topic Re: Arlo pro 3 and smart plan in Arlo Pro 3

Arlo pro 3 and smart plan

Frag333 — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 22:38:21 GMT

Hello. I have the Arlo pro and vmb4000r3 base station. I am looking into purchasing the Arlo pro 3. Will The new camera be fully compatible with the older base station? If yes are there any limitations or functionality I will be missing? What are my options if I do not want to use the smart plan? I do not like that there is a 10-15 second delay in notification due to having to send the information to your servers and back. Because these cameras are for home security, I need the notifications to come through immediately like they do now with my older camera. Thank you.

Re: Arlo pro 3 and smart plan

jguerdat — Fri, 17 Jan 2020 15:09:25 GMT

Your base is compatible with the Pro 3:

https://kb.arlo.com/000062253/Is-Arlo-Pro-3-backwards-compatible-with-my-existing-Arlo-system

The camera will work in the same way as your existing cameras. Any delay will be the same - there is always the connection to the servers and back. The cameras/base do not send you the alert - the servers do.

Re: Arlo pro 3 and smart plan

Frag333 — Fri, 17 Jan 2020 18:46:36 GMT

Thank you for the reply. But with the older models, we do not have a subscription service and there is no smart plan. Meaning the camera does not have to send to the sever to be analyzed( person, animal, etc) so there is no delay. I get a notification in about a second. Every post I’ve seen regarding the smart plan says there is a long delay because of this analysis that takes place. I don’t want the smart plan and I don’t want the analysis. I just need the system to alert me immediately if it sees motion. And after spending a long time reading through posts on here it appears this a huge issue and complaint. Before I shell out several hundred dollars I need to understand if I can get around not using the smart plan.

Re: Arlo pro 3 and smart plan

StephenB — Sat, 18 Jan 2020 00:31:34 GMT

@Frag333 wrote: I need to understand if I can get around not using the smart plan.

If you were to purchase a new base (VMB5000 or VMB4540) you could use direct access to local storage. https://kb.arlo.com/000062337/What-is-Direct-Storage-Access-and-how-do-I-use-it

Re: Arlo pro 3 and smart plan

Frag333 — Sat, 18 Jan 2020 12:41:56 GMT

That could be an option. Are you able to view your library the same way using the app?

Re: Arlo pro 3 and smart plan

StephenB — Sat, 18 Jan 2020 20:47:41 GMT

@Frag333 wrote:
That could be an option. Are you able to view your library the same way using the app?

You can (the steps are in the kb article). But you can't view the local files from the web client.

You would also lose thumbnails, which is a problem for a lot of people.

You do need to either forward a port in your router or use a VPN to connect to your router in order to view the videos when you aren't connected to your hone wifi network.

Re: Arlo pro 3 and smart plan

Frag333 — Sat, 18 Jan 2020 23:01:17 GMT

That’s sounds like a real pain. Might have to look into the Ring cameras. The more I read here, the more I see complaints and bad customer service.

Re: Arlo pro 3 and smart plan

StephenB — Sun, 19 Jan 2020 23:49:18 GMT

@Frag333 wrote:
Might have to look into the Ring cameras.

AFAIK, Ring doesn't offer any storage for any camera unless you have a paid subscription.