Cameras - Inherited with house purchase- How can I activate?

[Ellensue]

I bought a house with several Arlo cameras installed. Previous owner did not leave any information about them. Someone told me I might still be able to use them by connecting to an Arlo App. They were installed by the home builder, sometime between 2013 and 2019. What what I need to know and do to determine if these are still useable? Any help appreciated!

[jguerdat]

Those sound like old cameras that may use 4 CR123 batteries. Take one down and open the battery compartment to see what battery is installed - could be either those 4 or a square-ish rechargeable one. In order to get these to possibly work, there would also have to be a separate box (base station) marked either as Arlo or Netgear, depending on the age. If you find one of those, usually where the router would be placed, what are the LEDs on it showing? Before you can use it, the original owner would need to remove it from their account so you can set it up as your own.

Find out about the batteries and the base and we can go from there.

[Ellensue]

Thank you! I will see if I can find a base station and contact the home builder (to release account). How would the builder do so? Is there a phone number or email I could give them that they could use to contact Arlo and make that happen? I doubt they still have an Arlo App. (They finished building this community on 2019 and are no longer onsite.)

I will post, again, for next steps, if I am successful. Someone coming to my house to climb up and get a camera down on August 4th. Much appreciated!

[jguerdat]

The account holder, whether the builder or the original occupant, would use their Arlo account to remove the devices so you can use them. However, without the base, nothing is going to work so if you can't find one you'd have to buy one to be able to use the cameras.

[Ellensue]

Can you tell me what the base would look like? Is it a free standing device (like a router or modem) or might it be inside a panel. There's a panel in a closet crammed with wires (outside says "on-Q" that I believe the builder put a bunch of stuff inside. Wondering if it might be in there? If not, what's the approximate cost of a new base? Do I have to purchase a plan to reactivate these cameras? (Hopefully, I will get the info about the cameras on Aug. 4th, when a handyman I've hired climbs up to investigate the details.) 

Also, when I contact the builders, if they still have an Arlo App, what instructions should I give them so that they release the account to me? If possible, I'd like those detailed instructions, please.  

[jguerdat]

The base could be in various shapes or sizes but likely looks like this and likely is right next to the router and is connected by an Ethernet cable:

https://www.arlo.com/en-us/accessories/VMB5000-100NAS.html

Cost is ~$150. If you're setting them up for the first time, you should get a free trial subscription but will have to purchase a subscription once that runs out.