ARLO 2-Camera Wireless Security System

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ARLO 2-Camera Wireless Security System
Price: $160.99
Shipping Options:: $5 Standard (Free with Prime)
Shipping Estimates: Ships in 5-7 business days (Friday, Mar 23 to Monday, Mar 26) + transit
Condition: Factory Reconditioned

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Factory Reconditioned… that means these cameras have already… seen things. Things that can’t be unseen.

Own this exact setup. It’s pretty easy to setup and the wireless cameras/battery is pretty nice.

Pro
-The service keeps I think 7 days worth of video for free (more if you pay).
-Battery life is not bad, I have had them installed since late Dec and still have 90% battery left, though I spent some time trying to reduce false positives, YMMV.
-Video quality is okay, not sure it’ll identify someone you (or the cops) don’t know at 720p. Night vision isn’t bad but not great. For the price, what I’d expect, though.
-App isn’t bad to use, web interface as well. Has some Google Home/Stringify/IFTTT features.
-Easy to detatch, replace batteries, move to alternate locations.

Con
-Loading a camera alert on your app is way too slow to use in real time for your door. This shouldn’t be used as a RING or other doorbell operation, by the time it loads, they will have walked away. Works fine in other locations, just too slow.
-No audio, if you’re into that. The newer models have it.
-No Alarm in the base unit, if you’re into that. The newer models have that.
-IFTTT/Stringify integration is lacking. Can do triggers on motion and trigger recording with few settings, but arm/disarm individual cameras is missing (whole system only).
-Mounting Brackets kind of awkward, may not work in all locations. Third party ones are available. They ARE magnetic, so you may be able to use something existing.
-False positive on motion for sunny days seems to be pretty high but very low for cloudy ones. Passing cars on a street outside the view of my front camera will reflect the IR sunlight along a wall it can see and trigger the camera. Altering your motion sensing schedule can help, I suspect in a not-as-sunny city it would be much less a problem.
-Motion sensing a little slow. One of the UPS guys comes up so quickly by the time it records I see the back of his head a half second. People lingering though, it works well enough.

Overall, for the woot Price I would suggest to someone to grab it as long as they understood the above. The sides of the house where I use the cameras most, it provides good enough security to catch someone climbing a fence, skulking around a dark window even at night. Tweaking location, angle, auto-record schedule all will help preserve battery and eliminate false-positive notifications.

If you want a CCTV with frequent realtime feeds, long term storage, etc. I don’t think there’s a wireless option for you and look for another true POE camera kit on woot. If you’re looking for a doorbell cam, this will disappoint you. But, if you want a piece of mind for some dark areas of your property without running cables, I think these are a reasonable bang for your buck. AMA!

Great comprehensive review, Logan5nx. Thanks!

Motion sensing waaaayyyy slow. All i see are the backs of heads and the trunks of cars. Nearly unusable IMO.

Some of the Arlo cameras work with the Amazon Echo Show but I don’t see anything about that on this write-up or the comments. Anybody know? Does it connect to the Echo system?

If you are interested in these, check out Blink Security Cameras. I’ve been very impressed with mine.

I was just thinking the same thing. I got the Blink 5 camera kit, as a monitor to for my siblings and I to be able to check in on our mother. It’s really easy to set up, the batteries in the camera units lasted over a year, picture is great,nice wide-angle views, nice app. Just easy to use. I can’t really speak to the “security” aspect about it, because we really only use it as a drop-in monitor- but it’s just dirt simple to set-up and it works perfect for our needs.

I really liked these with a few major caveats. The quality of the video is great, audio is pretty good as well. Setup is easy and the fact that the cameras can go anywhere that WiFi reaches is a game changer. No power cords makes it as easy as nailing up the magnetic base and walking away… Night vision was good, I got to see a lot of cat activity.
The negatives were:
No charger in the base for a battery. Seems like a no brained for a camera system that requires batteries. Not to mention it could also serve as a battery backup if the power goes out. In all Arlo’s as of now, you have to use a specific charger with a micro usb to charge the batteries. Batteries did actually run for over a month each per charge for me(YMMV).
Here’s the dealbreaker. As of when I returned mine. When the power goes out so do your cameras, and they don’t come back. I live in Florida, and I like to keep an eye on properties I can’t be at. The power goes out here all the time. I had to go to the unit every time the power went out to reset the unit manually. Calling Logitech, they said that was part of the system. Makes no sense, I had to return it.

