Why Is My Reolink Camera Not Recording? (Let’s Fix!)

A security camera is only useful when it notifies the user of ongoing motion and captures clips to provide you with a clear view of what’s happening.

Well, if your Reolink camera not recording any clips, the entire purpose of your security system is gone.

This is exactly what we’re going to learn about in this guide–what defines your Reolink camera’s recording behavior and how to resolve potential problems.

How To Fix When Reolink Camera Not Recording?– 8 Methods!

Note: The recordings of your Reolink camera can be stored in three types of storage–an SD card which is considered to be the most common, NVR, and cloud for Wi-Fi cameras. 

1. Check for Issues with the SD (SD Users)

Using an SD card is by far the simplest and most common method to store the recordings from your Reolink camera.

It’s really simple–place the SD card in, set up the alarm recording, and all of your recordings will then be accessible through the Reolink mobile app.

Ensure the SD is Compatible

There are several compatibility requirements for the SD camera of your Reolink camera:

• Capacity: 8GB–512GB or 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256 or 512 exactly.
• Read/write speed: The read/write of the SD card must be at least class 10 or higher.
• Format: The SD card of your Reolink camera must be compatible with FAT 32.
• Standards: The SD card must be of TF type, SDHC, or SDXC for the Reolink.

Note: If the SD card does not meet these requirements, it will not be recognized by the camera!

Check for SD Formatting Errors

You can check the storage of your Reolink camera’s SD card by opening the Reolink app, then navigating to “Playback” → setting time and date, and clicking the play button.

Tap “Storage” in the same tab, and you can see the remaining and occupied space of the inserted microSD card.

If the storage says “0 GB”, “Formatting error” or “No SD card found”, it means that there’s a compatibility or a placement problem with the card. 

Reinsert the Reolink SD

You can address temporary issues with the Reolink SD by popping it out from the card tray for several seconds. 

You can use a thin object such as a paper clip or simply pull it out using the tip of your fingernail.

However, to access the SD compartment, you must unmount the Reolink camera first and make sure it’s turned off.

Wait for 30–40 seconds while the SD is out of the compartment tray and then push it back in, before placing the camera back on the mount. 

2. Setup Reolink’s Detection Alarm

Regardless of whether your camera uses an NVR, an SD card, or saves clips to the cloud, you must set up the detection alarm to receive alerts.

All Reolink camera products have the motion detection feature and not setting it up would prevent your camera from knowing when to record. 

Here’s how to allow the Reolink camera to record and detect:

1. Open the Reolink app and tap “Camera Settings” above.
2. Extend the “Record” tab within the camera’s configuration.
3. Next, ensure “Recording” is set to “On” within the options.

Once you’ve enabled the detection alarm, adjust the “Detection Zone” and “Sensitivity” settings.

We recommend setting sensitivity to 25–30 which is considered medium-to-high and assigning a full or partial picture to the detection zone.

How to Check Reolink’s Alerts Status?

If you’ve accidentally disallowed all notifications and alerts from the Reolink app, you will not be notified of any events that trigger a camera recording.

To manage these alerts, you must access the settings of the Reolink application on an Android/iPhone and enable them manually.

On your smartphone, open the “Settings” app and navigate to “Applications/Apps” → “Reolink” → “Notifications/Alerts” and ensure all messages are allowed. 

3. Enable “Overwrite” On Reolink

If you’re still asking why the Reolink camera is not recording, don’t rush into conclusions yet!

One of the possible reasons could be because of exceeding local storage.

Enabling overwrite allows your camera to “replace” the oldest footage on the storage, whenever the SD card is full.

How to Enable “Overwrite” Via the Reolink App?

1. Open the Reolink app and navigate to “Settings”.
2. Set the “Camera Recording” feature to “On” below.
3. Check the “Overwrite Recordings” field on the page.
4. Optional: Configure the “Overwrite Interval” option.

How to Enable “Overwrite” Via the Reolink Client?

1. Launch the client and tap on “Camera Settings”.
2. After that, navigate to “Surveillance” → “Record”.
3. Enable “Overwrite Recordings” from the settings.
4. Optional: Assign an “Overwrite Interval” below.

The Overwrite feature can be set up identically for both Reolink NVRs and Home Hubs.

Hence, verify you’re accessing the NVR or Home Hub’s options under “Settings”, before activating this.

Note: The “Overwrite” feature is not supported by all Reolink battery-powered cameras that don’t have the “Smart Detection” feature. 

4. Check for Issues with the Cloud (Cloud Users)

Using a Wi-Fi or a battery-operated Reolink camera limits you to setting up and using Reolink’s cloud service for access to your recordings.

So, setting up a cloud subscription for your Reolink camera requires meeting a certain set of requirements, as well as a reliable Wi-Fi connection.

Here’s what to check on your Reolink cloud subscription!

Ensure Reolink is Compatible

First, only the battery-powered Reolink products, along with the Lumus, E1 series, and the video doorbell are compatible with a cloud subscription.

Your Reolink camera must also be compatible location-wise, so we recommend consulting with Reolink’s compatibility page.

Subscribe for the Correct Plan

The next step is to ensure you’ve subscribed to a plan that covers the demands of your system.

So, if you have multiple cameras for example, and selected a subscription without a multi-device coverage, none of the recordings will be stored.

