why is it so hard to talk with support?

[PBETTENCOURT]

What is up with Arlo Support? Why can't support give straight answers and always wants you to buy more? Then they will tell me what I see on other people's systems "oh, that can't be done."  Look, ARLO, IF I WANTED TO PAY $9.00 A MONTH, I WOULD HAVE PURCHASED A BETTER SYSTEM. You have allowed us to keep video locally for the long term. Why can't there also be a function/feature to see what caused the notification??? I don't understand. This makes no sense to me at all. Indeed, I am not the only Arlo customer that wonders the same thing. Before you say it, I have enabled port forwarding, and I have even said OK to it w/o a VPN, and still nothing. I will not be sucked into paying for anything under the guise of peace of mind. I am ready to take the whole kit and caboodle back to Costco! 

[DannyBearAgain]

Direct access storage is no longer working at all for many customers going by a lot of posts.

Agree that without any way to view recent events, at the least, you would wonder if you had been sucked into an arlo black hole.

Do you still get local storage access if you your app connects to the local network?

[PBETTENCOURT]

I don't think they ever intended for people to have direct access; this was nothing more than an economic opportunity for Arlo. I can see everything if I have the phone on the home network. Frankly, it is stupid. Who in their right mind would think this is an ok option for people to buy into? 

[lakeechoes]

Totally agree with you! I bought this system cuz everything I read lead me to believe that I could keep my recordings without using the cloud. That was a nice 'privacy' feature along with not having to pay a monthly fee. What good are security cameras when you can't access what just transpired outside your house?

Cameras work great with a subscription. Not so much without one. That should have been made clear in their advertising!! I'm considering taking my 7 back to Costco too.