Meet Netgear Arlo, Your New Home Security System

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One thing was immediately clear as soon as I was able get Netgear Arlo up and running: 1) it was very easy to add cameras, and 2) all I wanted was to buy more cameras! But let’s back up a second and explain exactly what Arlo is, and is not. Arlo, the spiritual successor to Vue, is the newest camera security system from Netgear — it consists of a central wireless hub hooks into your home router along with a number of wireless cameras. Arlo also incorporates heat-based camera sensors to record video as motion is detected and stores those clips in the cloud. But Arlo is NOT designed for continuous 24/7 video recording like a Dropcam. Now that we have that out of the way, let’s walk through how to setup the system, and explain the usage at our home.

Initial Setup

The Arlo system ($349) comes with two wireless cameras, capable of 720p video across 130 degrees, and a central hub unit that you connect to an existing router. Additional cameras can be purchased for $159. These days it seems that hubs are all the rage, so why not add another one to your stable. :-) The hub unit is reminiscent of a router, and the size is very similar. For the initial setup, you simply plug in the Arlo hub into your existing router and wait for the status lights to turn green. You then download the Arlo app (iOS / Google Play), and start the setup walk through. Arlo also has a web portal that can be used instead of the apps. For the most part, the web portal functions exactly the same as the apps.

After the hub has started and you create your account, the hub will appear in the app to continue setup which includes adding new cameras. To add new cameras,you need to first install the batteries into them. The Arlo cameras use 4 CR123 batteries which are good up to 4-6 months depending upon usage (we’ll touch on that below). After the camera powers up, you then connect it to the hub by pushing a sync button on both the hub and the camera. After a few seconds, the camera will then show up in the app.   You can repeat the steps to add additional cameras.

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As these are wireless cameras, with night vision, being able to install them virtually anywhere felt liberating. The Arlo cameras come with a magnetic attachment that you first install to your wall. You could also just place the cameras wherever, but I opted to put these out front in a higher position. Once you have the magnetic attachment installed to your wall, you then “clip” the Arlo camera to it. The magnet is definitely strong, and you are able to move the positioning of the camera to a multitude of angles.

In use

After adding a HD camera to both our Front Door and inside our Garage, it was time to dive into the application itself. The app is divided into 4 sections: Cameras, Library, Mode, and Settings. The camera section allows you to view all your cameras and their latest update. The library section is a place to view all previous recordings.  The mode section allows you to create schedules for when the cameras are active and when you should receive notifications. And lastly, the settings section allows you to not only update your camera and and hub settings, but also gives you the ability to see your current storage use for recordings and check for any new firmware updates.

The cameras themselves work using motion detection. Arlo determines motion by changes in heat, not just movement in front of the camera. In my time testing and configuring the sensitivity of the cameras, I find this method extremely accurate. Whereas other IP-based camera’s I have used would send off alerts from a leaf blowing, Arlo was much more reliable in determining if someone was actually in front of the camera. I adjusted the sensitivity settings for the front door down so that I rarely received false notifications.

Arlo also gives you the ability to schedule your cameras. Say you only want to have one camera active from 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday. Arlo gives you this ability via scheduling.  During active time, Arlo can send you notifications and save recordings. Having these cameras as a main notification for anything moving outside our doors, I opted to leave the system active all the time. Time will tell how this affects battery life as this is a concern of mine.

With it being fairly cold here in Indiana the past few weeks, the front door camera did give me a low battery warning. After looking through Arlo support, they acknowledge this as an issue and a fix for it. After completing the steps outlined, the battery status went back to normal. Netgear promises future updates in regards to better camera status as well.

When you want to view previous recordings, the Library section makes it easy to select a day and view all recordings for that day. You can even filter by specific cameras if needed.  You also have the ability to download your clips via the app or browser.

With Arlo, you have the ability to add additional people to they system and give them either general access or specific access to certain cameras. One thing to note about the using the apps and web portal simultaneously is that only one person can be logged into the system at a time. If you are viewing your cameras and someone else logs into the system, you will be booted. This is a security precaution so that only one person at a time is on the system.

Storage and Subscriptions

When Arlo detects and records, it uploads these clips to Netgear’s cloud based storage system. For the free Basic subscription, you receive 1gb of storage and the ability to add up to 5 cameras. The Basic subscription stores these clips for 7 days, which, to me, is more than enough time to go back if needed.

