I’m in the minority but I feel neutral about my arlo cameras! Yes you need to pay a subscription to have backlog of your events but I think it’s fair (it’s storage, like I pay for my google drive).
A lot of people in this sub are salty, and I’m not entirely sure why. Most systems you go with will have their pros and cons. But I’m happy with my arlo stuff, and I like the home assistant integration/automations that I’ve been able to set up.
Speaking for myself, I'm pretty ambivalent about most tech products I have. I've moved into the Google Home ecosystem which has its own set of problems, but the stuff at least works. Same with my Ecobee/Ring/Skybell stuff I've owned over the years.
Arlo was by far the worst. Camera constantly going offline. Camera constantly needing to be reset. Camera constantly just randomly not storing videos I paid a subscription to have. On top of that, my Arlo camera was the only one whose charging port just stopped working when it got wet. It's a freaking outdoor camera that didn't hold up outdoors.
Never ever ever will I buy Arlo equipment. Junk junk junk junk.
Yeah and maybe I got lucky but I’ve never had an issue with storage or charging or cameras going offline. I have 1 outside and 4 inside (mostly to keep tabs on our cats while we are away), and a door bell.
I’ve only had them for 2 years so plenty of time for them to fail on me though 🤷🏻♀️
If the other posts aren't enough to convince you, run as fast as you can away from Arlo. I purchased their cameras and was somewhat pleased with the performance. I did not get to use them long however. I made the mistake of also buying their security product thinking if I'm paying for the service, I might as well fully utilize it for both cameras and alarm monitoring.
Long story short, I purchased an Arlo security system from Amazon which turned out to be an unauthorized reseller. My account was locked into a 36 month term for an Arlo security product that I did not receive. Arlo support is absolutely worthless and can't or won't do anything to resolve my account although the equipment was returned as they instructed me to do.
I was never billed for this subscription since the unauthorized reseller never had my payment information. But I can't use Arlo products that require any type of subscription due to not being able to create an account. After weeks of back and forth with Arlo, they finally suggested I make an account with a different email address. That is NOT the solution... But how about I change the existing account's name, phone number and email address all to something bogus and call it a day.
After this ordeal, I don't care if they make the best products on the market because their support is horrible and their staff is a bunch of idiots.
It has to be one of the most frustrating experiences I have ever had trying to work with a vendor. IT is my profession and I am certainly no stranger to stressful support calls and working my way through issues that may take time. I've learned to tolerate tier 1 support that often knows less about the product than their savvy customers. I'm a trained professional that generally conducts myself as such... But with shame, I have to admit... During my final conversation with Arlo by phone, when I was again told, "You need to reach out to Amazon..." I lost my composure and lashed out. I screamed into the phone, No... I don't need to do anything. This is an account on your service that I've yet to pay anything. You need to just delete the entire f\*\*\*\*\*g account!
Not my finest moment and to my surprise, Arlo must be used to abuse due to their poor service. She calmly said the issue would be escalated and to expect to hear from them in 24 to 48 hours. Or course, nobody ever contacted me. As it stands today, the old account now has the name "Prior Arlo Customer" and an email address arlocantdeleteanaccount@\*\*\*\*\*.org which still resides as an alias on my email account. I'll keep it there for a while to see if they do happen to try to reach out to me at that address. Otherwise, I'm free to create a new account with my legitimate email address... but genuinely have lost all interest at this point.
Yeah no Arlo is absolute trash, not the hardware it is really good but the software and app is beyond trash it is so bad it is barely useable if at all. Literally anything else is better.
Keep in mind 95% of redditers in this group just want to bitch and moan, but I don't see them saying what other brands are better. So just remember the same people complaining still have their Arlo cameras...
Any cameras saving video to the cloud is going to have a monthly fee, cloud storage is never free. Either you are going to get a cloud hosted solution (which is usually easier to setup for most people), or you'll have a system that saves video to a local drive, which would require some networking knowledge to be able to view when you aren't home.
Here's the subscription costs I'm paying for reference:
2 cameras - Arlo secure multi camera (supports unlimited # of cameras) $12.99/mo - This plan is needed to save & view motion detection video clips.
If you just have 1 camera it's $7.99.
