and there doesnt seem to be an answer. I have some plugged with power, most as POE. Tested Cat6 cable going to many via POE switches. I have set all to baseline. I tried to set the resolution of the main stream as low as possible but found higher and faster frame actually kept me connected longer. I have a MicroSeven basic camera that stays connected with no issue. An Amcrest does very well (lousy picture quality). Even just arrived, a SV3C (never heard of but $40 on amazon) - which in a couple days has stayed glued to SS.
    Reolink told me a few days ago they have reached out to SS, which reading above should make SS and Reolink discussing the issues ;-) Reolink does not much support Mac - so maybe a deal can be had to make SS the 'mac software' for Reolink in exchange for any R&D into their own app - and spend that time making the Reolink/SS connection solid.

    Is there no way for SS to incorporate the UID of a Reolink into the setup? Or am I missing how the connection works.

    I would love to get some other ideas of best possible settings for Reolink or any POE cameras that work well with SS that have as good of image quality as the Reolink.
    While I do try to monitor my house, I am also an outdoor photographer and found it quite interesting the things you can find on a security camera a few feet into the woods from the house, but I want more than simply identifying something. So sadly - monitoring video feeds is becoming an obsession.
    I have a short time further to figure out SS/Reolink or back to the Reolink app monitoring 640x480 10 minute clips - continuously recording at only about 80-90% of the hour.
  • I think I can confirm that the problem seems to lie with 'sensitivity' of the cameras to the network - since I have the 410s connected via poe and the 423 connected via its own power supply I have not had any disconnects at all, even though all are set to their maximum 4/5MP streams.

    I don't know the technical side of such things but perhaps try removing all cameras from your network and power and then adding them one at a time, trying poe or power for each if possible. This is how I was able to track down that the 423 running over poe was apparently causing all my problems, I don't know quite how or why it was able to affect everything else but since sorting it out I have had 12 hours of continuous footage captured with no issues.
  • thanks - I have hooked power to the 423. we shall see. I did again try setting a 411S to 1080 and it immediately started stuttering again with connection...so I put it back to max resolution and again seems fine.
  • also, and worth remembering i think, when originally all connected via poe the 423 had the most reliable connection by far, the 410s were constantly disconnecting. this led me to think the 410s had issues themselves whereas it seems the 423 was causing their problems but not really manifesting any itself. hence why i was on a bit of a wild goose chase for a while.
  • Chubsta, I cannot even connected my Reolink 410s to SS as I can't find a Reolink profile in the list of cameras. Anyone know why Reolink doesn't show up on my list please, or are you using a generic?
    Thanks
  • I use onvif, works fine for me
  • Hi @bobcox - if you don't see the Reolink profile in the list, this means you are using an old version of SecuritySpy. You can obtain the latest version from the SecuritySpy download page.
  • edited March 2018
    3 days now with no disconnects at all, still haven't connected the 423 back up properly so am just running the 410s via poe 2560x1440 30fps. Although 2 of the cameras are on short cable runs of less than 3 meters, one is on 50m of cat6 (exposed to all the elements because I haven't had to time to run it down the garden properly in a conduit), so am very pleased with the current stability.

