stolen camera

[Gardenut]

I want to buy used cameras, but how can I check to make sure they weren't stolen if I can't contact Arlo?  The "chat" says I have to pay $99 to talk to someone.  If that's the case, WHY BUY ARLO?!?!

[TomMac]

Well since you say you have the Pro2 cameras, you prob don't have a subscription.  (?)

You can get help here if it's a question others can answer, but without a subscription you are past the 3 month free tech help direct from Arlo.

As to stolen cameras, it is unknown but since the cameras date back a few years, there are many for sale now...

I would just be careful with the return policy from whoever you purchase from ( like ebay ).

[StephenB]

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@TomMac wrote:

I would just be careful with the return policy from whoever you purchase from ( like ebay ).

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Of course, used kit doesn't always work - so even if it isn't stolen, you need to be careful with the return policy.

@Gardenut - from your point of view, a camera you can't onboard (for whatever reason) doesn't work - so it's not really different from the camera being defective.

[Gardenut]

Thanks, but individual sellers don't offer a return policy.  Do you know if there is a way to contact a live person at Arlo without having a "subscription"?  I want to check the serial numbers against those that are stolen before I buy the cameras.   I have the original Arlo cameras that used to include customer service, but they have apparently changed their business model.

[StephenB]

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@Gardenut wrote:

Do you know if there is a way to contact a live person at Arlo without having a "subscription"?

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Perhaps one of the mods can help - @JamesC or @ShayneS.

Note that you can't onboard them unless the original owner removed them from the account.  So stolen isn't the only scenario - the owner might simply not realized that removing them from the account was needed. 

[Gardenut]

Can anyone tell me how I can tell if I'm about to buy a stolen camera?  There's NO warranty with Ebay, Offerup, Craigslist, etc....   I WISH I could contact the Company - IS THERE ANY WAY TO GET CUSTOMER SERVICE WITHOUT FIRST PAYING THEM $100?

[Gardenut]

Why wouldn't I be able to onboard?

[StephenB]

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@Gardenut wrote:

Why wouldn't I be able to onboard?

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Because the Arlo Cloud won't onboard a device that is already in another account.

It won't tell you why the onboarding is failing - it just doesn't work.

[Gardenut]

Hmmm, didn't know that. Thanks. I've purchased used cameras from sellers before (before stealing cameras was so popular) and never had an issue linking to the base (which I assume is the same as "onboarding"). ~guess I was lucky.