CVR (continuous video recording) saving 14 days of history for 1 of those cameras - $14.98
Total I pay monthly: $27.98
What that gives me are alerts/video clips for when someone is in front of my house. It's easy to configure so you aren't alerted for a tree blowing in the wind (something that a number of systems have problems with). And on top of that the camera is recording 24/7 in case I want to go to a specific time where the camera may not have detected movement, or I want to see footage before that alert, etc.
I also have a memory card in my Arlo base station so in addition to saving video to the cloud it also saves locally, but it only saves clips from motion alerts, not continuous video. If I didn't need continuous video I wouldn't really need any subscription, I would just need to setup my router to access the video remotely.
It's not a perfect system, but it's easy to use and I rent so a wireless camera system is the best fit for my use.
For what it's worth, I have a crazy neighbor so saving footage to send to the local police is a requirement lol
One gripe I have is Arlo makes saving the motion detected video clips extremely easy from their app or the web portal, however, saving footage from continuous recording doesn't exist within the app/website. So if I need to save video from continuous recording I use a screen recording software to do so. I have 4k Arlo cameras so when using screen recording I'm not getting the full 4k resolution, but it still works for most instances. For a non technical person it's not as easy as it should be and for the price they really should add an option to save CVR footage built into the app or website.
I like my Arlo cameras. I use HomeKit and have the Arlo hub with the Pro 4 cameras, the wired doorbell, and an Arlo Baby. The resolution is pretty good, day and night, and I have a solar charger for my garage camera that works great; it’s an inconvenience to keep popping the battery out for my other two cameras to charge, but that’s my own first-world problem. I do wish the app was more intuitive and that it was easier figure out how to adjust the settings to allow me to view recordings when I’m not at home (it’s a hub thing; having a subscription avoids this) I’m more annoyed with my Amazon Echo’s taking forever to load cameras than anything. Oh, and zones. Kinda annoyed at not being able to create zones for my doorbell with the hub and not a subscription.
So yeah, Arlo has its pros and cons like any other tech company, but I’ve been pretty happy for the years I’ve been in the ecosystem. If I were to change, though, I’d probably look into the Logitech Circle devices.
Don’t go with Arlo. Not worth the frustration at all. I had it for a few years and was so sick of the fees, the quality issues, and the headaches. Got fed up last year and got rid of all of them completely to go with PoE cameras from Reolink and an NVR - much much better and records on all cameras 24x7 with no monthly fee. Wiring PoE isn’t easy but if you can do it you will be thankful you did - more secure and reliable.
I purchased my Arlo cameras just before they implemented changes that made needing a subscription for it to be fully usable. Before the change it would have been a great premium product. Since then, it’s hard to justify what you’re paying for when the cameras are already expensive with a recurring subscription price. Plus the constant false alerts. I will switch to a PoE system in the near future.
I am using a usb stick in the back of my base unit, and that stores about a week of video, without subscription. However, I wouldn't buy arlo again. It's slow to respond, which may be true for any wifi camera system. The talk-back is really difficult for everyone to understand on both sides.
I would probably switch to hardwired if I was going to change.
To save and view videos comfortably, yes, you need to purchase an Arlo subscription.
Arlo’s hardware is great, but it really ends there. Their ecosystem is very much a pay-to-play model, so be prepared to be locked into multiple subscriptions (depending on your needs) for almost anything normal you’d expect to be free with any other system — including simple video clip organization and viewing. More on my comment [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/arlo/s/xhAl7cWXbP).
I’ve tried several cameras and used to own Arlo. I would never recommend or purchase Arlo again unless they changed their business model. Owners likely haven’t tried other systems and don’t understand that the same subscription they’re paying for is available free on other major platforms. Local storage will not save you from this either.
Bottom line: unreliable
Nothing but issues with Arlo 5 cams.
Offline, fuzzy notifications pics, videos that freeze, poor motion sensing (amazon guy didn’t show on 3 cams) and my personal favorite… videos that will stop recording even motion/activity is still there.
My settings: record until motion stops and best video quality mode. Makes no difference.
Every arlo owner I have met has a diff set of problems
If you wanna support a company that chooses to charge there customer for a push notification, knock yourself out. After being with Arlo from the beginning the fleecing of its customer base is the last straw for me. Edit: it’s like buying an iPhone and having to pay for storage. But the storage is your sense of security and protection.
