Arlo Essential Indoor Home Security Camera System CCTV, 1080p, 2-Way Audio, Animal Detection, Alerts, Built-in Siren, Night Vision, Wired, With 90-Day Free Trial of Arlo Secure Plan, VMC204
HD video and night vision
Get a clear picture of who and what is in your home with 1080p HD video and crisp night vision.
Instant motion alerts to your phone
Receive an alert when your camera detects motion or sound and check the live video feed to see what triggered it.
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Easy installation
Plugs into your mains power for straight forward set-up and 24/7 power.
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Connect direct to WIFI
No base station required – simply connect to your 2.4Ghz wifi network for the doorbell to work.
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Built-in siren
Integrated siren that can trigger automatically when motion is detected or be set-off manually.
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2-Way Audio
Hear and speak to anyone in your home from your smartphone, through the built-in speaker and mic.
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Privacy shield
Disarm your cameras audio and video when you are home for more complete privacy.
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Arlo Service Plans
Sign up to an Arlo Secure service plan for a monthly fee to unlock advanced features on your camera
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Visual Security
Monitor your home & store the videos on the cloud, in the resolution they were recorded, for 30-days
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Advanced Detection
Store your videos on the cloud, in the resolution they were recorded, for up to 60-days
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Faster Response
Arlo service plans enhance our cameras with advanced A.I. features to identify security risks
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Greater Peace of Mind
Easily set-up or cancel – and if your camera is stolen your plan entitles you to a free replacement*
Arlo Home Security Cameras: Protect What You Love Most
 Essential Indoors |  Essential XL |  Essential White |  Essential Black |  Wirefree Video Doorbell | |
| Video Quality | 1080P HD | 1080P HD | 1080P HD | 1080P HD | 1080P HD |
| Battery Life | Wired | 12 months | 6 months | 6 months | 6 months |
| Field of View | 130 degree | 130 degree | 130 degree | 130 degree | 180 degree |
| Wireless | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works without Base station | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Color Night Vision | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Spotlight | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Alarm Siren | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Weather Resistant | NA | -20° C to 45° C | -20° C to 45° C | -20° C to 45° C | -20° C to 45° C |
| Wifi Bandwidth Required | 2.4 GHz wifi | 2.4 GHz wifi | 2.4 GHz wifi | 2.4 GHz wifi | 2.4 GHz wifi |
| Local Storage | Base station required | Base station required | Base station required | Base station required | Base station required |
| Weight: | 427 g |
| Size: | 1 Camera Indoor |
| Dimensions: | 5.2 x 4.9 x 11.32 cm; 427 Grams |
| Model: | VMC2040-100EUS |
| Part: | VMC2040-100EUS |
| Colour: | White |
| Pack Quantity: | 1 |
| Batteries Required: | No |
| Manufacture: | Arlo |
| Colour: | White |
| Quantity: | 1 |
| Size: | 1 Camera Indoor |
Ottime videocamere e servizio di assistenza
Faccio questa recensione dopo quasi due anni dall’acquisto, per fornire la mia esperienza lato assistenza.
Il prodotto stato acquistato da me quasi due anni fa.
il prodotto in se un ottimo prodotto, le videocamere funzionano bene, si vedono bene (ovviamente come qualit dell’immagine non sono 4k, ma comunque si vede molto bene) e le notifiche arrivano quasi istantanee. Consiglio solo l’acquisto del pannello solare, altrimenti se la installate in un punto dove la videocamera rileva molti movimenti, non vi dura pi di una settimana la carica della batteria.
Tornando al succo della recensione, voglio fare un plauso all’assistenza Arlo, ho avuto una videocamera che dall’oggi al domani ha presentato un problema di sfocatura dell’immagine.
Scrivo all’assistenza Arlo la quale mi risponde dopo qualche ora, chiedendomi uno screen dell’ immagine dove potessero vedere il problema.
Morale della favola dopo 2 giorni mi hanno spedito la videocamera nuova direttamente a casa, senza chiedermi la vecchia indietro.
Il tutto gestito con gentilezza e professionalit.
Devo dire veramente soddisfatto
Easy to use
Great product, easy to use and instal, delivered on time and in good condition. Good to do business with you
Best used indoors.
You don’t need to have the ARLO hub to setup & run this as it work off normal WiFi.
You may need during setup to shutdown and reboot your WiFi hub to allow the app to discover the camera – I find this with a lot of ARLO stuff but patience is the game & it’s all in the instructions.
Very happy with the camera & does it’s job.
Exceptional video.
Easy installation,app works brilliant. Very clear video, bright light at night motion. Only downside is you get notified if bird /cat crosses field of vision however video notification will specify animal.
worth the price
I had a eufy, and wanted another camera. A friend showed me what his arlo could do and the app. I was particularly impressed with the app and how easy it was to view the history of recordings. far better than eufys. ok there is a subscription but worth it as I can leave the notifications turned on as they are clever and only show actual movements, rather than a cat walking by. I wasn’t going with eufy after finding out they store my data in China, whereas arlo is stored in Europe.
I also liked how the app gives a preview image on the lock screen.
the image quality is good for my needs, I’m not fussed about 4k.
and I didn’t expect it but the spotlight does really work.
I chose this for better security
I have a arlo pro which was fine, this is alot better. I was going to go with eufy cause they are cheaper, but when you look into who is behind them, and I’m conscious of who has my data and videos. so I’m ok with paying a little extra for this peace of mind.
the 1080p is a good bit better than the pro I have. so happy.
Wakes up and starts recording much more quickly than any of my other Arlo cameras
I’ve never been satisfied with Arlo camera wake-up and record time, until now. Had I known how slow Arlo cameras are to wake up I would not have bought several of them, however this new Essential camera is the mutt’s nuts
Very reassuring
I’ve used older hub based battery powered Arlo cameras for several years, but tried this instead when I wanted another. I am just using it for reassurance in a remote area and have not tried the motion sensor. The built in white light is useful, but not much better than normal IR for my use. The battery life so far has been “interesting”. The first charge was going OK, but I removed the WiFi hub for a couple of weeks and the battery went flat super fast. I’ve not tried it again, second charge is holding up quite well, but doubt it will be 6 months. Looks like wifi signal strength might be a factor? I don’t think any battery powered camera solution is going to be “ideal” but happy so far trading off expensive disposable batteries with instant swap out for slight inconvenience of taking an hour or so to recharge.
Easy to set up (no wires)
This is the 2nd set of cameras I have bought. They don’t use wiring and batteries don’t last long on older version. This version does not need a hub to connect to Phone/iPad or PC. Also built in batteries that you can charge with a cable. Also has a light that comes on like a spotlight but to save battery I turned it off (easy to do) and night vision is pretty good. Only difference I found is my old ones were magnetically mounted and these need to be on brackets (provided). I always found the old cameras a pest setting up a length of record time but these only record while a motion is there and a few seconds over lap. If you live in a rented property or you don’t like running wires, these are for you. Good value getting 3 cameras and paying for 2 here but watch out some offers sell 3 cameras normally. As said previously = no hub now all wifi. You also get a free 3 month trial where you get a month of recordings instead of 7 days. Although never had a problem with 7 days myself.
Good for the price
Got this camera to supplement 2 others we have indoors. This one is for outdoors.
The ‘charger’ is a short USB cable – better than the special adapter needed for the other cameras.
The wall bracket is rather flimsy, but seems to do the job.
The night vision is not that great – can barely see any detail.
The LED light is pretty feeble – barely lights up much area.
But the picture quality during the day is pretty good – and you can zoom in by pinching the screen.
I’ve connected it to the same hub as my other cameras are connected to (so that I can use the same app), so hope that I won’t need the paid for subscription when the 3 month trial ends.
It’s extremely easy to set up.
Short life
Yep easy to install and operate however the battery life is very disappointing. Only lasts a week or so …
Not the best for the price
It’s quite easy to set up but it requires 2.5 GHz WiFi for set up.
The app could use some improvement.
Not the best video / picture quality, depending on the distance, for example closer is better.
Requires a paid subscription! (3 months trial included which activates when you set up the camera)
The 4 seconds lag which drives me crazy and I find it annoying.
Siren and speaker is a bit to quiet
Micro USB charging port (I was expecting type C )
Good night vision and motion detection.
Individual active areas can be set to detect movements.
Good battery lifetime
Easy to install
Overall good, but at this price (239.99) range other options could be considered .
Arlo, are perfect! Easy to use app. Really pleased with all aspects of this produc
This was our second attempt at outdoor cameras- the first were really poor quality and ended up sending them back. Replaced them with the arlo camera- this was a huge upgrade!! Cameras are great quality!
Easy to set up, good picture quality
Arlo Indoor Home Security Camera System CCTV is a product that is giving us peace of mind, especially when we are away from home for longer.
The device was completely effortless to set up and Arlo’s app does everything I need. There are subscription services available for cloud storage and monitoring that I will consider when the trial is up.
It took me only 5 minutes to set it up. Make sure you connect the 2.4 GHz network, not the 5 GHz. It won’t connect on the 5 GHz network.
The video is clear, has IR night vision, the siren is quite loud and annoying which is perfect to scare the intruders, and the privacy shutter is very reassuring!
The voice response is slightly delayed, as to be expected with something having to go through the internet, but still very nice for quick messages to delivery drivers and guests. The camera is very easy to mount and comes with a detachable mounting plate.
Overall, this is a very nice, inexpensive camera.
Thank you for reading my honest and unbiased review, I hope you found it helpful! 🙂
EXCELLENT CAMERAS but not without problems in set up and extra features
It took a while looking for the best place to mount the cameras ~ angles, heights and WiFi signal.
Easy to set the cameras up indoors ~ don’t try in situ.
Location is easier with an assistant watching the signal on your phone.
I set mine up just before going on holiday ~ MISTAKE !!!
They were all working great
Clear picture, good signal, GREAT !!!
Each day I checked the photos
Each camera was triggering umpteen times a day
So what’s the problem ~ battery life !!!!!
One camera on our front door was so busy the battery lasted two weeks
I tried the on-line set up to reduce triggering
Slightly better, but even things outside the pickup zones got picked up
I now know all the neighbours cats, the time certain vans drive past, when the postman calls, how many moths attack the cameras.
These are NOT the camera’s fault, they work brilliantly.
The fault was mine
I should have set it up, tested, adjusted, moved, worked with the software and tested again.
Once it is perfect, or close to it, RECHARGE THE BATTERIES and then go on holiday.
