Smart notifications and audio on Arlo Pro 3

[LorraineGar]

First let me say that I pay a monthly fee for a service but cannot find a way to even speak to someone in support ... not even an option.  Very frustrating, particularly when we are talking about security, which can mean situations that can effect physical safety.  But ... I don't understand how the smart notifications work and can't find anything that actually explains them.  I have two issues:  1) I have security issues in my home and want to not only see but hear recordings.  For the most part, despite settings being turned on, I can't hear the recordings ... well ... not true as every once in a while I can.  Randomly, my MacAir will pick up recordings and sometimes I can hear recording on my iMac.  Cannot hear anything with my iPhone.  2) The next issue, I can't find any explanation as to how smart audio work ... what happens when I turn them on?  

[StephenB]

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@LorraineGar wrote:

But ... I don't understand how the smart notifications work and can't find anything that actually explains them. 

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Whenever motion (or audio) detection happens in the camera, the video is streamed to the Arlo cloud for analysis.  If the camera is battery powered, the cloud first looks to see if motion was inside the activity zones (if set).  If all the motion is outside the zones, then the recording is supressed.  If the motion is inside the zone, then the AI engine in the cloud will attempt to classify the scene.  

The cloud recording is made no matter what the classification is - it is just tagged with the classification so you can easily filter the library when viewing it.   The settings in the app let you choose what classifications of notifications you want to receive (for each camera).  You can for instance disable "animals" if those notifications are not of interest.  Then if a video is classified as animal, the recording will be made (and tagged), but no notification will be sent.

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@LorraineGar wrote:

For the most part, despite settings being turned on, I can't hear the recordings ... well ... not true as every once in a while I can.  Randomly, my MacAir will pick up recordings and sometimes I can hear recording on my iMac.  Cannot hear anything with my iPhone.?  

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If the microphone for the camera is enabled, audio is always recorded (and livestreamed). This is more likely an issue with the sound being turned off (or volume too low) on the iMac and iPhone.  

Try downloading a recording, and playing with the volume.