Reolink NVR hard drive compatibility: max drive size by model and hardware version

RLN8-410 max hard drive size, by hardware version

Reolink gives the RLN8-410 drive limit in three places: its article on how many drives each NVR takes (HDD article (opens in a new tab)), its guide to NVR hardware versions (opens in a new tab), and the 2021 PoE NVR user manual, which doesn’t cover N7MB01 or NVR_NNT3NA78P. We set the three side by side: for every version they give the same per-drive limit, and for N7MB01 the spec sheet agrees too. Every version has 1 internal bay and 1 eSATA port, per the HDD article.

The total is the per-drive limit for both drives together, internal and eSATA: 2 × 8 = 16 TB, 2 × 6 = 12 TB and 2 × 4 = 8 TB. Which means the internal bay alone never holds more than the per-drive limit: past that, the second drive has to go on the eSATA port.

How to find your hardware version

Reolink’s PoE NVR user manual says the System > Info page, on the monitor connected to the NVR, shows the model, the hardware version and the firmware version. Read the model as well as the version: Reolink’s HDD article puts N7MB01 and NVR_NNT3NA78P in the same row as another model, the NVS8, so the code alone doesn’t name the recorder.

Reolink Home Hub Pro hard drive: one drive, up to 16 TB

Reolink’s spec sheet gives the Home Hub Pro 1 internal drive bay and a hard drive of up to 16 TB, with no eSATA port listed. Reolink’s drive rule for the hub, in short: One 3.5-inch HDD up to 16TB; for models not on the list, Enterprise or Surveillance level, with a capacity the Home Hub Pro supports (manufacturer).

The hub also has a microSD slot for a card of up to 512 GB, but the spec sheet states it records to the card only when no hard drive is installed. A 16 TB drive holds 16,000 GB (1 TB = 1,000 GB), which is 31.25 times the 512 GB card.

Reolink’s Home Hub compatibility article (opens in a new tab) splits the Home Hub Pro into two groups of hardware versions, for 12 or 24 cameras, but gives no drive limit per version: the 16 TB of the spec sheet is the only one.

Reolink’s recommended drives, matched to each limit

Every drive in this table is on Reolink’s Recommended HDD List for Reolink NVRs and Home Hub Pro (opens in a new tab). Reolink doesn’t say which RLN8-410 hardware version each drive fits, so we compared each drive’s capacity with the per-drive limits in the first table. “Yes” means the drive is within the maximum Reolink states for that version; “No” means it is larger. Drives on Reolink’s list that are larger than both recorders’ limits are left out.

Counting the rows: all 17 drives fit the Home Hub Pro, 9 fit an RLN8-410 with N7MB01 or NVR_NNT3NA78P, 6 fit H3MB18, N2MB02 or N3MB01, and 4 fit H3MB02 or H3MB16. The 8 drives of 10 TB and 16 TB fit only the Home Hub Pro: they are larger than every RLN8-410 version allows.

Two WD drives that are not on Reolink’s list

Reolink’s rule for a drive that isn’t on its list, in short: 3.5-inch HDD; for models not on the list, Enterprise or Surveillance level, with a capacity the NVR supports. Reolink also warns that “notebook or home office-grade hard drives may experience poor performance and compatibility issues with NVRs”. We checked two common WD drives against that rule. Reolink hasn’t listed either of them, so the verification level is “untested”: the match is ours, read from Reolink’s criteria and WD’s datasheets, not Reolink’s.

The external drive on the RLN8-410

Reolink’s rule for the second drive, in short: External HDD on the eSATA port with its own power (enclosure for a 3.5-inch HDD with eSATA, or eSATA data cable plus power cable); never through the NVR’s USB port (manufacturer). The per-drive limit of your version applies to that drive as well.