# Reolink doorbell

15 Hacker News commenters recommended Reolink doorbell and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend Reolink doorbells for local recording without a subscription and smooth Home Assistant integration. One commenter doubted the microphone is waterproof under eaves.

## Why people recommend it

- Integrates with Home Assistant and Frigate (4 comments): "Reolink doorbell camera will work natively in frigate with bidirectional audio via html5/webrtc" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48992823)) "I have a Reolink PoE doorbell, using Frigate and Home Assistant like OP" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45870833)) "It records to a SD card and works great with my Home Assistant setup." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46997641))
- Records locally without subscription (3 comments): "It records to a SD card and works great with my Home Assistant setup." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46997641)) "They integrate great with home assistant and record locally." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46997760)) "No subscription required and uses local storage." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46997909))
- Works offline without internet (2 comments): "Reolink has doorbell cameras that you can keep disconnected from the internet." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46997763)) "Reolinks work without internet and can stream locally using rtsp." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47000442))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Ring doorbell](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ring-doorbell.md): 14 recommend
- [Amazon Ring](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ring.md): 11 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Reolink+PoE+video+doorbell+camera&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Official site](https://reolink.com/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Reolink doorbell", https://hackerapproved.com/p/reolink-doorbell/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).