    Will be very interesting to see what happens when I get the power extension for the 423, hopefully by giving it a decent 12v 2a supply it will not affect the rest of the network adversely.
  • I have had far fewer issues since connecting the 423 to the power adapter as a test. I have 3 423S versions arriving tomorrow that will be interesting to see how they effect things. I might keep running Reolink software for those. I just cant get over how the more cheap the camera - the more glued it stays to SS. I have a couple VERY long cable runs, but currently just the 411Ss on those.
    It still takes a huge amount of time to reconnect after a disconnect on any Reolink -> often 3-5 minutes on any of the reolinks. I am comfortable with the amount of drops, if I could get the reconnect/uptime higher. I run 1 hour segments - and often end up with only 55 minutes of recording. If I could get that to 59+ I would be more accepting.
  • sounds like progress at least! ben mentioned above about problems after disconnects so hopefully that will be something that can be resolved.
  • edited March 2018
    I also have a new POE switch coming today with 1 port that is "Hi-PoE up to 60W on Port 1" (BV-Tech 4 Port PoE+ Switch with 2 Ethernet Uplink and Extend Function – 60W – 802.3at + 1 High Power PoE Port ) -- as I cant use the power adapter in most locations - I was thinking if the issue is the 423 uses extra power at times - a switch providing more than normal might work close to same as plugging it in. ===> that said - the 423 using the power adapter just completed a 46min out of 60min hour ;-(
  • edited March 2018
    It sounds like you have a LOT of cameras, have you tried connecting them up one by one using different poe injectors/power supplies and leaving them for a while each time - it was only by doing this with mine that I was able to finally work out where the problem lay as it also showed that one of my cheapo injectors wasn't working properly either, you never know, you may have a dodgy 411 that is somehow affecting the network too...
  • The only reason I have so many cameras is trying to fiddle and find something that worked and record at decent resolution. So now that I have them, point them at something in the forest ;-)
    I started with a 2mb no zoom MicroSeven - that had its own app I had to use, which at the time was not what I wanted and it sat for a couple years. Now with SS it might be close to the best camera. Certainly the best at staying connected.
    I am going to redo my whole network in a few weeks, and I will take your advice and go one at a time. Also running on MBpro at moment, and while it seems to be fine, I have more power I will put the SS on.
    I have only gone down to 2 cameras and worked up. One thing I am wondering about also are the (2) 411s use 20-25% cpu according to the SS info...while the 423 is only using 12-13. That strikes me as in reverse. These 2 411s are on separate POE switches also. I keep trying to turn down the frame rate or resolution on any of the Reolinks and always end up with double the issues, so going to stay on 30fps and 2560x1440.
  • i use mine purely for wildlife watching in my garden so know where you are coming from in wanting the best image, i started off with Tenvis 720p cameras and the reolink are certainly in a different league!

    good luck with the testing, all i can really add at this point is that mine was a very similar problem and appears to be solved so there is hope...
  • Little update from my end...

    The three 410s have all been working 100%, no connection issues at all, and certainly no drops, so all is good there. They are all connected via a cheapish poe switch running into a home plug in my conservatory.

    Still issues with the 423 (this is plugged into a home plug in my living room) - today I received a good quality poe injector, plugged the 423 in and within a minute one of the 410s threw an error and disconnected. From this I can almost definitively say that the 423 through poe is somehow causing issues with the other cameras in SS. So, I plugged in an extra long power cable that also arrived today - the 410 cameras have been fine with this, no disconnects at all, however the 423, although showing a pretty steady 30fps on its status, seems to be having occasional frame drops in its window, hard to tell how much but certainly every couple of seconds or so.

    So, is this a problem caused by power/SS/network/faulty camera, anyone any ideas? I am definitely getting there as all problems seem to be related to the 423 so I can almost write the 410s out of the problem solving loop, I only have problems when the 423 is on the network.
  • A couple of hours down the line and there have been a few disconnects and the 423 frame-rate fluctuates from 30fps to 8 regularly.

    I can't help thinking there is something simple going on here, my home plugs are 500mbps ones, surely they have enough bandwidth for my needs, I have one connected to my router, one in the living room servicing just the 423 and one in the conservatory for the 3 x 410s. my iMac is connected via ethernet to my router, I also have an AirPort Extreme plugged via ethernet into my router for my wireless but that only has a couple of Apple TVs and iPads and iPhones running off it. So any homeplug issue would only affect the cameras.

    My logs showed everything was fine until the 423 was plugged in today, then I get this (bigCam and pondCam are the 423 - I changed the name for easier identification, all other cameras are 410s):

    14/03/2018 15:27:16: Error communicating with the network device "garageCam". 4.2.3,10,835 Excessive packet loss from network device, the network may be too slow or defective, or this computer may be overloaded. Check the network and/or reduce this camera's frame rate.

    14/03/2018 15:28:14: Error communicating with the network device "garageCam". 4.2.3,8440,8800 Failed to obtain video frame from network device. Connection closed by the other side.

    14/03/2018 15:28:41: Error communicating with the network device "garageCam". 4.2.3,8440,8871 Failed to obtain video frame from network device.

    14/03/2018 15:38:51: Error communicating with the network device "bigCam". 4.2.3,70900,800 Failed to obtain video frame from network device. The operation timed out.

    14/03/2018 15:54:34: Error communicating with the network device "garageCam". 4.2.3,10,835 Excessive packet loss from network device, the network may be too slow or defective, or this computer may be overloaded. Check the network and/or reduce this camera's frame rate.

