Reolink notifications not working? Here is what to check

Reolink notifications not working: where the chain breaks

A push alert needs every link to work. The camera must detect the event, the camera or the NVR (the recorder box) must be allowed to push for that hour and that kind of event, and your phone must let the Reolink app show it.

A good first test: walk in front of the camera and watch live view. If the motion icon appears, detection works and the problem is further down the chain.

Step 1: check push on the camera or NVR

1. Make sure motion detection is working for the camera. Battery cameras without smart detection use a PIR sensor with its own schedule; check that it is on.
2. Turn on the push switch for the camera. On an NVR there is also a main Push Notifications switch: if it is off, no camera on that NVR sends alerts.
3. Check the push schedule. It is set per camera, or per channel on an NVR, hour by hour. Hours that are switched off send nothing.
4. Tick the detection types you want: Person, Vehicle, Animal or Any Motion, depending on the model. If only Person is ticked, a car won’t alert you.

Step 2: check the app and the phone

1. Allow notifications for the Reolink app in the phone’s settings.
2. On Android, avoid Do Not Disturb, data saver and adaptive power or battery saving modes for the app.
3. On iPhone, check that a Focus mode isn’t silencing it.
4. Update the Reolink app and the camera or NVR firmware.
5. If alerts still don’t come, remove the device from the app and add it again. Before reinstalling the app, write down the device’s UID (its ID number), username and password.

Reolink notifications delayed

• Use the Test option on the camera’s push settings page. If the test alert is also late, the delay is in the network or the phone, not the detection.
• The camera needs a stable network with enough bandwidth, and so does the phone. Try switching the phone between Wi-Fi and mobile data.
• Try a second phone. If it gets alerts on time, the first phone’s settings are the cause.
• Reboot the camera or NVR and the router.

Only one alert when motion goes on and on

That’s the push interval. During continuous motion, Reolink sends one notification per interval, which you can set between 20 seconds and 2 minutes on cameras and NVRs with smart detection. It’s there so a busy scene doesn’t flood your phone.

When the alerts work but don’t help

Person and vehicle detection removes many false alarms from shadows and trees. But it still alerts for every person, and a shop or a café has people all day. The questions that matter are narrower: is the till open with nobody there, did someone go into the stockroom after closing?