Service plan

[jandmmichels]

Purchased two Arlo 6th gen & connected them direct to wifi router and have 4 days to buy service plan. I have 6 year old arlo pro cams that don't require service plan. Does purchasing service plan for the two arlo 6th gen affect the old pro cams or their free cloud storage that was guaranteed when they were purchased?

[StephenB]

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@jandmmichels wrote:

On arlo app I looked at number of devices and it said 7. It has the base/hub as a device. I only want the 2 new 6th gen on service plan and the base/hub w/4 working cams on free cloud storage.

Does it consider the old base/hub the same as new 6th gen?

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The base doesn't count as far as the subscription goes.  So right now you have 4 legacy cameras (with free storage) and two 6 gen cameras (on the trial).  If you don't subscribe you lose the free storage, unless you remove at least one camera from the account.

Pricing varies by geography, and also depends on whether you choose annual or monthly.  Annual is cheaper, but you do keep in mind that Arlo doesn't give refunds if you cancel. 

Current US monthly pricing would cost $19.98 per month for two basic-plan single camera subscriptions.  Cost for unlimited cameras is $19.99 per month - so you might as well go with unlimited there.

Current US annual pricing would be $191.76 annually for two basic-plan single camera subscriptions and $215.88 for unlimited cameras.  So about $25 per year extra for unlimited.

You can check out prices in your country on wwww.arlo.com.

Direct access to local storage is used by many people instead of a subscription.  There are a lot of limitations, and remote access isn't always possible (it depends on your internet service provider).  In order to use that you'd need to upgrade your hub to a smarthub (VMB4540 or VMB5000).  The VMB4540 lists for $99, the VMB5000 lists for $149.   If that is of interest, post back and we can give more information on the limitations.

If you can live w/o recordings on the new cameras, you could also move them to a different account, and then share them with your main account.  You'd then be able to livestream the Pro 6 cameras, and you'd get motion notifications (just no recordings).  You'd also keep the legacy free storage, since you'd have fewer than 5 unsubscribed cameras in the account.  

[StephenB]

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@jandmmichels wrote:

 Does purchasing service plan for the two arlo 6th gen affect the old pro cams or their free cloud storage

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No.  That said, you should check the pricing, as a multicamera plan might cost the same (or nearly the same) as two single camera subscriptions.  

BTW, there is a limit of 5 unsubscribed cameras per account to get the free storage, so if the 6th gen cameras take you over that limit, you will lose the free storage for legacy cameras if you don't get a subscription for the new ones.

[jandmmichels]

• Thank you. I have 4 legacy but only use one or two. Their vid quality, night vision, sound detection have degraded over the years. They're all still linked to base. If I can sign up for the service for the two new 6th gen, I'll probably start w/that and see what happens. I would add some of the legacy cams if arlo upgraded or did maintenance on them which they don't. Gathering info now. I'd like to see if arlo 4k are really 4k. We live in rural area so it needs to work well at distance vs guarding front door. And I use the for wildlife vids. Thanks again.

[StephenB]

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@jandmmichels wrote:

• I'd like to see if arlo 4k are really 4k. 

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Pro 6 cameas are 2K.

Ultras do capture 4K resolution, but the low bitrate does limit the quality.

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@jandmmichels wrote:

• We live in rural area so it needs to work well at distance vs guarding front door. And I use the for wildlife vids. Thanks again.

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Motion detection range is limited by the passive infrared sensor in the cameras.  Details for various cameras are here:

• https://kb.arlo.com/000062617/How-far-away-can-Arlo-Cameras-and-Arlo-Video-Doorbells-detect-motion

Generally they spec ~25 feet.  That said, the actual distance varies, depending on

• size of the moving object
• temperature of the object (relative to outdoor temp)
• whether the object is moving across the field of view (most sensitive) or directly towards the camera in the middle of the field of view (least sensitive).
• whehter the object is near the bottom of the field of view (most sensitive) or near the top (least sensitive).

[jandmmichels]

On arlo app I looked at number of devices and it said 7. It has the base/hub as a device. I only want the 2 new 6th gen on service plan and the base/hub w/4 working cams on free cloud storage.

Does it consider the old base/hub the same as new 6th gen?

[StephenB]

---

@jandmmichels wrote:

On arlo app I looked at number of devices and it said 7. It has the base/hub as a device. I only want the 2 new 6th gen on service plan and the base/hub w/4 working cams on free cloud storage.

Does it consider the old base/hub the same as new 6th gen?

---

The base doesn't count as far as the subscription goes.  So right now you have 4 legacy cameras (with free storage) and two 6 gen cameras (on the trial).  If you don't subscribe you lose the free storage, unless you remove at least one camera from the account.

Pricing varies by geography, and also depends on whether you choose annual or monthly.  Annual is cheaper, but you do keep in mind that Arlo doesn't give refunds if you cancel. 

Current US monthly pricing would cost $19.98 per month for two basic-plan single camera subscriptions.  Cost for unlimited cameras is $19.99 per month - so you might as well go with unlimited there.

Current US annual pricing would be $191.76 annually for two basic-plan single camera subscriptions and $215.88 for unlimited cameras.  So about $25 per year extra for unlimited.

You can check out prices in your country on wwww.arlo.com.

Direct access to local storage is used by many people instead of a subscription.  There are a lot of limitations, and remote access isn't always possible (it depends on your internet service provider).  In order to use that you'd need to upgrade your hub to a smarthub (VMB4540 or VMB5000).  The VMB4540 lists for $99, the VMB5000 lists for $149.   If that is of interest, post back and we can give more information on the limitations.

If you can live w/o recordings on the new cameras, you could also move them to a different account, and then share them with your main account.  You'd then be able to livestream the Pro 6 cameras, and you'd get motion notifications (just no recordings).  You'd also keep the legacy free storage, since you'd have fewer than 5 unsubscribed cameras in the account.  

[jandmmichels]

Thanks!