#1:Arlo Pro 4 Spotlight Camera - 1 Pack - Wireless Security, 2K Video & HDR, Color Night Vision, 2 Way Audio, Wire-Free, Direct to WiFi No Hub Needed, Black - VMC4050B
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5.0 out of 5 stars Includes 2 magnetic & 1 short screw mount
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
I've only just gotten my cameras set up, so I can't comment on their overall effectiveness. Initializing the cameras was fairly easy, although one wouldn't detect the QR code right away, but was fine after a factory reset.
Additionally, consider buying directly from the Arlo website. I didn't realize until after I bought them that Arlo offers 1 year of protection against the theft of your cameras if you don't purchase them through a third party like Amazon. That piece of mind would have been worth it to me.
I was surprised by the included mounting hardware. I expected to find 3 of the small magnetic mounts, which are attached to the wall with just one screw and to the camera with a magnet. I didn't think that sounded very secure, so I ordered 3 of Arlo's pivoting screw mounts. It turned out that the box of cameras contained 1 smaller pivoting screw mount already, though, so I am returning one of the ones I bought.
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rg
5.0 out of 5 stars Very pleased
Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
I have purchased three Arlo Pro 4 cameras. They connected to my WiFi network with ease. They promptly notify me when motion is detected. I've been extremely pleased with my purchases & will likely purchase another one.
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cobaltblue
5.0 out of 5 stars Easy set up
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
The camera comes securely packaged and ready to operate after a quick battery charge. I did have a bit of trouble getting the owner's manual to download. It went fine on my iPad, but when I tried to get a backup copy to my laptop, I received an error number that then took me to a 'tech chat' option. Sadly, that was a connection to some scammers (in my opinion) who tried to sell me some very expensive and unnecessary security. They told untruths and pressured me a lot. Arlo needs to know this and the bad impression of the Arlo company they conveyed. The camera itself, though is fine and gives clear images. Just a warning here for folks who might run into the same situation.
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The Cosmic Wolf
5.0 out of 5 stars So far, so good
Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
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This is my first experience with security carteras, so I don’t have anything to compare. I chose the Arlo after googling the best Security Cameras. I wasn’t looking for anything super expensive but still high quality. Easy to use and setup. I did place my cameras low, so I could easily reach them to charge. I personally live off the road in a rural area. I bought the cameras to protect my dogs/puppies from people pulling down my drive unannounced. I also got a motion detector alarm. Since my driveway is long, this gives me time to look at the cameras to see if a vehicle set off the motion detector. It’s not Arlo brand and doesn’t work with the cameras, but something else on Amazon. I was worried about the range of the cameras but it picks up motions, especially vehicles which was the most important. The field of view at the edge of the camera, where vehicles drive and it picks them every time. Battery life isn’t something I’m too concerned about, but I also can’t comment on the length since I’ve only had the cameras up for less than a week. Night vision is okay, not my biggest concern. I have no experience with tech support for this company.
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Andrew Doetsch
5.0 out of 5 stars More Evidence…
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
There was a robbery at gunpoint in the middle of the day on our street. The neighbors camera caught a lot of video that the police officers could use to catch and prosecute the guy. This is my first outside security camera I have ever had and I absolutely love it! I like that you can pause the notifications it send you for different periods of time. I also like that you can look at your videos and use a filter for it to only show you videos (in your history) of animals. In the app, you can also pause videos (or not) and zoom in while reviewing videos. I made a suggestion to the technology support that it would be nice to have the ability to select which zones (that you have set up) will trigger the camera. I asked him, “What’s the sense in setting up zones if you can’t pick and choose which zone(s) you want to monitor for a certain period of time?” (like, monitoring/triggering only zone 1 at night and monitoring all zones during the day) I had to set up my zones so that the tree branches would not trigger the camera when they blew in the wind. The only problem now is that the shadows of the tree branches on my driveway often trigger the camera. Overall, this is a great camera for the price and if I were to buy another one, it would be an Arlo.
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scatterbrn
5.0 out of 5 stars Good overall
Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2022
Size: 2 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
I got these to cover my house, both indoors and out, adding on to an existing Pro 4 setup.
Pros:
Night vision/light is pretty good. better than an older camera I'm replacing.
Rechargable battery
Motion sensing usually pretty quick.
App/Cloud identification of people/animals/vehicles is pretty good and quick.
Can get an add-on solar panel to keep charged
Doesnt require a hub, wifi only.
Can share media with others, or give access to people at the individual camera level.
3 months free cloud is generous, and its cheap to pay for IMO.
I like you can set up active monitoring zones once placed.
Cons:
App is horrible when trying to do anything. There's icons that you have no idea what they mean, etc. and some settings are in odd places.
daytime quality at 2k doesn't seem as good as my old 1080p PTZ camera that its replacing.
Sometimes the recording can take a bit to start.
The mounting screws are tiny and strip easily.
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Gary L Adams
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best Camera Systems Out There
Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
This has been one of the best camera systems I have worked with. The picture quality is fantastic. Set up of these cameras does take a bit of patience though as it may take a few tries to get the camera to actually read the QR code. After that the setup goes pretty smooth. The security program is simple to use and love the fact you are able to set up active zones for it to record. Also it has an animal mode which helps minimizes false reports from animals such as squirrels. If you are looking for a good wireless camera system, I would highly recommend these. Also, might want to invest the solar panels for outdoor use so you won't have to take down your cameras every few weeks.
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Charles Shamseldin
5.0 out of 5 stars Works as advertised
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
Not sure what all the negative reviews are about. Camera works flawlessly and is way easier to set up than people would have you think.
Anyone that can navigate some simple menus can get it set up with ease.
I opted for an optional screw in mount to make the camera a little more secure and mounted it it under the eaves of my house in front.
So far, not one false motion alert with the customizable activity zone.
The 2k resolution is nice, someone pulled into my driveway to make a delivery and their front licence plate was easily discernible in the playback.
I'll be adding one to my porch, side of house, and back of house as soon as they become available.
Also not sure what all the bitching is about concerning cloud storage.
Just buy a hub and SD card and you can have 24/7 recording.
Not sure why in this day and age people think server storage is free.
Then again...
Bottom line, it's a great unit, easy to set up, wireless, good FOV, and with a solar panel pretty much install and forget.
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Robert LaFountain
5.0 out of 5 stars Superior Home Security Camera
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2022
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
After several months of considering a security camera system for our home, I chose the Arlo Pro 4 Spotlight Camera and have been very pleased with the performance so far. I evaluated several systems, but after reading the reviews, speaking with a friend who has an Arlo system and comparing features, I found this to be the best choice. I like the Amazon free return policy when purchasing a product online. I also purchased three of the Arlo 25 foot charging cords based on other reviews as I knew I would be mounting the cameras at locations that would require a ladder to access the cameras to recharge them and would highly recommend this option as a fully integrated and convenient system. The Arlo Pro 4 Spotlight Camera is a full-featured camera system that is easy to set up and install as a DIY project, but as is the case with any home security camera system, professional installation may be required. The video quality is excellent, the magnetic mounts provide easy camera angle adjustments and the app allows for easy customization of the cameras. I am not a fan of recurring costs associated with the cloud storage, but Arlo does sell a Smart Hub store store the videos. I also like that Arlo sends emails with useful tips on how to make the most of the system. The one caveat I have seen in the instructions and reviews is the cold weather performance. I reside in the northeast where extreme cold during the winter months may be an issue and I will have to wait and see how that impacts my outdoor cameras. Although this is not an inexpensive system, it appears to be a much higher quality product than the less expensive options I've seen.
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Lakeasha Williams
5.0 out of 5 stars Great cameras!!
Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2022
Size: 2 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
The cameras are absolutely great so far! I can see both the front and back of my home and receive notifications for almost anything - which can be a good and bad thing so not complaining. I was able to create activity zones, which allowed me to prevent notifications in areas where a tree or even the boxes near the recycle bin is moving too much due to the wind. The view and quality of the cameras are wonderful. The only slight downside is the battery on the back door camera but I believe it’s only because there is high traffic with my pup moving around a lot there and the constant notifications. I usually turn it off if we’re out there for a long period of time and just turn it back on when we go back in. The front camera battery only needs to be charged every 6 weeks, which I don’t think is too bad.
5.0 out of 5 stars Best quality picture I've seen in a camera.
Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2022
Size: 3 CamerasColor: BlackVerified Purchase
Writing this review for the previous "single" Arlo we bought as well.
We have nice cars, and we suspected someone may have been in one of them one night rummaging around. I immediately bought an Arlo as it was rated as a "top brand camera" even though I'd never heard of it before. It's been a great camera, except for a few small things (that may be indicative of all cameras, I do not know):
1) It randomly stopped broadcasting notifications one day. We had to pull it down and pull the battery out to reset it.
2) It stopped working entirely on a different day, in spite of having half a battery charge, but that may have been because of the bitterly cold day on which it occurred.
3) We set notifications to NOT track animals, but it has notified us of both "people" and "vehicles" when it was just a squirrel or our outside cat
It's not a PERFECT camera, but I'm happy to buy more of these (and I already have) because it's an easy system to set up (especially if you buy matching solar panels to charge them) and use (the app loads up rather quickly and the "live camera" is very clear AND you can zoom).
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JJT
5.0 out of 5 stars Easy set and and use
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2022
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
Very simple to set up and use, the free trial to Secure was a nice surprise. If I decide to expand my security I'll stay with Arlo.
The only thing I don't like is there isn't a way to mount the camera permanently for theft deterrent. There is only a strong magnet or a few turns onto a screw. Both hold the camera properly and steady for use though. I didn't take any stars off for this because I don't think any camera has a permanent hook up option but it's something I'd like offered. (I guess I could superglue the screw option??)
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Tony in Seattle
5.0 out of 5 stars Easy install, high quality video & audio
Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: BlackVerified Purchase
Despite a few challenges getting the Arlo app to function properly (and the key is to connect your devices before trying to do anything substantive on the app or website dashboard), the devices were super easy to install and, so far, work great. They hardly could have been easier to install (one small screw, a mounting bracket that slides onto the screw and then a super-strong magnet that holds the camera to the bracket). App walks you through the connection process and actual camera install took maybe 2 minutes. Now that we're up and running, video quality is superb night and day. Alerts coincide with genuine activity (not birds or tree leaves) and the audio is crisp. Started with 3 and will be adding a 4th. Thanks!
