Arlo Baby and Dedicate Touch Screen Monitor

[dsmythe]

My wife and I have an Arlo Pro system and are interested in the Arlo Baby. We also really like the dedicated touch screen so we could separate the Arlo Baby from our other Arlo's a little and because the live stream on the app times out after awhile and it would mean we don't have to dedicate our tablets or phones to streaming the baby's cam. We have a 9 week old, so we hope to get the Arlo Baby sooner versus later and noticed the version with the dedicated touchscreen monitor isn't on preorder and is said to arrive sometime in the summer. 

Questions: Is the current pre-order Arlo Baby model without the dedicated touchscreen able to function with the touchscreen monitor later? Will the monitor be sold separately as well so that we could pre-order an Arlo Baby now and then buy the touch screen monitor separately to go with it when it comes out or if we simply wanted a second dedicated monitor later?

[JamesC]

I do not currently have any new information on this products release. Keep an eye on the Arlo Baby Products page for updates.

JamesC

[Schreibz]

Looking like anyone who bought the device alone with the promise of getting a monitor later is out of luck. Classic move... Now the only way to get the monitor will be to also buy a new Arlo Baby. At least that's judging by the page that the admin just told us to go to for updates. No longer any mention of the option to purchase a monitor separately, only to buy both together in spring.  What are you going to do for us, Netgear? You promised something, that got everyone to buy your device and never delivered. This is a really bad look for Netgear... I have been recommending your devices to friends for the past year, but after this, I can't in good concience recommend a company that clearly tries to screw it's customers. 

[dsmythe]

I have had the Arlo Baby for several months now and I love it. It would be a tad nicer with the monitor too, but it's great without it and it's functionality, while imperfect, is largely fantastic. I looked at my neighbor's monitor the other day and it was vastly lower quality and without the vast majority of the features. My brother in law has gone through at least a few monitors with each breaking and being lower quality to my single one. I love that I can check on my little one with push alerts on my phone anywhere and I can take the Arlo Baby everywhere I’m going with wifi. I love that it can distinguish between regular audio (sometimes he babbles in bed) from crying (he needs me). Not to mention the white noise/other tunes, night light, air quality, humidity monitor and temperature gauge. I've done video chats with my wife and our baby. It's a great product. I use my phone and iPad as monitors and while I can't stream video for hours, I've never had a problem streaming audio for hours/all night (often when I sleep). I suspect at least a few complaints might relate to being unfamiliar with the functionality of the app (like being able to turn on audio that doesn’t time out easily vs. video that can) and becoming upset, rather than looking up how it works. The Arlo Baby has a surprisingly large number of features and controls and this can result in having trouble learning all of them, but once you know them, they’re great.

And while I'm looking forward to getting the dedicated monitor, it is nice to know I always have a monitor since I pretty much always have my phone. I don't know many, if any, other monitors that can do that and I have to carry 1 less intrusive device, not 2. 

The accusations of malicious intent are quite unfounded and bizarre to me. For example, this accusation they were listed separately, now aren’t and we are out of luck. I started looking into this 10-11 months ago and have never seen them listed separately. I started this thread for the sole reason to ask if they might be available separately at some point, and they affirmed they would be upon release. So, given I’ve never seen them listed separately, I have no idea why someone would comment they were and that has changed unless they mean over a year ago. Maybe I missed it, but i've looked pretty regularly for awhile. The only significant change I've seen is estimated release date, which is pretty common with new tech. Every time Canary, Arlo, Ring or a host of others have new products coming, they release “coming soon” “pre-orders”, etc. Sometimes those products are delayed. It’s pretty common. Estimated release dates aren't promises, so it’s pretty ridiculous to accuse them of "trying" to screw anyone over. It sucks, but I don’t see anyone offering a dedicated tablet with real time streaming like that, so I’m not going to complain that Netgear is trying to make sure it works optimally before release (i'd rather them wait than release something that works poorly). It is to their advantage to release a fully working product and in no way to their advantage to screw anyone over. 

[Schreibz]

Considering there are countless people who reference the standalone monitor, you must not have been looking for one very hard, but there was one originally stated for release when the Baby first came out. It was listed for $100 and was slated for release in Summer. I bought my Arlo baby back in June thinking that I would have a monitor before the baby moved to his own room and checked for updates almost weekly.  It went from Summer, to Fall, to now nonexistent. 