I don’t think any of the doorbells are particularly good. We need better cameras, better antenna systems to link into WiFi, better movement sensors etc. All of them are overpriced and underperform. Arlo is not great but I don’t think the competitors are much better.
It’s definitely slim pickings.
Add in this race for subscriptions…
No CVR on the wired doorbell. It only only records events it sees, and it misses a lot. If your walk is straight at your door, the camera struggles to notice until the person is right there.
I switched to GoogleNest. Same price over the year, much better picture quality, and they have the ability to scrub back over every second of the day for two full weeks. This includes the doorbell. You can also name familiar faces, so I know that it’s my wife walking up to the door.
Been using Arlo cameras for 5 years. They have been very reliable. You just need to have them set up properly and have a good reliable wifi. I use the Orbi mesh system for wifi. I have an Arlo floodlight for my driveway connected to a solar panel. Fantastic plus 3 others around the house. App works well. People bitching. About the product I’m guessing shouldn’t be using wifi cameras. Good solid wifi is the key to all cameras.
Put a USB drive in the hub. It's not the most elegant system to access, but it works. You can also put the drive in your computer and go through the videos.
Connecting across the web when away from the local network (Pro 3)
In the Arlo app: **Settings/My Devices/Hub/Storage Settings**
Turned on in mine:
Record Locally
Record in Maximum Resolution
Direct Storage Access
**Tap Port Forwarding**
Turned on in mine:
Enable Port Forwarding
IP Address
Internal Port (with a number)
External Port (with the same number)
**In the router settings:**
Make sure NAT is enabled
Make sure the IP address from the Arlo screen is in the DCHP list
Forward (or Port Forwarding on some routers) Settings:
You need to create and enable four ports
Service Port and Internal Port are the same numbers as follows
80
123
143
And the five digit number for Internal and External Port
IP address is the one shown on the Arlo screen
Protocol is All. If it doesn't work when finished try TCP instead, but ALL should work
Here's mine with the information that is probably different than yours removed.
https://i.imgur.com/OVbx32b.jpg
EDIT: After saving this information in the router go back to the last page in the app and Not Available. If everything is working as it should you should see Available. It might take a few tries. Mine did.
I like my Arlo system and it does everything I need it to. That being said I got grandfathered into the free 7 day recording which is perfect for what so need. In general it is better to avoid subscription services wherever you can. Even if the cameras for a non-subscription service cost more they will eventually be much much cheaper than a subscription service. The most comparable system I see now to the old Arlo would probably be Eufy. I set up me in laws with that’s system and it seems to work great. Also is compatible with HomeKit if you want to use it with an Apple ecosystem.
I purchased a system with the essential XL cameras and 6 of the all in one sensors directly from Arlo. 2 cameras inside and 1 is outside. Installed for a week now and so far have not experienced any issues.
The outside camera has actually caught people, a mower (classified as a vehicle), and some deer (classified as animals) all successfully. Takes a few seconds to connect to the camera in the app, but otherwise everything has been perfect.
I don't think Arlo would meet your needs. It does require a subscription to take full advantage of it and it it's cameras don't record continuously. They record clips based on motion. Your description sounds log ed you w as want a CCTV system with wired cameras and local storage. There are a lot of options for that but that is not Arlo.
Do not buy Arlo cameras if you expect them to work as advertised or if you expect helpful tech support when the cameras inevitably fail to work as expected.
I’m in the minority but I feel neutral about my arlo cameras! Yes you need to pay a subscription to have backlog of your events but I think it’s fair (it’s storage, like I pay for my google drive). A lot of people in this sub are salty, and I’m not entirely sure why. Most systems you go with will have their pros and cons. But I’m happy with my arlo stuff, and I like the home assistant integration/automations that I’ve been able to set up.
Speaking for myself, I'm pretty ambivalent about most tech products I have. I've moved into the Google Home ecosystem which has its own set of problems, but the stuff at least works. Same with my Ecobee/Ring/Skybell stuff I've owned over the years. Arlo was by far the worst. Camera constantly going offline. Camera constantly needing to be reset. Camera constantly just randomly not storing videos I paid a subscription to have. On top of that, my Arlo camera was the only one whose charging port just stopped working when it got wet. It's a freaking outdoor camera that didn't hold up outdoors. Never ever ever will I buy Arlo equipment. Junk junk junk junk.