    14/03/2018 15:56:05: Error communicating with the network device "bigCam". 4.2.3,70900,800 Failed to obtain video frame from network device. The operation timed out.

    14/03/2018 16:31:03: Error communicating with the network device "garageCam". 4.2.3,10,835 Excessive packet loss from network device, the network may be too slow or defective, or this computer may be overloaded. Check the network and/or reduce this camera's frame rate.

    14/03/2018 17:21:06: Error communicating with the network device "garageCam". 4.2.3,10,835 Excessive packet loss from network device, the network may be too slow or defective, or this computer may be overloaded. Check the network and/or reduce this camera's frame rate.

    14/03/2018 17:29:36: Error communicating with the network device "pondCam". 4.2.3,10,835 Excessive packet loss from network device, the network may be too slow or defective, or this computer may be overloaded. Check the network and/or reduce this camera's frame rate.

    14/03/2018 17:30:43: Error communicating with the network device "pondCam". 4.2.3,70900,800 Failed to obtain video frame from network device. The operation timed out.

    14/03/2018 17:40:38: Error communicating with the network device "pondCam". 4.2.3,10,835 Excessive packet loss from network device, the network may be too slow or defective, or this computer may be overloaded. Check the network and/or reduce this camera's frame rate.

    14/03/2018 17:42:28: Error communicating with the network device "garageCam". 4.2.3,8440,8871 Failed to obtain video frame from network device.

    14/03/2018 17:42:52: Error communicating with the network device "pondCam". 4.2.3,8440,8871 Failed to obtain video frame from network device.

    14/03/2018 17:43:03: Error communicating with the network device "pondCam". 4.2.3,8440,8800 Failed to obtain video frame from network device. Connection closed by the other side.

    my iMac is showing minimal CPU/memory usage, my main drive is an SSD but SS writes to an external 5400rpm drive although it isn't currently doing that as the recording schedule doesn't start until 1800hrs so recording isn't the issue.

    Apart from removing the 423 from the network I can't see where to go with this really, and to be honest that isn't an option...


  • Ben - hope you don't mind me updating this post as I go along, I figure no problem is ever unique so someone may have the same problem in the future and my experiences may assist them in sorting theirs, particularly as Reolink cameras are relatively new and there is not much about them on forums etc.
  • Just for the record I get same issues - on 423 - its like it is designed to show 30 then 8 then 30 and back to 8...while the microseven just stays fixed at 25 almost always. I tried to get Reolink to give me the auto settings the cameras switch to at night - because it seems the connection is better - after 3 tries I still could not get a real answer...but Something may show there - they auto change the settings for IR and something there may show what makes connecting more difficult...
    Funny I had to reread and verify your previous post was not mine - that looks exactly like my logs - and I actually have a GarageCam also -
  • hey, we are getting there!

    I seem to be making good progress by constantly changing different parts of the system and testing. My latest findings are very interesting (well, to me anyway) - as you will see from my post I seem to have no problems anymore with the 410s so I am basically ignoring them except as indicators of problems with the 423 ie.when I connected the 423 via poe earlier I had issues then with one of my 410s.

    Fortunately for me I had a 10m ethernet cable lying around so was able to remove the homeplug from the 423 temporarily and run a cable direct from the camera to my router, since I have done that there hasn't been a single drop in frame rate on the 423 and it is connected 100% - in other words all my problems are solved, all cameras are holding their connections and the frame-rates are stable at 30fps.

    So, does this mean I am all sorted - well, not yet I think, I won't count my chickens until I have at least 48 hours of a stable connection. If it turns out that the problem really was that the 423 was causing issues on the network when connected via a homeplug then that is very interesting as I have been using various different ones that have been laying around spare and the problems have been the same with all of them which indicates it is the camera rather than the home plugs.

    I will report back in the morning (it is currently 23:30 here), hopefully with good news...
  • another thing - i am now remoting into my SS computer - down to 3 cameras due to massive SS implosion yesterday - (no idea what happened, perhaps too many cameras or something, had to turn off entire network. disconnect a few cameras, then brought only a few back online and things worked again after a very long time) -
    I have the reolink app running locally over internet. The 423 and the 411 still keeps losing connection - yet the cameras have not once disappeared from the local reolink app running over internet 1200 miles away.
    I would think any network issues would show up much more via internet than when everything is local. and the cameras would loose internet connection before intranet.
  • is it possible that the cameras are disconnecting with the reolink app as often as they do with SS but that it is not showing it (perhaps the screen freezes just for a second), and then reconnecting better than it does with SS, in other words, you notice the SS disconnects but the reolink ones aren't as blatant and the way ss deals with the aftermath of it is different to the camera app?