As someone who has installed both a Dropcam and Simplicam in their house, these prices seem very reasonable. If you did want to add more than 5 cameras, or need additional storage space, Netgear offers a Premier and Elite subscription which ups the storage capacity and the time frame which the clips are stored. You can read more about these plans here, but I have a feeling the Basic plan will work for most people.

Conclusion

Keeping in mind that the Arlo system is not meant to be a 24-7 monitoring service, the product is wonderful to have at our house. The app / web portal are very easy to see the current status of the cameras, view recorded clips, and change existing settings. The ability to add additional cameras as needed also makes this system very flexible.

Things I would like to see in the future would include location-based scheduling and the ability to store clips locally on a NAS. Location based scheduling could allow you to have the system deactivate and only have it active if you are away from the house. For the second part, I’ve already read on multiple sites that Netgear does plan to allow local storage. Having a ReadyNAS currently in the house, it would be very nice to not have to worry about cloud storage.

Overall I came away impressed with the Arlo system. If you are looking for some type of home monitoring, I would highly suggest looking into Arlo!

13 thoughts on “Meet Netgear Arlo, Your New Home Security System”

  1. Wireless outdoor and the heat sensitivity have sold me. I’m glad you have tried a bunch out Adam. I have wanted something for the front door for a while, but didn’t want to punch a hole in the house and I don’t have a good window to put a camera in, which would also mean I wouldn’t have night vision. This looks like it checks a whole bunch of boxes for my needs. We’ll just have to see how it deals with -18 degree Michigan weather.

  2. Jason, I’ve had the same issues with night vision outdoors and placing the camera behind a window is useless. I was always hesitant to keep a Dropcam outside, even if it was under our front porch awning. If anything happened to it, warranty would be voided. So for now, Arlo for outside monitoring, and a Simplicam as a baby monitor will be our setup. Chose Simplicam over Dropcam mainly for storage pricing.

  3. Looks like it’s only rated to 14 degrees… so Jason may have to bring it in on those coldest of days. The criminals will be staying home anyway, warming up. ;) Speaking of… Adam, there’s some suspicious footprints in the snow near your door.

    But, yeah, wireless, weatherproof, with decent IR range – think I’m sold too. Was running a Foscam inside facing out. During the day, it was decent, but the night vision was worthless due to limited range and reflection from the glass. Also didn’t want to both running cables from inside to outside and such. This could be a win for me. Do I go all in with a 4-camera kit for $500? It is kinda silo-ed. Hm.

    Dropcam’s 24/7 recording is ridiculous and I’m not a fan of their fees. Here are Arlo’s tiers of service — like Adam, think I’d be fine on free.

  4. Awesome review. I am curious about battery life as well since the area of the house I want to install would involve a ladder. Thanks again!

  5. I guess “the past three weeks” can sound like “the past we weeks” when you’re really cold.

    All kidding aside, these look like great cameras on paper. I’m glad to finally see a good review of them.

  6. I know you said that local storage is coming, but is there any way to download the video clips to a PC?

  7. Hey Brian,

    You can download any clip via the browser to your local computer. The file is saved as an MP4 file.

  8. I did end up going to my local Best Buy and picking up the four camera package and canceling my order for the two camera set. So far I’m impressed. There are USB ports on the back of the base station, so maybe it will be as simple as plugging in an external hard drive to get local recording in the future. Another thing that I’d like to see is continues recording when movement is present. Currently I can set the length of the recording, 10 – 120 seconds, but it will stop recording even if there is still movement. Sometimes it starts recording again, sometimes it did not. When it did start recording again it was at least 5-10 seconds after it stopped the first time.

  9. I’ve been waiting for these a while now having used the VUE’s for several years for out of the home security, notifications and monitoring. The 30$ I paid per year for several years was not a big issue (it’s now more like 45$ for most users) but new buyers won’t have that problem. I’ve had five cameras in place, some IR and some regular motion only. I think Five is enough. I really liked the SPEED of the notifications, I can literally open the front door and boom I get a text message. Of course, internet down, security down but that is pretty much the case with any of these types of IP based cameras.

  10. “So I took the plunge and bought the Arlo 4-pack.”

    I don’t question your purchase, but the non-stop Meerkat streaming of your own home is a bit over the top, Dave…

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