Camera positioning headache

[Joseph17]

Have had the camera for 6 months and all is good for the most part.

But wanted to recheck my "camera positioning" and for the life of me can't get to the place to do that. Did it initially and haven't had to since. Before having to ask for help here I looked all over.  Amazing that I can't find the specific answer here or elsewhere. 

Found this blurb below on the Arlo site but it's useless and I don't have anything leading to My Devices" or "device utilities"  that leads to "camera positioning" or it's nowhere obvious.

To place your camera in position mode:

1. Launch the Arlo app or log in to your Arlo account at my.arlo.com. 
2. Tap or click Settings > My Devices.
3. Select the camera that you want to place in position mode.
4. Tap or click Device Utilities > Camera Positioning

[jguerdat]

Actually, it would be in the camera settings under Activity Zones. Such a zone could be inaccurate if the camera shifts for any reason.

[Joseph17]

I can appreciate your attempt at helping but for a "superuser" and or "guru" I'd expect some legit help.

Does anyone around here with a problem ever actually get it fixed thru this community forum? Looking over some of the posts it appears not or very rarely. All I see is BS canned answers or none at all.

Back to my concern:

On page 15 of the Pro5s manual there is a paragraph of text stating the following:

Pro 5S 2K Spotlight Camera  - User Manual
Use camera positioning to aim your camera
Camera positioning is available only when the camera is not streaming, recording motion, or
using the Motion Detection test. During camera positioning, the camera streams video as fast
as possible, without buffering. You can aim your camera while watching on your smartphone
and making near real-time adjustments to the camera position. This means that you might
see lower-quality video while you are positioning your camera.

To position your camera:
1. Open the Arlo Secure App.
2. Tap Devices.
3. Select the camera.
4. Tap Device Utilities > Camera Positioning.
The camera starts streaming video. The signal strength bar indicates the Wi-Fi signal that
your camera is receiving at its current location.

But none of this is possible to apply to a camera that is up and running evidently, as in my case where I "just want to recheck" my cams positioning. When I go to Settings, then Devices, there is no next step allowing me to select "Device Utilities" and beyond. I'm trying to get the "live feed" thing going.

Make sense yet?

Even using the online chat help was a bust. Some Arlo helper  seemed to know less than I did. I imagine he was trying to help but frankly he was clueless. What a PITA it is to get an answer to issues with Arlo products.

I'd be willing to pay for legit help at this point as opposed to have to go thru all this crap.

[StephenB · Accepted solution]

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@Joseph17 wrote:

Pro 5S 2K Spotlight Camera  - User Manual

To position your camera:
1. Open the Arlo Secure App.
2. Tap Devices.
3. Select the camera.
4. Tap Device Utilities > Camera Positioning.

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Yes, this is what the manual says. But as you found out, the manual is wrong.  Arlo decided to remove the feature. I'm tagging the mods ( @JamesC and @ShayneS ) so they can see that the manual gets fixed. 

Your options to see the live video for positioning are

1. just livestream the camera
2. go into the video settings for the camera
3. go into the activity zone settings for the camera

If you use activity zones, then option 3 is best, because when you move the camera you generally do need to adjust the zones. So no reason to beat up on @jguerdat for "not giving you legit help".  He gave you the best advice, given that the positioning screen is gone. 

Honestly I never saw much value in the positioning feature, so I'm not surprised that they removed it.

[Joseph17]

Thanks for your response and info!  So the owners manual is wrong.  How is one to know that?  Arlo needs to get this info out there so people aren't chasing their tails. Is it this bad with the other brands too?  Amazing.

Anyhow, thanks again. Case closed.