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D Kaufman
5.0 out of 5 stars Great cameras, easy to set up and use
Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
Recently purchased an Arlo Pro 4 (3) camera set and an Arlo Ultra 2 (2) camera set with hub. Cameras are easy to charge, set up and use. Love the magnetic mounts, very secure. Arlo App needs minor improvements for example: my dog run camera notifies me when the dogs are outside doing their business, over and over and over and... if the dogs go outside and spent 30 minutes running around, I get notification for 30 minutes. When I get a notification and tap on it, it takes me to the list view showing all my cameras and only when I scroll and select the camera I want do I see do I see a live view from the camera. I also want to choose the camera resolution and refresh rate directly, not via a better or worse battery life setting. Overall I can easily recommend the Arlo system, I look forward to adding a doorbell camera and a few flood lights. I also hope they continue to expand the system with door locks, alarm systems and more.
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Josie
5.0 out of 5 stars Does the job it was meant to do!
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: BlackVerified Purchase
We have had our cameras for almost a month but it was an easy set up following step by step directions from the Arlo app and watching youtube videos then mounted all three cameras where I needed them, that was also simple and they're working as should, so far...only complaint is that you can't set up a unique notification sound to these cameras so since we were able to set up a sound for the Arlo video doorbell, that is used for all cameras...customer support verified that all Arlo cameras can't be assigned different sound it has to use the one we already assigned to the video doorbel and that's too bad so we won't know at that time it's happening which notification it is, doorbell or cameras, we have to immediately look at the app... hope they update that in the future, other than that so far so good! Will have to wait and see how it holds up...but we love our video doorbell which we got first!
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deegee
5.0 out of 5 stars So far so good!
Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2022
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
I installed this camera on my boat last week to hopefully provide some security, as theft has gotten ridiculous in the marina where I'm docked. I looked at a bunch of 3G/4G "non-WiFi" cameras first because I was concerned that by adding a WiFi camera I'd burn through my monthly data allowance (I use a jetpack mobile hotspot for WiFi on the boat that's my carrier caps at 30G per month). But the Arlo monthly subscription is way cheaper than buying a prepaid data plan to support a 3G/4G camera. So after downloading and reading the Arlo user guide I decided to give it a try, specifically because of its superior Activity Zone feature. So far, Arlo has exceeded my expectations. It was easy to set up an Activity Zone that catches exactly the motion I need to, without detecting a single false alarm yet. I've monitored the jetpack's data consumption since installing the camera and its data usage has been dramatically less than I'd expected. In testing, I've forced several "intruder alerts" and in general each one only consumes about 50 megabytes (0.05 gig) of my data plan. That's a tiny amount of data in exchange for peace of mind. Oh, and battery life so far seems to be excellent. Awesome.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Love them!!!!
Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
I absolutely love them! I feel so much safer as do my neighbors. The picture quality is outstanding. The sound quality is outstanding. All features are outstanding. This is my first camera system and it came as a referral of a coworker. You only need to have WiFi, it is all completely wireless. I had to charge the cameras a week later but I do have a lot of critter activity, plus the mailman every day. Totally worth climbing the ladder for. However, it took me a minute to activate because it wasn't clear at first that I needed to press and hold the tiny black button on the battery housing thingy for each camera. Then voila! Highly recommend!
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JessieG
5.0 out of 5 stars Very happy with this purchase
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
I just replaced an older camera system that wasn't meeting my needs in terms of notifications and customization. The Arlo product is working out very nice for us. It supports multiple users and devices, I can set zones and limit notifications by selecting areas of the camera to watch and notify on motion. I love how it knows whether its a vehicle, person or animal and I can individually select the alert type per device. It was very simple to setup and get running for my family. I'm very happy with this purchase. The only con I've run into is i can't play back video when browsing past videos in the chrome browser. I have to review video on my phone.
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Celia F. Stapler
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Camera with New Features
Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
Purchased an Arlo Pro 4 Camera with Spotlight and installed on my Arlo system with 4 other Arlo cameras, even though this camera can be installed directly to WiFi without a base system. The Spotlight feature is a great addition to the Arlo cameras and the ability to charge this camera without removing the battery has also added to the convenience of the product maintenance. This camera is wonderful and is clearly superior to my other Arlo cameras. I hope to be able to replace my oldest two cameras with these as soon as possible. We are pleased with this purchase.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Good
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
I've been pretty impressed. It's picked up everything and everyone except once it missed me letting the dog out. That was odd, but it might have been an Internet glitch. That's the biggest flaw...no Internet, no cameras.
I mounted my cameras where I can retrieve them to charge them. The camera battery lasts fairly long, even with the camera light coming on every time I let the dog out, I'm still at 30% battery after the first charge six weeks ago.
4.0 out of 5 stars Animal and automobile detection features are a complete bust.
Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2020
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
Even though it is sad not to identify animals, squirrels running across the front set it off probably eight or 10 times per day. Not that big a deal but it is annoying and it does waste the battery. The animal detection feature is a complete bust. In addition, I had shut off the automobile detection system and it did not work either, it kept buzzing every time a car went by on the street.
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Andy
4.0 out of 5 stars It does what it says
Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2022
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
These cameras are working fine for me and I don't understand all the negative reviews. I had no trouble with setup and no trouble connecting them to my wifi network. Also no problems getting them into the app and setting up my rules. As far as battery usage goes, the cameras use more battery when they're recording so if you point them at an area that's very busy (like the street) you'll use up the batteries quickly. So you have to think about where you're aiming the camera. Aim it at a sidewalk, street, or waving trees and it's going to pick up lots of motion and drain fast. That's not a fault of the product. If you want to record everyone going by outside your house you're better off with a wired system and a DVR.
Regarding having to take the camera out of service while recharging it...I highly recommend springing for an extra battery and the charger, and you'll always have a full battery ready to go. Yes you have to spend an additional $100, but consider this: with the old Arlo cameras that used non-rechargeable CR123s, I was spending $240/year for batteries (I had five cameras). So while $100 isn't a small amount of money, it's still a good value for what you're getting.
A lot of people feel like there's bait and switch involved in having to pay the $10/month subscription fee to have recordings stored in the cloud. But this is plainly stated on the product page. And it's less than I was paying for batteries with my old Arlo system, which had free cloud storage.
The key to success with security cameras is to pick the right tool for the job. If you need comprehensive recordings of every single person and car passing by your house 24/7, with the ability to read license plates from 50+ feet away, then a system based on batteries is not for you. Get a wired system with powerful cameras and a DVR instead. If your needs are more along the lines of seeing who is coming and going from your front door/back door/garage, then Arlo might work.
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PS03
4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome cameras, cheap mounts
Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2022
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
The cameras and the app are great. I've switched two properties from Nest to Arlo. I was concerned switching from a 24/7 to a motion activated solution I would miss things but I haven't. The technology is good and the app is simple to use. My only complaint are the mounts. This kit includes one screw mount and two magnetic mounts. The screw mount is ok. The magnetic mounts are cheap and force you to reposition your camera each time you take them down to charge. Arlo sells a better and larger screw mount on Amazon, this was an additional expense at $20 each as of 3/22.
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D
4.0 out of 5 stars Works well as expected but only magnetic mount included.
Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
Easy to set up and works well when it works. After a couple days it went offline. Battery 88% and other camera online as was all other household devices. Followed all suggested solutions several time.. took a day for it to come back online and hoping it doesn’t repeat.
I have the video bell and the pro 4. Alexa (echo show) will only recognize the doorbell and keeps saying the pro 4 is not available. My conclusion is that the Arlo cameras are not that compatible.
The app is glitchy. Sometimes the settings disappear. And you can’t always use only the app for everything, you have to sign onto the Arlo website.
Unfortunately it only includes the magnetic mount which for most I assume is useless for outdoor use since it can be easily stolen, or if you live in a area with regularly strong winds like us, it may not stay in place. We had to buy a screw on mount which felt a bit like a rip off after the money investmented in it.
Unless you buy a spare battery (the reviews are mixed on the solar charger), then you will have to take down the camera and charge with the included usb cord. It’s a specialty cord the way it attaches to the camera so don’t lose it.
But the video is clear and it works well when there aren’t problems.
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Perpetual Student
4.0 out of 5 stars Initial setup can be frustrating if you have a mesh network. But see tips on review
Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
Camera works fine but it's a pain to set up. Initially you have to connect your cell phone to the 2.4 gigahertz signal on your router in order to communicate with the camera. If you have a mesh network you might not have separate signals and your phone will tend to search for the faster 5 Ghz. Arlo doesn't provide much help here and the guidance I found online didn't help either. (Things I tried: changing the settong so that the 5ghz signal wasn't broadcast and completely "forgetting" the network on my phone. No matter what, my Android still found the 5 gigahertz preventing me from setting up the camera.) After a lot of wasted time and frustration I finally realized that I should walk as far as I possibly could while still being within the router signal. 2.4 gigahertz travels further than 5, meaning that at a certain point only the 2.4 signal was available. Annoyingly this didn't work at first but once I factory reset the camera all was good. I haven't had the camera long enough to provide much of a review on its other features but it seems to work like that other Arlo cameras we have.
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Browneyz
4.0 out of 5 stars Product is good, but needs some basic improvements to make it great.
Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
I purchased the flood light, wired doorbell and three Pro 4 cameras. The image on all cameras are good. If you need to see a persons face, you can. It was easy to connect the cameras to my wi-fi and add each camera to the app. The app is really good to. You can easily access the camera to see a live stream (with sound). You can also use the camera as a intercom (yes, you will find alternate uses) to speak with your children or spouse. We use it to keep an eye on the kids when they are near the pool. The app also stores the video files chronologically on a calendar for easy accessing. Deleting the images can also be done in bulk, which makes managing the files easy. Further the app allows you to refine the trigger zone. This is important, since the cameras are sensitive and are triggered easily (passing cars, moving bushes, etc.).
The big negative is the mounting hardware. I was unable to use any of the hardware to mount the cameras. I had to buy 2” screws and 3rdparty mounts. For the doorbell, I needed a 90 degree mount, which does not exist. I had to buy a 54 degree mount and deal with the slightly off picture. All and in all I would recommend it.
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Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Short batter life
Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
Love the clear picture. Love the ease of setting up and mounting. Stayed secured through a rainstorm.
Did not like the delay in reporting. Did not like the short battery life. Use it to monitor the front door and driveway. The battery lasted one day. Had to buy the extension cord with defeated the purpose of this being a wireless camera.
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Battery life is much worse than advertised.
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
The only complaint I have is the battery life. It's nowhere near six months under normal operation. The only way I can imagine this thing getting six months is to disable nearly all the features, and then never look at footage or live-view.
9 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Small inconspicuous camera for your security.
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: BlackVerified Purchase
The camera is small and easy to mount on the optional positionable mount. We installed it outdoors facing the front door. The Arlo app is easily available and easy to use. I read on one of the sites that it works with Siri on iPhone. It doesn’t though uses Alexa and Google. The monthly subscription fee after the initial 3 months is relatively inexpensive.
Installing a single Pro4 camera doesn’t require the addition of a base station and was an attractive feature. If we add more, we’ll have to have one. The night vision is a good bit grainy, though clear enough to distinguish objects.
