Continuous recording has always been a desired feature on battery-powered cameras. However, limited battery capacity can quickly drain power. Reolink’s Smart Battery Mode optimizes battery usage, offering extended recording without compromising performance.

Applies to: Reolink TrackMix LTE Plus, TrackMix Series G780, Reolink Altas PT Ultra.

What Is Smart Battery Mode

Smart Battery Mode is an optional mode (off by default) that automatically applies different settings for continuous recording according to battery levels to extend battery life. You can turn it on or off when setting up the Timer recording schedule.

Here's how the Smart Battery Mode works:

You could set up two battery level thresholds for it: S1 and S2 (S1<S2).

  • When the battery level is above S2, the camera will record at full frame rate.
  • When the battery level is between S1 and S2, the camera records at full frame rate only when a person, vehicle, animal, or motion is detected. Otherwise, it records at a lower frame rate to save battery.
  • When the battery level drops below S1, the camera stops continuous recording and only records at full frame rate when a PIR alarm event is detected.

When to Use Smart Battery Mode

With the Smart Battery Mode on, a fully charged Reolink Altas PT Ultra camera supports 96 hours of continuous recording, while the Reolink TrackMix LTE Plus supports 72 hours. If your camera's battery drains quickly, we recommend you enable the smart-battery record mode to extend its operating time.

How to Set up Smart Battery Mode

Setting up Smart Battery Mode for your Reolink cameras is easy. Here's how:

  • On the Reolink App

    Step 1. Tap the camera's Settings button.

    camera setting

    Step 2. Enable Camera Recording, and then tap Continuous Recording Schedule.

    camera recording altas continuous recording

    Step 3. On the Continuous Recording Schedule page, you can tap the timetable to set periods for continuous recording. Blue indicates when recording is enabled, while gray shows when it's disabled. Remember to tap Save after configuring.

    altas timer schedule

    Step 4. After that, you can go back to the Camera Recordings page and tap Smart Battery Mode to set it up.

    The default setting of Low Frame Rate is 10%-80%, and it's advisable to keep it as is. However, if you notice that the battery drains quickly during use, you can expand the Low Frame Rate range.

    smart battery mode onset up smart battery mode

    For the Reolink Altas PT Ultra, you can adjust the Frame Rate (fps). The default frame rate is 5 fps. You can set it to 1, 2, or 10 fps. 

    Note: Frame rate cannot be adjusted for the Reolink TrackMix LTE Plus.

    altas frame rate

  • On the Reolink Client

    Step 1. Click the Settings button> Surveillance > Record. Enable Record, and click Schedule.

    record schedule

    Step 2. Click Timer to set the periods for continuous recording. Blue indicates when continuous recording is enabled, while gray shows when it's disabled. Click Enable to set your desired recording times, or choose Disable to set periods you don’t want to record.

    timer schedule

    Step 3. Enable Smart Battery Mode. Adjust the slider to set the battery level range.

    enable smart battery mode

    The default battery level range for Low Frame Rate is 10%-80%, and it's recommended to keep it as is. However, if you find the battery drains quickly, you can expand the range.

    adjust smart battery mode

Additional Notes for Reolink Altas PT Ultra:

The Altas PT Ultra supports three frame rate settings: Stream FPS, Smart Battery Mode FPS, and Pre-Recording Mode FPS.

Altas stream fps

altas smart battery mode frame rate.png

altas pre-motion recording frame rate.png
  • When both pre-recording mode and smart battery mode are off, the frame rate matches the stream mode setting.
  • When smart battery mode is enabled, the frame rate depends on the battery status:
    • In low frame rate situations, it matches the smart battery mode setting.
    • In full frame rate situations, it matches the stream mode setting.
  • When pre-recording mode is enabled, in low frame rate situations, the frame rate will prioritize pre-recording settings.
  • If the camera is in live view or if Motion Detection (MD) or PIR is triggered, the frame rate reverts to the stream mode setting regardless of the current situation.

In conclusion, Smart Battery Mode optimizes the recording efficiency while extending battery life, ensuring you capture crucial moments without interruption.

For any other questions, don't hesitate to contact Reolink Support.