topic Re: Paid subscription - Is it now a requirement ? in Arlo Pro 4

Paid subscription - Is it now a requirement ?

Sakima13 — Sat, 21 Oct 2023 16:21:21 GMT

I have had Arlo Cameras for years and never paid a subscription. Is this now a requirement to have a paid subscription?

I have not been able to access my camera library since today 10-20-23.

Re: Paid subscription - Is it now a requirement ?

StephenB — Sat, 21 Oct 2023 17:37:26 GMT

@Sakima13 wrote:

I have had Arlo Cameras for years and never paid a subscription. Is this now a requirement to have a paid subscription?

I have not been able to access my camera library since today 10-20-23.

Legacy cameras (the original Arlo WireFree, Pro, Pro 2, and some others) were sold with 7 days of free cloud storage.

Arlo stopped offering that on new camera models about 5 years ago. All currently sold cameras need a subscription to get that storage.

Re: Paid subscription - Is it now a requirement ?

Sakima13 — Sat, 21 Oct 2023 20:21:36 GMT

If someone used a smarthub would that be the solution to a subscription? I really do not care about storage.

And is there a way to delete a post after posting?

Re: Paid subscription - Is it now a requirement ?

StephenB — Sun, 22 Oct 2023 01:32:39 GMT

@Sakima13 wrote:

I really do not care about storage.

You said you wanted to see your Library - which is what the cloud storage is used for.

With no storage, there is only live streaming.

https://kb.arlo.com/000062312/What-options-will-I-have-when-the-Arlo-trial-ends

@Sakima13 wrote:

If someone used a smarthub would that be the solution to a subscription?

There is a direct access to local storage feature that some use as a substitute for a subscription. It requires a VMB4540 or VMB5000 smarthub.

In my opinion, it offers a rather poor user experience. Limitations include

Recordings only available from the app (not my.arlo.com)
Recordings only available from the primary account (not "friend" account)
No ability to take snapshots or make manual recordings
No thumbnails - videos need to be downloaded to the phone before viewing
Remote access requires router setting changes that some find difficult (and which don't work with some internet service providers).