The other matter is the Arlo contract.
The system without it is very basic
The system with it is brilliant
So where is the problem?
Buying into a system that will cost over 100 a year ~ it’s not super expensive but the three cameras cost over 300, the on-line operating system costing over 100 – 400+.
The Arlo system self installs and it’s your job to cancel it before the trial period expires.
Everyone needs to understand how the Arlo deal works before they invest in it.
I am pleased with Arlo cameras and the on line system, you just need to be aware of the complete deal.
good camera
very good small camera, easy to set up. connects to your phone via an app, very easy to set up.
this is my second Arlo camera, my first had the option to fit a solar charging panel, this one does not have that option, which means you have to remove the camera from its mountings & charge it indoors & then re-mount the camera & spend a minute or two making sure it points in the correct direction.
subscription needed to store video, about 2.50 a month, more if you want the deluxe package
Super Easy set up. Great functionality
I don’t see how these could get any better. Especially for the money.
Great hassle free outdoor camera
Easy to install, and really like the Arlo App. Being wire free made installation a doddle. Neighbours saw ours and the picture quality, and are about to order one themselves. Would recommend. Battery life unlikely to meet the 6 months suggested, bit unclipping it 4 times a year to recharge is not a major chore.
Essential Security System Se
As I had my hands on multiple Arlo products I can now give more detailed overview of this essential Kit.
Arlo Essential set of 3 Cameras is a good beginner budget friendly security system with many good and high quality features. It’s 1080p resolution is actually better than other 1080p cameras and yes, that can happen if lenses, technology and other aspects are taken into consideration. The picture in daylight is good but keep in mind that obviously it is lowest quality and therefore you might find picture over exposed (too much light) which will lead to untrue colors or to be more precise, colors will have more yellow color in them. As daylight is mentioned it would be well worth mentioning night recording as well. Well, night recording and picture is not great. Picture will be a lot lower quality and camera simply will not be able to give you good image of any object if it is far away. When I say far away I mean more than 5m. Integrated spotlight might help, but changes are minor.
Compared to Arlo Pro 4, these cameras don’t have removable batteries, therefore you will need to take the whole camera of the camera mount and charge it indoors instead of being able to charge it directly in place with solar panel or simply replacing the battery with fully charged one. Either way, I believe major focus with all users is how long will battery last when fully charged. It is stated up to 6 months, but I have to say it is nowhere close to it. All depends on cameras setup and functionality. If you have a lot of activity happening in front of the camera it will last around 2-3 weeks. If activity is lower and you lower the settings of camera, expected duration of battery would be around a month or slightly over a month.
I will not continue deep into specifications but more what you will receive as so call it “free” of charge.
Another major thing to mention and well keep it mind are subscriptions. You will receive 30 days free subscription which will unlock full potential of the whole set. What you will receive in those 30 days are cloud storage, video history and richer notifications. Richer notifications consist of vehicle, animal and even package recognition as well as recording up to 2k or 4k resolution which is not required as these cameras support maximum of 1080p. Everything after those 30 days will need to be paid. Yes, you will have to put another monthly bill onto your list of expenses if you want all features and to get the best of these cameras.
Overall, Arlo does make high standard, quality products but with higher standards, higher expenses do come. And to be honest this is not something that everyone could afford if price of the set and monthly subscriptions are taken into consideration.
Ok cameras
Battery doesn’t last that long and there is quite a delay with things happening to you being alerted. You can watch things happening live.. but then it Dosent record things at the same time. Ok for the price but think hard wired ones would have been bette
Great image quality but in the end need to pay monthly to have all functionality
It works really well, even better than many other brands and was easy to attach to our other, Arlo outdoor cameras to view them all on the same hub in the app. It also has a privacy filter you can put up if you want to make sure you aren’t being watched while you’re home.The image quality is really good no complains about that.The only big downside is that if you want to have all functionality of this camera you gonna have to pay for a monthly subscription. 3 month trial is included, after the trial you still can use it and have functions such as receive push notifications and email when motion is detected or hear and see what is moving around and sound alarm if warranted. But on negative side live feed will be a significant delay, no capturing video automatically when motion is detected and storing it for review later.So overall nice stylish indoor camera, good image quality, but after 3 months you need to pay a monthly subscription to have full functionality. 2k plan for a single camera will cost 2.79/mo and 8.99 for unlimited cameras, 4K 12.99/mo
Great quality CCTV, fuss free installation, great video quality, colour night vision is limited.
If you want the easiest to install CCTV system and don’t mind paying a subscription fee then this is a really good set. You can use these without the subscription but it’s pretty useless as a security system without it as you need the cloud recording for motion events.
Installation wise, you can’t get much simpler, install the mounts where you want the cameras and simply screw the camera on and you are good to go. It’s just a matter of connecting the camera through the app on your phone. Video quality is very good during the day and at night using the IR night vision, these camera’s have a built in spotlight for colour night vision but it’s not very useful unless you’re using it cover an entrance gate or something like that, it’s simply not powerful enough for anything larger than that. The IR night vision thankfully works pretty well.
The camera comes with 3 months of free subscription when you get it and to be fair it’s been working amazingly well. The smart notifications work great and easily differentiate between people, cars and animals. It’s a really good quality camera system and the only things that you need to be aware of is the poor colour night vision and the subscription cost.
Very good quality images but recording of video is subscription based
I have tried a number of indoor cameras over the last couple of years and I have to admit that none of them have been as good as this one, in terms of picture quality. However, there are a couple of areas where improvements could be made, but overall, it is a reasonably good camera.
I’ll start by commenting on how the options for installing the camera. The camera can either be set on a flat surface (which requires no installation, as it is free standing) or fixed to a wall (the fixings for this are provided). In an ideal scenario, I would like to fix the camera to a wall, to keep it out of the way however, the power cable is black and I know of very few people who have painted their walls black. Accordingly, it is very difficult to hide the cable when it is mounted on a wall.
Setting up the camera is reasonably straightforward and essentially involves the download of an app and following the instructions and prompts which the app provides.
As I mentioned at the very start, the quality of the images from this camera are very good (maximum quality is 1080p, or full HD) and it would be very easy to make out exactly who (or what) was in your house at any given time. In the hours of darkness, the quality is naturally slightly diminished but I was surprised by how much detail was still available in the images. There is a slight time lag between when the images are captured and when you can see them on your phone but this is only a couple of seconds, so unlikely to be that much of an issue.
The camera comes with an automatic privacy shield and this can be used to disable the camera automatically in certain circumstances e.g. it can be set so that the camera only activates when you leave the house. This is quite a beneficial feature as I’m not sure I’d want a camera recording me all the time I was in my own house (not that I’d be doing anything I shouldn’t be doing!) and so being able to set it to record only when it was most needed is a good idea.
When the camera detects motion, the default setting is that you will receive a notification on your phone (another reason not to have it active when you are in the house) albeit, these can be turned off. At this point, you can then go into the app, see what the source of the activity is and if required, you can activate a siren on the camera. The siren isn’t particularly loud and in any event, I’m not sure this would be my chosen course of action as it would certainly alert any intruder to the presence of the camera and they could easily just switch it off!
One aspect where I think the camera could be improved if it it had the ability to rotate. With this model, once the camera has been installed, you are restricted in its field of vision i.e. the direction it is pointed in is the only part of the room it will record. Some of the other models of cameras which I have tried had the ability to rotate (on command from a phone) and this made the camera significantly more flexible and useful. Perhaps this is something which will be considered by Arlo in future products.
The final comment I would make (and it is perhaps a very important one) is that in order to get the best out of this camera, there is a monthly subscription. In the absence of a subscription, you will still be able to view live (with a 2 second delay…) recordings through the app and receive notifications of activity however, none of the videos will be saved. In order to benefit from cloud storage, you will need to pay (at the time of writing) 2.99 a month for a single camera or 8.99 if you want to use an unlimited number of cameras. This increases to 12.99 a month if you want 60 days storage rather than 30 days.
In summary, this indoor camera offers very good picture quality, both during the day and at night. However, its field of vision is fixed and some of the most useful features come at an additional cost, meaning that the use of this camera could get very expensive, over time.
Safety / Security / Peace of Mind
A good product well made and fully weather proof. Only point is that as we have an active space being monitored the battery is going down a lot faster than the stated 365 days. In fact if we are in I am switching off during the day and only use if we are out or at night time. Would recommend if you can get it at the sale price.
Great security camera
I am extremely satisfied with the Arlo Spotlight Camera. Setup was quick and simple and the app walks you through the process. Only taking a few minutes to be up and running. The app is really clean and well made. Very easy to go through settings and controls. No wiring required so the camera is extremely flexible in where you can place it. This camera showcases picture quality in 1080p resolution and incorporates motion-activated spotlight and recording with instant push notifications to your dedicated mobile device, even at night with some brilliant color night vision, two way communication and a built-in siren that can be sounded to scare off intruders and animals.
High-end home security camera system
I got this Arlo Essential security system to go with the rest of my Arlo collection I currently have as I am a big fan of wireless cameras to protect my home.
This camera set works without the Arlo basestation and needs connected directly to a 2.4GHz Wi-Fit network in the Arlo app. It is easily installed by fixing the mount to the chosen surface with 3 screws and simply attaching the camera to the mount. You can use the thumbscrew to adjust the cameras angle.
It has an integrated spotlight for colour, night vision or black and white. The camera captures HD videos in 1080p providing a crisp and clear image. I can keep a careful eye on my home day or night with the 130-degree viewing angle and night vision technology. These cameras are waterproof and built to withstand any type of weather conditions.
Furthermore, it has many great features such as instant alerts sent direct to your phone via the app when a motion is detected at your property. The 2-way audio feature allows you to clearly hear and speak to guests from wherever you are. Also, a built-in siren can be remotely triggered to scare off intruders or can be set to alarm automatically.
The battery life of this camera can last up to 12 months and can be simply removed and charged with the included cable or can be paired with a solar panel for continual charging.
I am really impressed with this Arlo security camera system as they look great and always provide a high standard. The only thing that bothers me is the additional subscription fees that apply after the 3-month trial as they are not cheap.
Overall, this is an excellent camera system that links well with the rest of my Arlo products I have and is reasonably priced.
Pretty clear at nigh
The camera was easy to set up, just like all the Arlo cameras.
The quality of video is very good and we are very happy with it
The ‘eye patch’ cover opens when motion is detected provided the camera is armed.
Very discreet so can be used anywhere indoor.