Just read reviews on Blink system based on comments here. Apparently the new outdoor cameras are having temperature issues… they start recording when there are large temperature changes and waste battery power. So looks like Arlo the only way to go right now. Check Lowes for reviews of Blink outdoor cameras https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blink-XT-Digital-Wireless-Outdoor-Security-Camera-Kit-with-Night-Vision/1000307367?cm_mmc=search_google-_-Rough%20Plumbing%20and%20Electrical-_-Dsa_ple_173_smart%20Home%20&%20Security-_-&k_clickID=71a47de6-e803-4058-a73b-ff954cc5c905&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqM3VBRCwARIsAKcekb2qdcxlMr4KRWTKA8oFji8eDyXin6HDQqWo1OCFrbg3bEjMnvyhSKsaAteqEALw_wcB

These cameras are waaay slooow. I have these and one over looks my driveway. A 30+ foot driveway. The USPS delivery person walked the length of my drive, dropped a package on the porch, and walked back to their truck without the camera catching them. I was home and watched the whole thing.

These are not the Pro version. They did not have sound capability.

This is a great review and I would just like to add a couple of things to it.

Pros:

  • The Arlo app is a million times better than the nest app. I own both and the nest app is useless 90% of the time.
  • Small and mobile cameras come in very handy. I kept hearing little noises running around the kitchen area. I set on of the cameras down on the ground and was able to see that a mouse got into the house. Once I caught it I left the camera for a while to make sure he didn’t have little buddies here too.

Cons:

  • No ability to hard wire the cameras so you don’t have to use batteries.
  • Batteries run out real fast in high traffic areas. I ended up buying a few sets of rechargeable batteries for these.

Couldn’t agree more. My Arlo cameras are collecting dust. Blink cameras have been great, plus battery costs/life are much more reasonable.

I have the XT cameras as well. I have not had that experience and we have gone from 80* days back down 30-40* the next. Not saying it isn’t happening, I just haven’t experienced any issues. A lot of the reviewers complain about the batteries, but I just don’t get it. They take 2 AA batteries. My front door camera lasted 5 months before needing the batteries replaced and it is triggered a dozen times a day. Just not a big concern for me. My indoor cameras are about 13 months old and still going on the original batch of batteries.

I have no experience with Arlo cameras and they very well may be great. Just sharing my experience with an alternative that is slightly cheaper if purchased at the right time.

Plenty warm here, I live in Texas, and have 8 Blink cams. Zero issues.

They aren’t the best, but they aren’t the worst. Simplicity is key here. Installation is a breeze and you can get 3rd party mounting kits dirt cheap on Amazon that allow for better mounting.

Would agree with the others, that the motion sense is slow, but seems to grab in time. I mainly use to check on the kids comings and goings and to keep an eye on the porch when Woot packages arrive.

Also being so portable has it’s pros. My dog has been ill and we don’t have a doggie dog. Getting out for St. Patty’s day was a must so I moved the camera out to the porch, left the back door open and was able to see the fur ball come and go.

Batteries aren’t cheap. Best Buy 6 pack for $22. Amazon - 12 Pack for about $22.

Arlo out.

I view my 1st gen’s (maxed at 15 camera’s) through my Echo Show and iPhone. When you’re out in the country and wanna keep an eye on your horses, equipment, etc. but don’t wanna run cables and power everywhere, these work great. By the time anyone see’s the camera the video’s in the cloud and you’ve got them (it’s worked for me already with a would be ATV thief - nothing like a 2am Arlo Alert to wake you up!). Just make sure you cut tree limbs, etc. to prevent false activations.

I do not understand what the base station is for. I have the Amazon cam and it does not have a base station.

Try changing the motion sensitivity in each device. From each camera: Setting–> Motion Detection Test –> Slide the bar to higher than default–> Touch the “Green Check box” to Save the change.