I am interested in getting an arlo setup. I would love to hear from folks that have already pulled the trigger. How are the arlo camera’s ?
Are they detailed enough to identify someone captured on camera?
Were they easy to set up?
Would you recommend them?
Any drawbacks?
How long to batteries really last?
ETC
I was interested but the battery thing was the deal breaker for me. It looks great though from the posts I’ve seen here.
Why was that a deal breaker ? I like the idea of not running wires outside my home.
Another option for a wireless battery operated camera is Blink brand.
Mounting it outside then having to replace batteries was a no go for me. A mount it and forget it would be the ideal setup in my situation.
I see I am assuming it will alert me when batteries are low so I can still sort of forget it. I have to check that out.
I like Arlo 1 week storage of video. Blink is a 10 second clip that might miss the action.
Arlo, for me, was a great idea/concept but just poorly executed. Sure it will vary based upon your needs, but the delay in recording was a killer. I’d get notifications and by the time it had recorded the actual person/thing that set the motion detection off was gone out of the frame.
I also stuck one up a tree in my back garden (again, great concept that would be hard to replicate on other wired systems) but by putting it high enough so that someone couldn’t just steal it, the motion detection didn’t work as the range wasnt great enough.
If they could get the recording delay down then I’d re-invest, but I sent mine back to Amazon and went with some PoE CCTV cameras instead as reliability was more important than mobility in this case.
That’s a problem. I thought it was continuously recording based on the 7 day video storage but no I realize battery life would be terrible if it was always recording. So I agree with your opinion and this is a no go for me. Thanks for the feedback !!!
I need to find a better solution because I want this primarily as a security camera system.
Yeah, and it failed spectacularly at that. I’d get lots of notifications with nothing in it - parcels would be delivered the guy would walk up the drive, drop the parcel off and walk back off our property and then it would start recording so I’d get nothing at all.
Massive shame as its quite a nicely built system. I’ll keep an eye on Arlo as if they can cut that delay down (it would need to be quite a bit though to be fair), i’d buy again for sure.
SmartThings integration does allow you to overcome the delay by using other sensors to trigger the recording. OK, not ideal, but it IS a solution. You can also trigger recordings based things like doorbell presses, gate openings, etc.
Is there any “Brand” that’s always on and has motion triggers? I would assume they would at least need to be wired to power. Either POE or something like that. That hooks into the smartthings world well?
Are some of the Dlink models like that?
I know Ring has an outdoor one that has solar power charging for battery? (I think) not sure how it hooks into smartthings.
Interesting but I don’t trust Smart Things for any of my Security. Too many bugs and failures.
Arlo is not for everyone and every circumstance, but I am quite happy with my Arlo cameras especially since I can integrate them with Smartthings. I am not noticing any delays in recording video nor notifications except sometimes the cloud is slow. I can’t control that. I use mine to monitor my front and back porches in case someone is trying to pry open my doors or pick the locks. Integrating with Smartthings allows one to save on battery drain by controlling when the cameras are on or off. Otherwise, Arlo will pick up every movement and start recording, thus wearing out the batteries rather quickly. It takes some experimenting to get both systems working exactly as you want but be sure to go through each area in Arlo and edit everything to set it up like you want.
Arlo fits a unique niche that allows one to have camera video without having to run a lot of wires and/or have power outlets at every camera.
Smartthings is not my primary security system but it is a compliment to it in that allows me to do a lot of things that the main security system won’t and it lets me use a lot of devices to customize my home security and automation that the security system will not allow.
I’ve had 4 Arlo cameras operating since June 21 of this year. Battery life should not be a concern to you. My batteries all show 79% to 85% after 3 months. That means they should last close to a year. Winter will probably shorten their life, however.
I only bought ST after the Arlo integration was announced, and I have them working together fairly well after a lot of experimentation. I think ST helps battery life since I can now shut off the cameras when not needed, which the Arlo application couldn’t do automatically.
I don’t have the Security SHM being triggered by the outdoor cameras, as I got too many false alarms. That is controlled by door sensors (and indoor motion sensors when we’re away). But I use a Custom SHM to trigger recording by motion outdoors.
If you’re looking for true wireless then cleaverloop is not the answer. It requires a power wire like most other cameras. Blink and Arlo are wireless. If you’re going to have to connect a power wire, what about the Foscam or Dlink cameras?
My main requirement is a system that works for security. I don’t mind running power. But my home isn’t network wired so I need wifi. So cleaverloop is an option. I currently have foscam but I don’t like the offline storage for these cameras (I have old models). I like the Dlink and I really like the option to record data to the dlink storage device they have but that device needs a networked connection. So it make it hard to hide the storage, if the thief can just steal the storage device it makes it somewhat useless. Cleaverloop has free offline storage for 7 days of clips which I like.
Arlo - Like but delayed video is a deal breaker
Blink - OK but 10 second clip seems too short, No local storage, can’t record when watching live video
Foscam - I have experience with these and currently own two indoor units. Mostly happy with them but outdoor units are hard to wire with a huge wire bundle. I have also found these to be buggy at times. They are a strong contender but I would like something with cloud storage included if possible.
cleaverloop - Has local storage of clips onto an SD card and can record 24/7 video onto an attached hard drive, has cloud storage, negatives include inability to record live, cloud storage is just clips
dlink - has local storage but no cloud, ip camera so plenty of live view apps which can record
I like cleaverloop because of both local 24/7 recording and cloud clips.
Dlink is a strong option but lack of cloud concerns me I would have to hide the base much better in this case.
Ring Stick Up is another contender for anyone looking for truly wireless outdoor cameras. Not sure if/how they play with SmartThings though.
Canary Flex is supposed to come out in November.
Interesting I thought they only made doorbells. $30/year cloud recording isn’t bad but no local recording so if cloud gets expensive or they fail your done. But a good deal for now.
Same issue cloud but not local. Cloud only 12hrs for free is sort of silly. $99 for 1 week is better.