what are the differences between smart hubs 4540 and 5000 and how to choose which

[Alfonsob]

how do I choose which smart hub to use for essential wireless cameras ?

[StephenB]

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@Alfonsob wrote:

what are the differences between smart hubs 4540 and 5000 and how to choose which

how do I choose which smart hub to use for essential wireless cameras ?

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The main benefit of the smarthub is the direct access to local storage.  If you don't care about that feature, then you don't need a smarthub at all (since the cameras can connect to your home wifi).

Both are compatible with the first generation Essential cameras:

• https://kb.arlo.com/000062284/Arlo-SmartHub-and-Base-Station-Compatibility

However, if you mean the new Essential Gen 2, then I would wait since those are not in the current compatibility list.

There are two differences:

1. The VMB5000 has a microSD slot for local storage, the VMB4540 has a USB slot instead
2. The VMB5000 is dual band (2.4 ghz and 5 ghz), the VMB4540 is 2.4 ghz only.

The Essential cameras are 2.4 ghz only, so the second difference doesn't matter for them.