I do agree that the video quality and the device is nice.  I enjoy most the features that it comes with, but that doesn't mean we can't complain about it's rather significant shortcomings...  As for projecting people don't look up how things work, I personally do use the audio only function at night, why would I need to view the screen while I am asleep? However, it still cuts out. Last night, for example, I woke up two hours after I went to sleep and there was no audio playing anymore. I had to go to the app and start the audio back up, it did stay connected the rest the night. That happens roughly once a week, which doesn't sound too bad... Unless you are talking about a device meant to monitor a baby.  That can't happen, ever. I have thought about buying an audio monitor for this, but why should we need a separate device to go along with one of the more expensive baby monitors that doesn't include a tablet out there? 

One thing I am interested to know though is how often you see the baby crying alert, as oposed to the audio detected in baby's room. Maybe I am doing something wrong, but I have only seen that alert a few times. The first time was one of the first days and I thought it was awesome, but now can't remember the last time I saw it.  So if you have any tips on that, please let me know! 

[adambean]

I'm confused, are we now to understand that when/if the monitor is released, it won't be available as a stand alone purchase? That can't be right.

[ChicagoOutfit]

Netgear, you really had better offer a stand-alone tablet when you launch (even if it’s just for registers users). I own two, very good Arlo Baby cameras... and I do NOT want to have to purchase another camera with a tablet. That would be a truly ridiculous request of current owners. Better re-think this... it was listed as a $99 accessory for months.

[adambean]

See attached.

I purchased two Arlos under the impression that we would be able to buy the monitor later.

They will release it stand alone, have faith. @JamesC, some clarity would be appreciated.

Thanks

[mwittkopp89]

Has anyone heard anything more about the dedicated touchscreen?  I recently purhcased the Arlo and it would be nice to have the dedicated touchscreen monitor.  It seems like they first started advertising this monitor last year with an expected release date of Summer 2017, now that summer and fall have come and gone, do think there is an end in sight for the touchscreen monitor?  

[tomncincy]

I've kept quiet on this issue for some time now hoping that Netgear would resolve this without the need for legal action but my patience is running out. If this product is not made available as a standalone purchase by the end of the 1st quarter of 2018, I will have no choice other than to seek judicial relief.

It angers me to no end that I'm going to need to retain counsel at a significant expense to myself  however, make no mistake that I am unwavering in my resolve on this matter and I'm fairly confident that I will be able to recover legal fees when all is said and done.

At  issue here are two potential liabilities that  Netgear management should take serious notice of. First off by failing to make the touchscreen monitor available for purchase, Netgear is forcing parents to stream video of their minor children over the internet via servers that we can only assume are secure.

The second issue is the reliability of these servers because by forcing consumers to stream through remote servers, any service outage could expose Netgear to serious liability should this service fail resulting in serious injury or God forbid death of a child. Why would any company openly subject themselves to such a potential liability? Greed and arrogance come to mind.

James, I know that you monitor the community forums, so I'm going to request that you to pass this on to Netgear manamagement and encourage them to reach out to me. It's my sincere wish that we can come to a satisfactory resolution to this issue not just for myself but for everyone that purchased the Arlo Baby device with the belief that Netgear would make the touchscreen monitor available for purchase to consumers that wish to purchase one.

If someone from Netgear management or thier legal councle wishs to reach out to me on this issue, they know how to contact me other than that, this is the last I have to say on this subject other than to emplore Netgear not to test my resolve on this matter.

Please understand that I am not looking to receive any financial gain here other than the recovery of expenses I might incur resulting from legal action should that course of action be unavoidable. What I will be seeking is to persuade Netgear to either provide a free monitor in a reasonable time frame as decided by the courts or be required to buy back the cameras from consumers that were duped into purchasing the Arlo Baby when it was released, with the belief that Netgear would make the touchscreen monitor available in a reasonable amount of time, which they have not by any definition legal or otherwise.

Respectfully,

Thomas R. Mitchell

[pobo123]

Thomas I will gladly join you. I too have put them on notice and have requested the exact same thing you have 1. A free monitor or 2. Buy my camera. This is unacceptable on all levels and after my twins screamed their heads off for more than 2 hours and my wife had to go see a counselor because she felt like such a terrible mom due to the camera failing (disconnecting) and is not hearing them I will gladly spend money to make a point. Class action is the way to go here. Rely to this post if you would like to join forces.

[rader]

I'm in. Been beyond infuriated with this issue as long as I can remember. Bought this as soon as it came out with promise of the dedicated monitor. Basically don't use in the house. Where is the promised monitor? I bought in to Arlo ecosystem because of baby. Would have gone another way likely had I known this. About $850 invested in 5 cameras plus baby. NETGEAR, you need to make this right.

