This is a unique review in that I don't own an Arlo system, but it truly helped me do my job... Lock up a burglar. I'm a police officer in AZ. Last week I responded to an emergency call of a burglary in progress. The call was placed by the homeowner who was on his way to work. The homeowner got an alert while driving that his motion cameras were activated. He pulled over and reviewed the video. He called the police while driving back home. He was able to give an exact description of the suspect. We arrived a few minutes later in the alley. No one was in the yard but my partner, standing on top of our patrol car's trunk, could see over the side yard wall to the street and saw a person matching the suspect description walking down the street away from the house. We contacted and detained the suspect. The homeowner had just arrived as well. He was able to show me his phone and I immediately had access to HD video showing the suspect taking items from the victim's back yard. We had solid probable cause to book the suspect into jail for burglary of a fenced residential yard. The victim was able to e-mail the video in 10 second clips in mp4 format which I burned to a CD and impounded as evidence. This system worked well for what we needed to lock up a thief. I will be buying my own system when I have the money.
I bought this exact set up because in 12/2015 I had the tops on my two convertibles sliced and things taken from the cars. My cars sit close enough to my home that I can place a camera on the dash of the car and it will record if anyone enters my car. I live on the edge of a good area and we get people that are not so good coming into the area at night to steal. I have now recorded 2 different break ins to my car. The latest one was last night. Argo woke me, I called 911, and the two men were arrested yards from my home. The police are armed with a video of the crime! Thank You Arlo.
This was one of the simplest items that I have setup in a long time. It comes with the magnetic bases for wall or cabinet mounting. I saw some people have issues with claiming the product because it was refurbished - I had the same issue but it was super easy to fix. I did a live chat online with a netgear rep and had it taken care of in a matter of minutes. I can now monitor my home from my phone from anywhere in the world. Very cool and comforting.
despite what some of these reviews might say this product works just fine. I have discovered when reading reviews it's evident that some people don't take the time to either read the installation instructions or fire they just off these negative reviews without doing simple troubleshooting. As I have read in the reviews several cameras had very low or dead batteries. 2 of mine did. I took the batteries out, but them back any they synced up fine with full battery indicator. 1 camera had issue with connecting. What did I do ? Removed the camera from the app, and added it back. Works just fine. My cameras stay connected and the video is fine. Another issue is the camera missing the first few seconds of a motion detected. Your cameras are in "sleep mode" until motion is detected. They wake up, record and you get the notification. If the cameras were live 24/7 you would get the complete recording and spend hundreds of dollars on batteries every week. This is the trade off between the convenience of a completely wireless system.
Advice:do not get the suggested cr123 from amazon. Just dont. Get the Edisons. Great cameras GREAT. I have 5 set up outside my apartment. I SEE EVERYTHING. Dumpster caught on fire, I saw it. Hoodlum kids, I saw them. Door to door salesmen, I saw them.
Feature Product
- Works with Alexa for voice control (Alexa device sold separately).
- Add on Camera only - Base Station Required
- Patented 100% Wire-Free design for easy placement anywhere
- Night vision cameras work even in the dark
- Motion activated cameras w/ email or Arlo app notifications- Records and alerts only when motion is detected with 7 days of free rolling cloud storage
- Indoor/ outdoor Weather-resistant cameras. Operating temperature: 32° to 122° F (0° to 50° C)
- Add on Cameras only - Base Station Required
- Arlo Smart adds powerful intelligence to your Arlo cameras. Customize alerts to detect people, specific zones, and contact emergency responders right from your smartphone's lock screen (optional service, includes 1-month trial)
- Does not have audio function. Requirements : High-speed Internet connection - minimum 1Mbps upstream recommended. Available port on your router
- Add on Cameras only - Base Station Required
- Does not have audio function
Description
Arlo Smart Home Security Cameras are the world’s ONLY 100% wire-free, HD, Indoor/Outdoor video cameras for home monitoring. Motion activated cameras initiate automatic recording and alert you via email or app notifications. Free apps enable remote monitoring from anywhere and with the built-in night vision you’ll even see in dark.
I was very excited to receive my 2 camera Arlo system when it finally was released. Previously I've had a four camera wired system with DVR and a two camera Logitech Alert system. We just bought a new house and I didn't want to run camera wires in the attic and I was never really happy with the Logitech system which has now been discontinued.
Setup
I had the system up and running in five minutes. Super easy, you simply connect the base station to your router using the supplied cat5e cable. I had a shorter cat6 cable so I actually used this instead. After it is plugged into the router you go to the Arlo website and create your account. The final step was to put batteries into the cameras and pair them to the base station. Both cameras were paired almost instantly! Compared to running camera wires or dealing with powerline networking (Alert) this was a breeze.
Cameras
Nice looking little cameras and they have a bit of weight to them. They aren't heavy by any means but feel like quality little units. They can sit on any flat surface or you may use the supplied magnetic mounts to install on a wall. They also have a tripod type adapter on the bottom which may open up some additional mounting possibilities.
