Arlo Pro4 Wireless Outdoor Home Security Camera, CCTV
Arlo Pro4 Wireless Outdoor Home Security Camera, CCTV, 6-Month Battery, Colour Night Vision, 2K, 2 Way Audio, Built-in Siren, No Hub Needed, 2 Cam Kit, 90-Day Free Trial of Arlo Secure Plan, White
From the brand
Arlo Security
| Weight: | 316 g |
| Size: | 2 Pack |
| Dimensions: | 7.84 x 5.2 x 8.9 cm; 316 Grams |
| Model: | VMC4 |
| Part: | VMC4250P-100EUS |
| Colour: | White |
| Pack Quantity: | 1 |
| Batteries Required: | Yes |
| Batteries Included: | Lithium Polymer |
| Manufacture: | Arlo |
| Dimensions: | 7.84 x 5.2 x 8.9 cm; 316 Grams |
| Quantity: | 1 |
| Size: | 2 Pack |
I’m committed to the Arlo camera system; and bought this Arlo Pro 4 2k Camera to fill in a gap in my home. The Arlo Pro 4 has all the same benefits and detractions as other Arlo cameras. overall, I keep improving my system; and I am happy with the overall solution; though I hate the way the cameras batteries recharge – I can’t complain that the battery life is months long.
Using Arlo as a system has been fantastic primarily thanks to what is probably still the best home Camera surveillance app. It isn’t perfect but includes some great features; and most importantly has been easy to configure from day 1; adding a camera just works; Apple HomeKit just worked, adding rules for when the cameras are activated when I leave the house it all just works as you would expect. (Though on the proximity-based system it’s a shame it doesn’t support apples In./ Out of the house feature which has a far smaller geographic circle to trigger it than the default Arlo one.
I dinged this camera as the magnetic mounting kit doesn’t feel as positive as their screw in thread options on other cameras I have.
As you would expect video quality isn’t as good as the 4k cameras it is eminently useable and you can zoom in and still have reasonable quality if you need it. If you don’t need higher zoom or want to watch the feed maybe; the 4k cameras aren’t worth the extra expense. This works well day or night; triggers an alert and has a spotlight that activates on movement and is easy to add into an existing Arlo system.
I had no idea how awesome this camera would be. I have it installed on the other side of the world and connected to a solar panel – I can keep an eye on people coming and going from the house and it picks up animal movements perfectly. One camera covered such a huge area that I didn’t really need all 4 that I bought.
My camera has been running for 6 months trouble free now. Very happy!
These are very good quality cameras good picture quality good app and batteries las a long time , no complaints at all
Anyway, I decided to use that system elsewhere, so upgraded to a Pro 3 at home. This was a disaster almost from the word go. Recording would stop at random, sometimes for half a day or more, and I soon tired of climbing up a ladder to reset different cameras. I also had charging and battery issues. This was so bad, that I returned the whole system as unfit for purpose and got a refund (thanks, Amazon).
After some hesitation, and reviewing other systems, I took a chance and went for the Pro 4. And, so far, so good. I do get very rare drop outs, but these seem to have diminished recently. Perhaps Netgear have improved their servers at last? Also, with the 4, there is no need for a hub, just a decent wi-fi signal, so I guess one fewer thing to fail. I did have a problem where I cancelled my Pro 3 subscription, and found that my Pro 4 free 3 months also got cancelled. Some time arguing with support finally got this resolved, but they would only get 1 star from me if that aspect (support) was listed in these reviews.
Be aware that the connection for the external power has changed (for the better, in fact – the old Pro cameras had a USB connector which was extremely difficult to use in conjunction with the ridiculously close mounting screw), so you will have to buy new accessories at extra cost. And be aware that a standard 5V USB charger won’t work, you need a 9V one.
Fingers crossed that this review won’t be tempting fate, but I believe it’s worth letting people know. Be prepared to put up with some initial frustration, and don’t rely on tech support, but once working, this is a decent, if expensive, system. I like the idea that in the worse case of a break-in, and a trashing of the hub, router, etc., the images should already be safely online (if you’ve paid your subs, of course!), and you can share them with other Arlo accounts.
Seems to do everything it should. No secure mount with camera has to buy one separately. Accessories seem expensive on top of a premium price for the camera
A very good camera setup for those who don’t want to be drilling / running cable etc. batteries are holding up well to cold temperatures. Be sure to check the battery levels and reduce motion sensitivity if draining quickly. Works well due to my own WiFi mesh network having good coverage of property; it would struggle in a property without one so be mindful of this when purchasing
This is a fantastic product. We were paying high maintenance charges for an old-fashioned burglar alarm which kept giving false alarms when spiders set off the detectors at night. But we were genuinely concerned whether the Arlo cameras would be an adequate replacement, whether we would be able to fit the Arlo cameras to external brick walls ourselves and whether they would work at all with a larger property with very slow and weak WiFi. We need not have worried as everything turned out to be easy and to work well.
