Reolink Go PT Plus Review

If you need to keep an eye on a vacation home, a construction site, or any area without power or Wi-Fi connectivity, the Reolink Go PT Plus ($279.99) outdoor security camera is worth a look. This battery-powered unit lets you save recordings to either local or cloud storage destinations, has a cellular radio for remote monitoring, and captures sharp 2K video. We're less enthusiastic about its laggy mechanical pan and tilt controls, lackluster support for third-party integrations, and slightly quiet siren, however. Overall, the $249.99 Arlo Go 2 remains our top pick in this segment because it is more affordable, includes both a Wi-Fi and GPS radio, and has a color night vision mode.

The Go PT Plus stands 4.4 inches tall, while it measures 3.8 inches wide at the base and tapers off to 1.9 inches at the top. A motorized swivel mechanism that provides 355 degrees of panning motion and 140 degrees of tilt separates the base and the camera. Just below the camera lens, a rubber cover protects a reset button, along with SIM and microSD card slots. On the rear, there's a USB power port, a power switch, and a removable antenna. The enclosure has an IP64 weatherproof rating that provides decent protection from rain and dust. For comparison, the Arlo Go 2 has a slightly better IP65 rating.

As mentioned, the camera has a 4G LTE cellular radio that lets you access its feed from just about anywhere via the Reolink mobile app. The camera works with T-Mobile in the US as well as virtual network operators such as EIOT Club, but you have to purchase a SIM card and data plan separately. Reolink says that data usage depends on the bitrate and video quality you choose. For example, you generate about 1GB of data per hour of live streaming in 1080p mode with the default bitrate set to 1.5Mbps.

The device uses a non-removable battery that should last up to four weeks between charges under normal conditions. Cold weather and excessive streaming affect the battery life, however. To avoid having to bring the camera inside to recharge, you can hook it up to a Reolink Solar Panel ($29.99) and let the sun provide power.

In the box, you get a USB charging cable, mounting hardware, a mounting strap (if you want to avoid drilling holes), an antenna, a reset needle, and a user guide.

The camera captures 2K video at 15fps, has a 115-degree diagonal field of view, and zooms in 16x digitally. It uses six infrared LEDs for black-and-white night capture but lacks color night vision capabilities. The front of the camera houses a passive infrared (PIR) motion sensor, a microphone, a speaker, a daylight sensor, and a status LED that glows solid red when you first power up the camera, flashes blue during the pairing process, and glows solid blue for a few seconds after a successful connection.

The camera can record video and send notifications (via the app or email) when it detects motion. It even distinguishes between people, vehicles, and random motion. You can choose to save videos to the included 32GB microSD card or the cloud. You get seven days of recording history with a 1GB total storage limit for a single camera at no cost, but you need to pay for a plan if you need more storage and access to older videos.

The 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 Premier plan ($10.99 per month) provides 30 days of recordings with a storage limit of 80GB for up to 10 cameras. Finally, the Business plan ($15.99 per month) gives you 60 days of video history and 150GB of storage for up to 20 devices.

This camera uses the same Reolink app (available for Android and iOS) as the company's E1 Outdoor model.

Tap the product's dedicated panel to launch a live stream; here, you get pause, mute, snapshot, video record, video quality, and full-screen buttons. Additionally, you can initiate two-way talk, view a portion of the image in zoom mode; use the pan, tilt, and zoom dial; and view event recording thumbnails.

Camera settings are accessible via the gear icon in the upper right corner of the screen. Here, you can check the camera’s battery level, configure display settings, set the motion sensitivity, create recording schedules, and enable push notifications and email alerts. There’s also a Time Lapse setting that lets you capture sunrises, sunsets, moving clouds, blooming flowers, and construction progress. You can create custom time-lapse scenes, too.

The device works with Alexa and Google Assistant voice services, but it doesn't support Apple HomeKit or IFTTT. If you need support for third-party smart devices, the aforementioned Arlo Go 2 works with the latter platform.

Installing the Go PT Plus is fast and easy. I started by charging the battery for several hours until its LED changed from orange to green. I installed a SIM card that I had purchased, powered on the camera, and waited several minutes for the cellular setup to complete. The camera LED blinked blue for a bit and then turned solid blue before going dark; you should hear a voice prompt when the connection is active.

I already had the mobile app on my phone, so I tapped the plus icon in the upper right corner of the camera screen and used my phone’s camera to scan the QR code on the unit's base. After the device appeared in the app, I supplied a password and a name. Then, I specified an outdoor installation location to complete the pairing process. I used the included mounting strap to attach the mounting bracket to a deck post in my backyard, screwed the mounting cap onto the camera base, attached the antenna, and snapped the mounting cap into the slot on the mounting plate to finish the installation.

The Go PT Plus delivered sharp, colorful daytime videos in testing. Black-and-white night video showed good contrast and appeared sharp out to around 30 feet, while motion alerts arrived quickly with very few false alerts. I had no trouble sending video to an Amazon Echo Show display or communicating via two-way audio. That said, pan and tilt maneuverability was a bit choppy at times, and the siren isn't quite loud enough to be effective.

With the Reolink Go PT Plus camera, you don’t need an electrical outlet or a Wi-Fi connection to monitor outdoor areas around your home, a campground, or a construction site. Instead, it gets by on a cellular connection and a rechargeable battery that can draw power from an optional solar power. We enjoyed detailed video recordings and responsive motion alerts in testing, but found the mechanical pan and tilt controls somewhat sluggish and the siren rather quiet. If you can live without pan and tilt maneuverability, the Arlo Go 2 is a better option—it costs slightly less, works with IFTTT, has a built-in spotlight, and incorporates Wi-Fi and GPS radios.

The Reolink Go PT Plus security camera uses a cellular connection to help you monitor remote outdoor locations, but we wish it worked with more third-party devices.

Sign up for Lab Report to get the latest reviews and top product advice delivered right to your inbox.

This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.

Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!