Arlo pro 3 and smart plan

[Frag333]

Hello. I have the Arlo pro and vmb4000r3 base station. I am looking into purchasing the Arlo pro 3. Will The new camera be fully compatible with the older base station? If yes are there any limitations or functionality I will be missing? What are my options if I do not want to use the smart plan? I do not like that there is a 10-15 second delay in notification due to having to send the information to your servers and back. Because these cameras are for home security, I need the notifications to come through immediately like they do now with my older camera. Thank you.

[jguerdat · Accepted solution]

Your base is compatible with the Pro 3:

https://kb.arlo.com/000062253/Is-Arlo-Pro-3-backwards-compatible-with-my-existing-Arlo-system

The camera will work in the same way as your existing cameras. Any delay will be the same - there is always the connection to the servers and back. The cameras/base do not send you the alert - the servers do.

[Frag333]

Thank you for the reply. But with the older models, we do not have a subscription service and there is no smart plan. Meaning the camera does not have to send to the sever to be analyzed( person, animal, etc) so there is no delay. I get a notification in about a second. Every post I’ve seen regarding the smart plan says there is a long delay because of this analysis that takes place. I don’t want the smart plan and I don’t want the analysis. I just need the system to alert me immediately if it sees motion. And after spending a long time reading through posts on here it appears this a huge issue and complaint. Before I shell out several hundred dollars I need to understand if I can get around not using the smart plan.

[StephenB]

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@Frag333 wrote: I need to understand if I can get around not using the smart plan.

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If you were to purchase a new base (VMB5000 or VMB4540) you could use direct access to local storage.  https://kb.arlo.com/000062337/What-is-Direct-Storage-Access-and-how-do-I-use-it

[Frag333]

That could be an option. Are you able to view your library the same way using the app?

[StephenB]

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@Frag333 wrote:
That could be an option. Are you able to view your library the same way using the app?

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You can (the steps are in the kb article).  But you can't view the local files from the web client.

You would also lose thumbnails, which is a problem for a lot of people.   

 You do need to either forward a port in your router or use a VPN to connect to your router in order to view the videos when you aren't connected to your hone wifi network.

[Frag333]

That’s sounds like a real pain. Might have to look into the Ring cameras. The more I read here, the more I see complaints and bad customer service.

[StephenB]

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@Frag333 wrote:
 Might have to look into the Ring cameras. 

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AFAIK, Ring doesn't offer any storage for any camera unless you have a paid subscription.