Video quality
There are three options for video quality:
High quality (reduced battery life)
Balanced (compromise of image & battery life)
Best life (reduced image quality)
I used the suggested balance mode and found the image quality to be comparable to my old non-HD wired system and a bit lower in quality than my old Alert cameras. I changed the mode to high quality and the image improved to be comparable to the Alert cameras. For my purposes the balanced mode is fine. I've attached some pictures of my patio to compare the two.
Night vision
The cameras automatically switch to night vision mode when it gets dark. I found the image to be clear and sharp. I attached an image of my garage so you can see the clarity. This was taken during the day with only a small amount of light coming in through the door to the garage.
Website
The website is easy to navigate but there are not as many options available as my Logitech Alert site had. You may schedule when your cameras will record on motion or just have them record on motion at all times or never at all. There are some rules and modes that you may create but I haven't explored those options yet. One missing feature seems to be being able to define the motion detection zone for each camera. You can adjust the image itself using pan & zoom controls (which may in itself adjust the detection zone) but with my old Alert cameras I could zoom the image all the way out but set specific areas that would trigger recording. You can setup the cameras to email specific addresses when they detect motion. In testing these seem to be sent within 10-30 seconds after movement occurs, pretty good in my opinion! The email contains a snapshot from the camera and you can click a link to play it without having to log into the Arlo site. This is much improved over the Alert emails that I used to receive.
Website compatibility
I used the site successfully on my Windows 8.1 PC, a Windows 8.1 tablet & a Windows RT tablet. My biggest complaint with the website is that when accessing from my Windows 8.1 phone it defaults to a mobile page directing you to download the IOS or Android app. Of course neither of these works with a Windows phone so you are out of luck if you were hoping to monitor your cameras from a Windows phone. To be fair, I already knew there was no Windows phone app when I bought the system but I hoped there would be a mobile optimized site that would work with my phone. When will manufacturers stop ignoring Windows phone users? Fortunately the email that is sent when motion is detected does allow (even on a Windows phone) you to play the video that was captured. So from a Windows phone you can play videos after they are triggered (when they are emailed to you) but you cannot stream your cameras in real time.
Video playback (from website)
You may view your videos from the website and they are categorized by the date and time they were recorded. It's easy to delete both single videos and multiple videos at once. You may also choose to download a video, share it and mark favorites. I have not tested these three functions yet though.
Live streaming (from website)
The site basically gives you static images of each camera's view with a play button. Once you click the play button it connects to the cameras and within a few seconds live playback occurs. This is comparable to what I experienced with my Alert cameras and being 100% wireless totally acceptable to me. When you are live streaming you can adjust the image to play in small windows, a medium sized window or full screen. You may also take a snapshot of the image as well using a camera button.
Apps
As I have recently decided to move to a 100% Microsoft (PCs, tablets & phones) environment I have not tested the Android and IOS apps so I cannot speak to their functionality. I hope that Netgear decides to release a Windows phone app so I have live streaming functionality from my phone someday. I'm sure all of you Android & IOS folks are well supported though!
Subscriptions
The free subscription enables you to manage up to five cameras. There are different subscription levels that provide more cloud-based storage and the ability to manage more cameras. I have not explored these as I only need five cameras.
Overall impression
I've had my system up and running for about 16 hours and haven't experienced any dropped cameras. The ease of setup and excellent video quality (for a completely wireless system) have left me impressed. The biggest disappointment is the lack of support for Windows phone but I'm definitely in the minority with that concern. I would like to see Windows phone support (either an app or a mobile optimized site) and the ability to specify detection zones. I want to expand my system to five cameras but the add on cameras are not available until the end of the month. Even with the few disappointments I'm giving it five stars because it is the best that I've used to date.
Anyway, this is the first review that I've ever posted on Amazon so I hope you find it helpful! I'll update if I have any issues, challenges with more than two cameras or discover any new features!
I just bought this system because we had some trouble with vandalism at our house that we are in the process of selling. I was interested in the completely wireless aspect of these cameras and the fast install. I installed the system a few days ago, and literally 7am the next morning my phone goes crazy with motion alerts. I grabbed the phone and saw a guy trying to break into the shed. As I am watching the videos, I see 2 of my 3 installed cameras go offline after capturing 4 or 5 ten second videos.
Turns out the guy grabbed the cameras and threw them in the pool, but not before one of the cameras got a clear shot of his face. Called 911, and the police came out to the house. I was able to download the videos to a cd, which I gave to the police. They found the guy later that day and arrested him.
Pros:
The cameras are wireless and super easy to install.
The app has a nice UI and a good look and feel.
The video is good quality.
The motion detection is pretty solid as long as you spend some time tweaking the settings for your situation (Playing around with the sensitivity is key).
The night vision works great.
7 days free cloud storage is great.
Cons:
The cameras are super easy to steal.
