Link2Home Outdoor Solar Light review

If you're looking to illuminate an entranceway, Link2Home's Outdoor Solar Light is an aesthetically pleasing option that comes with a reliable motion sensor. Easy to install, the 350-lumen LEDs automatically switch to a brighter illumination for 30 seconds whenever it detects motion within 16 feet, before going back to its dimmer standby mode.

Design-conscious consumers will love Link2Home's powerful Outdoor Solar Light. It has a sleek and modern appeal, is quick and easy to install, charges throughout the day and stays bright for as long as you need it to. It’s an excellent option as a security light, as you will see in our Link2Home Outdoor Solar Light review, however it can only cover a 180 degree angle and does need direct sunlight to charge. Reliability starts to sway when it rains too. 

• Check out the best solar lights
• Here’s how to best place solar lights 

Link2Home Outdoor Solar Light review: Design

All too often, solar flood lights are bulky eyesores jutting out at strange angles from your home in order to soak up the sun’s power — not so with Link2Home's Outdoor Solar Light. This flood light features a compact design, measuring just 4.3 x 7.6 x 1.2 inches. It's a thin, flat panel with a light on one side and a solar panel on the other. It provides up to 350 lumens at full brightness and offers 8-12 hours of battery life once fully charged. 

The design makes it a snap to install on your wall in an unobtrusive way, but one of the downsides of its shape is that the light is only at a 180-degree angle. Not a deal-breaker, but something to consider depending on your lighting needs as there are other solar security lights on the market that have a wider angle range.

Link2Home Outdoor Solar Light review: Setup

The hardest part of setting up the Link2Home Outdoor Solar light was deciding where to put it. You'll need a screwdriver or a power drill and two screws to install. I marked the screw holes first, but once installed, it seemed sturdy. A few online reviewers mentioned using outdoor tape or outdoor velcro to make it movable. I couldn't get the light to stay up reliably for more than 12 hours with those methods, but that might be an option if you live in a drier region. 

Link2Home Outdoor Solar Light review: Lighting performance

Similar to other solar flood lights on the market, Link2Home's Outdoor Solar Light is meant to turn on automatically at dusk in a dim mode, and then powers off at dawn. The light operates for about 8 to 12 hours a night, depending on the charge and how often it switches into its bright mode from the motion sensor. 

When you’re deciding where to place it, keep in mind that it does need direct sunlight to fully charge. For some, this will affect how useful it will be to your home security needs. If you have a lot of trees in your yard or if you live somewhere with a lot of rain, this might not be the best outdoor solar light option. On a rainy day, I found the light still turned on, but was sluggish to do so, as if it needed an extra hour to realize it was dusk. It also didn't last as long that day — only about six hours. I found this performance to be the same on cloudy days; the light couldn't stay on through the night, so it’s not the most reliable option.

The lighting options are nicely balanced, though. Unlike other solar flood lights on the market, the dim mode was actually dim, so it wasn't an overwhelming amount of light. The motion-activated sensor was also super-sensitive. It went off more than I would expect from wildlife running through my yard and people walking down the street, so if you live in a relatively urban environment, that's something to consider. The light was also nice and bright in the motion-activated bright mode, and the 30-seconds before returning to dim felt like a good amount of time to do whatever needed doing, such as getting out of a car and walking up to the door.

Link2Home Outdoor Solar Light review: Durability

This solar flood light has an IP44 waterproofing rating, which seems relatively accurate. It was a little sluggish after being out in the rain for a day, and the same after we dosed it in the shower, but it was still fully operational. 

It held its ground though — the light barely wiggled in tropical storm-level winds, despite being mounted where it was exposed to the elements. And spending 4 hours in the freezer didn't seem to phase it.

Link2Home Outdoor Solar Light review: Verdict

For design-conscious consumers seeking a sleek, modern-style security light, Link2Home's Outdoor Solar Light is a contender. While slow to switch on during a rainy day, this light still kicks into gear and serves its purpose. True, it’s not as reliable as our winning solar flood light, the Aootek Solar Outdoor Flood Lights, but it’s much less obtrusive and has a nice balance of lighting options. If you're looking for a bright, motion-activated solar security light, look no further than Link2Home's Outdoor Solar Light.