Overall, we are very pleased with the camera and it’s performance.
4 people found this helpful
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Todd Carlson
4.0 out of 5 stars These work great! Only downside is the cost of the monthly subscription
Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2022
Size: 2 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
These cameras are super easy to connect to your WIFI. The internal batteries last a long time (like 6-8 weeks) and are easy to charge. The quality of the video is awesome, the night spotlight to capture video is really bright, and the motion detection is super accurate. I also find the software and alerts are really good.
The only downside, I think $9.99/month to store 30-days worth of videos for two cameras is expensive. And you have no choice but to enroll in their program to use the cameras. Other than the monthly fee, I highly recommend this product as it is really good quality.
4.0 out of 5 stars Sucks up battery!
Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
I have several Arlo Pros around and they have always worked well for me. I needed one more camera and thought I would test one with all the "bells and whistles" without upgrading my base station. Despite the fact that my other cameras are several years old and I'm sure the batteries are getting tired, this Pro4 has to be recharged three to four times to every once for the Pros. I suppose if you get the solar charger for the Pro4 it would be an advantage. The picture is sharper and the range greater, but I am having a tough time with the constant recharging. :/ I'd have to think twice about getting another Pro4 with my current setup.
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Jenny L Besaw
4.0 out of 5 stars Adaptable Camera for both Security and Bird/Bunny watching!
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2022
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
In the past I've tried another battery cam with no luck. I was a bit hesitant to try again but took the jump and am very happy with the outcome. Super easy setup process. Initial feedback on battery life is good but I've only had them up for a few days. The motion sensors work very well and I like the flexibility to distinguish between animal, vehicle, person, etc. This allows for me to be in the background without setting off the motion alarms. I gave it 4 out of 5 due to the image quality. It is better than the 1080P cam I had previously but I was expecting a crisper picture with it being 2K. Maybe I'm expecting too much but overall I'm very happy with the cameras.
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent product - best I've had
Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
Update: 09 Nov - major flaw is the loss of connectivity. So the Fibre in my area dropped for a few hours and these cameras shut off due to loss of internet. Now I'm comfortable with this since it saves battery power. The flaw is that it will only reconnect when there is a charge again (so sunlight) or if I attempt to manually resync by hitting the sync button on the camera. That's very poor since if this scenario occurs while I'm away then no cameras until sunlight and if I want them connected immediately I need to get onto a ladder to resync.
07 nov
I'm very happy with these cameras. I've had the typical hikvision wired cameras and the moved onto the ezviz outdoor wireless cameras. I have to say that the netgear arlo pro 4 are by far the best cameras for security. With paid subscription the people and animal detection works great. Video save to the cloud.
I've got my cameras hooked up to solar panels. The single camera that is not on a solar panel has terrible battery life. Dropped from 100 to 50% in 5 days. Although I wi admit that this was with it being armed all the time. Nevertheless, I can't see anyone getting the claimed 6months battery life from these. Solar panels definitely solves the battery problem.
Camera built quality is good. The hinged mount to not great quality, however the magnetic mount is good and has a strong hold.
Have 4 of these. Will certainly buy more... Expensive but worth it
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Richard H.
4.0 out of 5 stars Pro 4 is end of Arlo line for me.
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2022
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
I’m not going to give up full control of computing devices to a cloud, so I upgraded from pro 2 to latest model that still uses my local hub and large USB storage capabilities. Broward Exchange gets 5 stars’ as a great seller, sending a “like new” sealed box item with super fast shipping and very low cost. Arlo should strive for that level of customer service instead of downgrading to the limited use Ultra model of planned obsolescence. Yi sells as good a camera for a small fraction of Netgear prices.
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Bob
4.0 out of 5 stars So so
Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2022
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
I have arlo pro 2 and the arlo pro 4.
In black & white the arlo 2 has better night vision than arlo 4 even with the spot light on. Color mode on the 4 doesn't matter much if you can't see anything. Just got the camera so will have to work with it but night vision is not acceptable light on or off. Have worked with it and with night vision on it is useless. With night vision off it is better in low light but when dark out my pro 2 camera's are much much better.
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Karen L
4.0 out of 5 stars Arlo Pro 4 Spotlight Camera - 3 Pack - Wireless Security, 2K Video & HDR, Color Night Vision
Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
I wish is was live view but it is not--the video is delayed enough that the culprit can get away before you can stop them. However, they send a notice so you can activate a siren or contact the police right away. The spotlight works good. The facial detail is not that clear for 2K. I like that you can change the motion detection area size using an adjustable polygon so a moving tree branch doesn't keep activating video notices to you. Also there is a section of the app that lets you turn off motion notifications for vehicles or animals if the camera is picking up street traffic and you only want notices of people coming up to your house. I have one camera set as indoor and one in the front and one in the back which is somewhat dark at night even with the back porch light on so it goes to black & white video--can't see much then. I also like the 3 months of free cloud storage. It was easier to set up then I thought it would be. You have to have high speed internet throughout your house for it to work. I am still learning more about it.
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Papa Gus
4.0 out of 5 stars Make sure your WiFi works well!!
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2021
Size: 2 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
Took several tries to connect camera to WiFi. Definitely a learning curve if not tech-savvy. Get extra accessories!! Especially mounting brackets. I bought the solar cells too!! Install was a lot of work but worth it. Cameras are excellent!! Audio is excellent!! Worth the money and the work. Use the zone control and motion sensor controls! Long reach unless you turn it down. Mounted under eves for wx protection. Does need better instruction manual. WiFi signal limits location choices. Tried WiFi booster. No joy. Don’t waste the money.
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P. Ward
4.0 out of 5 stars Great camera but....
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
Camera works great. I like this one because of the wifi option - not requiring the hub. I use the smart notifications for $10 per month, and think it is worth it. But be aware that you cannot buy extra batteries - they are not selling them, just using them for new camera kits. They have been out since August (and it is now the end of the year). You will want extra batteries because otherwise when you switch them out, you have to get the battery from the camera, go off an charge it for a few hours, then put it back up.
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David
4.0 out of 5 stars Good product, good value
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
Easy to set up, easy to install. I appreciate the night vision and auto zoom features and that I can control most settings from my phone via the Arlo App. The software is clumsy, even after getting used to it, yet still workable. The 3 unit kit came with 1 post mount and 2 magnetic mounts. I would have preferred 3 post mounts but I got a quick Prime order for 2 post mounts. I highly recommend these Pro 4’s. Would have given 5 stars if the software was smoother
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Stenz
4.0 out of 5 stars ok I guess
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
I can't connect to it through the IP address, only the app which doesn't have recording options. I'm sure this has to do with security. It also doesn't have much in the way of zooming. I'm surprised that if I zoom in how quickly it becomes blurry given it's supposed to be 4k. It seems to work fine for very wide and close-up videos but if you're looking for video more than 25' away it's not the best.
3.0 out of 5 stars Love Arlo (and have tried Ring)
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
With everyone talking about Ring now, we thought we'd try one and promptly returned it for an Arlo. Video is clear and crisp. Motion, zones etc. all great. I do wish they'd provide a manual but like all companies, it's all online now and you won't get set-up directions in the box. You'll get a leaflet telling you to go to Arlo's website. There, you can download the manual to your computer, laptop etc. and keep it. Little things like "how do I open this thing to put the battery in" are not covered and rely on common sense. I presumed the button on the bottom opened it and it did. Set up and syncing like all cameras takes a few minutes. I did have to click the "sync" button on the camera inside to finally get them connected (my phone app set-up and the device). Again... not really straightforward, but common sense. I did purchase the mount seperately as the magnet mount might be great for inside, but I wanted something screwed in to the camera and screwed to the wall. I advise getting one if you feel the same. Also allows another person you designate to have full control which is GREAT. Ring allowed another person to look and view but never have full control. Whoever sets up the camera on their phone is the designated one and can allow access to another -- or take it away -- or limit what they can do. Ring doesn't do that. This makes the third camera we have by Arlo and will most definitely use our free trial then purchase a plan that will cover all cameras on the property. If I feel I need to update this later I will but wedo love Arlo!
UPDATED Sept 2021-- changed my stars to 3 because when it works it's great. We are in the midwest. If the temp gets to 90 we roast out here because we also have humidity. The heat + humidity killed not only this camera but the larger double light camera from Arlo and the doorbell. So let's talk this camera only... It is connected to Wifi, no hub. Nothing wrong with our wifi. The battery is now at 4% and won't charge. Bought the Arlo solar panel to charge it. Nothing wrong with the solar panel or connection. It's the battery. Now let's talk the expensive double flood light camera from Arlo... same. Battery is dead because of the heat + humidity. Nothiing wrong with the solar panel or connection. Now lets's talk about the doorbell from Arlo. This one stumps me. The device is hard wired and has no battery. When it works, it works well. It comes on several times a day and goesoff as many times as it's on. Again, there is nothing wrong with our wifi or bandwidth. Those have been tested internally and externally at each location. Everything worked GREAT until we experienced 90 degree days and high humidity making the heat index 104. Then it all went to crap.
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frank sapienza
3.0 out of 5 stars Poor customer service
Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
Well we're learning with each one of these devices that there's a lot of static on them and that doesn't make us particularly happy. Also we have a case with Arlo and they haven't gotten back to us but they certainly keep on trying to sell us more stuff so not crazy happy about the product.
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MP
3.0 out of 5 stars Upgrading from Arlo Pro 2 - the good & bad
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: BlackVerified Purchase
Ive had a set of Arlo Pro 1 and Pro 2 for a few years and have been generally happy with them. I wanted to get rid of the base station and was excited to see Arlo Pro 4 didnt require one, so I bought the 3 pack.
The good: Resolution was significantly better than the pro 1 or 2, I was really impressed with image quality, big upgrade.
The bad: One unit had a red tint appear (it made my grass look pink) after a few days. Factory reset fixed it. The same unit then started randomly disconnecting from my wifi network (even in locations where other arlos worked). I have an excellent mesh network (Amplifi Alien) with multiple devices farther than the arlo that never lose connection. I am in the process of RMAing that unit. Yesterday, another of the three disconnected as well. The biggest problem is, if they disconnect from wifi, they require a hard reset (climb ladder, remove battery, put it back in). They will not automatically re-connect - to me that is crazy. They should try even if its just once an hour to reconnect. It is going to be such a hassle if it keeps happening. The 3rd unit has been solid for 2 weeks.
Other stuff: Battery life seems similar to Pro 1&2. I disabled the spotlight feature because it didnt seem to really improve image quality if there was a distance between the arlo and the ground (I had my out a 2nd floor window, and above the garage). I like the new magnetic mounts on these better than the pro 1&2.
