Arlo Q and Arlo Q Plus cameras: wil they still be supported by Arlo in the future?

[GiorgioV]

Arlo Q and Arlo Q Plus cameras are being discontinued. I was thinking about getting a few more of those for future use, since I'm familiar with them and I like the models better than the new ones. But I'm afraid their support on the Arlo app might get dropped in the future.

Is that a risk, or will these cameras always be supported by Arlo? Thanks a lot.

[GiorgioV]

Ok, clearly I wasn't expecting to be flooded by messages. But I do believe a reply by some Arlo representatives would be only right.

[StephenB]

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@GiorgioV wrote:

But I do believe a reply by some Arlo representatives would be only right.

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You're asking a question that requires speculation on what Arlo management might do (or not do) in the future.  So they might not be allowed to answer, since any response could be construed as a commitment they aren't authorized to make.

Historically, Arlo has only discontinued support for one camera line - which was the original VueZone.  That line goes back to the Avaak company days (the startup that eventually became Arlo), and was launched in 2009.  Arlo discontinued it in 2019 (long after they stopped selling the cameras).

They continue to support all the Arlo branded cameras and base stations (which I believe were launched in 2015).

Personally I think it's unlikely that they will drop support for the Q any time soon.  Current US prices are pretty good ($70 USD). I don't know what they are in other geographies, but if they are similar then you wouldn't be risking a lot of money in getting another one.

[GiorgioV]

The VueZone info was useful, thank you.

Actually, a ten years span (launch to discontinue) is not such a long time, generally speaking, for items that expensive. I've got three Arlo Q/Arlo Q Plus cameras three years ago and they were quite expensive. As I said, now I was thinking about getting a few more of the ethernet one (Q Plus), but it would be rather annoying if, in a few years, they stopped working (perhaps without even getting out of the box) due to marketing strategies rather than actual failure.

[TomMac]

Those cameras are in the same boat as the Arlo HD, Pro, Pro2 which are the legacy cameras.

I have a few Qs , they work well but also don't think you have to worry about them dropping them in the near future.

[StephenB]

There is a bit more on the end-of life for Vuezone here: https://kb.arlo.com/000062175/VueZone-end-of-life-Information-and-FAQs.

Note that Netgear initially announced that the Vuezone Cloud Services would be discontinued back in July 2016 (saying that it would be dropped by 12/31/2017).  Obviously they reconsidered that, and Arlo kept the service running for almost 2 more years after that (a year after they were divested from Netgear).

So there was a lot of lead time. FWIW, the installed customer base was much smaller than the Arlo base, and the cameras had much lower performance than anything out there now.

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@GiorgioV wrote:

Actually, a ten years span (launch to discontinue) is not such a long time, generally speaking, for items that expensive.

One big difference is that the Q is fully integrated into the Arlo Cloud, and VueZone had a completely different infrastructure.  So I think the cost of maintaining support for the Q is much less than it was for Vuezone.

While I don't see much risk that they'll drop the Q any time soon, I think they will need to sunset the older Arlo cameras eventually.  By my count there are at least 17 supported cameras now (and I could be missing a couple).  I think that is one reason we see so many issues with new releases here.

[GiorgioV]

"What do I do with my device after August 13, 2019?: The VueZone system should be recycled as e-waste": my fear in a nutshell 😄

That was interesting too, though, seriously.

I believe there are tons of these cameras around, so I don't know how advisable it would be for Arlo to drop support for them, even years from now. It's just that I'd like to hear it from them (I know, not gonna happen).

[sigiroy]

I have Q plus running and love the product. However, the customer service and response does not do the cameras and software any justice. Don't expect an answer  Tapo cams and software will have to do given the Q plus is sadly discontinued