Reolink E1 4MP Pan & Tilt Indoor Camera

Reolink E1 4MP Pan & Tilt Indoor Camera

By Reolink · Indoor Security Cameras · Cleaning & Smart Home

  • Resolution 2560x1440 (4 MP) @ 15FPS, 1/3" CMOS sensor
  • Infrared night vision up to 12 meters (40ft), 8pcs/850nm IR LEDs
  • Pan 355° / Tilt 50° maximum, field of view 84° horizontal and 45° vertical
  • microSD card slot supports max. 512GB, up to 17.5 days continuous recording at 2560kbps

Lowest price seen
~$45.99 (approx.)
from $45.99 at Amazon

Prices are snapshots. Check the current price with the store.

Problems, parts and running costs

Summary

A cheap pan-and-tilt indoor camera that records 2560 × 1440 to a microSD card without a subscription, as long as your 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi is stable. There is no Ethernet port and no standalone RTSP or ONVIF, so decide how you will view and store footage before buying.

Strengths

  • Costs little for 2560 × 1440 video, with crying detection included.
  • Records locally to a microSD card with no subscription.
  • 355° pan and 50° tilt cover most of a room from one unit.
  • Two-year warranty and 30-day returns are long for a camera at this price.
  • Works with Reolink NVRs and Home Hub units.

Weaknesses

  • 2.4 GHz is the only radio, owner reports describe dropouts, and there is no Ethernet fallback.
  • RTSP, ONVIF, FTP, browser access and Blue Iris or Synology all need a Reolink NVR or Home Hub.
  • Sibling tests and owner reports describe slow, laggy pan and tilt.
  • Day-to-night switching triggers false motion alerts for at least one owner.
  • Two-way audio carries a reported delay of about 2 seconds and echo.
  • The default 3072 Kbps bitrate means the advertised 17.5-day retention needs a manual change.

Verified specifications

Resolution2560 × 1440 (4 MP) at 15 fps, up to 20 fps.
Sensor and lens1/3" CMOS, fixed f=4.0 mm F2.0.
Field of view84° horizontal, 45° vertical.
Pan and tilt355° pan, 50° tilt.
Night vision12 m (40 ft) from eight 850 nm infrared LEDs, with an auto-switching IR-cut filter.
StoragemicroSD up to 512 GB (the manual still lists 128 GB); motion, scheduled or 24/7 recording.
Audiotwo-way talk from a built-in microphone and speaker.
Wi-Fi2.4 GHz only, 802.11 ax/b/g/n, WPA2 and WPA3.
PowerDC 5.0 V 1 A through a DC port or USB-C.
Detectionmotion, human, pet and crying detection.
DimensionsΦ73 × 106 mm; 158 g.
Operating range-10 °C to 40 °C, 20–85% humidity.
Warranty2-year limited, with a 30-day money-back guarantee and an extra six months if you register.
Full research notes and sources

Video, night vision and detection

No independent instrumented test of this exact camera was found. The closest lab data is for family models: Consumer Reports rated the E1 Zoom’s daytime picture “about as sharp and clear as we’ve seen” and its night video “very good”, but rated the company’s data privacy sub-standard. TechHive’s E1 Pro review flagged that pan and tilt are “sometimes slow to respond”, which matches owner complaints about latency. One owner says the camera is good for watching pets or kids but not for security, because it reads the switch between colour day mode and black-and-white night mode as motion; the 4 MP E1 also uses an auto-switching IR-cut filter. Sellers advertise auto tracking on this model, but Reolink’s own E1-series comparison says the standard E1 has none, so do not buy it for tracking alone.

Price, storage and running costs

Nothing on the E1 is a scheduled consumable. A microSD card is not included, so budget for one; the page claims 512 GB but Reolink’s own manual says 128 GB for the E1, so check the card you buy. Cloud recording is optional, and local recording needs no plan. The adapter is rated 5 W, so a year of continuous use at full draw would cost about $8.02 at the July 2026 US average of 18.31 cents/kWh (EIA), and real use is lower. At the default 3072 Kbps bitrate, continuous recording writes roughly 33 GB a day, so a 512 GB card holds about 15 days unless you lower the bitrate or record only on motion. A Reolink NVR or Home Hub is an extra cost, and on the E1 it is also the only route to RTSP or ONVIF.

Reliability and support

The E1 carries a 2-year limited warranty and a 30-day money-back guarantee, and registering extends coverage by six months. Reolink’s support articles list the E1-series failure classes as not powering on, dropping from Wi-Fi, weak Wi-Fi reception, undetected SD cards, and self-rebooting. There is no parts catalogue and no published service manual. Two documented cautions stand out. First, firmware: community reports say the E1 line received no build newer than what shipped, while the E1 Pro and E1 Zoom did. Second, network architecture: an owner of six E1 cameras reports they cannot traverse VLANs or subnets, with persistent ARP and DHCP timeouts and a DHCPOFFER about every 6 minutes, worked around by power-cycling. None of this establishes a failure rate; the Wi-Fi radio and the pan/tilt motor are the parts owners doubt.

Is it worth it?

At this price the documented limits are tolerable if you have a stable, single-subnet 2.4 GHz network and only need a cheap indoor camera. Reolink’s own store lists the 4 MP E1 at $29.99 to $45.99 (Reolink, October 2026), and Walmart has listed it at $35.99 (Walmart, 2026). Avoid it if you need 5 GHz, a wired port, RTSP or ONVIF for Home Assistant, Synology or Blue Iris, or if you run VLANs. The 2-year warranty and 30-day returns are what make the connectivity gamble defensible, and the E1 Pro is the better buy whenever any of those features matter.

Which model this is

The researched product is the current 4 MP E1, sold in the US as the E1 4MP PT Indoor Wi-Fi Security Camera. Reolink has sold several cameras under the E1 name: the original 3 MP E1 (1/2.7" CMOS, 82° × 43°, 200 g, with a LAN port), the 5 MP dual-band E1 Pro, and the E1 Zoom. Only the 4 MP model matches this page, and most online E1 commentary is about one of the others. The ASIN is B07X81M2D2.

Sources

Manufacturer:

Independent reviews:

Owner reports:

Stores:

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