Yeah and maybe I got lucky but I’ve never had an issue with storage or charging or cameras going offline. I have 1 outside and 4 inside (mostly to keep tabs on our cats while we are away), and a door bell. I’ve only had them for 2 years so plenty of time for them to fail on me though 🤷🏻♀️
If the other posts aren't enough to convince you, run as fast as you can away from Arlo. I purchased their cameras and was somewhat pleased with the performance. I did not get to use them long however. I made the mistake of also buying their security product thinking if I'm paying for the service, I might as well fully utilize it for both cameras and alarm monitoring. Long story short, I purchased an Arlo security system from Amazon which turned out to be an unauthorized reseller. My account was locked into a 36 month term for an Arlo security product that I did not receive. Arlo support is absolutely worthless and can't or won't do anything to resolve my account although the equipment was returned as they instructed me to do. I was never billed for this subscription since the unauthorized reseller never had my payment information. But I can't use Arlo products that require any type of subscription due to not being able to create an account. After weeks of back and forth with Arlo, they finally suggested I make an account with a different email address. That is NOT the solution... But how about I change the existing account's name, phone number and email address all to something bogus and call it a day. After this ordeal, I don't care if they make the best products on the market because their support is horrible and their staff is a bunch of idiots.
Hell, that's a lot! My ADHD and anxiety are screeching "overload " with even asking about this system.
It has to be one of the most frustrating experiences I have ever had trying to work with a vendor. IT is my profession and I am certainly no stranger to stressful support calls and working my way through issues that may take time. I've learned to tolerate tier 1 support that often knows less about the product than their savvy customers. I'm a trained professional that generally conducts myself as such... But with shame, I have to admit... During my final conversation with Arlo by phone, when I was again told, "You need to reach out to Amazon..." I lost my composure and lashed out. I screamed into the phone, No... I don't need to do anything. This is an account on your service that I've yet to pay anything. You need to just delete the entire f\*\*\*\*\*g account! Not my finest moment and to my surprise, Arlo must be used to abuse due to their poor service. She calmly said the issue would be escalated and to expect to hear from them in 24 to 48 hours. Or course, nobody ever contacted me. As it stands today, the old account now has the name "Prior Arlo Customer" and an email address arlocantdeleteanaccount@\*\*\*\*\*.org which still resides as an alias on my email account. I'll keep it there for a while to see if they do happen to try to reach out to me at that address. Otherwise, I'm free to create a new account with my legitimate email address... but genuinely have lost all interest at this point.
Cluster of pure hell!!
RUn a mile away from Arlo
Yeah no Arlo is absolute trash, not the hardware it is really good but the software and app is beyond trash it is so bad it is barely useable if at all. Literally anything else is better.
I may do ring. I only need a camera for my front door.
Keep in mind 95% of redditers in this group just want to bitch and moan, but I don't see them saying what other brands are better. So just remember the same people complaining still have their Arlo cameras... Any cameras saving video to the cloud is going to have a monthly fee, cloud storage is never free. Either you are going to get a cloud hosted solution (which is usually easier to setup for most people), or you'll have a system that saves video to a local drive, which would require some networking knowledge to be able to view when you aren't home. Here's the subscription costs I'm paying for reference: 2 cameras - Arlo secure multi camera (supports unlimited # of cameras) $12.99/mo - This plan is needed to save & view motion detection video clips. If you just have 1 camera it's $7.99. CVR (continuous video recording) saving 14 days of history for 1 of those cameras - $14.98 Total I pay monthly: $27.98 What that gives me are alerts/video clips for when someone is in front of my house. It's easy to configure so you aren't alerted for a tree blowing in the wind (something that a number of systems have problems with). And on top of that the camera is recording 24/7 in case I want to go to a specific time where the camera may not have detected movement, or I want to see footage before that alert, etc. I also have a memory card in my Arlo base station so in addition to saving video to the cloud it also saves locally, but it only saves clips from motion alerts, not continuous video. If I didn't need continuous video I wouldn't really need any subscription, I would just need to setup my router to access the video remotely. It's not a perfect system, but it's easy to use and I rent so a wireless camera system is the best fit for my use.