Im still waiting to make my final assessment. All the image quality upgrades in the world dont matter if basic functionality like connectivity doesnt work. Maybe it could be solved with a firmware update that tries to reconnect them to wifi if they drop for some reason? Overall I would say my initial impression is not good, compared to the stability I experienced for years with pro1/2
**Edit May 6, 2021**
Raising from 2 stars to 3 stars. I RMA'd the one that constantly disconnects. The replacement has been going strong for over a week with no disconnects.
The troubleshooting process to get to an RMA took a long time via email (they had a lot of troubleshooting steps). They then asked me to pay for the shipping to ship it back, which I thought was pretty crummy given that they were less than a month old and I was trying to work with them to solve the problem, rather than returning everything to Amazon. They relented after I told them I didnt feel it was right to have to pay, and they paid shipping. If they continue to be stable, I will for sure raise my review another star or two.
18 people found this helpful
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JB
3.0 out of 5 stars Failed to detect people and goes offline by itself occasionally
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
I purchased one single Arlo Pro 4 Spotlight Camera about a month ago. First of all, there’s only a charging cable but no charger. I had to use a cellphone charger to make it fully charged before setting up the camera.
No problem with setting up and connecting to WiFi. It’s been four weeks since I started the security camera and as of today the battery has gone down to 46%. I don’t even have the camera on the whole time. So I have to wonder how they estimated 6 months of battery life.
What’s more worrisome is the device once in a while would go offline for no reason. It would automatically come back online after a few minutes. I have observed and noticed this happened at least 10 times so far.
Even worse is that the camera failed to detect people at least three times that I know of. I have the motion sensitivity set at 80% and have smart notification activated for “people.” I do not have geofencing on.
I see many reviews complain about the subscription, etc. The fact is other security camera companies, such as Ring or Blink, all require subscription to make the security system truly functional. There is no free lunch in the world!
If my device didn’t go offline occasionally and never failed to detect motions, I would have rated this camera 5 stars. But from my experience so far, even though I love the design and the video quality is very good, I think it only deserves three stars.
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Savannah
3.0 out of 5 stars Severe lag, and battery life is far less than expected, among other problems.
Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
I did A LOT of research before buying these cameras. I knew that there was an issue with lag, but I was not prepared for a 30-45 second lag. That’s insane to me that a camera system this expensive performs this poorly. Now onto the battery life. 6 months is not even close. I am lucky to get a month out of these. Now sure if I turn the spotlight “feature” off it will shoot up, but then the night vision tanks. Speaking of the battery, you can’t just charge the battery, you have to remove the entire camera and charge it thru the camera, so I hope you enjoy reposition it every time, which takes forever because of the atrocious lag. Back to the night vision tho. On its own, the night vision just doesn’t go as far as I would like, but combined w the spotlight it improves. The image quality is decent, I’ve seen better from cheaper brands, but it’s fine. I have one camera that has started to disconnect itself and not want to reconnect without a full reset. All in all, I’m very dissatisfied and disappointed that the “Pioneer of Wireless Cameras” has this many issues and quality problems, especially for the price tag. I would return these, but because I dragged my feet on getting them set up, I’m past my return window. I’d say if you really value home security and surveillance, stove you POE and don’t bother with wireless, especially if this is “the best there is”
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AdamC
3.0 out of 5 stars Works pretty good but not a great value
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2022
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
We added the Arlo camera to our mix of Foscam/Blink/Lorex cameras mostly because the Arlo was the only one that was outdoor rated would connect without the need for a base station directly to the wifi.
Overall it works ok for that use but see cons below
Pros:
The magnetic base is nice. Easy to remove and adjust without tools or fumbling
The power connector is also magnetic - no usb rubber flap to fuss with
Picture quality is very good. Nightvision and spotlight work well
Cons:
Battery life if you don't adjust the settings is abysmal. Even after charging it fully, it didn't last 24 hours. We ordered the solar panel and still haven't gotten more than 48 hours even with the panel (which may or may not be actually working. Trying to figure that out still.)
Price at $180 at the time of this review is 4-ish times more expensive than other options. While it works better than the blink (except for awful battery life) it doesn't work 4 times better. Or even 2 times better.
Overall, wouldn't really recommend.
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Capt. MD
3.0 out of 5 stars Needs improvement
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: BlackVerified Purchase
Bay claim that the battery last for 6 months however that is assuming there is hardly if any motion detected or use on the camera. Under normal circumstances in a home you can expect to have to charge these cameras every month. Also setting up the connectivity is a nightmare.
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edwin r.
3.0 out of 5 stars Great camera quality for images. Lots of issues
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
A little work to set it up. But it works great. Have a single cam no base station. Easily controlled from the app. Way better than the simplisafe system I bought previously. Battery has been on for 3 days and is at 89%. Magnetic mount survived high winds and is easily adjustable.
Here is an update:
Sending it back AGAIN....
Speaker didn't work on either camera.
And the replacement one is malfunctioning.
Seems like they only work for a month.
Update:
Finally have one that works. Took awhile with customer support to get the issue resolved. Still like the product.
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VNA
3.0 out of 5 stars Abysmal customer service by email
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2022
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
I'm a bit wordy here, but I think it's important to potential buyers to know my story:
I got three Arlo Pro 4s 10 months ago, after reading rave reviews on Wirecutter and elsewhere. After some challenges getting them to work, they did pretty well, though sometimes they'd mysteriously go offline for no apparent reason. (It wasn't a WiFi issue since my signal was strong to all three cameras, and there had been no glitches in my service). Each time that happened (once when I was out of town, unfortunately) it required that I climb up a ladder to take the cameras down and reset them. But then they worked again. Till two weeks ago.
By the way, after an initial period (I don't remember if it was 3 or 6 months), I had to start paying a monthly fee of almost $10 just to regain some basic functionality: specifically, the ability to define activity zones so the cameras don't go off every time something in that wide-angle view passes by. That is annoying since that's an essential feature, not something that should require a subscription.
Anyhow, suddenly all three cameras went offline (same excellent WiFi with no issues, same location of cameras in relation to router). Every single thing I tried didn't work. I uninstalled all the cameras and tried to link them again, but kept getting an error message on the final step. Tried with my phone app and through the browser.
Wrote to Arlo, carefully explaining what had happened and what I'd tried. SIX email exchanges followed, and in each of their replies they just linked me to the same article about how to set up the cameras, which--if they'd bothered to read my emails--they'd know wasn't what I needed.
One "technician" said I need to pay extra to get telephone support when I complained that the email support was useless. Another said that there was a problem on the Arlo side, and for me to try again. When I tried to follow up to see if Arlo had fixed the issue, the next agent once again disregarded my question and instead linked me to that same dreaded article. Six different replies from six different people, and not one addressed the specific problem I'm having.
So as of now, I have $550-worth of useless hardware. I honestly don't know what to do next.
Update 5/24/22: Finally, on the sixth exchange with Arlo's tech support people, and after I'd asked them three times without getting an answer, they gave me the tech support phone number. As mentioned, they'd told me I'm not eligible for phone support. But if they'd looked at my account, they'd have seen that I AM. So this morning, after a short hold, I got an amazingly helpful agent, and an hour later my cameras are working again. The moral of the story: don't even bother with their text/email support. It's useless. I changed my review from one to three stars just now, because the cameras are working again, though the picture quality is quite poor.
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Lostviking
3.0 out of 5 stars Mostly works
Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
The hardware seems to be fairly good. I get very nice images and I believe the mechanics are well done. The code on the other hand needs major improvement. The menus are convoluted and it is difficult to fine settings that are spread out, when they should be grouped in the same menu. There are literally two different ways to get into "My Devices" each with a subset of the functions for that device. This is odd at the very least. Second major complaint is the detection AI needs help. I have a cat. I set all of my cameras to detect a person only, nothing else is selected. They all constantly detect an animal, which is NOT a person and alert me. Wastes my time constantly as well as battery life. They need to fix this or the cameras have a very limited use.
3.0 out of 5 stars Battery life is not six months except extreme use cases
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2022
Size: 1 CameraColor: BlackVerified Purchase
Despite what multiple YouTube reviewers and the packaging stated, I was unable to get the advertised six months battery life. I owned four of these cameras for approximately three weeks. two cameras in the busiest areas lasted less than a week per charge. The two others, despite being in the least busy areas, lasted about two weeks. This was despite constant tweaking. I could have probable eked out a bit more battery life with some more fiddling but then I would have been outside my return window and it still wouldn’t have been six months.
Incredibly hard to give others access to your cameras. Required lots of messing around to finally get it right. Major PITA. good luck.
Wi-Fi signal strength is paramount. They have to have a good signal to be of any use. PIR is so-so. Good for 40ish foot to make out shapes. No details tho. Daytime quality was average. They’re.
Cameras paired with Wi-Fi network (eero 6 pro) with no issues. that part was painless.
Returned these, and now purchasing a 4k PoE solution instead.
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Jim Stewart
3.0 out of 5 stars was unable to get it to work k, sent it back
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: BlackVerified Purchase
at first it would not scan the qr code, after almost a week that started working then it could never connect to my system . read all the help info I could find but nothing I tried worked, called tech support but did not have enough time to wait on the phone, so I sent it back , to bad because I really like my arlo dorebell camera and the app woks great
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M L
3.0 out of 5 stars Two-pack only comes with one magnetic mount. Why?
Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2022
Size: 2 CamerasColor: BlackVerified Purchase
Historically I have purchased the one packs of these cameras, each comes with its own magnetic mount. The two pack only comes with one magnetic mount, which is important to note and would have been nice to know before purchase.
The magnetic mounts are $20 to purchase separately which pushes the purchase price of the two-pack beyond buying the singles.
The camera itself is fine and works well, we've been using Arlo for years and have no problem with the membership cost options (every service charges a fee, they are all comparable). The image quality is good and better than the Arlo 2s and 3s. The fact Arlo can't supply two magnetic mounts in the two pack is ridiculous.
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John Forbes
3.0 out of 5 stars Color night vision isn’t really "night vision"
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2022
Size: 2 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
Overall I like the Arlo product line, but I bought 2 additional Pro 4 cameras solely based on the "color night vision" feature. I set them up and installed, but the night vision is black and white. I contacted support to see what I needed to do to get the advertised color night vision. Their response was I had to turn on the spotlight to get the feature to work. How is that night vision? It’s nothing more than video with a light shining. Night vision implies stealth, but as soon as the light pops on, any intruder is going to be aware they are on camera. Blatant case of false advertising. I could have accomplished the same results with a less expensive camera and a motion detecting spotlight.
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Sylvia S
3.0 out of 5 stars Not a great camera!!
Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
Totally not as described. Battery life sucks. You have to charge camera often. It definitely has the fish-eye effect. About zooming in on certain items such as license plates, well you have to be upclose and personal. I have the Arlo Pro 2 and this is a much better camera than this one. Plus I do believe that this camera uses up most of your internet cause ever since I installed it, I’ve been having problems with buffering and such. Not worth buying and definitely would not recommend. Wish Arlo still made the Arlo Pro 2 cause this camera is simply not worth it.
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Reanna McBroom
3.0 out of 5 stars Great security
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: BlackVerified Purchase
Really handy for keeping an eye on things away from home and at home. I just would like a longer battery life from these cameras. Even after adjusting motion detection, activity zones and sensitivity my batteries only last about every 2 weeks. Their suppose to last up to 6 months. However, their worth the $ as my daughter ran away and I was able to quickly pull up the images of what she was wearing, partially based on that the police found her in about 20 minutes. Plus being able to keep watch on who is outside.
I had to magnets go out on 2 separate cameras for my charging cable and these aren’t quite a year old yet. If you don’t mind changing batteries frequently their well worth it.
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PhoneBOy
3.0 out of 5 stars Cameras are awesome, battery life sucks!
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2022
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
These cameras have amazing picture quality, and pick up on movement very well. The app is good, and the floodlight is a great feature, especially if you plan to mount a dedicated camera on the front door. However, the battery life on these cameras are not nearly as advertised if you place them in an area with any regular activity. Understanding that two cameras are picking up vehicles on a busy street, those cameras' battery life has been less of course. But less means about 10 days...a far cry from 180. Our one camera on the front door has much less activity, and probably goes off about 5 times a day. That camera will last between 21-28 days; acceptable for our use, but again, no where near the 6-month claimed battery life. Aside from that, these cameras are a welcome addition and do add to our sense of security.
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MARGARET POWERS
3.0 out of 5 stars Just OK
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2022
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
The night vision is so grainy it's difficult to make out much of anything. The zoom is grainy as well, I can't make out a licenses plate or number at all.
The delay of motion detection / picture makes it useless timely viewing or action of intruders or security needs worthless.
Customer support is terrible.
Have also had lots of small issues requiring restart, reset, or customer support.
I would research more reliable, better clarity, more responsive units
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Fred Perry
3.0 out of 5 stars One camera quite after a week.
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: BlackVerified Purchase
I bought these cameras to supplement our security system on our second home that is located over 700 miles from our primary residence. There were a few problems setting up the cameras with the wifi -- could not get the cameras to recognize the image on my I-phone. Was finally able to get the cameras coordinated with the wifi using my MacBook. After that delay, selecting the camera locations and aiming them worked as directed. I have had the cameras up for about two weeks and they worked as expected for a few days. However, after returning home, one of the cameras went off line and there seems to be nothing I can do to get it working again without resetting the camera by removing the battery, which is impossible until my return. I hope that the other two cameras continue to work.
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Judy
3.0 out of 5 stars Wish the battery life was better
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
It says the battery should last at least 3 months or longer but we’ve had ours for a little over a month and have already had to charge them once and now got a notification that 2 are on low battery so we will have to charge them twice in such a short time. The picture and sound quality is great but for the price, the battery life just doesn’t feel worth it anymore.
2.0 out of 5 stars Lost link with wifi router after 2.5 weeks
Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
Lost contact with my router after 18 days. The camera is about 20 feet from my wifi router. To re-establish a link I need to get my ladder, pull the camera down, and reset the camera. Not willing to risk the this will be a frequent occurrence before my return window with Amazon closes. Video quality is excellent and set up was a breeze but if this needs resetting every few weeks, that's a non- starter. As an FYI, the battery lost about 1% per day, which means I would have to recharge it every 3 months.
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Phil Kupersavage
2.0 out of 5 stars Not worth it.
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: BlackVerified Purchase
The low rating is due to some simple facts that were overlooked or left out on purpose by Arlo. First, this is wireless, but the battery needs to be charged. The system doesn't come with an individual charger, just a charging cable. This means that in order to charge the battery you need to bring the camera - the whole camera - back inside in order to connect it to the charger. Or you can direct wire the camera if your lucky to be close to an outdoor outlet. But this requires you to buy a charging cable rated for exterior use. Also, read other reviews. This method will actually lesson the life of your battery and cause issues in firmware. Second If you want to have an extra battery laying around then you can buy an Arlo one as the system and Arlo allow for no 3rd party participation. So 3rd party batteries and battery chargers don't work. 3rd - want to just charge the spare battery you just bought? Well better buy an Arlo battery charger (which has been out of stock everywhere for some time now) because otherwise you need to go get your camera and bring it in and insert the battery you want charged and wait that 1.5 hrs for the battery to be charged. These are minor issues, but you spent $180 on this camera and its video capabilities and recordings are as nice and clear as Wyze cameras that cost a significant amount less. (They have similar issues, battery issues, 3rd party, but cost a fraction of this camera.) Don't waste your money, your not getting anything special for the price.
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David
2.0 out of 5 stars Waste of money and time
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
The cameras are great the operating system is garbage. They go offline for no reason, won't connect, continuously have to remove and reconnect. The motion detection is worthless it starts recording too late and stops recording too early so if you need it to document for security purpose it's a complete waste of money. I am very sorry I went with this brand. The customer service is horrible wait time on the phone 90minutes and no help whatsoever.
21 people found this helpful
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Zak Jim
2.0 out of 5 stars Impressive Quality, Terrible Battery Life
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
I was in the market for home security cameras. A co-worker has these cameras and showed me the quality via the app on his phone. I was impressed and he said the battery life was 6 months. This is a flat out lie. The video and audio quality is impressive, however I have to charge my cameras every week and a half, not every 6 months like advertised.
-Installation is incredibly easy, as the two magnetic mounts are held by one screw each. I love the easy of being able to take off the cameras to charge.
-Picture is high-quality, audio is high-quality, audible siren is good.
-Battery life is a solid F. I was hoping for a software update or something, to extend the life of the battery. I even took off the "optimized" setting, to "best battery life." This option changed nothing.
-I attempted to reach Arlo Support and received a call from what I believe to have been a scammer, attempting to gain remote access to my cameras and my phone.
-All three go off line for no reason, on occasion. If I manually turn them off, it takes a while for them to reconnect.
2 out of 5 stars, because of the quality, accessibility, and ease of installation. Absolutely garbage battery life. Also be aware that once you pass the free trial of cloud storage, they will charge you $10 per month, PER unit! That's an absolutely outrageous price for something that won't hold a charge.
Additional information edit: If you do not choose to pay for the DVR cloud storage, the cameras will still work, but only live. All of the videos I had saved, previously to not getting the cloud storage (because it is too expensive) were deleted. The "activity zones" I had set up also went away. There is an error message stating to connect AC power to the units. THESE CAMERAS RUN ON BATTERY! THERE IS NO CAPABILITY FOR THEM TO RUN ON AC power! I'm absolutely outraged by the lack of customer service. I wish I could return all three. DO NOT PURCHASE!
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G. French III
2.0 out of 5 stars Should be good….but some bad
Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
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Small cameras that are mostly simple to mount and setup. The security mounts are slightly better than the magnetic mounts this kit comes with especially if you want to make it more difficult for some to steal your cameras (allen screw is the security mechanism on the security mounts). Still can be stolen but would take more time than a snatch and grab. Uses you home Wi-Fi network to connect and offers cloud service and limited monitoring for a fee.
The daytime video quality and motion detection is outstanding. Clear picture and on the standard (default) motion detection setting it will pick up everything from squirrels to people to cars……….now the bad. The opposite can be said about the night vision. It is horrible especially for the cost of the cameras. It will not detect animals or even people unless it is in a well lit area or is extremely close to the intruder/animal. I have lights in the front of my house that are 2500 lumens. So it is very bright, yet the camera I have higher up in a tree (theft deterrent and larger video capture) doesn’t pick up anything. However the one mounted by my garage door picks up anything smaller than a dog 50/50 in the same light and nothing on any side that doesn’t have the same level of light.
The video I submitted shows I had to place the camera about 2 feet off the ground and roughly four feet from the fence to detect the armadillo that has been destroying my yard and garden.
That being said I have some concerns that an intruder will be able to come onto my property basically undetected. For almost $500 this isn’t good at all (I actually have another kit from a retail store so it’s closer to $1000 for me).
The software app for the iPhone isn’t anything write home about either. It often locks up my iPhone 12 Pro Max and when selecting a video to playback from
the gallery will 7/10 time bring up the wrong video leaving you to finger scroll to the right video. The app also keeps you locked in on the trial plan even though I have paid for the secure plan.
Finally the battery……Arlo boost that the Pro 4 can get you 6 months worth of battery life********. That is only under optimal conditions. I live in Texas and everyday this past 2 weeks has been 95+ degrees. I have watch the battery go from 100% to 70% in that time with no changes to the default settings. I also have a camera near my shed that rarely detects any motion and it has lost 20% during the same amount of time. Take the 6 months with some skepticism.
Overall I hope that some of these problem can and will be fixed by software updates by Arlo. The concept is sound by the execution isn’t quite there yet. (Funny thing is they ask you to donate videos for research. Hopefully they are working on improving the system). I’m not mad I bought the system but can’t say I’m happy either.
Update: One of the cameras failed to connect and I had to contact Arlo. Please believe the reviews about how horrible the customer and tech support is at Arlo. After having to get Amazon involved they’re finally sending me a replacement. I don’t trust a company that won’t stand by their products but instead try to blame your phone, their own app or your internet. All the while you have five other cameras using all of the same things. I will never buy another Arlo product again. Dropped them to only 2 stars cause the cameras work half decent in the daytime.
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bonnie brooklyn girl
2.0 out of 5 stars ONLINE CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE.
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
Phone conversations with service department are not available, and our online "chat" was frustrating and unacceptable. Camera works fairly well, but when we purchased a new cell phone and had to "teach" it to receive Arlo images, we kept hitting a firewall. My husband and I are in our mid-late 80's, and technology moves too quickly for us to keep up; most on-line assistance gives us the answers we need, but the Arlo rep seemed unable or unwilling to remain with us long enough for us to complete the daunting challenge of adding the camera to the new phone.
I know it's difficult to find employees for office jobs nowadays, but a product that doesn't include good after-purchase service to its customers can be worthless.
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Rhett
2.0 out of 5 stars 6 month battery life on 1 charge
Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: BlackVerified Purchase
I got this camera for my driveway as it is a high traffic area (even within my activity zones located on my property). The New cameras are advertised with a battery that last 6 months. Which was the whole reason I decided to make such a large purchase for a security camera. The first time I put it up the battery only had 1/2 life and lasted me about 4 days. I charged it to full and decided to test it again. With a 100% charge it Only lasted 3 days before it was dead as a doormat and leaving my family and possessions completely vulnerable. The quality doesn’t seem to be that much better than the old models. I definitely can’t zoom to see license plates numbers like they are advertising.