• To subscribe for a Reolink plan, open the Reolink app and go to “Cloud” → “Cloud Storage” → compatible plan → “Subscribe”.
• To switch from an existing Reolink plan, open the app and navigate to “Cloud” → “Cloud Storage” → “Plan” and pick from the remaining options.
• Relog from your Account

If you’re still having issues with setting up the cloud subscription, sign out from your account, wait for several seconds, and log back in.

Ensure you’re signing to the same account where you’ve added the Reolink camera and subscribed for a cloud storage plan.

Tip: We also recommend removing the SD card from your camera if it’s connected to the cloud. 

5. Verify the NVR’s Recording Settings (NVR Users)

An NVR is the third method to store the recordings of the Reolink cameras.

So, not completing the physical setup or the recording settings of your NVR could lead to problems with your clips.

Here’s what you’ll need to inspect: 

Check the FIltering Settings

First, ensure you haven’t filtered your Reolink camera’s footage by a certain date and type of detection on your NVR.

Prior to viewing any of the clips, you must select a specific date and type of the recording on your monitor.

Ensure you have set the date and type to “Undefined”.

Check the Camera’s PoE Connection

Verify the Reolink camera cable is not loose or unsecured on both ends.

This might cause frequent Reolink camera disconnects and constant shutdowns because the PoE connection your product uses, delivers from the internet and power supply. 

Check the NVR’s LAN Port

We recommend connecting the problematic Reolink camera to an alternative LAN port on the back of your NVR.

Hence, disconnect the Reolink camera’s PoE, wait for 10–15 seconds, and connect it to an alternative port on the NVR. 

Check the Storage Occupation

Similar to the Reolink camera’s SD card, your Reolink NVR’s storage could also exhaust if the “Overwrite” feature is not enabled, or you have a 24/7 or 24/5 recording schedule activated.

On the connected monitor, navigate to “Settings” and click on “Storage”.

You will view the current occupation of both of your NVR’s HDDs and how much recording space there is. 

Check the Router Connection

Also, ensure the Reolink NVR is securely connected with one of the yellow “LAN” ports on your router.

If possible, use the router’s web GUI to refresh the DHCP list and check if your Reolink NVR appears as a discoverable static IP address.

Use the network’s default gateway to access.

Note: It’s crucial to troubleshoot potential problems, especially if your Reolink NVR is beeping! 

6. Format/Replace the SD Card (SD Users)

Well, if you’re still having issues with the motion detection and recording of the SD card, there’s almost certainly a fault with the SD card. 

If you were receiving your camera’s clips through the app until a certain point, the SD card may require formatting or has become defective.

Alert: Formatting your camera’s SD card permanently deletes all stored footage.

How to Format the Reolink Camera SD Card?

1. Open the Reolink app and go to “Device Settings”.
2. Tap “Device Information” and navigate to “Storage”.
3. Press on your SD card within the storage settings.
4. Wait for the SD card’s storage occupation to load.
5. Next, tap on “Format” and confirm the procedure.

How to Replace the Reolink Camera SD Card?

So, if formatting the SD card didn’t help either, and you’re receiving a recognition error within the app, it’s best to test with a replacement.

As discussed earlier, power off your camera, remove it from the stand, and use a paperclip or your nail to pull it out from the slot.

Now, insert a brand-new, compatible SD card replacement into the slot and head back to the “Storage” tab within the Reolink app.

Note: The formatting of the Reolink camera’s SD card may take up to 6 minutes, so be patient!

7. Set a Recording Schedule

If your Reolink camera not recording, maybe you can resolve the problem by configuring a custom recording schedule through the app. 

There are two types of schedules you can set on your Reolink camera or NVR:

• The motion recording schedule 
• Continuous recording schedule

Let’s start with setting a schedule on a standalone camera!

How to Set a Schedule on a Standalone Camera?

1. Open the Reolink app and find your camera’s dashboard.
2. Now, tap the cogwheel icon to access the device settings.
3. Next, tap on “Camera Recording” from the options below.
4. Next, press “Motion Recording” or “Continuous Recording”.

• If you’ve picked “Motion Recording”, set a 24-hour schedule and assign the “Detection Type” (Any motion / Person / Vehicle / Animal) and then select days of the week.

• If you’ve picked “Continuous Recording”, pick an interval from the day through which the Reolink camera records and select which days of the week.

How to Set a Schedule on a Reolink NVR?

1. Open the Reolink app and enter the settings of your NVR.
2. Press “Record” and then press on the “Schedule” button.
3. Now, pick  “Motion Recording” or “Continuous” recording
4. Follow the steps to set up the time of recording and days.

We recommend setting the recording schedule for several minutes so your PoE or camera can start recording straight away.

This way you will determine whether there will be a new clip on the SD card or if there will be a recording on the NVR.

8. Reset & Recover the Reolink Camera

A factory reset would theoretically resolve all issues with your Reolink camera, whether it’s on the SD card storage’s end, the NVR, or the PoE installation.

However, all of your product’s data and settings will be erased to defaults, meaning you would have to undergo an initial setup.

Here’s how to factory reset any type of Reolink camera:

1. First, unmount the camera and find the SD compartment.
2. Unscrew the cover and take out the SD card, if there’s one.
3. Locate the “RESET” button right above the SD card’s port.
4. Now, press and hold the button for roughly 10–15 seconds.
5. Then, release the button once you’ve heard a musical tone.

We recommend not interacting with the camera for the upcoming 3–4 minutes!

Quick Tip: If your camera is still not recording after everything you’ve tried, get in touch with Reolink customer service or try to claim your warranty!