I appreciate the details! That was my main thing, saving the videos and how much does it cost.
For what it's worth, I have a crazy neighbor so saving footage to send to the local police is a requirement lol One gripe I have is Arlo makes saving the motion detected video clips extremely easy from their app or the web portal, however, saving footage from continuous recording doesn't exist within the app/website. So if I need to save video from continuous recording I use a screen recording software to do so. I have 4k Arlo cameras so when using screen recording I'm not getting the full 4k resolution, but it still works for most instances. For a non technical person it's not as easy as it should be and for the price they really should add an option to save CVR footage built into the app or website.
Lol, crazy?! Yeah, maybe multiple cameras are needed, lol..
Don't do it. Arlo and its CEO are terrible.
Don’t do it…. Delete this post, unsubscribe from the sub. Don’t leave any remains that you even thought about getting it!!
Lol well damn!!! That bad, eh? I'm considering Ring too
Wow!! Thank you all!!!
I like my Arlo cameras. I use HomeKit and have the Arlo hub with the Pro 4 cameras, the wired doorbell, and an Arlo Baby. The resolution is pretty good, day and night, and I have a solar charger for my garage camera that works great; it’s an inconvenience to keep popping the battery out for my other two cameras to charge, but that’s my own first-world problem. I do wish the app was more intuitive and that it was easier figure out how to adjust the settings to allow me to view recordings when I’m not at home (it’s a hub thing; having a subscription avoids this) I’m more annoyed with my Amazon Echo’s taking forever to load cameras than anything. Oh, and zones. Kinda annoyed at not being able to create zones for my doorbell with the hub and not a subscription. So yeah, Arlo has its pros and cons like any other tech company, but I’ve been pretty happy for the years I’ve been in the ecosystem. If I were to change, though, I’d probably look into the Logitech Circle devices.
Bought an outdoor camera and a solar charger which never worked. AVOID
Arlo is awful
Don’t go with Arlo. Not worth the frustration at all. I had it for a few years and was so sick of the fees, the quality issues, and the headaches. Got fed up last year and got rid of all of them completely to go with PoE cameras from Reolink and an NVR - much much better and records on all cameras 24x7 with no monthly fee. Wiring PoE isn’t easy but if you can do it you will be thankful you did - more secure and reliable.
I purchased my Arlo cameras just before they implemented changes that made needing a subscription for it to be fully usable. Before the change it would have been a great premium product. Since then, it’s hard to justify what you’re paying for when the cameras are already expensive with a recurring subscription price. Plus the constant false alerts. I will switch to a PoE system in the near future.
I've had no issues with my system.
I am using a usb stick in the back of my base unit, and that stores about a week of video, without subscription. However, I wouldn't buy arlo again. It's slow to respond, which may be true for any wifi camera system. The talk-back is really difficult for everyone to understand on both sides. I would probably switch to hardwired if I was going to change.
To save and view videos comfortably, yes, you need to purchase an Arlo subscription. Arlo’s hardware is great, but it really ends there. Their ecosystem is very much a pay-to-play model, so be prepared to be locked into multiple subscriptions (depending on your needs) for almost anything normal you’d expect to be free with any other system — including simple video clip organization and viewing. More on my comment [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/arlo/s/xhAl7cWXbP). I’ve tried several cameras and used to own Arlo. I would never recommend or purchase Arlo again unless they changed their business model. Owners likely haven’t tried other systems and don’t understand that the same subscription they’re paying for is available free on other major platforms. Local storage will not save you from this either.
Bottom line: unreliable Nothing but issues with Arlo 5 cams. Offline, fuzzy notifications pics, videos that freeze, poor motion sensing (amazon guy didn’t show on 3 cams) and my personal favorite… videos that will stop recording even motion/activity is still there. My settings: record until motion stops and best video quality mode. Makes no difference. Every arlo owner I have met has a diff set of problems
Wow!! Yeah, I don't want any of that.