The night vision on the camera is good.
Well Engineered camera
This camera is perfect for what it does.
It gives you all the benefits of having an Arlo camera (battery powered, great app, reliable smart alerts, etc) without needing a base station.
In my case I have a very large property and have covered much of it with outdoor wireless access points so my WiFi coverage is MUCH larger than my base station coverage.
these are an perfect fit for anyone with a large area and is comfortable setting up access points
Monthly Subscription required
My partner tried this out. You get a free 4-month trial period, after which you need to pay to keep all the features. The image is sharp and quite detailed, and you can set it up to record constantly, or just when you’re outside the house, at which point it will stream any movement to your phone.
Very easy to set up. Unfortunately, it does not connect to either of the security systems we already have, but needs its own.
Superb would recommend
I wasn’t to familiar with the Arlo brand. So lets start with the res being 1080p (not true 1080) but, as long as you have good lighting you wont see the difference. @ way audio is pretty clean with not that much lag (im running fibre might vary with your speeds). The motion detection is pretty accurate and quick with the alerts. The siren is scary but, i guess its meant to be. For some this might be not a good thing but, it is wired which means you’ll have to plug it in but, which also means more battery life.Great product for first time use.Follow me on here daily reviews and/or answering questions on the products reviewed
A fully featured, easy to install cctv system
So I have now replaced my first generation blink cameras with these and so far I am impressed. These run on batteries and they promise 6 months but I guess that depends on usage. They are motion activated so you can get them only to record when they need which is why they can run for so long on the rechargeable batteries.
The cameras are very easy to install and they are compact enough not to ruin the aesthetics of your house decor. They can be rotated and set into position and everything is controlled through the arlo app.
The quality is brilliant, crystal clear picture. The colour night vision is a bit of a gimmick, it’s still night vision but uses a LED light which somewhat helps at night time and adds colour, it’s really not that great but it slightly gives a better picture at night time rather than those green featureless night vision clips.
The wifi didn’t work for me at first I had to connect it to my 2g connection not the 5g for some reason but worked once I did that. No extra hub is needed however we do have the Arlo security light to so I purchased the hub so I can have local USB recording otherwise you will need to pay for the Arlo cloud subscription service. You get 3 months free. If you want to use all the benefits of what this camera can offer then you will probably need to buy into it or at least get the arlo hub which is more expenses but seems like most security camera manufacture charge now.
The 2 way audio is a gimmick, it barely is loud enough to speak to someone on but listening in is good, it picks up noise well and filters out background noise. I like the motion detection zones, you can set it so it only focuses on certain areas, great if you have a swaying tree that keeps triggering the cameras. There is a siren too which is handy, this is quite loud and is enough to alert or scare an intruder away.
With the features of wifi, a great app, the ability to view your house anywhere in the world on your phone and option of cloud storage, this makes a great cctv set that does everything you expect. It is much better quality than the previous blink system I had but time will tell if the battery lives up to its promise.
First of all I like the design of these cameras. They are quite small, they look good and they are also easy to mount.
First task, is to charge the battery using the supplied cable (USB charger not included) and the second task is to Install the Arlo app onto your smartphone from the app store, create an account and then follow the simple instructions on screen to add the device.
Because I have an existing smart hub, the camera was added to it, but you can install the device without the hub and it will connect to your own WiFi network. Upon adding the device, a firmware update message was displayed and installed within a minute or 2.
Once everything is connected and you are happy everything works, you can fix the camera into your chosen location. Being as this is battery powered and wireless, it is very simple to install.
The picture is very sharp and you can make out things from distance which is extremely important for security, especially if you want to capture someone’s face or license plate. The Arlo can also be used a an alarm system. Each of the camera have built in 2 way audio and also a siren. You can activate the siren or set up motion detection and sound the siren upon motion detection etc. Each camera comes with spot light function, bright enough to use as flood light. battery life seems pretty good, although this will depend on if the cameras are placed in a quiet location. If the area is busy it will drain the battery a lot faster.
The app is one of the most important things. For me it has to be responsive, reliable and have good features built in. Arlo have done great with this and I find using the app a good experience. It did glitch out on me a couple times but I’m sure a software update will improve this. I use an android phone and the notifications/alerts come through very quickly and live view works with minimal lag. However, I have very fast internet and a good networking setup throughout the house. For someone without this experience may differ.
You can of course view live video from the cameras and if you have an active subscription you can view up to 30 days of recorded video stored on the cloud. Subscription cost is very high after the initial trial… You pay a lot for convenience. These are expensive and premium but they do work.
All in all, it’s a great product and was an absolute breaze to set up!
Home security is priority and the ARLO you can trus
I am happy to join ARLO service of video vigilance. Have tried some cheep alternatives, but ARLO have 1-st place in all. I have this basic indoor camera but didn`t expected so much easy control and great futures from this camera.
Controls are easy to understand and set. Connection with my server or phone just great. Picture quality is very good, can be adjusted by your need. motion sensor very sensitive, animal detection cancelation, night vision and many many more options. I purchased home plan for just little 2,99 p/m and have access to my recordings history. Can set recording time schedule, set particular recording zone, and many more things. just I wanted. Now I me, my family and home safe. Highly recommend.
Grea
This is really good, quality is high and video is clear. The only thing I don’t like is that to get a decent mounting you need to buy some of the separate ones available.
Two-week battery life
Despite fully charging before use and adding a solar panel during one of the hottest periods of the summer the battery is almost fully discharged after 13 days. The motion detection is great and the picture during daytime is detailed, though much less so at night, but this is almost useless if two weeks is all I get from a supposedly 6-month battery life.
Excellent DIY CCTV
Love this CCTV camera. It is really easy to set up. It took me about 20 minutes and that included fixing the bracket to the porch. It even recognises the difference between a vehicle, person or animal moving in front of the camera.
Small, easy to use and the picture quality is good
This indoor security camera is small and discreet. My partner said it is easy to install and I found the app easy to use. The camera quality, both during the day and night, is very good. It is certainly good enough for security purposes. The motion detector also seems to work very well. One thing I really loved is the privacy shield as it is a quick and easy way to get some privacy without switching everyone off. I do think this camera is a bit pricey but I think that is just because there is currently so much competition in the home security camera market. You can buy a subscription (a trial is included with your camera) which allows you to back up videos to the cloud as well as a few other features. We haven’t yet decided whether the subscription is worth the money or not.
Easy to use
This camera comes in a box with instructions on how to install and set up, wall mount and power cable.
The camera itself is sleek with all black.
The camera is quick and easy to set up even if you are not a very technical person. There is a step by step guide in the instruction booklet which all you have to do is connect the cables and the. Download the app. Once set up it can be controlled from your phone and the camera.
Takes a few minutes to install but it is very simple. I had no problems.
The camera also has audio so you can listen as well.
This is good for your home for example a baby bedroom, pet monitor or just generally around your house if you are not in. You can feel safe with this camera as you can check in at any time.
Overall a very good camera set compared to other products and works really well and the material is very smooth and strong for long lasting and the quality is very good.
In some ways better than the Ultra 2 - in others - worse
I’ve also reviewed the Ultra 2 kit, but this is very different
It is also very good. But as with the Ultra 2 system it’s not perfect.
So what’s good?
– Fairly easy setup (you need a new-ish smartphone to benefit from this)
– Totally wireless solution – NO base station required!!!!
– OK image quality
– Decent smart detection
– Customisable alerts depending on when and what you want to secure
– Good snapshots and video
– For an extra charge you can have 24/7 recording of the last month
The not so good
– After 3 months the subscription cost is not cheap. For up to 5 cameras you’re looking at around 16 a month
– Battery life could be better – and the batteries are not user replaceable
– Micro USB charging… why not USB C???
– You have to pay another extra charge for 24/7 recording
– The mounts can be a bit fiddly
So there are ups and downs, as with the Ultra I hate the monthly subscription cost, equally I think image quality could be a bit better.
However, as a totally wireless solution, with no base station required, this is very good.
Decent resolution, ideal to add on to your existing Arlo system
I already have a 4k Arlo system with base unit and these 1080P cameras were added to that as indoor cameras. The process took only 5 minutes to add them to my existing system and the resolution is ideal for smaller areas such as indoors. The motion detection is good and night vision adequate for small spaces, the inclusion of a spotlight and alarm means that if I catch someone via the notifications I can activate the siren and light to hopefully deter them.
I now have these monitoring my home studio, office and home. Very nice quality and so far the batteries are lasting very well.
Arlo Essential Indoor Home Security Camera
The Arlo Essential Indoor Home security camera is a small indoor security camera that can be used either on it’s own, or added to the other devices in the Arlo range to complete your security system.
The camera is nice and compact in size, measuring approximately 11cm in height (including the stand) x 6.5cm.
The front face houses the 1080P, 130 degree camera lens which also has an integrated privacy cover, along with an LED indicator light and a microphone. There is also an integrated speaker so that you can use 2-way audio.
This particular camera does not have a battery pack, so needs to be connected to the mains and is done so via the included USB mains adapter which connects to the rear of the camera.
You can easily position the camera by simply tilting it in the chosen direction and the ball/socket connector will hold it in place. You have the option of using the simple desk/surface mount and placing it on a flat surface, or you can use the included wall/ceiling mounting plate that the camera slides on to.
***** In The Box *****
1 x Arlo Essential Indoor Camera
1 x USB Mains Adapter
1 x USB Cable
1 x UK Plug
1 x EU Plug
1 x Mounting Plate
2 x Screws and wall fixings
1 x User Guide
***** Installation / Usage *****
As with all Arlo products, I have found them to be very user friendly and easy to set up.
You simply need to connect the camera to the mains and then download and create an Arlo account or log in if you already have one. Then using the “Add New Device” option choose the Essential range and follow the simple instructions. I have an existing Smart Hub, so the app gave me the option of adding the camera to the Hub, which means it uses the hub’s wireless network instead of your own home network and also lets you capture video and store it locally.
A software update was available which I applied immediately – All in all, everything was added to the app in around 5 minutes.
The app works very well and there are lots of settings that can be customised to suit. Some of these include setting activity zones so that motion is detected only within a certain area, setting smart alerts so that people, animals or vehicles can trigger alerts and you can also setup package detection so that if a parcel is left on your doorstep, you will be notified.
You can of course view live video from the cameras and if you have an active subscription you can view up to 30 days of recorded video stored on the cloud. If you have installed a Smart Hub and a MicroSD card installed, you can also view recorded video from the local storage.
