Arlo Pro 3 shortcomings

[kumar007]

Hello,

I recently purchased Arlo Pro 3 with the smart hub based on the product description by Arlo, but little did I know that this product lacks so many fundamental and basic requirements that Arlo's competitors have in their cameras (system). My specific questions are:

1. I'm forced to create one account for every device I use the Arlo app on and the worst part is I was told by Arlo support that there is a maximum of 5 accounts allowed. In my case, I need to access cameras using Arlo app on 7 devices and this limitation is ridiculous. I own camera system by an Arlo's competitor and I can use only one account for any number of devices for that system.

2. This is the worst - In the Arlo app, every time I want to watch live video I have to click on the play button icon. Add to this stupid feature, after clicking the play button it takes up to 10 seconds to connect and show me live video. Well, flash news Arlo - if it takes 10 seconds to show me video then it is no longer live video. Who is the who thought of implementing live video streaming to be done in this manner? Your competitor product I own shows me live video streaming as soon as I open the app.

3. There is no desktop app. I have to login to your website on my computer. On top of this, I cannot add my computer as a trusted device - I have to approve my computer on every single use. Again, your competitor has an excellent desktop app which allows me to view live video, playback video, and download video using a timeline.

4. I connected a USB drive to the smart hub and using it as a local/direct storage. On my phone, when I want to watch video clips in library, I select the USB drive, but then the videos are not available right away - I have to download them to my phone to watch them. Here's the kicker - there is no option to delete the downloaded video(s). Heck even Arlo support does not know where the videos are stored on the phone and how to delete them. So, the takeaway here is - Arlo's thinking is we don't give a crap whether user's phone storage is filled with downloaded videos, so we won't provide the user with any mechanism to manage the downloaded videos. Wow, again another dumbass implementation.

5. For purchasing Arlo 3 pro, I got 3 months of smart trial plan. But, I don't plan to use the subscription, instead I want to use the local USB storage. But, I was told that only the primary account can access the videos from the USB drive on the Arlo app while all other accounts cannot. Your product management and engineering seriously need to review their qualifications.

6. The Arlo app shows all cameras in a vertical column and this means that I have to scroll down to watch all 5 cameras. Grid view (4x4, 68x8, etc.) of cameras would solve this problem where I can watch all cameras at the same time. Your competitor has this layout. Who the heck is your UX designer?

7. When I watch a live video stream there is a 5 seconds lag. Whatever I'm watching or hearing happened 5 seconds ago.  Seriously, this is what you guys call live video? Again, Arlo support team does not know how to fix this issue.

I called Arlo support and asked some other questions and all of them got negative responses.

To Arlo team - You are 0 for 12. Think about it.

[StephenB]

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@kumar007 wrote:

1. I'm forced to create one account for every device I use the Arlo app

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Not quite.  There is only one logon allowed for each account at a time - the previously logged in device is logged off.  But if you have devices that you are only occasionally using, that is not a problem.  So one account for each phone, and another account for your other devices (tablets, PCs) generally works out fine.

But I agree they should allow multiple logons with a single account.  

[kumar007]

Thanks for your reply. It is a problem and I experienced it first hand. When I created the first account and my other family members logged on their device with this account then I was logged off. If you have multiple members in the family using separate devices then using one account will not work.

[StephenB]

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@kumar007 wrote:

If you have multiple members in the family using separate devices then using one account will not work.

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And I did say that above.  But that doesn't necessarily mean you need separate accounts for each device.  An account can be shared by PCs and tablets that don't need to be logged in all the time.  But you do want a separate account for each phone.

I totally agree that they should allow simultaneous logins into a family account -I'm just saying I think you are slightly overstating the impact of not allowing that.

[pararlo21]

Agree with all the shortcomings.  

[sltadros]

Hello Kumar,

Your comments are right on! I too installed the system a few days ago, and am disenfranchised to say the least, particularly because I thought this was the best brand out there.

I will definitely start looking again. You seem to do your homework diligently. Who is that "competitor" you referred to?