topic How do I tell what kind of Arlo camera I have? in Arlo Essential Wire-Free Cameras

How do I tell what kind of Arlo camera I have?

itisme2 — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 17:35:22 GMT

I had a set of 5 GREAT Arlo cameras. but 1 quit working. I want to buy a new one. How do I tell what kind of Arlo camera I have? Pro? Essential? they all look the same & it doesn't say on the camera what kind it is.

Re: Arlo cameras

StephenB — Sun, 13 Oct 2024 11:47:35 GMT

@itisme2 wrote:

I had a set of 5 GREAT Arlo cameras. but 1 quit working. I want to buy a new one. How do I tell what kind of Arlo camera I have? Pro? Essential? they all look the same & it doesn't say on the camera what kind it is.

If the camera housing opens, then open one and remove the battery inside. You'll find a label.

If the camera housing doesn't open, then you have Essential cameras. There actually will be a small label printed on it - look around the charging seal and around the mounting screw. It is small, and low-contrast so easy to miss.

The other way to tell is to go into the support center of the app, select a camera, and scroll down to the product ID field. If you just see Hxx, then you are looking in the wrong place.

If you see "Library" in your app menu, then you can find the support center using this guide:

https://kb.arlo.com/000062461/What-is-the-Support-Center-in-the-Arlo-App

If instead you see "Feed" and "Dashboard", use this one:

https://kb.arlo.com/000062993/What-is-the-Support-Center-in-the-Arlo-Secure-App-Arlo-Secure-4-0

@itisme2 wrote:

I want to buy a new one.

If you purchased a while ago, you likely have legacy cameras, and will need to pick a different model.

Legacy cameras were sold with free 7 days of cloud storage, and all the recordings you see in the app and my.arlo.com are stored in the Arlo Cloud. Currently sold camera models don't come with that feature, so you will need a subscription for the new one.

Re: Arlo cameras

itisme2 — Sun, 13 Oct 2024 16:25:25 GMT

Thank you for the helpful info! I opened my camera & saw I have a Pro3.

Please help me understand the last part of your info. You wrote: "If you purchased a while ago, you likely have legacy cameras, and will need to pick a different model.

If I buy a new camera to replace my broken one, will I be able to use it with my other cameras? Will it work & give me a video when it catches something? I don't understand. I will have to buy a subscription for that one camera? But will it still give me a 'hit' if I don't have the subscription? Please explain. Will I need to buy a whole new set of cameras & a new basestation since this one camera broke?

Re: Arlo cameras

StephenB — Sun, 13 Oct 2024 17:51:14 GMT

@itisme2 wrote:

Thank you for the helpful info! I opened my camera & saw I have a Pro3.
Please help me understand the last part of your info. You wrote: "If you purchased a while ago, you likely have legacy cameras, and will need to pick a different model.

The Pro 3 is not a legacy camera, so it also requires a subscription for cloud storage. The comparable camera now is the Pro 5s.

If you do have a subscription, then the new camera will just be added to your existing subscription plan when the trial subscription expires.

But it sounds like you might not have a subscription now. Are you using direct access to local storage? Or do you simply not get recordings (just notifications)? Either way, if you get a camera compatible with your base, then new camera will work like the others.

https://kb.arlo.com/000062284/Arlo-SmartHub-and-Base-Station-Compatibility