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Dave_M
2.0 out of 5 stars Sadly, Pro 4 may not reconnect to your wifi without resetting the battery
Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
Well, this camera could have been so good. Unfortunately there are two serious flaws. The most important flaw is if your Wi-Fi goes out temporarily (>1hr), and then comes back on, the cameras won't automatically reconnect. You have to physically remove the battery and reinsert it, to get the camera to come back online. That's a problem if you're out of town. Literally every other device in the house will automatically reconnect to Wi-Fi, except the Arlo Pro 4 camera, which requires a manual reset. The other issue is battery life. Realistically, you're only going to get 2 months (max) between charges. btw - recharge takes several hours, so keep the ladder handy. Disappointed.
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Diego Salazar
2.0 out of 5 stars DISAPPOINTED!
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2022
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
15 to 20 seconds of video snapshots is horrible. You lose the video recording even when talking with a person over 20 seconds. Seems you have to have the added EXPENSE of recording to the cloud but can not confirm. I was having to charge the battery every week. Too much personal maintenance required.
Read the other reviews. The "Direct to WiFi No Hub Needed" is misleading imo but did not have earlier versions of the ARLO systems.
Positives it did have, the video is great. Awesome tracking of the critters running around but somehow humans were dropped off even as they kept moving. Audio was very good...very clear and actually loud enough to be heard from the edge of the zone. The spotlight was bright and really illuminated my area. 4k/2K picture was stunning because of the detail in it when you zoomed into it.
Security is horrendous! First you are going to have to mount the camera within reach so you can charge the battery (weekly in my case but I intended to record humans and critters in the first place). Second the "magnetic" connection to hold the camera to the mount is strong but it is meant to be detachable. So if someone wants to not be seen they can walk up right against the wall and move the camera up by hand or a stick. That spotlight will show them exactly where the camera is and light up the area for them.
Last item which really makes this camera so useless for my purposes is the amount of time it takes for notifications. Anywhere from 45 secs to 2 minutes delay to receive any notification that something has triggered the camera ( add the fact you only get 20 secs video from the point of when it was triggered ). This is a big gap in security when you are relying on a camera to do its job. Oh the siren is cute.
Maybe the Arlo hub/base will ease these pains. Maybe the doorbell camera responds a bit quicker. At this point this camera is not providing a fulfillment of my expectations. I will say it could be me but once I re-read the other comments, I am not the only one left disappointed by the camera.
But who knows, maybe I'll be back to try those systems with the base because the picture was great! (No fisheye at all!) Yes, I am disappointed.
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Juan Estevez
2.0 out of 5 stars Really wanted to like it but disappointed
Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2022
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
First off, I knew that for full functionality a subscription was needed after 90 days free trial. My main con with this camera is that notifications are very slow, you get only live video, not the event. In my case it took from 15 to 25 seconds for camera to show me the motion that triggered it, for a security camera that's unacceptable. My "nanny" $35 Wyze camera shows almost instant motion notifications. Seems to me the camera pushes the event to the cloud and then to you, not straight from the camera. I turned off my router for a few minutes and the camera stops working, hence why I think it relies on wifi to work.
2nd con; in one occasion I noticed I was not getting notifications maybe for several hours, the camera froze and it was not online, the app never told camera was offline. I had to remove the battery and reboot it, again unacceptable for a security camera.
In way too many occasions the Arlo app crashes after a notification, not a major issue but annoying.
Last con, why there is not a SD slot or on-board memory? Lots of cameras offer this feature.
Pro's? image quality is excellent, battery life is good if you set up the notification are properly.
Summary: this is an expensive camera, should offer fast notifications, needs to have on board storage to save at least a few clips in case of an internet outage. In my opinion make the effort and get a wired system, wireless systems are not yet ready to compete with traditional cameras.
2.0 out of 5 stars Read if upgrading from Pro or Pro 2
Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
This was not clear to me when I upgraded from the Pro 2 for the increased resolution and spotlight (which are both great btw). Free local storage is no longer possible. The $10 subscription service is required. Without it, all you can do is watch live footage and get notifications that there was motion detected. What happens if someone breaks in your garage and steals your car in the middle of the night? Well with the Pro 2 you’d wake up and see the notification and click play and watch the recording. With the Pro 4 you’d wake up see the notification and that’s it. No video with the theft. That’s the part that will cost you $10/month for the rest of your life. Sending this back and keeping my Pro 2.
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icefire32000
2.0 out of 5 stars CVR doesnt work well. Poor UX in App
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2022
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
I got Arlo Pro 4 for the CVR function. Though Arlo had a higher price tag than other cams on the market, I opt for Arlo as I hope for headache free set up process. With the trial, it doesnt come with CVR functions. So I had to cut the Free trial short and hand over money to start the subscription for CVR to be enabled $14.99 usd per month. I got more charging cables because the package only came with 1 short cable $20 per cable. CVR requires continous charging, which makes sense so I am ok with this.
After spending a few days to get the right components and pay for the subscription, CVR worked for a while, then keeps being interrupted - such that I am missing a whole chunk of recording between random time. I message customer service and they guided me thru the re-setup process again (reset / relink etc) which took like 2 hours. The customer service wasnt too helpful, and it felt like a generic response / workflow as anyone reporting a problem (his request for us redoing the whole reset process). I thought he could at least look at our cloud video clips interruptions and tell us why the system stopped CVR at the particular time. Anyways, I followed the reset process. And left it to do its thing for a few days and the interruption still occur. I tried different charging cable and power plug as well and still didnt stay continuous.
The reason I got this cam is to have continuous recording. If it couldnt stay continuous, unfortunately I have to return it.
The ios mobile apps had bugs here and there. And the UX is terrible (I had trouble finding different features and had to google everytime)
Whereas features, like CVR video exporting to phone, that are readily avaliable to other brand of cameras, its not available for Arlo. So I had to use iOS record screen feature to film “playing the video in Arlo app” everytime I want to share a clip - this is pretty stupid for today’s technology.
I paid more for Arlo to have a headache free installation process. But it proves to be more headache than smoothness. The higher price tag didnt translate to more smoothness or usability
I switched to Eufy Indoor Cam instead. Much happier and easier to set up / no monthly subscription fee neither. Videos easily exported.
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Christopher Chaos
2.0 out of 5 stars Might be #1 but still not good
Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2022
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
The reason I got these cameras was because I had read that they were listed as the #1 choice for wireless cameras. I have been using Blink cameras and had several issues so I thought I would try these. The picture quality is good and they are easy to use but the big issue is they don't do a good job at what you need them for. I get a lot of false alarms for movement, especially if its windy. I've even tried setting up activity zones but shadows will still set it off. Then I've had several times when it should have detected motion because of a person and it didn't. So I don't know at this point. I'm going to continue to tweak things to hopefully get them to work better but so far I have yet to find a good wireless camera. I've tried Ring, Blink, Simpli Safe, and now Arlo. None of them can do the job very well.
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Tracy Moore
2.0 out of 5 stars Cameras don’t reconnect if internet goes out.
Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
Bought two of these for use outside our vacation home. When internet goes out there the cameras disconnect and will not automatically reconnect once it comes back on. Contacted Arlo and they said I would have to manually reconnect them. They are not very useful unless you never lose internet or live full time at the location they are being used.
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Hmmm......
2.0 out of 5 stars Something's Wrong....
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
Set this up against Eufy 2k and Ring indoor cameras. First off, the Arlo is the best built and looking camera between them all, however....
1. Poor visuals (2K???). Looks heavily compressed and details, what little there are, seem to be smeared and blown out. Have "strong" network connection. Yes, the plastic film over the lens has been removed.
2. Motion; doesn't seem to pick up simple motion like a car driving by or someone walking across its field. Have gone thru the set-up and settings, motion sensitivity at high etc...
3. No notifications; see #3 above.
4. Sloooooow to connect to when viewing live.
Out of the three, the Eufy is the clearest, quickest to connect and send notifications, along with the app being easy to navigate.
Too bad as I really wanted the Arlo to work. Quite disappointing especially given its price.
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Trevor
2.0 out of 5 stars Great Picture Quality, Horrible APP!
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2022
Size: 3 CamerasColor: BlackVerified Purchase
I read majority of the reviews on the Arlo Pro. I was looking for a security system after my truck was stolen, I wasn't up for running Cat6 cables and hard wiring a system so I chose a wireless system.
I was attracted to the Arlo for the sleek style cameras, and clarity. I loved the 160 degree FOV, and I loved the clarity of the picture.
Here's where I got turned off and eventually hated the system: when you're notified of something on the app, the app takes 3-6 minutes to load and view the picture. If its an emergency, its already too late. I'm sure an Arlo Rep will comment that i needed better WIFI signal blah blah blah, I had my wifi router with an unobstructed path within 20' of every corner of my house, still slow as hell.
Battery: They advertise months of battery life. Not the case if you're cameras are alerting you to every thing that passes. I'm sure someone will comment on adjusting my settings, blah blah blah. I wanted to be notified of every person that walks in front of my house, so I set up the activity zones as needed. Problem is, in order for it to to be triggered, my zone had to go into the street, which then in turn alerted me of EVERY car that passes. No Bueno, since now I'm changing my batteries every 2-3 days. Other problem, when changing out the batteries, its impossible to take it out without slightly tweaking the camera, which now throws off your activity zone. So on top of changing my batteries every 3 days, I have to constantly adjust the activity zones. Other major is they don't provide a battery charger, you have to use one of the cameras to charge, so a 3 camera system is a 2 camera system because the 3rd turns into the battery charger. For the price I feel that it should come with some sort of charger.
App: Let me start by saying the app is TRASH and there isn't any support by Arlo to make it better. What I did "love" about the app was the amount of settings and different modes you can create, for instance: If Camera 1 is triggered, then doorbell starts recording, and Camera 2 Records, essentially covering all possible angles. Or, create a nighttime mode where Camera 1 is triggered, and doorbell starts recording, and if doorbell detect motion it activates the siren. The endless opportunity for modes was nice, but that's about it. The option to continuous record is there but a pain in the ass because the app is difficult to setup for continuous recording.
I ended up returning and purchasing a Reolink Wired system, way happier and even better picture quality for a cheaper price.
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Lee
2.0 out of 5 stars Unreliable and setup can be impossible.
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2022
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
I bought this camera as a prototype for an additional system. I have a 5G/2.5G Wifi router and an additional booster with the same 5/2.5 capability. The camera works only on 2.5 G, and works well, but enabling 5G for other devices causes the camera to go offline. Of all my WiFi devices, this is the only one that has an issue with 5G in the vicinity.
