topic Re: Essential Outdoor Gen 2 Camera (VMC3050) not recording to my Feed in Arlo Essential Outdoor 2nd Gen

Essential Outdoor Gen 2 Camera (VMC3050) not recording to my Feed

cac1281 — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 21:51:38 GMT

I received an Essential Outdoor 2nd Generation camera for Christmas. I already have an Arlo Base and 2 Arlo Pro cameras plus a doorbell that's hardwired (I don't have the doorbell set up for motion detection because I don't need it.) Everything was working fine until the other day, I noticed that the Essential camera stopped recording motion detection to my Feed in the app. My other two cameras still continued to do so as normal. I noticed that the Essential is detecting motion- it lights up when you stand in front of it, and it sends me notifications that it detects something. But nothing to my feed. I realized that the Essential is linked directly to my Wifi, not my base, and that it is currently not compatible with my base. My assumption is then that I was running under some kind of trial that ended, and now I have to buy a subscription in order for recordings from the Essential to post to my Feed? Is this correct? Assuming a future firmware update allows my Essential to link to my base, will it then post motion detection to my Feed? Thanks in advance.

Re: Essential Outdoor Gen 2 Camera (VMC3050) not recording to my Feed

JamesC — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 23:53:17 GMT

cac1281,

When you first install your 2nd generation camera, a trial is automatically applied, providing the benefits of an Arlo Secure subscription plan. Once that trial expires, you will need to purchase a subscription plan to continue enjoying those benefits. You can read more about this here: https://kb.arlo.com/000062312/What-options-will-I-have-when-the-Arlo-trial-ends

While a firmware update is planned to allow 2nd generation devices to connect to base stations and smarthubs in the future, you will still need a subscription plan for content to be recorded and stored in Feeds.

JamesC

Re: Essential Outdoor Gen 2 Camera (VMC3050) not recording to my Feed

cac1281 — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 17:10:40 GMT

@JamesC Thank you for the reply. At least I understand the issue now, even if it's not the solution I wanted. To be honest, a large part of the appeal of Arlo was the lack of requiring a subscription. I can get cameras from Amazon that will do what I need it to without a subscription. I am now wondering, are there Arlo cameras still on the market that I can possibly replace my 2nd generation one with? Keep in mind, this was a gift. I did not purchase it myself, so I had no direct input into the selection of the camera, so it's not like I failed to do research, etc