are arlo cameras basically useless if you don't purchase a plan?

[Jt4bama]

recently purchased arlo cameras and now discovered they are useless unless you pay for one of their plans. 

BEWARE very misleading company

[jguerdat]

The need for a paid plan is on the box, in the documentation and has been true since the Ultra cameras were released in 2018.

[JamesC · Accepted solution]

Jt4bama,

Once the included trial subscription expires for your cameras, you will need to purchase a subscription plan to continue enjoying the same benefits offered with the trial. For more information on this, take a look here: https://kb.arlo.com/000062312/What-options-will-I-have-when-the-Arlo-trial-ends

JamesC

[VancouverBC]

Yes, need for subscription applies to doorbell cameras too. For the price you'd think you'd get some cloud storage. But it's similar for most competing manufacturers. They are all using a similar business model of subscriptions. Also there is no reduction in the purchase price when previously I'm sure the purchase price paid also was a one-time purchase for cloud storage into the future. The monthly fee adds up over time.