The app has some bugs (for example I found that sometimes if you just change 1 setting, it won't be saved), but so far I've found workarounds for most of the bugs.
Can't say much about battery life since I've had the system less than a week.
I'm giving this 4 stars because I caught the guy, but now I'm out like $300+ because of the two disabled cameras the guy grabbed and tossed in the pool. What would be nice is if there was some sort of screw in cage accessory. I'm sure this would have deterred the guy from grabbing the cameras because he didn't have a screw driver on him, but I suppose a cage would probably kill the night vision...
I really like the Arlo cameras. I've used the regular arlo for 4+ years, and if there is one thing I learned it's that the user has to be mindful of keeping up with the settings and batteries for Arlo to be great. During different times of the year, cameras can act differently. You might have to adjust the angle to not catch the blaring sun, or change the motion rate to not record falling leaves. I've lived in 3 different houses with these cameras, I learned how to use them properly with each enviornment, and I love them.
Batteries can last anywhere from a couple days to a few months. It all depends on the environment and the user settings. Average video quality with recording settings that only capture large moving masses (humans) give me an average battery usage of 1 month. If its windy, I will turn the motion detection rate down or turn the cameras off temporarily because I want to save battery. Each camera takes 4x CR123A disposable batteries and these are pricey. It would be benifitial to invest in RCR123A rechargeable batteries.
My new house is very long, my wifi router and base station are set up on one side of my house so the signal doesnt reach the other end. I had to buy a wifi range extender and then I connected a second base station strait to the range extender. Everything successfully synced up! Now I have good signal for all 5 cameras, 3 on one end of the house synced to original base station, and 2 cameras on the opposite end of the house synced to the new base station and range extender.
I'm very pleased with this product for a good low price. I've always purchase cameras averaging $90ea. Wait for those deals!
Purchased two Arlo wireless cameras during some black friday sales and have been trying them out.
The PROs:
-Wireless - this is a big one and is amazing. However, know that some of the CONs are a direct result of them being wireless. You kind of have to weigh your options - some of the wired cameras (even those from Arlo) may be superior if you can run wires.
-Good video quality - I have been impressed by the quality of the view during daylight and night vision. Expect about 10 feet of visibility at night (in terms of seeing someone's face - you'll be able to see further)
-Price - these are priced competitively.
-No need for a plan - the free version is more that sufficient for my uses. You can download anything locally if you want to keep something for longer, so the 7 days is more than enough.
-Push notifications are fast - if you have motion activation enabled, I find that it is very fast to notify my phone. I can take out the trash and get notified before I make it to the trash can (2-3 seconds).
-I have not experienced any issues with it missing the first few seconds in recording after being triggered on by motion activity. Some on Amazon reported this, but for me it has been almost instant, with maybe a second delay. This was my biggest concern and is a non-issue for me (maybe a firmware update along the way solved this).
The CONs:
Again, MOST of these are a direct result of having a wireless camera. Still, it is worth knowing the faults:
-No "fencing" of motion activity - some cameras allow you to say, "only trigger motion activity if there is motion in this area". The fact that these cameras are wireless and battery powered, this more power intensive feature does not exist.
-A hub is necessary - I wish that we didn't have to have a base station for this. Yes, even if you have smartthings or a smart home, you will need a hub. I am guessing (?) that these communicate over RF and not WiFi and that is why the base is necessary (my theory, at least).
-Live viewing the cameras isn't instant - from the Android app or the website, there is definitely about a 5 second lag time. This is annoying when someone is on the porch and you are trying to see who is ringing your doorbell. I suspect, this might be because the camera is recording and having trouble doing both live view and recording, although that is just my guess. A few times, viewing the camera live has error-ed out completely and I've had to restart the app (maybe an Android specific issue).
-Battery life is limited - 4-6 months is what I heard, although for my purposes (about 1 minute of recording a day), it looks like it will be on the lower end of that with 4 months. A firmware upgrade out of box stole about ~8% of my total life.
-If you mount this outside, it CAN be stolen with ease. The base it comes with is not good for mounting outside, it is just a magnet, albeit a strong one. The official (or even unofficial) mounts are just camera tripod mounts, so the camera could be unscrewed with ease if it is reachable. Hopefully this never happens, but just know it is possible if your camera is outside and not out of reach.
Overall - I really like the camera. I bought two and decided I wouldn't take the second one out of the package until I decided I liked the first one, and I am keeping both. These are priced right where I'd say they belong - anything more and they might not be worth it. If you are able to run wires, I would suggest going wired, as almost all the cons I have experienced are due to the wireless capability.
Bought these for my parents house, my mother-in-laws house and I'll probably use these once my own CCTV system ages at my own house.
Extremely easy to setup, very simple install (just drill a single screw into the wall), and the app is very effective at keeping an eye on your residence.
It's not a $5k type of CCTV system; however, if you're house isn't storing bars of gold this will get the job done.
Only suggestion is get rechargeable CR123 batteries, it will save you tons of money every few months when the batteries die.
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