Problems with Arlo Android mobile app

[Diggie3]

I find the Arlo app for Android frustrating due to poor design.

I often want to launch it to arm or disarm a camera for recording. This involves:

* Doing the fingerprint-based login, which often I have to do twice because the server isn't immediately available or some nonsense

* Waiting for the app UI to appear

* Clicking on devices

* Waiting more for my devices to appear

* Clicking on a device to change the mode

* Waiting more for the list of modes to appear

* Clicking on the mode

* Waiting for it to stop working.

So many clicks with so much waiting between. Why doesn't the app get a list of all my devices and their modes as a result of me logging in, and then I could immediately switch to devices view, see the entire list immediately with all their states on one screen, and toggle their states with a pop-eye menu so that I don't have to keep refreshing the list as I switch between device view and state management? It would be so much better.

Also, today I found out that I can log into the app, have the Live view show the last image from the camera, switch to Devices view, change my Arlo from Disarmed to Armed, and leave the app *and have the camera record nothing* because in a completely separate screen I had the camera set to off. What kind of security appliance says it's Armed when it's really turned off?

Turning the camera off ought to be one of the states alongside "Armed", "Disarmed", etc. This way it would be clear what the mode of the device actually was.

Really, the current design is quite awful. Clearly it was done by someone who doesn't regularly use the product.

[TomMac]

If your looking to arm or disarm the Arlo system, all you do is sign in and go to Mode....

from there you pick the mode wanted...a lot less of a issue then you stated

[Diggie3]

Sorry, I meant "Mode", but it's exactly as I described. Click, wait, click, wait,click, wait. So annoying.

[steve_t]

I unlock my phone with my fingerprint

Hit the arlo app icon

It takes me straight to the Devices menu. I don't feel a need for fingerprint login when I already have to unlock my phone with a fingerprint

If for any reason I want to manually change the mode, I can click MODE without having to wait for the device previews to load

Sometimes I have to wait for it saying "Getting status" for a few seconds

Then I can change modes really easily.

I don't understand what you mean by seeing the camera list and toggling their states. Their states are all governed by the modes. If you don't have a rule for a camera your recording mode, it's pretty much OFF. You should avoid turning each camera off manually. Sounds like you're not using it in the way it was intended. Have you had a read of the user manual?

While not as responsive or fast as I would like it to be, I think the design is well laid out and works well