Here’s the thing:
- The Reolink E1 pro and a few other Reolink cameras do not have a web server and can only be configured using the Reolink app.
- Security concerns dictate the all IP cameras should be on their own private subnet that is disconnected from the internet.
These two things makes remotely administering the E1 pro very challenging. You would need to easily connect your phone to the private subnet and also disconnect from the internet, remotely.
If you are running Home Assistant in a virtual machine (like Proxmox), then I think an intereting solution is to run Android on a VM next to Home Assistant:
I’m running Bliss OS 11.13 in a Proxmox VM next to Home Assistant. You can get a version of Bliss OS that comes with the Google Play Store. I used a separate gmail account just for this purpose to download the Reolink app. Then I “switched” the network cables in Proxmox from the internet to the private subnet for the security cameras. As you can see above, the Reolink app can see and configure the camera on the subnet, without internet access.
Comments:
- Doing everything on a private subnet means the camera has never been exposed to the internet. (The private subnet has no router configured.)
- A better alternative to using the Google Play Store would be to install the Reolink app from an apk directly, if such a thing is available. As a compromise I used a separate gmail address so that Bliss OS and the Reolink app are separated from my real/important gmail accounts.
- Bliss OS is just one possible operating system that can run Android apps. Chrome OS and Android x86 are alternatives that come to mind.
Of course, none of this would be necessary if the E1 pro could be configured via the web. But I thought documenting this option might be useful to others contemplating getting the E1 pro, or to those who got one of the Reolink cameras that don’t have a web interface and wondering what to do. 