Arlo Pro 5S 2K weak - Should I get Arlo Pro Smart Hub

[WLynne]

I am a long-time Arlo customer and fairly recently upgraded to the Arlo Pro 5S 2K cameras, which connect directly to the Wi-Fi.  I seem to be constantly adjusting and tweaking the settings to get a better reception and service. There are days when no videos are recorded, although I live on a busy street in a suburban setting.  I am considering purchasing the Arlo Pro Smart Hub, hoping that it will solve some of the issues, and I wanted to get feedback from the Arlo Community. Have any Arlo Pro 5S 2K camera users also bought the Arlo Pro Smart Hub, and if so, what was your experience and did you find it helpful? I would appreciate any insights or thoughts on this issue. On a side note, I personally prefer the previous version of the app over the latest version. 

[StephenB]

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@WLynne wrote:

I am a long-time Arlo customer and fairly recently upgraded to the Arlo Pro 5S 2K cameras, which connect directly to the Wi-Fi.  I seem to be constantly adjusting and tweaking the settings to get a better reception and service.

The WiFi range of a smarthub is about the same as a normal router (which makes sense, since it essentially is a specialized router).  So it might not help with your connection quality.

The main benefits of a smarthub are

1. the direct access to local storage feature
2. it is needed for homekit

[DannyBearAgain]

In addition the arlo hub can be located closer to your camera location using a longer Ethernet cable back to the local router or using a wifi extender with a Ethernet port or similar with a Ethernet over power adapters. 

[StephenB]

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@DannyBearAgain wrote:

In addition the arlo hub can be located closer to your camera location using a longer Ethernet cable back to the local router or using a wifi extender with a Ethernet port or similar with a Ethernet over power adapters. 

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True, but if you don't need the smarthub features you could just put a home wifi extender in that location, and keep the camera connected to the home wifi.  (Or upgrade to a mesh wifi system).

[WLynne]

I didn't encounter any issues with my old cameras, but they have now reached the end of their life.  I have one extender, but I can't say it made much of an impact.

This morning, my backyard neighbour experienced a break-in at 8:45 am today via his back patio door and asked if my camera captured anything.

The last recording on that camera was on Wednesday, July 10, at 9:33 a.m., when it captured the movement of my trees.

The first recording on July 11 was at 10:39 a.m., capturing the movement of my neighbour on Thursday, July 11, at 10:39 a.m., notwithstanding that I get a lot of animals visiting my garden, such as raccoons, cats, possums, and the odd fox.

Many factors could be at play, including my trees, the angle of my camera, and my desire for security yet not wanting to intrude on another’s privacy.

Wanting to assist my neighbour, I checked the camera covering my front and street. Although the motion was set on high, there were absolutely no recordings for July 7, 8, 9, or 11th, the day of my break-in.

On May 14, 2024, I woke up to a flat tire on my car.  The side wall of the front tire on the driver’s side had been slashed in three places in view of the camera, but unfortunately, I could not provide the police with any image.  I tried to analyze the situation and convince myself that maybe the culprit was aware of the camera.

As I mentioned, I did not have a problem with coverage with my old cameras. I think I will once again contact Bell. Maybe these cameras are more of a drain on the wi-fi. 

[StephenB]

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@WLynne wrote:

 I have one extender, but I can't say it made much of an impact.

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Measure your wifi speed at the camera location(s) with your phone.  You can use the free Ookla speedtest app to do that.  Turn off mobile data on your phone during the test, to make sure you are testing your wifi connection.

The upload speed is what matters, not the download speed.  You need a stable connection with an upload speed of at least 2 mbps (preferably more).

[Edinburgh_lad1]

There's a thread on this forum about problems with recordings on these cameras. Here's the link to it:

https://community.arlo.com/t5/Arlo-Pro-5S-2K/Arlo-Pro-5S-unreliable-junk-missing-events-taking-snaps...

Basically they're not fit for purpose at the moment, but a firmware upgrade is rolling out to make them work as intended. Fingers crossed, of course.

[WLynne]

I appreciate you taking the time to share that valuable particular thread.

I have been searching for answers for some time. One question I would like to know the answer to so that I can cross it off my list is whether Arlo made a program error that might have impacted the newer Arlo Pro 5S camera when they ended the life of the older cameras.   Just a thought.