Arlo Security Light Available For Pre-Order

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As the regulars know, I’ve been a huge proponent of Arlo wire-free cameras. And, since hopping on early, Netgear’s continued to expand the ecosystem by incorporating indoor cameras, cellular cameras, a variety of accessories, and home automation integrations… including Amazon Alexa and Apple HomeKit. So it wasn’t a huge surprise last fall when the company signaled full-on smart home hardware intentions by announcing the Arlo Security Light.

At the time, there wasn’t a lot of the detail. Now, from the recently published Amazon pre-order page, we learn an Arlo light two-pack will set you back $250 and a variety of product performance elements were reiterated:

The Arlo Security Light is a 100% wire-free, smart-controlled, and weather-resistant LED light that helps improve outdoor safety by alerting you when something’s happening around your home.

  • 100% Wire-Free: Free of power cords and wiring hassles
  • Rechargeable Battery: Easily charge your batteries
  • Weather Resistant: Put Arlo Lights anywhere – indoors or out
  • Advanced Motion-Detection: Lights turn on when motion is detected
  • Mobile Alerts: Instant alerts if light activates on motion detection
  • Customizable Settings: Adjust your lights’ color, strobe/beam, and notification settings
  • Ideal for Smart Homes: Works with Arlo, Amazon Alexa, IFTTT, and more

As someone who has bought into the Arlo line and tracks this space, the bundled “Arlo Bridge” fascinates me. Does this effectively replace the hardwired Arlo WiFi mesh network hub required by their wire-free camera or is it merely an option for those that don’t have cameras? 

Given details revealed in the included “Recommended Setup” marketing graphic, it’s reasonable to wonder if the Arlo Bridge, err, bridges our home WiFi network to Zigbee to utilize an established smart-home protocol and perhaps eek out additional power savings over RF. But if this is the recommended setup, what other setup options might I have? Hmm. I guess all will be revealed closer to that May 15th launch date, although I’d much rather rely on Arlo camera motion alerts triggering my existing Hue and Zigbee bulbs via some sort of integration like IFTTT or Smartthings. I also wonder if leaving out an siren alarm puts these at a deficit to the Ring Spotlight Camera that is a camera, light, and alarm.

6 thoughts on “Arlo Security Light Available For Pre-Order”

  1. Dave, you got me on the Arlo bandwagon too, but I’m abandoning ship. Might go hardwired, might go more simple with Ring. The Arlo app continues to be a source of frustration – I get alerts, but it’s Arlo-roulette trying to immediately log in to the device. I’ve had enough.

    I only comment because I find it interesting that Arlo is more or less copying Ring with this functionality. My Ring Pro doorbell is about 98% accurate in letting me immediately see why I’m getting notifications. Arlo? About 5%-10%. I’ve ruled out everything at my house except the Arlo itself. Everything else I use works more or less as designed.

    Arlo support continues to ignore basic feature requests (temporary suspend, anyone?), while Ring continues to innovate and listen to its users.

    There. I feel better. I love the idea of Arlo, just wish they worked. Better, anyway.

  4. Based on your second comment, Frank, I’m assuming you didn’t see your first? If so, it wasn’t due to moderation or anything. But I have had months or more of minor, sporadic caching problems which could explain.

    Anyhow, I’m not as in love with Arlo as I once was. I was more accepting of their faults (like super slow spin up) when there was fewer options and I’m still upset the Arlo Q iOS digital zoom has dropped from 8x to 2x in full screen which makes it not very good as a night time nanny cam. Been thinking of getting a Ring Doorbell 2 for front door and a Ring Spotlight Cam battery for the back doors. I’d rather not pay a service fee, but Ring’s is fairly priced. On the other hand, Arlo is a sunk cost and doing well enough. I’ve got so, so many projects…

    aaronwt, well it’s two battery-powered wireless lights with motion sensing and ecosystem behind it. Having said that, it does seem high. I wonder how much they’ll charge for an add-on light.

  5. Thanks Dave, you’re right, it looked as if you angrily deleted my comment! LOL. Sorry. Stupid internet.

    I love the Arlo’s idea, and the presentation, but it’s just not ready for prime time. And browsing the user forums, it reminds me of Spotify’s. They seem to be silent to the tons of user requests. I mean, I know they’re busy and all, but can you give us a “we’re working on it!” or something?

    I think you’ll be pleased with the Ring Doorbell. I generally get the video feed to display on the first try, and the quality seems better too. I had issues with using my existing hardwired doorbell, but a couple of extender chimes solved that problem. Let us know if you end up trying them.

    Thanks for understanding and your (always) professional reply.

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