Arlo camera lag is way too long and not cheap. More as entertainment and informational cameras.

[JVDBogart]

For example, if you could do it all over again, then would you make the same purchase? Does anyone feel that these were a good investment? I'm just curious because I would be surprised if anyone can honestly say yes to these questions. I think that overall it is a very mediocre system, and grossly overpriced. The cameras are $25 max, as well as the base. In my opinion, two cameras and a base for $75 would be appropriate.

Also, these should never be considered "security" anything. The lag is way too long, and the reliability is way too low for the word "security" to appear within a mile of these cameras. These are "entertainment" and "informational" cameras in my opinion, and should never be trusted to secure anything. 

I really did my homework, and research too before I decided to go with Arlo. Needless to say, I am extremely disappointed with my decision. These are not cheap cameras at all, yet they perform as if they are. It really makes me question the validity of all the reviews, feedback, and positive reports that I read during my research. It really sucks when you put in all the time, do all the research, and then end up regretting your decision.  

[jguerdat]

Opinions are like arses - everyone has one. I'm sure you'll get mostly negative responses here since few folks come to these forums when they aren't having problems.

I've had these cameras since close to their release and have generally good things to say about them. Systems that I've set up for others haven't had unusual issues. The cloud-induced lag can be an issue but it should only be a few seconds. And it's worth noting that no camera system is a "security" system - they're all reactive, not proactive. Notifications are nice but don't prevent anything.

It's hard to say via the Internet what your issues are and how to solve them. For best help, we need all the info you can provide but even then there are a ton of variables that get in there to make things better or worse.

[dcfox1]

So far I have not had problems with my pro 3 cams except for some quirks but nothing major like other had posted. I get about a 2-3 second lag. 

[Manolo86]

I'm having numerous issues that are supported as fairly common by the increasingly negative reviews on the Google Play Store and this forum. I have close to 480Mbps down and 25Mbps up (verified through Speedtest.net), a C5400X gaming router, no VPN (as Arlo support will claim this as an issue), I have the last software and firmware on all devices, a Samsung S10+ with latest Android 10, and a Samsung 256gb flash drive inserted into a VMB4540. I tried to put the base/hub practically on top of the AVD and it streams distorted and pixelates garbage. I've replaced the transformer as well as the AVD with a new one. I've checked the WiFi channels with an analyser and the router and base/hub are on an uncongested channel. I have no issues with ANY other wireless device in my home. The system sometimes loses connection with cameras that typically have 3 bars of signal. After a recent update, the USB flash drive is intermittently shown as connected and port forwarding works intermittently. Switching networks from mobile data to/from WiFi can cause app to request 2-step verification again or give "no internet connection" error. The app crashes often (reinstalled/cleared cache/etc.) I'm just typing things as they come to me, but I've spent much more time trying to troubleshoot this surveillance system than it's worth. It's extremely upsetting and I too do a lot of research before making purchases. From what I can tell ,scouring these forums and the app store, many of these issues are from recent updates. I can't help you, but I want you to know that you are NOT alone. Just keep searching the forum and check the app store reviews.

[Reallyconfused]

I’ve had (and am currently having!) issues for sure. Most are little issues but sometimes reoccurring a bit to often. Like when a unit goes off line. The biggest one I’m having right now is the Activity Zones not working on my battery powered units. Arlo is aware of this issue and are working on it.  Other than that I am happy for the most part. 

I can’t see these cameras being had for $25.00. That’s a bit silly I think.
When they work, which is 97% of the time they work great. Co workers who have other brands marvel at the image quality compared to theirs. Night vision in a bit weak I’ll admit but good enough.

Customer service is the weakest link here, and this is where Arlo could really improve. But there are other very big name companies out there which suffer the same malady, so it’s not like Arlo is the only one.

Yes, some times it frustrating but all in all not to bad. 
My humble opinion.

[dcfox1]

I totally agree great cams most of the time but support is the weak link. 