Setting up the camera is a little strange. When you reach a certain point in installation, the camera reads a qcode to continue with installation. If this doesn't work, they offer suggestions of how to get it to work. Getting WiFi to connect to a device should be seamless, as with other devices, not a multi-step semi manual process. To make it worse, there are no diagnostic features to tell the user what might be wrong.
When an error happens during configuration, the leds could be used to blink codes, or a status byte returned to the WifI.
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Rich F.
2.0 out of 5 stars Batteries are the Achilles Heel
Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: BlackVerified Purchase
Camera quality, picture, and cloud recording service are very good but the batteries are the biggest drawback to the system. Arlo's claim of a 6-month battery life is a joke unless you set the cameras on the bare minimum power settings and never, ever record any events. Kinda defeats the purpose of a security camera and I'm changing batteries on a weekly basis. Don't bother buying one of Arlo's solar chargers either, it might get me an extra week of battery life on the one camera I have it paired with. If you don't have an AC outlet close to where you want to place cameras do yourself a favor, spend the extra money to have an electrician run cable for you and buy a fully wired camera system. Changing batteries all the time sucks.
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Carol Lamb
2.0 out of 5 stars Lots of money just to charge equipment.
Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
Easy set up, easy app but very dissatisfied with the charging situation. I bought the 3 camera pack and an additional camera to cover all sides of my house. I spent over $600 and I only received 1 charging cord for all 4 cameras. I then spent another $200 buying back up batteries (bought directly from Arlo) and the back up batteries do not come with any cord or mechanism to charge them. You have to buy a battery charger that only charges 2 batteries at a time. I’m very disappointed and I don’t feel this is adequately explained on Amazon or the Arlo website. What looked like a high quality low cost camera system has turned into a huge investment just to be able to keep the cameras charged. The batteries drain quickly depending how many times they are activated. In my opinion, if you’re spending $900 to $1000 on cameras and batteries, Arlo should at least include a way to charge the equipment.
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Davin A Bogan
2.0 out of 5 stars Poor battery life
Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: BlackVerified Purchase
Pros
1. Is small, looks nice and is barely noticeable to passers by.
2. Picture is crisp when the observed object is close.
3. Ability to detect and record objects that move in the near field works quite well.
4. Facial recognition security for using the app is a nice feature.
Cons
1. The battery is listed as being able to hold a charge "up to 6 months" - died after just under 48 hours.
2. Setting a range of space to focus detection on simply doesn't function unless it is a few feet away. I experimented with this at multiple distances.
3. The app is functionally adequate, but generally getting to what you want to use configure is a lot of clicking and experimenting to find it. Requires know how to use the app. Perhaps, this is an early version of the app, that has not yet gotten a lot of user feedback, and in the future more mature versions of the app will have better usability.
I ultimately returned this purchase, as the battery life challenge is a non-starter for my use case.
1.0 out of 5 stars Be aware when you are creating your first Arlo account
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
The product itself is decent, but their software is not very well written and the Arlo customer service is really incompetent.
First on the software connection, it is actually not as simple as it may seem if you are using VPN services. It fails to connect forever with my VPN on. You gotta figure out a work around if in case you cannot turn it off.
2nd, the customer services is utter incompetent to solve real issues. My first live chat experience is horrible that their representative comes into the chat and left after a minute without saying anything. Really. And I tried it again another day on an account location locked issue, they finally have a real CS talking but they asked me to try something on another device by logging into my Arlo account and, bump, the live chat ended because the new login killed the live chat on the previous login. Lol sounds like they don't really know how their system work. And the issue I had wasn't solved that I finally created a ticket via their support portal. And a day after, their email reply told me to get on an overseas call to them for help. WAIT WHAT? So what's the use of your ticket platform? I told them no i won't do it because it's quite a simple issue that shouldn't have any problem by just solving it by text and emails. It's just a simple account issue that if you have ever played an online game would they be not able to solve it by receiving your ticket? Surprise! The Arlo CS told me to go on live chat again instead because they "CANNOT" do anything about it. So finally I tried to give them a last chance by going on live chat with them during the time they specified that help would be available. And nada. They told me to get some horrendous workarounds like creating a new account with new emails and in that process my trial and capture logs would be lost. Seriously. They told me to create more bloated accounts instead of helping me to fix it.
I'm so done with them at this moment. Never again would I want to be humiliated by such horrendously incompetent customer services.
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Abdullah Silsilah
1.0 out of 5 stars Bad resolution
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
Very bad resolution, The audio comes with echo, video response is too much slow, very disappointing ??
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R. Dymashok
1.0 out of 5 stars Overpriced and over rated junk.
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: BlackVerified Purchase
Bought Arlo Pro 4 multiple camera camera package and really wanted to like it,mainly because of high Amazon rating.
As it turns out- high ratings are totally misleading and fraudulent.
Setup- pretty easy, got 3 cameras up and running in 30 min.
Day time video quality- ok-ish, but dcertainly not HD quality.
Night time video quality-total disaster, not worth $200 per camera.
Video bitrate is 762 kbs,which is laughable how can Arlo call that and HD quality.
Motion detection-total crap, no matter what options you choose it still detects small animals. Detection comes late,so you basically missing video of the intruder.
Cameras goes off the Wi-Fi randomly,and they are 10ft from the router.
Android app is buggy.
They claim battery life as 6 month is utter nonsense. All 4 cameras drain about 2% a day per unit with only 6 hours of being armed. Thats several weeks of battery life at best.
Now main point- Arlo Pro 4 comes without base station. It stores your video on the cloud for the first 3 month,after that they force you to buy a subscription. Without subscription and base station those cameras are useless.
Definitely not worth the money. Sending it back.
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Cesar
1.0 out of 5 stars PSA - INCOMPATIBLE ACCESORIES
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
A few years ago I purchased the Arlo Pro 2 which have worked gratefully and tirelessly without a hitch until recently when the camera I placed in our front entrance just stopped working.
Since I've been very satisfied, I decided just to upgrade to the Pro 4 and ordered a three camera kit.
I get the package, and low a behold, the "good" folks at Arlo have decided to pull a very Apple move and instead of using the standard micro USB connector to plug the cameras to power and charge the batteries, now these cameras come with a magnetized charging port which needs a proprietary wire with a connector that attaches to the bottom of the camera. Even the power cable that is provided with the new kit is 3 feet long instead of 6 like the one that came with the Arlo 2. They went so far as to changing the diameter of the outdoor mount so you cannot screw the new mount in the same screw holes previously made for the Arlo 2 Pro mount.
I've been had.... I am posting this just to make sure other loyal Arlo users don't, if any of you happen to own the older model of cameras.
You're probably better off finding someone on OfferUP unloading a set of Arlo 2 Pros for a fraction of the cost and still be able to use your old accessories.
**** EDIT **** BUYER BEWARE *** YOU NEED TO PAY TO HAVE RECORDINGS SAVED ***
AFTER A FEW MONTHS OF USAGE, I HAD ONLY SET UP TWO OF THE THREE CAMERAS AND FINALLY SETUP THE THIRD... WELL, I REALIZED THAT THE FIRST TWO HAD STOP RECORDING TO MY LOCAL STORAGE USB AND AFTER MUCH RESEARCHING AND NOT FINDING A SOLUTION I GOT TO CHAT WITH THEIR TECH SUPPORT.... HERE'S THE KICKER I FOUND OUT IT IS ALSO ON THEIR FINE PRINT AND THEY DON'T TELL YOU UP FRONT ABOUT:
YOU MUST PAY FOR THEIR CLOUD STORAGE IF YOU WISH TO HAVE THE RECORDINGS SAVED. THEY DON'T GIVE YOU THE 7 DAY PERIOD LIKE THE ARLO 2 CAMERAS DO.
WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT!
1 STAR FOR THEIR CRAPPY TACTICS IN FORCING PEOPLE TO USE THEIR PRODUCT
LOOKING FOR ANOTHER SOLUTION AND WILL SELL EVERYTHING ARLO I OWN.
THESE FOOLS GOT ME... BUT IS OKAY... MY MONEY WILL GO ELSEWHERE...
Customer imageCustomer imageCustomer imageCustomer image
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msb2199
1.0 out of 5 stars Very unsatisfied.
Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
I bought this light because of the good reviews and the fact that it did not require a base station. I liked the idea of being able to control the lights with my phone and not needing anything else plugged into my router. I went through the setup procedure but, try as I might, I could not get the cameras to pair with my phone. I tried this multiple times even restarting my phone several times and uninstalling and reinstalling the app. I went to the Arlo customer service page on their website and I went through their recommended procedure multiple times. No success. After doing more research on several tech forums I found that other customers were very unhappy with the lights, the app and Arlo customer service. I made the decision to return the cameras while I still could.
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John Hampton
1.0 out of 5 stars Expensive Junk as reported by a CCTV Pro.
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
Junk. As someone who deals with CCTV on a daily basis, don't buy this. Battery lasts 5 days if pointed at the sidewalk. Day video is OK, night video is terrible. If you can hardwire or figure out a solar panel setup, the $20 Wyze three has amazing video for the price. Also there is no point using the tracking feature as you can zoom in, in post and have the same resolution. You might miss somthing. Also, why is the top third of the screen incapable of motion alerts?
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Jack Ibarra
1.0 out of 5 stars Avoid Alro cams!!! They’re not meant for surveillance!! They suck!
Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
I liked the synchronization between the cameras and the app but it wasn’t always perfect. On hot days the cameras would act up bad by having horrible wifi connection when there was nothing wrong with my router or modem. I tried all troubleshooting steps and the problem persisted. I also dealt with huge latencies with live feed. The battery life on these cameras are a joke. I had to buy the outdoor charger for $50 just so that they wouldn’t die within a day. I also dealt with the cameras not recording in 2K and the only solution was to remove the camera within the app and reset it which was really annoying. Also the video quality on these cameras is terrible. You can’t make out faces when zooming in and license plates are not readable at all.
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Marc
1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible business model
Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
Firstly, I own an older Arlo camera that allows me to store video for free, which I’ve been very happy with. I never imagined that their much newer security camera wouldn’t have that all-important feature. The marketing is misleading. They give you a free 90-day trial of the “additional features”, and then when the trial ends, you realize that one of those “additional features” is a feature they’ve already trained you to believe is free from their previous products. Now I have to shell out an additional $72/year, on top of buying 2 more expensive cameras, just to be able to use these things for the very reason I bought them - monitoring nighttime activity outside my house. Make sure you are willing to shell out $3 every month for each camera if your going with this system. I was blindsided by it. I’m angry that I’m now stuck with expensive tech that is useless unless I subscribe. We should have the option to record locally, even if it’s for a shorter amount of time. Also on their website they advertise Pro 4 compatible base stations (which presumably can be recorded to locally), but suspiciously are available nowhere. This company seems to thrive on confusing their customers with unclear info. Can’t recommend this product, or the company for that matter. Do better.
