Adding Video Doorbell and Pro 3 floodlight to VMB4500r2 base?

[t_welcome]

I have Arlo pro 2 with 5 cameras which has maxed out my count of cameras for free 7 day rolling cloud storage.

I’d like to add on the Arlo video doorbell and the Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight camera which is model FB1001-100NAS. The floodlight was not listed in the drop down so I selected the security light and arlo pro 3 camera. I have read that both the video doorbell and pro 3 floodlight work with the app and now integrate with the vmb4500 base.

Questions:
1.) the doorbell comes with 3 month free storage before you have to pay for subscription. The entire reason I went with arlo pro 2 over newer models was the free subscription. I have not used local storage yet. If I use USB storage on my base, can I set it up so that the doorbell only uses my USB device for ROLLING local storage. Would like it work just like the cloud storage. A way to get around the subscription.

2.) does the pro 3 floodlight camera really work with the pro 2 base? Can I do the same as I mentioned with the doorbell for storage.

I’d like to be able to open my app and see my 5 pro 2 cameras, a video doorbell, and a pro 3 floodlight camera. Have the 5 cameras still use cloud storage but the doorbell and floodlight use local storage. Is there any maintenance with local storage? I have USB external storage device and USB sticks. Quite a few so that is not a problem.

[jguerdat · Accepted solution]

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@t_welcome wrote:
1.) the doorbell comes with 3 month free storage before you have to pay for subscription. The entire reason I went with arlo pro 2 over newer models was the free subscription. I have not used local storage yet. If I use USB storage on my base, can I set it up so that the doorbell only uses my USB device for ROLLING local storage. Would like it work just like the cloud storage. A way to get around the subscription.

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Yes but...  The local recordings on the USB drive would need to have the drive safely ejected for viewing on a computer. The app allows the ability to view local recordings without ejecting starting with the VMB4540 base. Since yours is an earlier model, you'd have to eject  or buy a new base that's supported.

2.) does the pro 3 floodlight camera really work with the pro 2 base? Can I do the same as I mentioned with the doorbell for storage.

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Yes.

I’d like to be able to open my app and see my 5 pro 2 cameras, a video doorbell, and a pro 3 floodlight camera. Have the 5 cameras still use cloud storage but the doorbell and floodlight use local storage. Is there any maintenance with local storage? I have USB external storage device and USB sticks. Quite a few so that is not a problem.

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The only maintenance comes down to whether you select automatic deleting of the oldest videos when the drive nears filling or do you do that yourself. You'll need to use at least a 16GB drive (firmware updates have set that as a minimum) which will hold a lot of videos.

[t_welcome]

Fantastic reply. Thank you

Sounds like it’s what I’m looking for except I need to upgrade my base station. That’s unfortunate because I just bought it from bestbuy. Would like to keep free cloud storage for regular cameras but be able to view doorbell and floodlight on app. The whole point is to be able to see who’s at my house when I’m not there... viewing on app is a showstopper.

Couple more questions for you if you don’t mind... Should I just upgrade to the 4540? Is there a better base I should consider? Considering if I were to upgrade to pro 3 or ultra in future.

Are there more features that I can unlock if I upgrade my base? I really wish I could zoom on my current setup but I assume that lies with the cameras.

If I upgrade the base, will I lose the free cloud storage option that comes with the pro2?

Can I swap in a Pro 3 camera and retain the free cloud storage option? Wondering what the possibilities and limitations are?

Really appreciate your quick reply before. Thanks again

[jguerdat]

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@t_welcome wrote:
Sounds like it’s what I’m looking for except I need to upgrade my base station. That’s unfortunate because I just bought it from bestbuy. Would like to keep free cloud storage for regular cameras but be able to view doorbell and floodlight on app. The whole point is to be able to see who’s at my house when I’m not there... viewing on app is a showstopper.

Couple more questions for you if you don’t mind... Should I just upgrade to the 4540? Is there a better base I should consider? Considering if I were to upgrade to pro 3 or ultra in future.

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I don't know that there's a whole lot of difference between the 4540 and 5000 hubs, especially performance-wise. Unless someone jumps in with a definitive answer, I'd go with whatever is cheaper, likely the 4540 (which uses a USB drive instead of a microSD card).

Are there more features that I can unlock if I upgrade my base? I really wish I could zoom on my current setup but I assume that lies with the cameras.

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The base really doesn't add the features - it's all about the cameras. You can zoom with all cameras but the newer ones have user-selectable FOV.

If I upgrade the base, will I lose the free cloud storage option that comes with the pro2?

Can I swap in a Pro 3 camera and retain the free cloud storage option? Wondering what the possibilities and limitations are?

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The cameras are what allows the free 7 day plan so the Pro 2s will continue with that. Any newer camera will require a subscription unless local recordings and use of the app to view them is all you need. The ability to see the local recordings will require some work on your part to configure the router for port forwarding or the use of a VPN to gain access to your local network. It all depends on what works for you.

[t_welcome]

Thanks again. Yeah I don’t really want to go SD card. I’m having trouble finding a 4540 base for sale. Found some used on eBay which I may have buy.

Are you saying it’s not plug and play? I can’t just swap bases and be able to watch local recordings on the app?

Just to be clear, I can have my cameras continue with cloud and the floodlight/doorbell local storage? Or is it one size fits all?

[jguerdat]

To swap bases, you first have to remove all devices in Settings, My Devices so you can add them to the new hub. It'll take a bit of time and effort to get things goind due to this - it's basically a new system setup.

The existing cameras remain on the free 7 day plan. It's the new ones that will ONLY record to local storage after the 3 month trial period is over. All cameras synced to the new hub will get local recordings, regardless of cloud recordings.

[t_welcome]

Ok. Think I got it. Based on your last sentence “ALL Cameras synced to hub”... It sounds like the 5 Pro 2 cameras will still have cloud recording but will also have local recording too. I guess that’s fine. I have a 2 TB external USB drive for storage.

I just want to be able to go on app when I’m away from home and view the recordings regardless of cloud storage or local storage.

I’ll start shopping around for a 4540 base

[t_welcome]

I was thinking about it more and at $2.99 per month it actually seems to make sense fiscally to just go cloud storage. A new base would cost about $100, so I wouldn’t break even for about 33 months... I assume if I just added the video doorbell and floodlight, pay for cloud storage, I’d be a happy camper. That cost doesn’t account for the cost of my time either. It’s too bad you have to jump through all these hoops. New base, loss of features/limitations with local storage. The loss of ability for my wife to view local storage videos on the app is a show stopper. I also read you can’t view them without being on your home network or vpn.

I will mark this as solved. Really appreciate your help!

In closing, do you recommend going with 4K storage? Is the quality increase really worth it?