[PNelson]

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@jguerdat wrote:

Opinions are like arses - everyone has one. I'm sure you'll get mostly negative responses here since few folks come to these forums when they aren't having problems.

---

That is fair.  The vocal minority.    The frustrating part is I have TRIED to solve my problems but Arlo's customer support makes it difficult.  I have come to accept that this system will fail to detect and record motion, there will be times when the video quality is bad, despite following all the recommendations, and the latency can be very long.

---

@jguerdat wrote:

I've had these cameras since close to their release and have generally good things to say about them. Systems that I've set up for others haven't had unusual issues. The cloud-induced lag can be an issue but it should only be a few seconds. And it's worth noting that no camera system is a "security" system - they're all reactive, not proactive. Notifications are nice but don't prevent anything.

It's hard to say via the Internet what your issues are and how to solve them. For best help, we need all the info you can provide but even then there are a ton of variables that get in there to make things better or worse.

---

My delay is longer than 2-3 seconds, more like 10 and can be longer.  This is despite having verified 200 MBps up and down  internet speed.  Yesterday, I was trying the adjust the camera and the delay made the task frustrating.  Move, wait 10 seconds, adjust, wait 10 seconds... ARGH  I followed all the recommending placement and distance recommendations have have 2/3 bars of signal.

Paul

[Manolo86]

Perhaps other companies have similar issues, but Arlo's app has the second worst rating of any of the others that I have just seen. Arlo's rating dropped from 3.6 to 3.5 soon after the 5/4/20 update, and I suspect it will drop again soon. The following are the ratings of some of the competitors' Android apps:

Eufy - 4.6
Nest - 4.3
Netatmo - 4.2
Wyze - 4.0
Ring - 3.8
Blink - 3.7
(Arlo - 3.5)
Canary - 3.2

PS: Not that it matters, but many of these companies call their cameras "security cameras". Some of the apps even have security in the name. Regardless, that's superfluous information unrelated to the issues.

[Manolo86]

I just plugged my phone in for the 3rd time today. Prior to the previous 2 app updates, I charged my phone at night only. Arlo used 85% of my battery with only 24 mins active time and over 12 hours background time. I'm going to try and shut off port forwarding when storage actually shows and it doesn't crash when I try to open storage settings. Things seemed a little better with local storage off, but that kind of defeats the purpose of my purchase of Arlo to begin with, and I recently purchased the VMB4540 for port forwarding that I can't use. These are real issues and they aren't small. I can feel my lithium battery's pain right now.

[Manolo86]

I still think it's a memory management issue.

[ScotCamera]

I bought these cameras because of their ease of portability as an outdoor camera. I agree they are certainly not a “security” camera for the exact reasons you stated. When they have captured footage of someone looking over my fence, the video quality is blocky and not very good. Certainly not good enough for the police to use for evidence. The price for these cameras is very expensive and their subscription packages have only risen over time.
If I had to do this over again, I would have invested into more of a hard-wired setup.

I would not recommend this product or company to anybody.

[Manolo86]

Well this explains a lot. This is a recent post by a moderator in another post, where everyone is complaining of recent updates affecting poor video quality.

"Our videos are compressed with a variable bit rate. We have made some changes that result in a lower average bit rate. This could impact video quality in complex scenes."

Real nice..... My Arlo Video Doorbell (along with Pro2 cameras) renders people unrecognizable at times. It has full signal and is supplied with a 24v transformer that I replaced a 16v with to try and fix the issue. I have no VPN on my router. I have about 470 Mbps download and 24 Mbps upload speeds. The router and hub are on uncongested channels. I have thought of everything! The problem is Arlo!

[Manolo86]

@ScotCamera

Which cameras do you have?

[Modenacart]

I would never buy Arlo again.  They run a classic bait and switch by not giving complete information on the product description page.  They only state that you don't get free cloud storage with more than five camera's they don't tell you that you can't view or locally record on them either making them $100 bricks.  From looking around it sounds like they did a bait and switch with the NETGEAR cameras too.  The company is dishonest.  