***** Conclusion *****
As with the other Arlo products I have used, the video quality is very good, both during the day and at night time and the 2-way audio works well.
The build quality of the devices is very good and the app which can often be a let-down with these types of product is very good.
To get the full benefit of this “smart” system, you will also need to pay a monthly subscription. You get a 3 month trial included with your device (which is a surprisingly good length), with the full subscription for a single camera that will record video up to 2k and let you use smart notifications it will set you back 2.49 per month for 1 camera, which isn’t too bad, but will soon add up when you factor in the fairly hefty 120 for the camera. The main features (phone alerts, basic motion detection and live video) work without a subscription, but to record video to the cloud and to use the package detection, you will need to pay.
I really like having the option to connect the device to my Smart Hub to save video locally to SD Card and the built in privacy shield is a nice feature.
All in all, a nice product but a little expensive for what it is and compared to other similar devices.
Just perfec
Very happy with the product. Easy to install, good clear view and sounds. Amazing
Ease of installation and set up.
Works well with our older arlo base station. Easy to set up and get operational. Will be interesting to see how long the charge lasts. So far so good…very pleased.
A good system which does what it says on the tin. Mine arrived with about 50% battery on them which was good to test.
Battery charging wasn’t a clear process as you don’t see it charging except on the app, until the LED comes on that is, showing fully charged.
The app is useful but you have to have a subscription. Reasonable enough as it’s not too expensive although don’t start your subscription until the free trial period ends as it will all be running at the same time.
The system is really easy to install and does take pretty much five minutes.
It is too soon to really give an in-depth review though as it has only been operational for a few weeks.
Great battery life - connects to wifi rather than hub
I really like this Arlo camera, more so than the ultra 2.
Reason being is that battery life really is very good. I get about 2 months from a charge.
The camera is a bit bigger but isn’t obtrusive.
the mount works well and the app is easy enough. You do need to pay a fairly steep subscription charge after the introductory three months but I do think it’s worth it.
Overall I think this is one of the best values in the Arlo range.
Much improved
After having a previous incarnation of the Arlo cam, I can honestly say this is a massive improvement.
Battery life is superb – the old one needed charging every 3 days, repositioning etc – a real faff.
This one is still on its first charge after 3 months.
Motion detection is good, and recording quality perfectly reasonable.
The only niggle remains – the cost of subscription is really annoying given the cost of the unit.
Arlo – you need to look at including this for at least a year in my opinion.
But overall, I am impressed with the improvements to the unit itself.
Nice security camera
This Arlo camera is small, light, simply download the free Arlo app and follow the short instructions to turn on the device, set up your profile, connect to your WiFi, and get up and running and takes fairly good video, even at night without any illumination, also has a pretty decent viewing angle. Picks up a wide angle view. Two way talk. You can add users to share your camera feed with.
Great, but it might be worth going for the 4k version, if you can afford i
1080p is probably just enough, but the 4k versions give more detail, though if you can’t afford it, I don’t think the 4k gives a huge amount more for the money. The picture, exposure, and “night vision” are all excellent.
Easy to set up, excellent picture quality and long battery life
My first impressions of the camera were of quality, the build is excellent and design looks very clean. It took about 5-10 mins after charging to setup and fit to my property. It uses your wifi to connect to your phone and the picture quality from it is first class which helps with the security aspect. I have used many cameras of this type and frankly the picture and battery on this far exceed those previously used of a similar resolution and type. The night vision is good and clear considering the lack of light and the motion detection works well. I must admit if I was looking for a good quality camera that lasts a long time on one charge I would certainly consider this among the highest contenders.
High quality and reliable
Nicely packaged and as per usual for any Arlo product. High quality and reliable.
Unboxing was satisfaction and as Arlo is a high-quality product it made whole process amazingly simple. Clear instructions are included, and setup is straight forward. Minor IT knowledge is required.
Camera worked after setting up immediately and no issues to me. All features are present and useful, night vision especially and at some points it offers smoother image/video than on daylight.
2-way audio is clear and works very well.
12- months battery life is to be tested but a month has gone, and it is still up and running.
UPDATE:
After getting my hands on the second set of Arlo cameras, to be more precise, set of 3 Arlo essential cameras I would like to add few more things to the review and compare them with Arlo Pro 4 set as I got them as well.
It seems that from the first review things and information about battery have changed a lot. First it was stating battery will last 12 months and then 6 months. Unfortunately as from other reviews as well battery lasts only 2 weeks to a month depending on activity and working hours of the camera.
Keeping that in mind, it is time to mention charging of the camera. Arlo Essential compared to Arlo Pro4 has micro USB port and cameras cannot be taken out of the casing but they need to be detached, brought inside, charged and put back to use which, for someone could be much work to do and loosing recording time.
Image quality for 1080p which is highest resolution of Arlo Essential is good. Expectations cannot be super high. Even then these cameras are in the higher quality range and 1080p resolution is a lot better than on some other cameras, if that makes sense.
One major thing I would like to mention and most of people are interested in is additional features like cloud storage, recording, richer activity notifications. Please keep in mind that you will not get any of these but free trial. After 30 days free trial you are left bare skin and will have to pay for all those features otherwise you will have only live streaming and few notification options.
I can’t fault these cameras at all and their price. These are high end, quality cameras and they do their job just perfectly and as described except few information like battery life. 3 Cameras as a set have roughly the same price as if you buy them separately so it is up to you to choose. Subscription and prices are acceptable as we can see Arlo is developing their products and bringing high standards to every day users and those who are after security systems
Good looking and convenient to operate via app
I was drawn to this system as it looked quite minimal, did not require the help of an installer, and it is relatively good looking for a security camera. My house has good kerb appeal, so I don’t like unnecessarily ruining its appearance with ugly security features.The cameras are very small, gloss white and smart, giving them a clean modern look without drawing too much attention.
It is easy to set the system up. The most difficult thing may be (if you have various areas you want to monitor) deciding where to place the cameras. I’m in a terraced house so there were very limited options, but for a large detached house with multiple entryways you’ll want to choose carefully.
I find the Arlo app pretty easy to use. You need to sign up for an account, then it guides you step by step through the setup, to connect you to your cameras via your home wifi network. It is convenient that you can operate the system from within the app, minimising the amount of faffing you need to do with the cameras themselves, especially since you may have installed them up high on the side of your house. I find it useful for checking the battery level too, as these need manually replacing every 6 months or so. This is the only real time you need to touch the cameras after installation, other than for cleaning.
The video itself is sharp, and daytime videos are shown in colour, unlike some security cameras which are just black and white, or colour but so grainy you can barely see what’s going on. Obviously shots at night time are black and white because they’re provided courtesy of infra red LEDs, although you can enable the spotlight if you want colour night vision. I suppose it depends what you’re trying to film as to whether a spotlight is ideal. It does give the video more clarity but obviously the infrared is more of a stealth mode.
The siren feature is quite handy, and I also really like that you can adjust the volume and duration, because what suits one situation (houses very far apart may want to alert neighbours to an intruder) may not necessarily suit another (my house is in a heavily populated area of terraces so it doesn’t require such a volume and would become annoying VERY quickly!) It can be triggered manually (i.e. you deciding to switch it on yourself via the app) or you can set an automation up to trigger the siren to sound when certain rules have been met.
The system can send alerts to you to view a video when motion is detected and you’re not at home, but that requires a subscription service, which I have decided not to do for the time being since I am home most of the time.
Apparently the system works with Amazon Alexa and Google assistant but I don’t use either so I’m afraid I cannot comment on its effectiveness in this way.
I’m happy with these cameras and would definitely recommend them to others. They aren’t the cheapest security set up you can get (especially if you decide to subscribe) but I find them convenient and they meet my needs.
Easy to setup
This connected to my existing Arlo SmartHub without a problem. However, the blue LED on the camera does occasionally flash indicating it has trouble communicating with it. This can happen even while you are successfully streaming video. A little bit annoying.
Also annoying the the requirement to enter your password to raise the shutter on the camera. The shutter can only be controlled remotely so it is only and indication of privacy rather than a way to ensure privacy.
The video is excellent and the lens is very wide angle. You need to ensure there is nothing nearby when you choose a location as it will loom large in the frame if you’re not careful.
Decent camera with good quality video
I bought as a replacement for another camera that died only a few months after purchase. Set up was easy as was installation. I have had to reset once as the WiFi dropped but seems ok since. Just make sure your router or extender is as close as possible for optimal strength. Motion detection seems ok and can be adjusted if too sensitive.The microphone seems ok, I’ve even spoke to the postman whilst at work. All in all for the price it’s a decent little camera with great video quality.
Good price
Excellent price of kit. Easy to put together, picks up motion very easily, picks up sound very clearly
I have it in the window of my sitting room so I can see who is near my front door or knocking the door. Only a slight delay of a couple of seconds.
I have found it invaluable and would recommend.
The audio can be switched off if you prefer to have it off.
Alert settings can be adjusted to your preference
Grea
High Quality Indoor Camera
I have been a fan of Arlo for a while but their Pro range can get expensive (even this Essentials range is at the high end of the market). I got this camera to replace an old ‘search company’ camera from a few years ago and have been pleased with how it has performed.
The camera is a mains only internal camera in a white plastic with black front. All the plastic is glossy so does attract dust unfortunately. To set up you just need to install the Arlo app and follow the prompts to add it to your Wi-Fi network. In the app you can also control the privacy shield (a fairly unique feature that actually slides a shutter over the lens), setup the Arlo subscription if required (you get 3 months free trial), share access to other family members, amend the camera settings and view any saved clips.
Video quality is excellent during day time and the night vision is also at the better end (although I do not use this as I point the camera out of a window and night vision IR LEDs glare). I have also found the motion detection to be very good with the notifications on Android zooming in to show the person detected when in ‘people’ mode. Other modes that can be chosen are vehicles, animals and ‘other’ with each being individually selectable – so you could have people and animals but turn off other motion for instance.
Overall this is a very good interior camera that has privacy focus at it heart with the privacy shield to protect form recording when you are in the house. It is not the cheapest (in fact as I said, it is actually one of the more expensive) but the camera build quality, performance and the app are steps ahead of the cheaper competition.
A must have in 2021
A great wifi camera that I needed for some time in front of the house for my car.
The motion sensor works well, you can adjust the sensitivity in the app, the spotlight is quite strong for night vision. The quality of the videos are really good, didn’t expect this good. Setting up is easy if you have basic technical knowledge/experience.