    I agree that it is weird that the internet connection seems more stable...

    Are you able to plug the 423 direct into the router via an ethernet cable as I have just as a test?
  • the only 423 currently connected is plugged into a POE switch -too far from router.
    the reolink app is not disconnecting any of the cameras at all or freezing - i am recording continuous at 'balanced' but catching the same full resolution stream at 30fps. 10 minute clips are a full 10 minutes with no freezing.
  • Final stage of testing today hopefully.

    All cameras worked 100% overnight, no issues at all today. Next step is to power the 423 by poe again, but this time run it straight to the router from the poe adapter instead of going through a homeplug. If this works then I will have to run a 15m cable direct from the cameras to the poe switch next to the router, I would rather do this then have the 423 powered by its power supply as it is neater.

    Certainly is nice to be nearing the end of this particular 'journey' - Im pretty confident that I will have a 100% working solution in my case. It has been a pain and pretty complicated to work out where the issues are but at the moment it looks like it was homeplug related, but only in the sense of the 423 not working well with it - I have swapped home plugs around as I have a number of them and the single common factor is that there were problems whenever one was plugged into the 423, even when all the cameras were plugged into a single homeplug via a switch, I don't know why this should be.

    Not sure what SecuritySpy's involvement in all this is given that I did have a similar situation as easglesrus whereby the Reolink app seemed a lot more stable, perhaps SS is just more susceptible to minor network issues, hopefully Ben's discussions with them will lead to a solution.
  • Everything worked fine last night, 3 x Reolink 410 connected via Poe switch into a homeplug, 1 x Reolink 423 connected via Poe injector direct to router.

    Seems like for some reason the 423 did not like being connected to a homeplug and somehow managed to cause issues to other cameras on the network.

    Guess my problems are solved, hope all this helps someone!
  • Things worked great since the 16th March but two nights ago I started having problems again with the 3 x 410 cameras that were connected via a poe switch into a homeplug, I had about 20 disconnects on each over a 24 hour period. The 423 which is connected directly via ethernet to the router has had 100% uptime so that is great.

    Today I ran a temporary cable from the poe switch to the router and since then have had zero disconnects so am assuming the home plugs have been the issue again.

    For the last few years I have connected my iMac directly to the router via (a very long) cable rather than a homeplug as I have never been really happy with their performance so why I thought they would be any better with my cameras I don't know...

    I have ordered a long flat cat6 cable so can run direct from the poe to the router and hopefully that will be the end of this particular journey of discovery. I have also removed the last couple of home plugs as I just can't trust them any more, everything is now either cabled - iMac, 4 x cameras - or wireless - consoles, Apple TV etc.

    Hopefully this thread may be of use to someone in the future with similar hard to diagnose problems, whilst it seemed like the problems were with the cameras or with securitySpy I guess my network had just enough tiny issues to not show up on any other devices but still affect my CCTV.
  • chubsta, what is a 'homeplug' ?? just curious.

    I have redone my entire network to only gigabit switches. minimize cable, upgrade any questionable cabling to CAT6. Things certainly work better but many symptoms are the same. Non-Reolink cameras stay connected with zero issues. Almost all hour recordings are 60 minutes, a wonderful concept.
    The reolinks (423, 423S, 411WS, 411S) all drop off. All are wired into the system - nothing wireless. Whatever the connection between Reolink and SS just doesnt seem to sync up as easily as the other brands.
    One interesting tidbit I have added over the last week. When I have a reolink camera that doesnt come up on SS for 15-30 minutes with various error msgs - I open the camera in the Reolink app - and the camera almost instantly appears in SS. Or if camera is already up in Reolink app - and I reboot the camera - it comes up on SS immediately. Like the message 'trying to connect' isnt really trying hard enough.
    Having 4 brands of cameras connected fine - kind of puts the blame on the internals of the Reolinks - wish this would get fixed. I have yet to find video quality close to Reolink in the price range.
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