[bradpeschel]

It appears that Netgear has released a new model number of the Arlo Baby with Apple HomeKit at CES. The landing page for Arlo Baby shows it to be Coming Soon.
ABC1000A vs ABC1000R6
I see that current cameras will have a firmware update pushed. Hard to tell if there are any differences to the hardware.

[F2W12]

+1 Thomas

I bought this thing via preorder and have suffered through the issues ONLY because of the promise of the dedicated tablet. And as each release date gets pushed further out, I find myself, almost a year later, wondering why I have put up with this for so long. We’ve all apparently been duped, and at the expense of our children. If they don’t fix this, and soon, they’ll have another customer seeking restitution through any and all legal means available to me.

[pobo123]

---

dsmythe wrote:

I have had the Arlo Baby for several months now and I love it. It would be a tad nicer with the monitor too, but it's great without it and it's functionality, while imperfect, is largely fantastic. I looked at my neighbor's monitor the other day and it was vastly lower quality and without the vast majority of the features. My brother in law has gone through at least a few monitors with each breaking and being lower quality to my single one. I love that I can check on my little one with push alerts on my phone anywhere and I can take the Arlo Baby everywhere I’m going with wifi. I love that it can distinguish between regular audio (sometimes he babbles in bed) from crying (he needs me). Not to mention the white noise/other tunes, night light, air quality, humidity monitor and temperature gauge. I've done video chats with my wife and our baby. It's a great product. I use my phone and iPad as monitors and while I can't stream video for hours, I've never had a problem streaming audio for hours/all night (often when I sleep). I suspect at least a few complaints might relate to being unfamiliar with the functionality of the app (like being able to turn on audio that doesn’t time out easily vs. video that can) and becoming upset, rather than looking up how it works. The Arlo Baby has a surprisingly large number of features and controls and this can result in having trouble learning all of them, but once you know them, they’re great.

And while I'm looking forward to getting the dedicated monitor, it is nice to know I always have a monitor since I pretty much always have my phone. I don't know many, if any, other monitors that can do that and I have to carry 1 less intrusive device, not 2. 

The accusations of malicious intent are quite unfounded and bizarre to me. For example, this accusation they were listed separately, now aren’t and we are out of luck. I started looking into this 10-11 months ago and have never seen them listed separately. I started this thread for the sole reason to ask if they might be available separately at some point, and they affirmed they would be upon release. So, given I’ve never seen them listed separately, I have no idea why someone would comment they were and that has changed unless they mean over a year ago. Maybe I missed it, but i've looked pretty regularly for awhile. The only significant change I've seen is estimated release date, which is pretty common with new tech. Every time Canary, Arlo, Ring or a host of others have new products coming, they release “coming soon” “pre-orders”, etc. Sometimes those products are delayed. It’s pretty common. Estimated release dates aren't promises, so it’s pretty ridiculous to accuse them of "trying" to screw anyone over. It sucks, but I don’t see anyone offering a dedicated tablet with real time streaming like that, so I’m not going to complain that Netgear is trying to make sure it works optimally before release (i'd rather them wait than release something that works poorly). It is to their advantage to release a fully working product and in no way to their advantage to screw anyone over. 

---

Here is where it is listed separately and has been since the start! https://www.arlo.com/en-us/products/arlo-baby/display-monitor.aspx

[rwinter]

On the arlo baby page, it's now listed as a combo available Spring 2018, for an additional $150.

 -- 

Description

This Arlo Baby combo set will be available for purchase in Spring 2018. Join our pre-order list for future updates on availability!

https://www.arlo.com/en-us/products/arlo-baby/default.aspx

[DavidsonMK]

Got the email saying I could pre-order my Arlo security light. Wouldn't it be nice to get the email that says "Here's your free Touch Screen Monitor for being such a loyal customer. Sorry that your baby is almost a year old." 

[kaza86]

Can netgear please provide an update on this item? I also bought on the promise this screen was "coming soon"

[Brett37]

I also purchased the Arlo Baby on release with the promise of the dedicated monitor to come out shortly after.  That was in May 2017.  My son is already 9 months old and I do not even use this camera.  I cannot return it.  I tried to use it for a short period but it kept disconnecting along with the delay.  I prefer not to drain my phone battery.  I only bought because the monitor was suppose to come right after.  I ended up buying another camera with a dedicated monitor that we use.   Very dissappointed.