One thing i need to mention is that I don’t know how they calculate the 12 months battery life. I will need to contact support on that, because no way it lasts for more than 4 weeks. Of course it depends on the settings – how sensitive you want the camera to be and how often it triggers something, but still. Even with this battery life, it’s a good camera, after the trial period you will have a small monthly fee $2.99 for the storage and to have all the extra features. You can use it without the subscription fee as well, but then limited features.
Brilliant camera
This is an excellent camera, I have had it for the last few weeks and I am very happy with it. The spotlight really sets it apart from the rest giving you an extra layer of security and luminating dark zones when someone walks past. I have to in be the picture quality to be great, very sharp and clear and easy to pick out details.
One thing I like most about this is the app, which is a big part of smart devices like this. It is really easy to use and has a lot of features and settings you can customise. However, take note that some of the settings may drain the battery faster than usual. As I live on a quiet street the battery has performed well for me but the more it goes off the quicker it will deplenish.
Overall a brilliant device which gives you peace of mind, would recommend.
If you need a completely wireless, battery powered security camera then the Arlo Essentials XL spotlight camera might be for you.
The camera body is well made from a nice strong feeling plastic and is quite heavy due to its large capacity battery.
It is slightly narrower than the Ultra 2 cameras that I have, but quite a bit longer, making it a little less discrete and compact (Approximately 11.5cm x 5cm x 7.2cm (LxWxH at the widest parts)).
The front face contains the 130 degree camera lens and 1080P image sensor, an LED flood light, a speaker and microphone, as well as the infrared motion sensor.
The bottom of the camera features a button to sync the camera to the Arlo app, a MicroUSB charging port which is covered by a weatherproof rubber flap and a screw thread for mounting the camera. A second screw thread is located on the rear, enhancing installation options.
The camera stores video to the cloud (subscription required), but can be stored locally if you buy an Arlo base station or smart hub separately.
***** In The Box *****
1 x XL Essential Camera
1 x Mounting Bracket
1 x USB Charging Cable
3 x Screws and wall fixings
***** Installation / Usage *****
Installation is quite straightforward, which I have found to be the case with all Arlo products.
First task, is to charge the battery using the supplied cable (USB charger not included) and the second task is to Install the Arlo app onto your smartphone from the app store, create an account and then follow the simple instructions on screen to add the device.
Because I have an existing smart hub, the camera was added to it, but you can install the device without the hub and it will connect to your own WiFi network.
Upon adding the device, a firmware update message was displayed and installed within a minute or 2.
Once everything is connected and you are happy everything works, you can fix the camera into your chosen location. Being as this is battery powered and wireless, it is very simple to install.
The app works very well and there are lots of settings that can be changed to suit. Some of these include setting activity zones so that motion is detected only within a certain area, setting smart alerts so that people, animals or vehicles can trigger alerts and you can also setup package detection so that if a parcel is left on your doorstep, you will be notified.
You can of course view live video from the cameras and if you have an active subscription you can view up to 30 days of recorded video stored on the cloud. If you have a hub or base station, you can also view recorded video from the local storage.
***** Conclusion *****
The video quality and the ease of installation is very good, which I think are probably the main selling points of the product, so no complaints from me in this regard.
Wireless signal is as good as your existing wireless network (unless you use a hub), so if you have a mesh system, you should have no problem with coverage, even in larger houses.
As with my other Arlo cameras, battery life seems pretty good, although this will depend on if the cameras are placed in a quiet location. If the area is busy it will drain the battery a lot faster and will not last for the quoted 1 year. You can add a solar panel to keep the battery topped up, but this will add a further 50 or so. My main concern with the battery in the Essentials XL is that the battery is non removable/replaceable, so when it no longer holds a charge, you need to replace the complete camera that you’ve spend around 150 on.
To get the full benefit of this “smart” system, you will also need to pay a monthly subscription. You get a 3 month trial included with your device (which is a surprisingly good length), with the full subscription for a single camera that will record video up to 2k and let you use smart notifications it will set you back 2.49 per month for 1 camera, which isn’t too bad. The main features (phone alerts, basic motion detection and live video) work without a subscription, but to record video to the cloud and to use the package detection, you will need to pay.
So overall, I quite like the Arlo Essential XL and it is definitely worth considering if you need a battery powered camera. Although Value for money wise, I find the camera a little disappointing especially when compared to a wired setup. It will definitely not be replacing my existing wired CCTV system, but I will use it for extra video monitoring, due to the superior video quality.
Good Clear Video Recording With Clear Sound.
The first thing to know about this camera is that it has to be connected to the mains; it’s wireless for connecting to your, er, Wireless network, but otherwise has to be plugged in to work. There are advantages to this over the literally wireless Arlo cameras that I have installed on the outside of the house, it never needs recharging of course, but it does mean that you are a little restricted in its siting and outside is definitely a no no.
The camera comes with a stand that is stable and moveable, along with a wall mount bracket.
You can connect very easily to the Arlo app, which is straightforward and easy to use. The camera’s built in microphone is very good- picking up quite quiet noises and you can talk back through the speaker- so good to use as a child monitor, I think. The camera itself is excellent, both in colour and in night mode with motio detection (and sound) very efficient.
A Standalone Camera for basic security.
A good 1080p camera that can work out of the box straight to your WIFI network and on to your phone app, alternatively, and if you’re an existing Arlo camera system owner, it can connect to an Arlo hub and be part of your camera system that connects to the app. It has an internal battery in a sealed system but can be charged. Arlo boast 1-year battery life but I would charge this if I knew I was going to be away for any length of time, and because there are power management settings within the app, I would always go for video quality over any economic use of the battery, so check your charge levels. There are so many different settings to use with this camera and the options only grow with a subscription plan, you get a 3-month trial included, but if you are getting this just as a first camera, I would not even bother with a subscription.
The image quality is very good as is the audio up to about 20ft I had no problem. At night, the IR footage is OK and as expected, but when the spot light is on and in colour mode at night the footage is not perfect, it displays some artefacts and is not as clear, I am unsure whether this is because of interference from the camera to my router or not but I have a very robust WIFI set up so I think this is what you get from a lower resolution camera at night, oh and the spot light is so strong, if this doesn’t scare a prowler, it’s going to blind them. All in all, this is a good additional camera for an already existing Arlo ecosystem or if you have an Arlo subscription plan, as a standalone camera it’s OK not the best but OK. Over all this is a great entry level camera – I am blown away that I can have this up and running in straight out of the box, no subscription no hub no wires just me my network and a smart phone, very impressive and for that you get security with 130 cover in colour or in IR at night and it works pretty dammed well and you would be hard pressed to find all this at a cheaper price.
Effective standalone indoor wireless camera (VMC2040 'Essential Indoor Camera')
I’m quite a big fan of the Arlo range of wireless cameras, and have a few around my property (mostly the Arlo Pro style battery powered wireless outdoor cameras, which use a base station).
If you have one of the more modern base stations (the Arlo Pro range onwards I think), then this camera can also connect via that. But it’s not essential & can cloud connect directly as a standalone device.
This one is mains powered (no battery option). I’ve noticed they have several different devices under the same listing, so the Amazon reviews get mixed together – please check which specific device is being reviewed as they’re all different in terms of use / battery vs mains / etc. This device I’ve reviewed is the Arlo Essential Indoor Camera, product code VMC2040, which was selling for around 120 when tested.
Setup was simple enough – remove from the box, plug in, connect to WiFi and away you go. The instructions aren’t bad, but it’s even easier if you watch the various videos (including one from Arlo) which you can access online.
Video quality is reasonable, especially in daylight. It’s 1080p resolution, so technically HD, and the automatic settings (colour, brightness, focus, etc) all work well.
Night vision isn’t bad – as ever this hinges hugely on how much ambient light. The camera has integrated infrared LEDs so can operate in zero light, but if you have some ambient light, the quality is significantly better.
WiFi range is reasonable also. I’ve managed to get this connected 3 rooms away (stone walls) from my WiFi router – so it’s decent enough for most domestic properties.
If you want a standalone mains powered camera, I can certainly recommend this. My more general experience of Arlo kit is positive, and on the couple of occasions I’ve had issues, I’ve had no difficulty contacting them for technical support. So overall, they’re a company I’d be comfortable to recommend.
Arlo: Essential XL Security Camera
Introduction
The ‘Essential XL’ by Arlo is a wireless smart security camera which boasts several features:
* 1080p quality footage with audio.
* LED spotlight & night-vision.
* Smart notifications.
* Two-way audio.
* Long-lasting battery.
* Access footage anywhere (providing you have an internet connection).
Set-Up
To get the ‘Essential XL’ up and running, you will need to download the ‘Arlo’ app onto your smart device and create an account.
If you have a family member who also wants to have access to the CCTV, they can technically log into your account but it will log everyone else out, so essentially, only one person can log in at one given time. The alternative, is for the other family member to create their own account and you can “grant access” to them within the settings (it’s a very easy process once you’ve found it).
Simple click on “Add New Device” and select the camera model that is relevant, which in this case would be: ‘Cameras’ – ‘Essential’ – ‘Essential Spotlight Camera & Essential XL Spotlight Camera’. From here, the app will guide you through what you need to do so the camera can link to your WiFi. There is a part within the set-up process where you need to “show” your smart device to the camera so it can read the QR code; it needs to be around 8 inches away for the camera to register it (also make sure you keep it still for a couple of seconds so it can ready it easier).
The app will tell you the strength of the signal between your router and camera; when you move to the location you desire, keep it still for a couple of seconds to estimate the strength. My router is based at the front of my house and I was able to get strong signal from my back garden (about 14m).
Included is a wall mount (screws and wall-plugs included), so some drilling will be required. I would recommend giving the camera a full charge before mounting (mine was on at 63% out of the box).
Unlike the ‘Arlo Pro Floodlight’, this model connected very quickly and without issues; though it did require several minutes to update the firmware.
At the time of review, the camera comes with a free 3-month trial and costs 2.99 per month thereafter; this I personally think is very reasonable for cloud storage (video files take up a lot of space!). If you were to add additional cameras at a later date, the cost does go up further.
Results
Once the camera is connected, as long as your smart device has an internet connection, you can access the CCTV footage; how quickly will depend on your connection and how good your WiFi is.
The picture quality is decent as you can see everything clearly; it even picks up audio very well. For low-light situations, you have the spot light which helps for colour images or night-vision for black and white; both are effective; however, I manually turned the off the spotlight for low-light situations to save on battery.