[Manolo86]

If these idiots don't fix this trash before Black Friday, I'm changing to Eufy. They have stellar product AND app reviews, local storage, they say it's a one time cost won't hurt your wallet purchase, anti theft alarms on their cameras, image enhancement technology, etc. I've spent too much time on this junk recently to change now. Black Friday is my deadline......

[Dubz]

If I had to do it all over again, I would purchase the hard wired system I had originally planned to purchase.  The main reason I chose Arlo was the wireless ease of setting it up.

One camera battery lasts a week at best and there are 4-5 30 sec videos on it.

I have videos stored on the cloud I can't see.  Oftentimes the cameras won't pick up on me waking past them.  And the zone feature seems to make things go from bad to worse.  Lag is what they do best! 

No, I'd choose something else at this point.

[38Chopper]

You got that!
Whenever I see someone purchasing or looking at the Arlo,
I tell them, “Don’t, ain’t worth the price, it doesn’t work half the time!”

[GreenerThings]

Absolutely would NOT recommend or purchase again.  These cameras are junk, the system has problems all the time, and the customer support is a joke.

Arlo needs to get their Sh*t together, and hire some more customer service people who actually give a damn, and can resolve a problem effectively.  And bring back the CALL BACK SERVICE!  Unacceptable to have to wait on the phone for hours just to have someone on the other side of the globe tell me the can't solve the problem, or even worse, sometimes you get disconnected without even getting through.  I'd be laughing if working with Arlo systems wasn't such a huge waste of my time on a weekly basis. 

[Fliersguy]

Nope, too many problems in the two years I've had mine. Never buy again. Now it won't detect motion, picture quality is horrible, constant bugs in software, and way to expensive for expectations! I am going to Eufy or to hardwired. My Amcrest cams kill this one in quality!

[ryanltd]

My son just walked up the driveway, opened the garage door, walked in, closed the garage door, came inside, went into his gaming room off of our family room in the basement and closed the door. After he closed the door to the gaming room, I receive a notification from the garage door camera that what I described above took place. I have an Arlo Pro at my front door because I can't hear the doorbell when I'm either in the basement or upstairs in the bedroom. I wanted the ability to talk with whoever might be ringing my doorbell. Anyone ringing it are always gone before I ever know they were there. So far I've been able to fight the urge to take a hammer to these cameras. They were a complete waste of money.

[Manolo86]

Yeah, Arlo sucks. Everytime someone asks me about the cameras I give them the many reasons why they shouldn't waste their money on them. I didn't replace them this year because I already spent too much time, money, and energy on them. Next year I'm replacing them with Eufy. Eufy has no subscription fee and has local storage.

[Guest47]

I did a ton of research on the Arlo Pro 2 Wireless sickup cams as well.  I thought they worked great until I'd find mail in my mailbox with no notification.

I switched over to the subscription model after a year because I really wanted to increase my sensitivity while having custom Zones put in and be able to filter out vehicles/animals etc (I live on a busy street).

After a lot of trial and error I discovered some tricks.

If a camera is not responding well

- RESTART the Hub remotely after any changes (This seems to work relatively often.) (Website/Settings/Pick the Hub/Restart)

- Pop out the camera battery

Normally I'd race to the forums with my findings, however, this works most of the time.  The fact that it doesn't catch someone blatantly walking through my Activity Zone every time makes me consider getting another camera setup with Zone Control and Smart Notifications (The only other one is Ring as far as I know)  I spend way too much time running back and forth testing these cameras.

The fact that everyone says the new Arlo stuff is great does not faze me, as everyone said these cameras were great at the time of my research.  If they're going to downgrade previous models ala IPads, they have to give the customers a reason to keep coming back.

[Reallyconfused]

Activity Zones have not worked for years. If you did around you’ll find threads which go back 3 or 4 years.
Mind don’t work and I’ve given up with Arlo Service.