We love everything about this product especially the geofencing feature which arms all the cameras automatically when we move away from the property and we have set them to come on overnight too. We have the cameras set to detect people and animals and we love checking every morning to see what animals have been detected overnight, mostly foxes and cats in our area so far!
One area where Arlo could still improve though is in giving more advice about how high to mount their cameras and how to point them as we had to learn this ourselves by trial and error. This was particularly the case with a camera at the front of the property where it was quite tricky to get it to detect movement in the front of the property but without it being triggered constantly by people or vehicles walking or moving on a public road nearby. We also have hard bricks which are difficult to drill into but it turned out the solution was to drill into the softer mortar between the bricks instead. Some simple videos to advise on such issues would have helped a lot. We also hope that Arlo keep maintaining these products on the market by providing security updates for many years into the future, they owe this to their customers.
However we repeat that this is an amazing product and the relatively high initial cost is easily justified by the ease of diy installation, the amazing performance, the very good app and the relatively low monthly cost of monthly cloud storage and we are very happy with our Arlo doorbell and cameras.
I am so impressed by this security camera set, I really want to ensure I do it justice so may continue to update this review as I go.
The box is smart and everything was packaged really well.
The camera comes with thorough installation instructions, drill some holes and the cameras click in and that’s it with the physical bit.. just ensure you charge fully before putting in place.
Next you’ll need to download the app and sync the cameras with your wifi/phone. You’ll need to create an account at this point, this is where you can upgrade to subscription if you want to but its definitely not needed. I’ll add the pricing options in my video. You get 3 months subscription free.
That’s it, no reciever hub.. just the cameras and your phone. You can have more than 1 phone with access and to receive notifications.
Once you’ve done the above you can set the area you want to activate the camera and notifications for. I live in a London terrace where the door is directly on the street with a primary school at the end so as you can imagine being able to set a boundary is invaluable! To be honest it was these reasons what had put me off getting a camera before I discovered Arlo.
The notifications are good too, how it differentiates between a person, animal, motion, package and even when package has been taken away… its so clever!!
I should add you can view live anytime by opening the app and selecting the camera you want to view.
The notification is instant and I can speak clearly to the caller or delivery driver if I’m not able to get to the door and they can speak back.
There’s also a siren option to deter possible intruders or unwanted visitors!
The footage is clear in both day and night, can be saved and/or downloaded as needed.
I am fully invested in the Arlo Camera system and wanted to upgrade to these Pro 4 camera.
Really disappointed that the 3 pack comes with only 1 charge cable. Very cheap of Arlo to cost cut like that. The other annoyance is that only 2 of the mounts are magnetic with the other one being a screw in type, again another cheap cost cutting.
Now I am finding it very different to obtain 2x 1m charge cables and 1 magnetic mount.
Advice to those buying multiple Pro 4s, consider buying individual packs so you are not left short of accessories.
The 3 pack looks like better value but in the end will probably end up costing me more per camera, plus the inconvenience.
This camera system has excellent detection and can be adjusted to include or eliminate smaller animals like cats, and as the field of view is very wide it can be narrowed to exclude things like moving branches or bushes when it is windy otherwise there can be hundreds of videos of nothing except moving greenery. Video quality is very good both day and night, I know the rounds of all the local cats that come through our property.
A couple of minor points to be aware of. 1) I did not find that the set up was very easy in that I had to force the camera to find the router, the page by page instructions didn’t work. i.e On one page it said “if the camera doesn’t connect click here.” I had to do that most times. Also in one case the software update took hours for some reason 2) battery life is definitely not 6 months, I have had them set up for only 1 month and the fully charged batteries are between 50-60% so battery life looks like 2-3 months. It’s not a big deal as the cameras are easy to get at but if ladders are needed it becomes more of a pain to keep doing. At the least the camera keeps sending out messages to my phone when charging is required.
When looking for a wireless security system Arlo seems to fit the bill. Very easy to install and the integration with the app works extremely well.
Battery Life
the claimed 6 month battery usage between charges is very optimistic and i can only assume this was carried out under extreme circumstances, so for real world use its very doubtful. That being said we get about 6 weeks from ours which are in constant use with pets etc. Im still more than happy with this time .
After lots of research, the Arlo system ticked all the boxes and have to say not disappointed. Very easy to install (also bought the wired bell) and easy to use. Good battery life, great picture, and good support from Arlo ( needed some help wiring bell)
Easy to use and easy to set up, this model doesn’t need a hub or subscription it is quick to arm and send notifications , make sure you dont buy one that needs a hub or you will spend twice as much
Loads of good points for the cameras.
Great quality video
Reactive notifications
Stylish
8.99 a month is far less than a security service.
But. The battery life Is pretty poor. No way it would last six months. And the set up. What a pain, if it disconnects it can take three or four times for the cameras to reconnect.
However, once they are all working. It is an amazing service.