There are a lot of settings for smart notifications to tweak, so you don’t get notified for everything that moves in-front; you can also set activity zones for specific areas. Arlo’s ability to recognise the difference between a person, animal and vehicle is incredible.
The battery life per charge will depend on how much activity is in-front and how many times the spotlight comes on etc… But with the right conditions, it’s advertised as a year on a full charge which is impressive.
Final Thoughts
If you want to add some security to give yourself extra piece of mind, then the ‘Essential XL’ is definitely the right choice; it’s packed with many features, the connectivity is good (albeit slight delay which is normal) and the output quality is very decent. Would recommend.
A HANDY CAMERA TO HAVE
This camera is well made was good when we put up just out of the window. We were happy as we could watch the birds and wild life in the garden worked well for a few days. After a few days we found the battery was and the WiFi were both giving a lot of problems. We could not catch the birds in the early hours on checking found the battery and the camera were not getting enough of signal and that the battery had to work harder. In our excitement we forgot to check all. We had to immediately make changes to the position and we then brought it indoors on the window sill and now got it set well. Surprisingly not only see wildlife but also managed to catch a peeping Tom thanks to this camera something we weren’t aware of. It’s very easy to set up with the app. It is a very sensitive camera for WiFi signal is concerned. After the initial battery scare now we are fine. The biggest negative is the camera has no SD slot and will have to think about the cloud rate. We will try putting it out in another month or so to see if we can work the correct position and will then review it again.
Easy to set up with a phenomenal battery. To those that said they could not set it up, make sure your phone or tablet is running on the 2.4 GHz part of your router, not 5Ghz. If need be just set up a guest network onto 2.4Ghz. and use that for set up as after you can control from 5Ghz.
The camera was found instantly has free three months of smart detections even though they do make things a little slower because it has to be processed by the server its not that bad but I’ve turned them off but the camera has excellent image quality, fantastic night vision with just the infrared, the spotlight is so bright I’ve had to turn it off because it will probably frighten the way the wildlife and disturb the neighbours. Well worth buying the XL for the extra battery life even though it’s bigger in length.
My only quibble is the mounting is really fragile and if you undo it too much it all falls apart which is easily done, the outdoor mount you can buy separately is a lot more robust. Also make sure you have a powerful charger preferably one that is Qualcomm quick charge 3.0 compatible as the battery takes a long time to charge otherwise.
Also a note on security your router really needs to have a setting called PMF because otherwise somebody can de-authorise your network and hack in via the camera, a lot of very modern routers especially AX (Wi-Fi 6) ones have that feature as it’s needed for the WiFi 6 standard.
A fantastic bit of kit from Arlo
What is it?
The Arlo Essential XL spotline is a wireless home security CCTV and this is the version with the battery that offers up to one year of life per charge.
As for the camera itself, it does 1080P HD video, 2 way audio, colour night vision, spotlight, motion activation and object detection (vehicle, person, animal, etc.).
The contents in the pack:
– Arlo camera
– Wall mount/stand & fixings
– USB cable
– Manual
How is it?
This doesn’t need an Arlo hub to install, it’s a standalone unit that’s ready to go – you hook it up to your wireless network via the Arlo app. It’s pretty simple to set up, the app takes care of everything.
As with all these cameras they need to charge out of the box, but the Arlo Essentials XL will let you know that it’s fully charged by showing a constant blue light.
Even with a very good WiFi connection there is a pretty big lag/delay from your action to the camera showing it on live view, but that’s to be expected. The App settings offer lots of tweaking to suit your ideal home setup, including spotlight on detection which I thought was pretty handy as a night vision capture as well as a deterrent. The spotlight is bright! I’m impressed from what looks to be such a tiny light.
Notifications from the app are detailed and concise which offers peace of mind when you’re out and about. Regarding video and photo resolution, 1080P is adequate but this would have to compete with many other brands offering the same HD quality at very competitive prices.
While it looks like there isn’t any local device storage (no internal camera storage, no memory card slot), Arlo offer a 3 month trial of cloud based storage to get you up and running. It does mean you’ll need to sign up to a payment plan once the 3 months are up, but a subscription service isn’t necessarily bad if it offers a number of services that benefit you.
Conclusion/Verdict?
I like the Arlo Essentials XL, the 1 year battery is impressive and the app is super intuitive so even the most novice of users can navigate around the app and access the camera when required. No memory card storage and 1080p limits the camera as we know Arlo do have 4k quality cameras, but overall this is a top notch product.
Great video quality and detection.
Been using for a few days now and I’m really happy with this camera.
The video quality is great and has very little delay, I’ve been using mainly during the day when I’m at work but when I get home the privacy mode shutter is great to avoid unnecessary alerts from the motion detection.
It’s also nice that the motion detection tells you what’s been detected, person, animal, vehicle. So I know I can ignore the notification if its just my pets messing around.
Impressive
Securely packaged and really good-looking cam. Very quick and easy installation and straightforward set up. This maybe wired but at least it saves me from recharging it in future and the cable is substantial enough if you wanna place the camera higher. Very stable connection, clear videos and the night vision is very impressive. Very sensitive in detecting motion and notifies you quickly with options automatically or manually to set off the siren which is really loud and call someone. This is our first indoor security camera (not counting baby camera) so we are really impressed. The app is quite user friendly too. Very easy to navigate. Comes with free 3 month smart trial too so it’a really a great way to see if you need the add-on service. This is really handy when the house is empty. Saves you from worrying what’s going on while you are away. Very easy to activate and deactivate the camera too for privacy. Really good features. Highly recommend.
I’ve owned & reviewed quite a few Arlo cameras ranging from the underperforming & disappointing original PRO series to my current system which is ULTRA. The Ultra is by far is the best (picture quality is amazingly good in both darkness and daylight), but it’s hefty price tag (along with the need for subscription services to unlock it’s best features) means its not the best in terms of those all-important value stakes.
Enter then the Arlo Essential Spotlight XL, which after using the camera alongside my Ultras for a few weeks now my conclusion is that it represents the best value of the entire range. The key difference between the XL and the Ultra are as follows (ultra figures first)
Resolution 2160p vs 1080p
Local video storage – Micro SD vs Base station required
Field of view — 180 vs 130 degrees
Battery — removeable vs fixed
Automatic tracking – YES vs NO
Apart form the above, both have colour night vision (essential), wi-fi connectivity (the XL does NOT need a base station), two-way audio, spotlight, built in siren, Alexa compatibility and lastly of course the price with the XL coming in at well under half that of the Ultra. Both cover the essentials any good home security camera should possess the difference being that the Ultra does it with more finesses, greater clarity and more options to fine tune. With this in mind, the key considerations before deciding which one to buy are as follows.
Firstly image quality — well in test I found the XL to be good, very good indeed. Yes, had I taken the attached image with my Ultra, you’d clearly see the individual leaves in the photo, but as you can see, the image is pretty clear and even though the back gate is a good 30 ft away I can see the locks when zooming in. Secondly, the often overlooked field of view. Here, the ultra-offers up to 180 degrees meaning it is superb for wide areas such as the front or back of the house, whereas with the XL, 130 degrees is the max. For areas such as monitoring the side of a house (as in mine), 130 is more than sufficient, but camera placement is always worth considering. Thirdly storage. With the Ultra you have the choice of using either a micro SD card or the cloud, whereas the XL offers cloud storage only which after the trial period ends will require subscription. And finally the battery — with the Ultra whilst the battery life is shorter than the XL, the battery can be removed for charging & with the camera left in-situ. With the XL it is fixed, meaning you have to remove the entire device to charge — a point worth considering if you plan to install the XL 100ft high!
In the case of both, one of the most overlooked aspects of Arlo’s security is the intelligence of Arlo Smart. Smart helps to mitigate many of the overabundant notifications other cams send out due to triggers and best of all it works! Set the camera to ignore animals for example, or only sound the alarm when it detects human movement and it will, simple as that. Sadly though for both the Ultra and XL these advanced, smart features are only available with subscription, but there again it really boils down to what you want, where you will use it and what level of cover/protection you require. We are rarely at home during the day, so for me the subscription with smart features works for us and the pricing isn’t too onerous for complete piece of mind.
To conclude, the above are my key takeaways worthy of consideration before deciding which one to buy. As a good all round basic camera with better than average 1080p picture quality, class-leading battery life, great ergonomics, a good price and the option to access Arlo’s class leading smart features, the XL is a great camera that will do the job, more especially if the intended use is for hard to access areas requiring a smaller field of view. Best value in the range thus far and as such – recommended!
This review is for the Arlo Essential Indoor Home Security Camera, other cameras may differ. The indoor essential camera comes with a wall mounting bracket, a charging lead and a choice of European plug or UK plug which could be useful for traveling abroad. The indoor camera needs to be plugged in, it doesn’t take batteries.
To use the camera you will need to download the Arlo app and set things up which isn’t too difficult. You get a 30 day free trial of the cloud storage of video clips and once your free trial ends you will need to pay 2.49 a month per camera, there are other subscriptions available but they don’t apply to this camera. It’s really not worth purchasing this camera if you aren’t willing to pay for the subscription so bear that in mind.
The camera itself is sleek looking, takes a good colour video when there is light and works fairly well in the dark too. I’ve added some night vision images for you to look at. The camera system uses AI to try to determine whether it’s looking at a person, an animal, a vehicle or a package and that seems to work quite well, even on night vision it detected my black cat and correctly sent an alert saying it was an animal. When it detects something moving it sends you an alert but annoyingly it keeps sending you alerts every few seconds as long as there is still motion detected. You can talk through the camera which is useful and there is a siren feature which you can set off from your phone to scare burglars away.
The camera has a nice privacy touch where a white shutter closes over the lens when the camera is not active as a visual queue that it’s not working. I did find though that it takes quite a long time for the camera to react to any commands you give it, so if you tell it to shut down for instance you will be waiting for a while until it actually reacts. Similarly when you want to look at live view for instance it takes a long time to react.
The app is pretty comprehensive and they’ve really tried to think of everything. There is a lot of built in security, even if you visit the website you have to approve it through the app. This is both good but also can be quite annoying. For instance you have to give biometric proof when turning the camera on, so on an iPhone that means facial recognition or your fingerprint.
When the camera is active you can see a small view on your phone or tablet (see picture) and there is no way to make that full screen which is annoying. The only way to view videos full screen is to wait for them to upload to the cloud and then play them back in the library, at which point you can turn your phone sideways to get a full screen video (see picture).
