Arlo Pro wireless misses triggering event

[Retired_Member]

We recently decided to try out the Arlo Pro wireless cameras (AVM4000C) and have come away disappointed in their performance. Our system is set around the house with motion detection programmed. It seems there is a delay between the triggering event and the actual start of the recording. There seems to always be a second or two missing. I have turned sensitivity up to 100% and even have one camera in the same room as the base station, but to no avail. Is this a limitation of going wireless not having continuous power to allow for a pre-recording buffer? Is there a fix or workaround? 

[jguerdat]

Your supposition is mostly correct. Adding AC power on a Pro 2 camera (not the Pro) will give you a 3 second lookback since the camera is constantly streaming although nothing is being actually stored unless you subscribe to CVR. The issues are two-fold:

1) The cameras are battery-operated so constant streaming isn't possible.

2) The system is cloud-based so the camera has to detect motion, create the streaming connection to the server and then record. The lag time at best is 2-3 seconds.

Positioning of the camera is key. Even though your cameras seem to be inside, getting motion across the FOV, not at the camera, is key to best early detection so you can minimize the lag time. You may also be able to use nested rules where a camera detects and not only strarts recording but triggers another to record, too.

cam1 detects, cam1 records

cam1 detects, cam2 records

cam2 detects, cam1 records

cam2 detects, cam2 records

That would depend on the house configuration and the camera placement but may be useful.