[F2W12]

@JamesC It's been another 2 months since your last update of having no update. My daughter is almost 10 months old and I've had to buy additional products from other companies to help supplement your seriously flawed product. I would have returned this thing long ago had I known that each delay would cause the release date to continue to be pushed back further and further until I no longer had the option. Each time there was a delay, I gave you people the benefit of the doubt, that the next "projected" release would be accurate. 

I want to know right now what the projected release date is, as well as what you are going to do to compensate all those who have had to suffer through these issues with no updates, little support, an complete indifference.

[Moodyj]

Although I am quite upset about the multiple delays from the company I can appreciate that this can happen. It still indicates poor planning, poor project management, and from what I have seen poor communication with your customers thus jeopardizing our trust in you.

So while I am upset, I simply had to jump ship and sell my (3 days out of Best Buy return policy) monitor for a 30% loss in value. I still believe in the company but I no longer am invested in your ecosystem and if you could do something to make this right that would be great.

Jon,

[Pmrodriguez]

Is there any information on when the touch screen monitor will be available for the arlo baby? The last I’ve seen is summer of 2017. And that has long past.

[Thomaswgoodwin]

This is incredibly dissapointing. I have been a NETGEAR customer ever since I can remember. I have been sitting on a slew of Arlo Pro 2 cameras that I purchased in hopes to set up a new security system when my first child arrived in February. However, this thing has been so poorly managed by NETGEAR that I may be forced to figure out how to return all of my cameras to either Bet Buy or directly to NETGEAR. My daughter deserves better than this, as does all the poor people that bought the Arlo Baby under the guise thy the product would be made whole within a reasonable time. NETGEAR really needs to step it up here. Otherwise, I will be looking to recoup the roughly $1,000 I have into the Arlo system as well.

[mwittkopp89]

i have had the Arlo Baby now for about three months and we have had out little one now for about three weeks.  We also have a set of Arlo Pro cameras around the house. In the limited time we have used it, we have managed to get by without the tablet for the following reasons.  

1.  Arlo motion and sounds notifications are clutch and work very well and are very reliable.

2.  We have a Amazon Echo Show, that is integrated with Arlo and allows us to bring it up on the screen.  Its glitchy but once its running it works well.  I am sure Amazon and Arlo will work out the glitches over time.

3.  Just recently, Arlo integrated with Chromecast so you can view the Arlo stream on your TV if you have a Chromecast.  That features has been really nice as well - It too is glitchy but over time it should fix itself.  

4.  If we want to have a live stream up with limited delay, we use an old cellphone of ours that has been reset to only have the Arlo App on it.  

Note: There is about a 5-10 delay when viewing via Echo Show or via Chromecast but that hasn't really bothered us.  Our delay on our phones is down to a little under 2 seconds so we haven't really had any issues that way.  

These are the ways we have managed without the dedicated tablet.  We do hope they release it at somepoint but until then we are making due without.  The features (music, night light & sensors) & stream quality definitly outweight the negatives we have experienced.  This monitor in my opinion is still the best on the market and will only get better once and if they finally release the tablet. 

[JamesC · Accepted solution]

Dear Arlo Baby user,

First of all, we would like to thank you for being an Arlo Baby customer. We hope that this product has been a valuable addition to your family and keeping you close to your little one. Our ultimate goal has been to create the best, most innovative smart baby monitor in the market. Since the product launched in May 2017, our product and engineering teams have been working on improving connectivity, response time, and adding background features to make using Arlo Baby a delight for you to use every day. We recently launched our integration with Apple HomeKit to provide even more ways for you to make the most out of the product.

We wanted to let you know that we no longer plan to release a dedicated display monitor. Instead, we are offering people who bought an Arlo Baby a $30 coupon for an Amazon Fire HD 8 Tablet (16GB, With Special Offers), redeemable on Amazon.com. We think this tablet is a great alternative to the Arlo Baby Touchscreen Display. It works great with the Arlo app, offers great image and audio quality, and is Alexa-enabled so you can take advantage of the voice control capability offered by Amazon Alexa. If you would like to take advantage of this offer, please reach out to the Arlo Customer Support team. Please be prepared to provide your name, email address, and your Arlo Baby serial number/MAC address which can be found under the camera. Once our team has been able to verify your ownership of an Arlo Baby camera, we will respond to you with a one-time use coupon. This offer is only available to owners of Arlo Baby cameras registered before March 31, 2018.

Warm regards,
The Arlo Team

[farrellw]

While this is great in theory, what about those of us that have already done this.  I don't need another tablet.  I want a refund for the product that was supposed to be a complete solution.  Please contact me at your earliest convience to reutrn all said arlo baby products, so I can find another solution that will work.

Thank you,