Forced Plan Renewal & Outrageous Price Increase

[JRod12345]

Just got a notification that the subscription of the Arlo Secure Plan is being increased yet again.  What I find appaling is the fact that the company tries to justify the price increase with all these new features yet the increase for the monthly subscription option is a significant $8/month unless you want to pay for a full year in advance which is what many companies are doing to lock you in.  I remember just a couple of years ago I was paying $9.99/mo which will now be double for the same quality equipment I can get with many of their competitors.  So, what I will do instead is cancel my subscription and trash the cameras and switch to something better and more reasonable priced.  This is not to offer the end users more features but to price gouge and be greedy.

[JamesC]

Thank you all for the feedback. On January 3rd Arlo has updated subscription plans and pricing to enhance the Arlo Secure experience, doubling cloud video storage, and making new AI-powered capabilities available to all subscribers in the US. We have simplified into two plans to allow you to easily identify which features are right for your security needs.

For more information on the new Arlo Secure plans, available now, see https://www.arlo.com/en-us/arlosecure.html

[juniortupapa]

We, the customers, have the power if we work together and in unison. I know it can be challenging and very inconvenient, but there are other options out there. We should just cancel the subscription altogether to send a message to the company. This price increase is ridiculous and without a valid justification. I am doing my part.. before the renewal date, I will cancel the service and will get something else.

[JeFh]

Yep, like everyone else I see this a just a price gouge with no value.  Increased storage for $7 per month that costs them pennies to operate.  I just made the investment in Arlo (Pro 5S) this year so I hate to trash the new equipment.  I'll probably take the one year offer and work on a replacement over the next year.  Arlo, please understand that this will be a one year renewal only.  As many have mentioned, I will be looking for a cost competitive alternative over the next year that actually work better.

[havsgaard]

Funny enough - a colleague of mine at work, asked me about my arlo camera in my driveway and if I was satisfied by them, as he was on the looks for a new security setup on his property, currently he have old dvr an 6 security cams around. I said yes, the cameras was ok, but then I mentioned to him, the initial costs + the constant price increase, not justified, he went out and bought Eufy cameras. So I guess that one alone might have cost Arlo around 1000$ - and I was happy about it. I have started to never recommend Arlo when friends and relatives asks me about them.

[ChaseIt]

Arlo is greedy Pure and Simple  I own An alarm Company  That i recently Sold . 

[jam436]

I like how the justification for this latest price-gouging is things like "we're doubling cloud storage from 30 to 60 days".
Let me explain why this is utterly worthless to me, and probably many others.
I'd say that conservatively, 95% of my recorded videos are mundane events that have nothing whatsoever to do with my home's security.
A deer walks across my driveway. My neighbor is cutting his grass. The mailman shows up.

As it is, I found that I have to clean out old recordings at least weekly, to combat the lag when opening a camera's library. I can just imagine what toting 60 days of useless recordings would do.  If I find a video that I want to save, I download it. Simple.
Why would anybody want, or need, a library filled with videos from two months ago?

If you guys at Arlo would spend as much time fixing the myriad of problems with your products as you do looking for ways to separate people from their money, perhaps so many wouldn't be bailing on you now.
Arlo has gone steadily downhill since Netgear sold it off.

[Saril]

I too was shocked at the $65 dollar increase for new features I don't want or need.  Customer support could not be reached after i was on hold for 49 minutes. This has prompted me to cancel when my renewal comes up.  I do believe this company will become extinct as a result of their own actions.

[Joseph17]

I'm sick of the BS price increases too. I got a new unopened Pro5S that will be going back to Amazon before the end of the month. Was going to add it to my other lone Arlo cam but now the unlimited plan cost is more than double the single cam plan cost. That's crazy. There's no value there. I might of been OK with Arlo screwing me to a degree but me big time ain't going to happen. Greedy! I'm looking into other options and eventually moving on from Arlo. 

[fierce750]

Agreed, I have told soooooo many family members, friends, coworkers online forums ect ect on how great Arlo WAS.

The Last recomendation I made was Eufy, they purhased $500.00 right off the bat and  are extremely happy now..

I plan on giving everyone I know the low down on how BS the arlo pricing has become and hope everyone else takes notice of Arlos Greed and looks elsewhere.

I plan on keeping my arlo going for a couple more days until this weekend and will be making the switch to Eufy myself.

[Dgmi]

agree.

my only concern with eufy is that it’s a chinese company ; and we all know their standards….

anything else outthere compatable to eufy?

