Many people write a review, and say it “just” fell short of 5 stars. Arlo isn’t like that, it consistently falls short of 5 stars in a number of areas. It is 4 star, and probably consistently enough. But it definitely is not 5 star. Here, I’m Going to focus on the App, and not the system. The system has its own advantages and disadvantages. The quick word, is it may be the most “solid” platform. But is let down by overpriced and underperforming batteries (don’t give up, I’ve finally solved a chronic dead battery issue thanks to a cheap Chinese charger. Watch out for how the market screen definition. I have an Arlo Pro 2 system marketed as Full HD which should mean 1080p I have a 720p system. Their marketing is definitely misleading. Anyway, back to the App. 3-4 years in, the spinoff from Netgear, a hyper competitive marketplace, new delivery options, and…..very little has evolved here. The app is basically the same. Which is good in the sense that they packed a lot in to begin with, and haven’t “needed” to add much. But they have needed to add more than they have. Theoretically, HomeKit support now exists, but is patchy. Authentication and sharing is simple and consistent. However, some of the smart AI features are a joke, oh, and racially biased. My golden Labrador is well recognised as a person, but POC are commonly classed as Animals. Absolutely appalling in this day and age. “Parcel detection”, forgeddaboutit, no, seriously do, because Arlo does. It is absolutely head and shoulders above the cheaper Chinese competitor sets. It has had no major privacy breaches in my time of ownership. It is solid and stable. It’s 4 star. But it is a long way from 5 star.

Everything was working fine until latest app ‘upgrade’. Now Ultra cameras only record and stream in 2K (despite being 4K capable). Forget about using sunrise and sunset settings for arming schedules as there is no recognition of daylight savings based on location nor ability to change UTC settings. If a camera feed is lost, the app must be closed and re-opened to refresh the feed. Goodbye to custom arming modes, you now only have 3 available. And lastly, the ability to see the WiFi signal strength based on camera position has been taken away from device settings, so you can only determine that when initially setting up a camera. Yet again another poorly tested and executed app ‘upgrade’. If you are considering security cameras DO NOT purchase Arlo; the hardware is good quality but the app is total rubbish (and gets progressively worse with every app ‘upgrade’) and you need to subscribe to an overpriced subscription plan in order for your costly hardware to be functional, e.g. to set activity zones. It is clear that their business model is to gradually remove all functionality such that most features of already expensive hardware will not be useable without a costly subscription, and from repeated app ‘upgrades’ you will waste countless hours of your life troubleshooting or on hold to Support that are still working on info from the last app. This is a company that clearly don’t listen to their customers. Spend your money elsewhere.

From the moment I first installed a second hand Arlo 4 - camera system I have had peace of mind with the security of my warehouse in Brendale. I didn’t realise the full functionality of the cameras until I really started monitoring them, and when I needed to check out particular movements of a staff member one day. As I was watching the cameras, seeing them automatically follow the subject, zoom in and pan left or right when required, gave me the feeling these cameras had their own brain! The technology inside the white Arlo casing surprised me. I can hear conversations clearly, see movement at night in full colour, and zoom in or out as desired. I can even have a conversation with someone through the camera-as clear as if I was talking to them in person. I just went and purchased another system today for our home, and this system doesn’t require a head unit physically plugged into the modem-it’s entirely wireless with only requiring a wifi connection! So out of the 4 new cameras, I can have 3 at home and add another to the warehouse, and have full access and connectivity through the app on my phone. Arlo gets 5 stars and a massive YES from me. Thanks for the peace of mind!

It’s great most part however the camera’s detect the wrong things. Stating it’s a person when it’s an animal ie: my horses walking about. We are relieved it’s our horses however it does give you a scare as it’s says it’s a person. The charge on them is good but I may think of adding a solar back up due to having animals triggering it so our’s wear down quicker but it’s around a two week charge with them being set off. It can take a while to log in at times for some reason, when it’s alerted so your thinking hurry up. So for that it’s a 4 out of 5 for us, However this is one of the best camera systems so far we have seen and had. You can also talk to people on it whilst they are in front of it or like me talk to your animals. When talking to your animals it’s hilarious as they then start looking around for me. The glitch is minor it would just be great if it came up with misc rather then saying it’s a person or vehicle at 1am when it’s not. It’s shows as a vehicle for our rooster which is also funny. Most part it gets things on point, we would still buy it all over again as it outshines everything else on the market. Hope that help’s.