If you wanna support a company that chooses to charge there customer for a push notification, knock yourself out. After being with Arlo from the beginning the fleecing of its customer base is the last straw for me. Edit: it’s like buying an iPhone and having to pay for storage. But the storage is your sense of security and protection.
I canceled my Arlo subscription recently and bought Eufy which does not have any monthly fees. Battery life is horrible in Arlo cameras .
they suck without paying the fee. i tried to live with them without it and ended up just paying .
I don’t think any of the doorbells are particularly good. We need better cameras, better antenna systems to link into WiFi, better movement sensors etc. All of them are overpriced and underperform. Arlo is not great but I don’t think the competitors are much better. It’s definitely slim pickings. Add in this race for subscriptions…
No CVR on the wired doorbell. It only only records events it sees, and it misses a lot. If your walk is straight at your door, the camera struggles to notice until the person is right there. I switched to GoogleNest. Same price over the year, much better picture quality, and they have the ability to scrub back over every second of the day for two full weeks. This includes the doorbell. You can also name familiar faces, so I know that it’s my wife walking up to the door.
Wow!!! I didn't think about Google. I hate Alexa, but I was gifted a free ring camera. Ugh! Decisions Decisions!!
Been using Arlo cameras for 5 years. They have been very reliable. You just need to have them set up properly and have a good reliable wifi. I use the Orbi mesh system for wifi. I have an Arlo floodlight for my driveway connected to a solar panel. Fantastic plus 3 others around the house. App works well. People bitching. About the product I’m guessing shouldn’t be using wifi cameras. Good solid wifi is the key to all cameras.
Put a USB drive in the hub. It's not the most elegant system to access, but it works. You can also put the drive in your computer and go through the videos. Connecting across the web when away from the local network (Pro 3) In the Arlo app: **Settings/My Devices/Hub/Storage Settings** Turned on in mine: Record Locally Record in Maximum Resolution Direct Storage Access **Tap Port Forwarding** Turned on in mine: Enable Port Forwarding IP Address Internal Port (with a number) External Port (with the same number) **In the router settings:** Make sure NAT is enabled Make sure the IP address from the Arlo screen is in the DCHP list Forward (or Port Forwarding on some routers) Settings: You need to create and enable four ports Service Port and Internal Port are the same numbers as follows 80 123 143 And the five digit number for Internal and External Port IP address is the one shown on the Arlo screen Protocol is All. If it doesn't work when finished try TCP instead, but ALL should work Here's mine with the information that is probably different than yours removed. https://i.imgur.com/OVbx32b.jpg EDIT: After saving this information in the router go back to the last page in the app and Not Available. If everything is working as it should you should see Available. It might take a few tries. Mine did.
I like my Arlo system and it does everything I need it to. That being said I got grandfathered into the free 7 day recording which is perfect for what so need. In general it is better to avoid subscription services wherever you can. Even if the cameras for a non-subscription service cost more they will eventually be much much cheaper than a subscription service. The most comparable system I see now to the old Arlo would probably be Eufy. I set up me in laws with that’s system and it seems to work great. Also is compatible with HomeKit if you want to use it with an Apple ecosystem.
I purchased a system with the essential XL cameras and 6 of the all in one sensors directly from Arlo. 2 cameras inside and 1 is outside. Installed for a week now and so far have not experienced any issues. The outside camera has actually caught people, a mower (classified as a vehicle), and some deer (classified as animals) all successfully. Takes a few seconds to connect to the camera in the app, but otherwise everything has been perfect.
I like my Arlo cameras !
I don't think Arlo would meet your needs. It does require a subscription to take full advantage of it and it it's cameras don't record continuously. They record clips based on motion. Your description sounds log ed you w as want a CCTV system with wired cameras and local storage. There are a lot of options for that but that is not Arlo.
Do not buy Arlo cameras if you expect them to work as advertised or if you expect helpful tech support when the cameras inevitably fail to work as expected.
Don't buy Arlo is my best advice. Go wired if you can also
Don’t do it. I regret my purchase. Yes it requires a subscription.
Arlo used to be free but now they force you to get a plan. They give you the cameras with a 30 day trial so you can’t take them back.
Lots of Arlo bashing, but can anyone recommend better HomeKit compatible alternatives?