15 people found this helpful
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Alex
1.0 out of 5 stars Waste of money
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: BlackVerified Purchase
These cameras and the app are utter garbage. The company advertises that the battery will last six months. They actually only last about five days. Then, when the battery gets low, the company sends you automatically generated emails about every three minutes about the low battery. And there’s no way to stop for emails. The cameras don’t work well, the app is garbage. Save yourself the money and headache, and go buy A Google or ring camera
23 people found this helpful
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Iain
1.0 out of 5 stars Never stays connected, keep looking.
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: BlackVerified Purchase
It never works.
1.0 out of 5 stars No continuous recording, bad tech
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
I have the Nest camera system in my house for indoor use. I purchased the Arlo 4 Pro camera because it was battery powered and allowed for wireless connectivity for outdoor use. The Arlo camera was rated top by several review sites but seems like customer reviews were very binary, people either loved the product (maybe fake reviews?) or totally hated it. I fall in the latter camp. My main issues with the camera are as follows:
1. Motion detection is garbage - it kept detecting stuff and notifying me of random stuff moving. This meant the battery got drained very quickly (ie life of 1 week or less)
2. Getting camera to sync with my wifi device and app was nightmare - took me over an hour to get everything working
3. Subscriptions are garbage and don't work. I can't get continuous recording subscription to work and you have to plug in your Arlo camera to power to have that option (defeats the whole point of why I purchased Arlo instead of Nest)
Compared to the Nest products I have, this is complete garbage
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DLM212
1.0 out of 5 stars DO NOT BUY- Read Reviews First!!!
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: BlackVerified Purchase
Short version:
1. Goes offline randomly and fix requires accessing camera to reset.
2. Video quality is average in daylight and useless in night vision mode.
3. Delayed motion detection notifications, 2-3 minutes on average, up to 20 minutes.
4. Customer service is non-existent.
Details:
First thing, the cameras are set up according to the instructions, linked to the required router with higher than recommended internet speed, batteries fully charged, set up about 20 feet from the router and showing a strong wifi signal. I set up all the motion detection zones per instructions. There was no wifi or cable service disruption that caused any of the issues I mention.
I bought these cameras to use as an alert system when someone comes up my wooded driveway, and for added home security. I chose Arlo because of the advertised ease of setup, and they are very easy to place and setup, but that's where their claims end. I immediately noticed that the motion notifications were delayed by 2 or 3 minutes so, as far as getting a heads up that someone is pulling in the driveway, they do not work. I figured that I could live with that, and just use them as a video recording system in the event something happened so I would have a record. Problem here is that certain areas of the detection zone are very sensitive, but other areas don't detect anything, including a 1000 pound moose and her calf that I watched walk right by my house, in the zone, but no detection or recording.
One of the cameras has gone offline for no apparent reason twice in a month while I was home. To get it back online, you are required to access the camera and remove the battery to reset it. This is a huge hassle when home, but I'm currently away on vacation and one of the cameras went offline last night. I tried contacting customer support through the useless virtual assistant and waited on "hold" as I watched my position in line go from #3 to #1. At that moment a message popped up telling me customer service was very busy and that someone would contact me in 1-2 business days.
The video quality is far from excellent, especially when zooming in, but it's adequate. Night vision simply doesn't work. I tested it by going out to trigger a recording at night and there is no way that any human being could be identified from the video. The spotlight comes on as advertised when triggered, so at least that is a deterrent to an intruder. Problem with that is that when it's offline, no light!
To sum up, these cameras are completely unreliable as a security system or even as a crime deterrent. For far less money, I would have been better off buying a couple of dummy cameras with blinking LEDs.
UPDATE: Customer service was a waste of time. Continually asked irrelevant questions and simply closed out the ticket without resolving the problem when I said I wanted a refund.
Also, I see so many poor reviews of this product on here. I can't understand how it has an average 4 star rating.
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Michael A. Regan
1.0 out of 5 stars Buyer beware
Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: BlackVerified Purchase
POS. Only 1 of the 3 would sync. Very disappointed. Now I have two $200 paper weights.
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Amazon Customer
1.0 out of 5 stars Complete Garbage
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: BlackVerified Purchase
Let me start off by indicating I'm an IT Professional currently working as a security engineer and previously worked in software development, networking, and other security roles for Fortune 100 companies for decades. I have previously owned ten Arlo 3 cameras with multiple Smarthub(s) and rarely had any issues. I don't know what has happened with Arlo, but these Arlo 4 Pro cameras are complete and utter garbage.
First off, it took multiple camera resets/sync attempts to add each camera only to find that the cameras would then say "Offline" within the App and Web. So yet again, it was time to remove, reset, and re-sync -- over and over again. After finally having all three camera's appear, one went offline within an hour according to the App. Within 24 hours, the battery life of that camera went from 100% to 58%. The other camera's went from 100% to 90% with minimal notifications and movement detected. I attempted to remove Camera 3 this morning (for the 12th time) and upon scanning the QR code, within the App, the camera automatically named itself as Camera 2 and "took over" showing the image, thus rendering the previous Camera 2 as disconnected and unavailable in the app. Needless to say, Camera 2 was hung up on the ceiling of the lanai so out came the ladder.
At this point, I was done. I had great success with Arlo products in the past and am incredibly disappointed in this new product and will be moving onto other vendors. Even returning the product proved to be a challenge.
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Crafty
1.0 out of 5 stars Very Poor Support
Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: BlackVerified Purchase
The Arlo Pro 4 camera design is great. The problem it stopped working after about 2 months and tech support is miserable. First you have to go through a bot. Next you chat with someone who must be chatting with 25 others at the same time, or he's busy watching Netflix because each response was very slow. Even after it was painfully clear the device malfunctioned, he kept wanting to try more and more futile tasks. He would never give me an RMA. I will escalate up the chain of command by email. I'm an electrical engineer so believe me when I tell you their support is horrible!
15 people found this helpful
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yanks10952
1.0 out of 5 stars Stay Away
Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
I have 7 cameras one of them does not connect and arlo support is worthless. I have spent hours on the phone with them and they refuse to help mee.
13 people found this helpful
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Jennifer Adams
1.0 out of 5 stars DO NOT BUY
Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: BlackVerified Purchase
For the love of God, don't buy this camera. Set up isn't bad, the picture is pretty good, etc.. However, after using for a short while, you realize what a poor product this is. Battery life is extremely variable, and it is not always clear why this is so. I've had new batteries last two weeks and one day. Part of it is traffic, but that doesn't explain everything. That is not the worst part. When the battery dies or is replaced, the cameras frequently become blocked from rejoining the network. The only solution seems to be a cumbersome 2 hour call with tech support telling you to try again in 20 different ways until it works. This has happened three times so far. No permanant solutions have been forthcoming. My advice--keep looking!!!!
6 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
1.0 out of 5 stars SCAM - MUST PAY A MONTHLY FEE TO RECORD
Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
I purchased the $450 system (3 camera system - Arlo Pro 4 - no base station or Hub) to replace my older (3 yrs old) Arlo cameras. Arlo is not transparent in their advertising of this item because they DO NOT disclose that you MUST have a "service plan" ($9/month) in order to record from your cameras. Sure, they advertise that you "get 3 months FREE" but they do not inform you that it is mandatory to pay a monthly service fee of $9 if you wish to have recordings from your camera. To boot, I called their tech support and the agent informed me that I have to pay an ADDITIONAL $99 in order to keep using my cameras after the ONE YEAR warranty. He informed me that if I don't have an additional $99 plan, then after ONE YEAR, if the software is updated/upgraded, then I will not be able to use my system at all because it will be "outdated". WHAT A SCAM!!!! Not only did I purchase the system for $450+tax but now they ding me each month for $9 and an additional "lifetime" plan for this set of cameras of $99 to ensure I will be able to use my system past the 1st year, should they have upgrades. If I had it to do all over again, BUH BYE SHADY ARLO! Shame on you for sneaking in hidden fees after the purchase.
6 people found this helpful
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Tim Dahl
1.0 out of 5 stars I think I wasted a lot of money on these.
Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2021
Size: 3 CamerasColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
So I have 3 x Pro 4 cameras, and 2 x Pro 3 floodlights, along with a sub that is supposed to give me unlimited cams.
The 3 Pro 4 cams seemed to be ok, but I really only had 2 setup. Then I bought 2 of the floodlights. (Nice of them to only include a short micro/mini (whatever it's called) USB charger cable...
So I'm fighting and fighting to get all of these cameras working reliably, with multiple resets. The floodlights require me to go borrow a ladder from the neighbor to get up on the entrance overhang. (I'm scared of heights by the way, and at 50, the idea of falling off a ladder is very frightening)
Eventually I order a dang near $400 Orbi Mesh system to make absolutely certain that it wasn't a wifi problem. I was still having issues, (during initial setup, all cameras showed STRONG connection) So I have a total of 3 cameras on the Orbi Mesh and 2 cameras on my original wifi. (I also have the 5 Ghz portion turned off in both of my wifi routers, to assure I'm on 2.4 during setup)
Yesterday I finally got all 5 working, after I got a notification that the floodlights were not using a factory charging cable, (Wasserstein cable) so I unplugged the cables on the floodlights to try that. Viola, everything seems to be working as intended!!!! YAY! No more climbing up on the roof!!!!
The rest of the day, I'm testing, and getting videos in my library from all 5 cameras, I'm so bloody happy that I finally figured it out. I just need to buy those super affordable (sarcasm) $49 Arlo cables for the floodlights, when they become available...
Then I woke up to the screenshot above.
Both WIFI networks are working fine. I tried connecting to both with my phone, and watched YouTube videos. I even reset the Orbi wifi for good measure. Still nada.... the whole system is broke, and I'm so frustrated, I want to cram them in someone's cramhole.
Also of note.
At night, I have to be within 25 ft of the cams to trigger them, even when set at 100% sensitivity. It won't even trigger if someone is in the slightly darker hallway of the lower level.
The CCD in these cams are worse than the one on my cheap phone from back in 2010. What good is 2k video, when you're putting $1.99 image sensors in them? (Yes, videos are set to quality)
In a nutshell, potential owners, consider looking elsewhere. The listed stats make them seem good, but the reality is that they are overpriced, pains in the bum.
Customer imageCustomer image
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rescuer
1.0 out of 5 stars NO CHARGER!!
Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2021
Size: 1 CameraColor: WhiteVerified Purchase
This “rechargeable” camera comes with no charger!!. Common Netgear, you can do way better than this! This is a trend being followed by several companies, tools without batteries, chargers etc.. whats next? Cars withouy wheels ? When I buy some thing that is rechargeable I expect to get the charger with it, that’s what I paid for. Don’t give me some cheap cord and expect me to find my own charger.
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