Wifi or Base Station connection better?

Sk8dada — Thu, 25 Aug 2022 23:11:54 GMT

I'm looking to expand my Arlo security setup. After reviewing Arlo Essential cameras, I notice they give option of either connecting to Base Station, or to WiFi router directly. I have a new Netgear Nighthawk gaming router that I believe would have better range than the Base Station 4000 that I currently use with Arlo Pro cameras. Has anyone tried the difference to see if there's an improvement in signal strength? To my knowledge, there's no way to extend the signal on a base station. However, I can most definitely improve my home's wifi range.

thx, -Matt

Re: Wifi or Base Station connection better?

StephenB — Fri, 26 Aug 2022 11:14:37 GMT

@Sk8dada wrote:

I have a new Netgear Nighthawk gaming router that I believe would have better range than the Base Station 4000 that I currently use with Arlo Pro cameras.

That's hard to say. Overall, the power of all routers (and the VMB4000 base) is regulated (with different power limits in different countries). So the actual power of the WiFi radio would be the same in the base and the router.

Though the MiMo in the router might give you a better quality signal at the camera.

If you have an Android phone, you can look at the signal strength of the base wifi and your router at the camera location - there are several free wifi analyzers. There are also some available for Windows (netspot being one I have used). There are no free ones for iOS (Apple doesn't provide the needed tools in their API). Not sure about Macs (I don't own one).

@Sk8dada wrote:

To my knowledge, there's no way to extend the signal on a base station. However, I can most definitely improve my home's wifi range.

Correct on both accounts. The only way to get more reach with base stations is to get another base and place it closer to the cameras. It needs an ethernet connection back to the router, and the bases do not form a mesh - you need to manually pair the cameras to a specific base.

The tradeoffs as I see them are:

+ I believe you will get a bit better battery life with a base (as long as signal strength is good).

+ Base stations offer the option of local storage (either as a backup or only storage)

+ In your case, the base includes a Siren

- Base Stations take more space, you need a place to put them

- Base Stations can't easily be extended.

? Controls work a bit differently. With a base, scheduling, geofencing, and modes control all cameras connected to the base (though you still can set different cameras differently). With wifi connectivity, cameras are independent. While people often find the setup more complicated with a base, once it is set up it is easier to engage the mode you want. For me, this is a plus for the base. But I've helped a lot of folks here who struggled with the complexity of modes+rules, especially when layering on schedules and/or geofencing. So it's not clear whether this is really a plus or a minus.

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Wifi or Base Station connection better?

Re: Wifi or Base Station connection better?