Arlo Pro 2 Camera Capacity

[MDK74]

I have a Pro 2 VMB4000 and have 4 cameras attached to it. I have two questions.

1) What's the maximum number of cameras I can attach to the base station?

2) Since they don't sell the Pro 2 anymore, can I attach a Pro 4 or other current camera to this base station?

Please let me know. Thanks.

[StephenB]

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@MDK74 wrote:

1) What's the maximum number of cameras I can attach to the base station?

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Not sure what the max is - there is a limit of 5 simultaneous streams.

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@MDK74 wrote:

2) Since they don't sell the Pro 2 anymore, can I attach a Pro 4 or other current camera to this base station?

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Yes.  The Pro 4 can also be connected directly to your home wifi. 

Either way, you will need a subscription for cloud storage (unlike the Pro 2, the current cameras all require a subscription to get any cloud storage).

[jguerdat]

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@MDK74 wrote:

1) What's the maximum number of cameras I can attach to the base station?

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In the ancient past, 15 cameras was suggested as a reasonable max. That was not based on a hard limitation but as a performance issue as the hardware would be taxed to keep adding cameras. I've had around 10-12 devices on a single base and SmartHub with no issues.

As above, only 5 simultaneous streams are supported so more bases may be needed in certain situations.

[MDK74]

Thanks StephenB and jguerdat.

Regarding the need for a subscription, I'm a little confused. If I have 4 Pro 2 cameras and 1 Pro 4 connected to my (Pro 2) base station, do I have to pay a subscription for the short-term cloud storage of that one camera or all four?

Also, I would guess that the subscription requirement is tied to the base station, not the camera attached to it. But maybe I'm wrong.

Finally, I don't care about the cloud storage, except for the push notifications and remote access. I have a flash drive in the USB port. Any chance that I can store locally on that flash drive and then access it remotely (or from my desktop)?

This is not a business or high security setting, we want the occasional updates when someone comes to our property, say a delivery truck. Of course, 99.9% of the push notices are blowing leaves or shadows of moving trees.

[StephenB]

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@MDK74 wrote:

Regarding the need for a subscription, I'm a little confused. If I have 4 Pro 2 cameras and 1 Pro 4 connected to my (Pro 2) base station, do I have to pay a subscription for the short-term cloud storage of that one camera or all four?

Also, I would guess that the subscription requirement is tied to the base station, not the camera attached to it. But maybe I'm wrong.

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Just the Pro 4.

And you are wrong - the subscription is tied to cameras, not the base.

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@MDK74 wrote:

Any chance that I can store locally on that flash drive and then access it remotely (or from my desktop)?

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Not with a VMB4000.  It can be done with a VMB4540 or VMB5000 smarthub.  https://kb.arlo.com/000062337/What-is-Direct-Storage-Access-and-how-do-I-use-it

But there are limitations that many would find frustrating, and in the case of a single camera subscription the break-even for the smarthub alternative is about 3 years.  That is at list price ($99), and many sites that carry smarthubs are charging quite a bit over list.