topic Re: Pre-Purchase Questions in Buying Options & Tips

Pre-Purchase Questions

freedom76 — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 15:35:01 GMT

I'm interested in the Arlo system, but have a few questions for which I can't seem to find the answers. I thought I would try this forum rather than buying it and returning it if it doesn't work out.

I'm pretty concerned about battery life. If I have to change batteries very often at all, the Arlo system is a no-go for me. I'm not terribly interested in recording much video. I want the system to notify me when there is motion in my house. Upon receiving such notification, I can then use my phone or web browser to look through the camera(s) and see what's going on at home. Otherwise, I want the cameras to be inactive.

Is this possible? How long will the batteries last under such circumstances? Can the Arlo system be set-up to robo-call my cell phone in the event of motion detection? The robo-calling is a great feature of the iSmartAlarm system I have used before.

Re: Pre-Purchase Questions

TomMac — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 15:10:03 GMT

I'm pretty concerned about battery life.

Spec battery life is listed as 4-6 months with optimized video settings, and usage of 4 mins per day recording/viewing.... that being said, from what I see many are getting about 3 months +/- due to higher usage. I still have batteries in 2 cams that have been in since 2/24 but will say they are low usage; used when I go out to detect motion/record only .

I want the system to notify me when there is motion in my house.

Yes, the system will send emails to you if motion is detected ( or text messgs if you use your phone# as email address which is what i do ). It can also send pushes/alerts on ios/android products ( but there were some past problems of alerts if device was in sleeping mode, not sure if fully fixed yet)

I can then use my phone or web browser to look through the camera(s) and see what's going on at home

yes..the video clip are viewable when logged in, in the email , you also get a snapshot with the notice.

Otherwise, I want the cameras to be inactive.

The two default modes with the system are ALL MOTION ON ( detect, record any motion ) and ALL MOTION OFF (cameras do nothing, in sleep mode drawing almost no power ). You can add more modes for different cameras as you go. ( turn one on in room A, one off in room B, etc )

Can the Arlo system be set-up to robo-call my cell phone

No... it can not, but if you use your email on the phone or add a phone # as an email address, you can get texts.. They are pretty quick to go out

I prefer the sms text as it's very easy for me to see/reply over email... but you can have multiple email addesses in case you want the alerts to go to more than one person or two places for you.

Re: Pre-Purchase Questions

freedom76 — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 15:27:05 GMT

I appreciate the reply. In the ALL MOTION OFF mode, does that mean motion will not trigger any events, or does it just mean the cameras won't record? I want motion to trigger events without turning on cameras.

Re: Pre-Purchase Questions

TomMac — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 17:34:45 GMT

If MOTION OFF mode is active, the cameras are in sleep mode using almost no power, they will not trigger any alerts nor will they record

It's either turn on MOTION to get alerts and record or nothing.

You can set the record time to the min of 10 seconds tho.