In summary, Arlo have really tried to think of everything and they are very tight on security. The app is pretty good apart from a couple of small niggles. The monthly subscription pricing is going to add up if you want to have several cameras, inside and out but I think the pricing is competitive with other cloud security offerings.
Broadband Speed is the issue - ongoing review
I unpacked the camera, fitted the unit in a location which would be easy for me to access but not so easy for an intruder and paired it with the WiFi. All good so far and now to check the performance over the next few days. We have NOVA WiFi mesh type extenders connecting all of our house, outbuildings and even the majority of our garden and therefore we do not find the WiFi issues that some reviewers have identified.
A couple of things we have noted already in regard to performance. We have fibre broadband, but live in a rural location with fibre to the cabinet (fttc) rather than fibre to the premises (fttp) and so our download speed at best is around 12 mbps and our upload about 0.5mbps. It really is not fast enough to transmit images at any speed to the cloud and renders the voice option redundant: not a fault of the camera itself, but one potential purchasers should be aware of, particularly as this camera relies on much faster upload speeds. We have a different re-chargeable system protecting our home and find that the combination of SD storage and only accessing WiFi to review live or recorded footage and receive notifications more flexible and significantly faster: that said the images from this system are far better than my other camera units. We have noticed though that the delay is so significant that by the time the camera starts to upload the image that the camera has missed it. I can only reiterate, that as far as we can see, it is our broadband which renders this unit less effective than it should be.
I have no negative comments to make about this camera as we struggle to test its performance properly at the moment. It has a light which is effective and when triggered enhances night vision makedly.
Unfortunately we have removed the camera as whilst I would happily keep it in place as a deterrent, as a Vine reviewer, I cannot provide an honest appraisal at this time. I have therefore installed the camera at my niece’s home and with her feedback I will provide a more accurate review.
Good price for a camera with a built in light!
Battery usage depends on the amount of daily triggers. Can sometimes get about 3 months out of it before charging- based on around 15 to 20 triggers a day.
The light is surprisingly powerful.
(But does drain battery quicker).
I would like to see a future Arlo with a built in solar roof slope design. (I appreciate these things take about 4 years to design, develop and get to market).
Good tip.
Turn light off (can do this in Arlo settings on the app), and buy a cheap 20 solar light and put that next to it. Will reduce the amount of times you need to charge.
It does exactly what its supposed to do. Motion sensor is brilliant, although fast moving people it misses. Night vision can clearly see people in pith black, even without the in built spotlight coming on. Battery life is ok, I charge ours using a USB Battery pack, so this saves removing the cameras to charge. Overall really pleased and very cost effective piece of mind.
Easy install and use, but without subscription reduced functionality overall.
Ease of setup, use and quality image day or night from small package. The lack of storage and need to purchase monthly subscription to get the fuller use of camera was why lost star. Older base station models still working but need additional cameras and these fit the bill.
Great, easy to set up camera
We are actually using it for the bird feeders about 40ft to nearest mesh node.
Great camera with good app
It’s a great little camera and good quality footage. The battery doesn’t last that long tho. I first placed it where I needed a ladder to get at it and after realising the battery lasts about 3 weeks in cold weather I’ve had to remount it under one of the upstairs windows for easy access to charge it. I have other brands of outdoor cameras with the same specs and they have the same issues with the battery life as well. The app is great and easy to use.
Works well as a stand alone camera, but had problems when I paired it with my existing camera base station.
I didn’t think that the spotlight range was as good as I had hoped, but black and white night time recording ie with the spotlight turned off isn’t bad.
Quality product at competitive price
Nice looking functional camera and easy to install. Slight delay on pictures getting to mobile device but I knew that was an issue before purchasing.
Seems to detect and alert everything in cameras view which is a little annoying even though I have blocked off areas where I don’t want alerts
Good camera, but fiddly to install
Should be straightforward to install, but we had to run the setup process many times, on several devices, before finally getting it added to our Netgear account. Once set up, though, it’s been fine – good image and audio quality, and motion detection seems very good. Having to dismount to charge with USB is a bit of a pain, but it would be the same with batteries. Overall, happy with this camera, but it could be easier to install!
Excellent produc
I was looking for a CCTV camera that was easy to install and operate. Having revied the Arlo Essential this looked like the perfect solution. Only had it for seven days but very impressed with the device and Arlo support.
Review
he image is 5 seconds behind,not the best image quality.incomprehensible and quiet sound through the microphone
Great Camera but!
It comes with a mounting bracket, screws, and a short USB cable. The camera is glossy black, LED light on the front, a microphone, and a speaker, and has a built-in battery.
The camera is small and feels robust, the picture quality is good and it was very easy to set up and install. The App is easy to use and does all that you need it to. It’s all wireless so there are no ugly, messy wires. Battery life is reasonable. You can control the camera with your Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant. However, there’s no local storage, you have to subscribe to a cloud. You can use the camera without recording if you want to watch out for the patio, garden, etc. Motion detection is very fast and notifications come in 2-3 seconds. If you try zooming in to anything though as it will pixelate. Also, the audio quality is too poor.
Overall, looks good, works well, has a tiny lag, and I find it ridiculous that it forces for a cloud subscription. There are many alternatives that have internal storage.
Ok produc
Camera battery life is really good, the camera we placed above our front door lasted over 2 months with multiple daily triggers.
You might be able to get the 6 months battery life out of them if you turn them on but don’t arm them or use them.
The built in lights are very bright which means the night vision turns off giving you coloured video even in the darkest area.
The only down side is the light can not be disabled and turns on every time the camera is triggered.
We had hoped to use one of the camera to monitor our dog while we were out or in bed but every time he moves in the night the ultra bright light activates and wakes him.
As an external camera these are great, they connect to the app quickly and the app alerts you to any movement quickly.
I feel these camera are really expensive for what they are especially when you add the subscription costs.
The paid features are good as tells you if a person or animal triggered the camera.
It would be great if they were able to be mains powered. There is a solar charger you can purchase for the cameras but if you have them in a dark area it doesn’t help charge the camera.
Good camera for door coverage
This camera is easy to set up using the Arlo app, which you will have to install on your phone. The camera easily connected to my wifi network. The app itself is complicated, and lets you adjust many settings. If you want recordings of what the camera detects, a monthly subscription is necessary.
There is a strong mounting bracket and screws supplied, so you can fix the camera to brickwork or woodwork. The mount lets you take off the camera, which you will need to do when it needs a recharge.
The camera is wide-angle, so objects or people more than a 2-3m away will look small on the video. The coverage is going to be OK to check who is approaching a door, but not for covering a wide area. Detection of anyone in front of the camera worked well every time, and the app gave me an alert.
Night vision was weak, illuminated by two LEDs, and anything more than about 3m away will be too dark to make out. When the LEDs come on, the camera is an obvious target, and an intruder will smash it at once.
obust & well built but locked into cloud service
These are initial my impressions, without the ability to asses longevity.
This camera is the 2nd battery powered type I have installed.
The packaging is secure and functional. It comes with a mounting bracket, screws and short USB cable. It doesn’t come with USB charger which is fine given that a standard 5v charger will work. It doesn’t seem to have a Micro SD socket for local recording.
Physically is it quite compact, but a bit deeper than I expected. It feels very robust and is well built. The securing mechanism on the mount works well and keeps it in place. The camera has one mounting point on its rear. As with other cameras of this type there is no locking mechanism to stop the camera from being unscrewed from the mount.
The Quick start instructions point you at the App.
The android app installed fine and is well presented. It allows you to control the camera, look at recording history and Arm/Disarm all Alro devices though the main pages.
There is an optional paid for cloud service which seems to be hosted by Arlo with various subscription levels / costs. The free service only allows live streaming and notifications if the motion sensor is activated. Useful if using just to monitor a door for deliveries but if recording is required then a paid service is needed.
You can by a local Arlo recording server which removes the need for subscriptions but I didn’t have that to test.
Can’t see a way to record to your own FTP server which means you’re buying into their infrastructure.
The image quality is good. It can record in light and dark conditions with motion detection. There is a motion sensitive LED so it will record in colour when dark. You can zoom in on the picture but quality does get reduced.
Good features —
Comes in Black so can be hidden better than white cameras.
Battery operated or can be USB powered.
Small and robust.
Simple setup and good App interface
Clear intercom.
Has LED light for illumination at night.
Can program motion detection zones.
Adjustable mount.
Big battery.
Website clear on pricing options for recording footage and can record continuously (at a fee) .
3 month Online service included.
Can be connected to n Alro solar Panel for continuous charging.
Bad features –
Camera can’t be secured to the wall mount so could be easily removed if mounted at a lower level.
Only works on 2.5Ghz freq. Wi-fi coverage is average.
Can’t setup own record to FTP function so locked into Arlo cloud service unless you purchase local hub.
Subscription service to use as security camera.
This is the budget offering from Arlo and although it lacks some of the brilliant features of the Pro version (magnetic fixing/charging, offline SD cardbackup and intruder follow) it is still as exceptionally well made as its bigger brother in its identical high gloss mold. The image quality isn’t too bad either. I have some Ring products and its one of lifes mysteries that they are considered premium product. Yes, they are owned by Amazon so are more integrated into most people’s existing set up, but build wise they are absolute tat compared to Arlos range. Whereas Ring spotlights have batteries (and flimsy doors that constantly swing open, for all to tamper with) Arlos are fully integrated and literally last months (rather than weeks) between charges. They really are truely exceptional and deserve to be the market leader.
Edit, 15 Oct 20. Now 4 stars, up from my 1 star review earlier.
By moving my camera a few feet my camera is now showing a stable 3 bar signal strength. After speaking to my builder, apparently there is metal studwork in the vicinity of where the camera was mounted and this was attributed to blocking some of the signal.
Battery life.
In just under three weeks my camera has dropped 20%. This was with on average one notification a day and me playing around with the settings, so overall not too bad battery life.
Old review,
Range is very poor. I’ve placed this camera on my conservatory so only 2 patio doors are between this camera and my top of the range router, about 6-8 meters away. I only manage one bar signal on the camera and when I draw my curtains I loose the camera all together, just keeps showing offline on the App. I really had high hopes for this camera as it’s battery operated so no drilling holes for power cables, just really disappointed with the claimed wireless range of the camera. Looks like it’s having to go back and I’ll be taking a look for another Camera.
bought for hubby was very happy with the product and easy to install
There’s a lot to like about these cameras. They look attractive, image quality is about as good as you’ll find from a DIY CCTV camera, and there are plenty of other positives — all covered in the description.
For me, though, the Arlo Smart Plan cloud subscription cost makes them uncompetitive. The only reasons I’d buy, vs. my Netatmo Presence cameras, are (1) for compatibility with other Arlo equipment I already owned or (2) the need for battery operation (but there are other battery cameras to consider). The two-way audio is useful too (Presence only offers a mic) except that, in my set-up, the cameras would be too far away from likely subjects.
You can’t really get away without a subscription. That’s mainly because there’s no local storage, but also because a subscription is the only way you get other key features that are standard with Presence, such as Person/Vehicle/Animal differentiation.
There are two subscription options but there seems little point in buying quality cameras and then storing clips at reduced image quality, so you pretty-much have to go for the 4K plan, and that costs 12.49/month for 2 to 5 cameras — call it 150 p.a. Even then you only get 30 days’ storage. I have a 35-night holiday booked in February, with little internet access, so want at least 36 days’ storage. Even if you don’t mind losing some image quality, and hence choose the 2K plan, you’ll have to pay almost 100 p.a.
If you need battery cameras, these are good. My Presence cameras are mains-powered; their mains adapters are plugged in to sockets indoors with wires through small holes in the wall to the cameras. Presence has on-board microSD storage and also lets you forward clips to Dropbox, a NAS drive or an FTP service — no subscription needed. Unlike Arlo, it offers pre-record, so you get a few seconds of whatever was happening before motion was detected. It also sends a thumbnail image to my Apple Watch of whatever triggered an alert. It isn’t perfect. There’s no speaker, for a start, it’s bulky because of the built-in floodlight, and isn’t pretty.
If you own other Arlo devices or really do need battery operation, this set of Arlo cameras is hard to beat. Quality is high and functionality is rich, if not fully comprehensive. They’re certainly worth the capital cost. It’s just that subscription that would stop me buying.
I hope that ramble helps a little, whether you choose Arlo, Netatmo Presence or something else.
Arlo Essential Spotlight CCTV 3 Camera system
I wold actually give this a 3.5 star rating. The camera’s themselves are lightweight and of decent quality. No fixtures came with them so i had to dig around and find my own, had I known, I would have made sure I had some – as such i could only install one camera. No instructions in the box – some written instructions on the box but these were limited. All the information is downloadable via the app you need to connect to your phone. The night vision light was limited in it’s brightness so i could jst about see things that triggered the camera off – mainly cats! The picture quality was actually pretty decent but the sound wasn’t great. I may re-install at another part of the house to see if that makes a difference. great thing is, it is all wireless so that is a bonus. Not a bad product at all and perhaps I would have given it another 1/2 star if so ch time wasn’t spent looking up and downloading information. Paper guidance would have been helpful but that just my opinion 🙂
Easy to use
My husband found this easy to set up onto our router part, which requires the 2g instead of 5g. Then installed on my phone. After that I was able to just tap the Arlo app on my phone and was surprised how easy it is to use. Received 3 cameras and one charging cable. Only one camera needed charging. So still to add that onto my viewing screen, when husband puts outside of front door. So have camera 1 indoors which I use to spy on the dog at the moment. Because she often decides to pull all the pillows off the sofa. When not in use I just point it away so the motion sensor doesn’t keep alerting my phone. Sound and mic work really well. Can now shout at the dog and tell the family dinner is ready whilst I’m still in the kitchen lol. Camera 2 is outside covering the garden. Nice clear picture and sound still. Can zoom in, but the further away then it starts to blur, which is expected when you have a big garden and camera is so high up anyway. Tap the corner arrow and it goes full screen on your phone. I found a delay up to 6 seconds or less on the actual live movement. Great feature is: where it points, you don’t realise it can actually see a far wider viewing screen then you imagine it would. So far battery life is excellent but time will tell. Great that you do not have to have wires connected off it. I can turn the motion sensor off when the garden is used in the day time and switch it back on at night time. Night time viewing very good as well. Have noticed some pixel mivenent and like it’s almost raining affect on the night picture viewing. Has stopped from seeing a clear enough picture though. Maybe wind hitting it? But if you snap shot it, then it doesn’t show up the slight defect movement. Which mainly on only on one part of the screen. Which also makes me think it’s the wind blowing over it from one side. Only thing I would be worried about is that they can be unscrewed and stolen. Not a problem at the moment with the camera high up and I can reach from opening the window. But outside my door most people will be able to reach the camera. Unlike me who will need the step ladder. Overall I am really pleased with it. Works great, easy for even me to use and access straight from my phone where ever I am at home or away.
Great product, great home security
first I will say I am using two sets of cameras I’m using.
Installation and setting up the app was simple. From start to finish it only tuck around 20 minutes. The camera system offers a wide range of settings that each user should deal with based on their requirements.
The cameras are small but heavy, these are not like older models there is no magnetic mount, these mounts screw on to the rear of the camera offering better protection.
Once up and running there is a small delay from activation to notifications, but it’s no different from many WiFi cameras, night mode is clear and I love the built in light and alarm. During operation, the system does what it should be
We are using the basic plan at the min, However, we have always managed well with the Basic account (up to 5 cameras and cloud recording of the last 7 days).
A Must Have..
This camera is so easy to set up,you can set it up in a few minutes for as longas you follow the instructions.Camera is very clear even on night mode bec. of the night light which automatically switch on when the camera detect any movement and you can switched it on remotely via phone is you want the night view to be coloured.It is also still very clear even if it is raining.Free 3 months cloud subscription is also a plus factor with this camera .As it is a wireless camera positioning it around your home is very convenient as you don’t need to drill a hole in your walls and no more messy wirings that most people don’t like on security cameras.You can also talk to the person outside your house for its two way speaker system.Sound the alarm remotely when notified and can call a friend if you need to in case of an intruder going to your house which is helpful. Love this.
So when you are Googling for ‘Arlo factory reset’, you know setup isn’t as simple as it should be! Took me about 3 hours to configure the cameras, having to get the password for the 2.4GHz WiFi then multiple resets of a camera which refused to be found.
Once the inevitable firmware update was out the way, setup could begin. With the pretty much essential subscription (7.99/month for up to 5 cameras) you get the cloud video recording on motion detection, alerts to phone plus parcel drop-off detection from one camera. I found the Android version of Arlo app OK to use, albeit with inconsistent user interface. One useful feature is linking ‘arming’ the motion detection to the GPS location of your phone, so cameras should auto-enable for motion detection alerts after you’re outside the GPS ‘home’ zone; I’d guess that’s 200m radius.
When you’re home, you can always open the app, connect to a camera and use the video/voice to speak to whoever is outside. Everyone says it take too long for the app to connect to a camera and start the live stream – I’d agree with that! Once connected video and voice quality on the ‘intercom’ is good. You can take picture, start recording, trigger the siren or illuminate the LED from the app too – from such as small unit, the ‘siren’ as loud as a mobile phone at top volume.
The batteries are rechargeable by USB lead, my cameras came part charged out the box. This means you need to mount the cameras where access isn’t too difficult so you can bring them down for a recharge – the guide says every 6 months but I guess that depends on using LED etc. I have seen solar panels with USB fly lead to trickle charge these units on sale on Amazon.
The cameras are sealed, but I placed under an awning, in the garage and in conservatory to give some protection from wind/rain. The USB is underneath and covered with a rubber flap. I have a D-Link DIR-655 wifi router with 3 antenna which allowed the Arlo cameras to pick up the 2.4GHz signal even outside the house.
You can link the cameras with Amazon Alexa, I guess one with a screen so you can see the video feed.
Overall Arlo is rather frustrating in that they try to ‘do an Apple’ with slick setup but it doesn’t always work, at which point you find there’s very little information to diagnose what’s wrong. For example, the camera which wouldn’t setup was ‘fixed’ by doing three factory resets. Also, if you want to get techy there’s no report on the IP address allocated to the cameras, I had to deduce that from my router.
All in all, I’d say this is still for ‘early adopters’ of the technology – expect to hit some problems along the way and work around limitations such as no 5Ghz WiFi. Also you will need to budget for the 7.99/month subscription unless you’re happy with these cameras as just video intercoms.
Self contained, wireless and rechargeable cameras , with very easy set up and app control
I’ve been using various security cameras for quite some time and find them to be increasingly important in the world we’re in now.
Most of mine have either been wireless that needed power or wired. This Arlo set are the ideal replacement for them, giving me the flexibility to place them around the house. Inside or outside, mounted or not.
The set comes with all that you need. 3 cameras with mounts and screws for mounting. The cameras can be easily removed from the mounts for swapping and recharging as needed. A USB cable is included for charging.
The cameras are very easily set up via the application. It finds your wifi, you give it the password and then it presents a QR code to show to the camera. Very quickly the camera attaches to your network and is discovered from the app.
From here you can monitor your camera live and also receive notifications from the camera.
The camera can be used to monitor various types of motion including people, animals and cars. For us this will come in very handy monitoring our dog when we leave it at home (for short times) as he’ll have got used to having us around all the time during 2020.
The app is very easy to use and it’s easy to find your devices and modify there settings.
The app comes from a free trial of their smart plan. The smart plan adds remote video storage. Without it you get notifications and live video but this adds cloud storage for keeping a track of events that have triggered it.
The cameras itself has very clear sound and vision and also night vision, making it very versatile. It’s also weather proof so ideal for usage outdoors.
For me this is a really good option. The wireless coverage has been good around my house and 3 cameras allows me to cover the most vulnerable areas of my home.
For 3 cameras, ease of use, quality of equipment and experience I would say this is definitely worth the money and very good for something considered to be their essential experience.
Perfect for DIY installatio
This is an ARLO essential spotlight CCTV 3 camera system wireless WI FI , 1080 video, colour night vision 2 way audio, 6 month battery life motion activated, direct to wi Fi no hub needed VMC 2330 . 100% wire free Simple to install in a range of locations built to withstand the elements two audio hear and speak to visitors using the built in speaker and microphone via the arlo app from wherever you are ,colour night vision and integrated spotlight .I think that’s enough of the technical stuff .what did I think . Well I downloaded the app to my phone and created an account linked the cameras to my phone following the instructions. Installed the camera’s to desired locations and that was it a really simple procedure and I was up and running. The camera’s worked perfectly as they should no problems at all . A really well designed system perfect for DIY installatio