I have a fairly new setup (under 2 yrs old) 14camera arlo (was 15 cameras but one of the ultra2 died prematurely), and every year so far that I’ve been with arlo. they had significant plan price  increases.

am looking else where also…

[ccl2]

@Dgmi   I thought about that, too.  They can go for it if people want to see my front or backyard.   I don't use cameras inside my house anyway, as long as there is no subscription. 

[ittroll]

I don't know how they can justify increasing the cost when they haven't fixed longstanding issues in the new experience. If anything they should be offering a rebate for the missing functionality.

Really glad I am not a subscriber.

[JackLeeT]

I agree that this subscription cost increase is outrageous.  The benefits do not warrant the cost increase.  I'll be cancelling and going to another product.

[Charles92]

Time to cancel and move on to a new system! How about they focus on fixing the app issues and lost functionality of their system instead of adding more (useless) features to justify the price increase! 

[Edinburgh_lad1]

When you read about other products, it shows you how limited the Arlo experience is. Not only is one unable to change footage quality in line with what competition offers (Eufy) l, WiFi channels and the likes, but also how reliant on the internet connection the whole system is. I think Arlo would have been seen as innovative in 2000s, but competition has moved on big time and don't obsess with AI but focuses on what is practical, including app usability. Here's the latest in the CCTV world: 

[nicgb1979]

These "new" features that Nest has had should not double the price year over year. I have a lot of cameras but will be looking to migrate. They don't even give you a discount for a 2nd location on the same account.

[deKayc]

Sharing my review and rating that I am posting everywhere I can since my latest correspondence with Arlo company, January 2025. 

This 1 star is highly over-rated

This 1 star is highly over-rated. Purchased first camera 5 years ago and updated camera before the annual heist began. The cameras are expensive which was agreeable because there was to NEVER be a monthly fee. That proved to be false advertising and “we apologize” moment with the first extortion of a subscription fee a year and half ago. Now we “hostages” are bent over without lube once again with a 54% increase in the subscription rate with only a 30 day notice. Even though I renewed my subscription 4 months ago I must re-renew NOW, creating a “new plan” not at the end of my already paid subscription. And if I don’t create a “new higher rate subscription plan” by February 3rd, 4 months into my annual subscription, I will be automatically forced into the 54% rate increase.

I do not use nor need the 30 day storage and definitely don't need a 60 day storage. All equipment and devices I purchased. My all devices work off of my Verizon wireless plan so Arlo doesn’t provide me anything. Yet, they want more money to provide me nothing. 

Customer Service and Support are truly non-existent. This has always been a pain to deal with. And the online bot Support and Customer Service offering is “I apologize”, which is really stands for “oh well”.

I have $2,000.00 invested in several Arlo cameras alone and 2 years of annual payments now. I am not going have a “hostage” mentality therefore, I will not be paying an even higher annual extortion rate. Life goes on and I will be moving forward when my existing subscription ends and leaving Arlo Technologies to its own greedy demise. Companies DO NOT make a profit by thinking their customers as hostages nor from empty apologies. 

The market is flooded with good security cameras and companies so treat yourself better and DO NOT buy anything from Arlo Technology.

[Edinburgh_lad1]

Either way, they'll increase the cost of the subscription.

They can't increase the cost of subscription for the current one for the duration of the contract because this would be a breach in terms and conditions. 

From a consumer perspective, asking you to choose a new plan.by a specific date is classed as hard sale and here in the UK this kind of practice is illegal. That's why they're not increasing the cost (yet) of subscription in this way over here or asking you to click on buttons to accept new contracts while you still have an active one. 

Also, since when it's acceptable that you must commit to a new contract while the existing one (annual subscription that renews annually) is still active? Putting pressure on you by giving you a specific date is a common sales practice. 

If I were a shareholder (and thankfully I'm not) I'd be asking questions about the kinds of practices this company employs. It's shameful. They must be really desperate for cash, though. Their arrogance is unbelievable. 

They've taken a very risky decision by all that. If they start losing customers, they'll not be able to backtrack because some may have already accepted the new offer. And what do you then? I'm going to sit tight and watch this circus ... 

Their cameras are no longer expensive because probably fewer buy them. They run regular promos on Amazon for 50% off and some major retailers here in the UK have already stopped stocking their products or reduced the range. For example, John Lewis is no longer stocking their products or have significantly reduced the range (they've been out of stock on their website for over a month).

To myself: time to abandon ship! 

[torga3ight]

Ive been using arlo cameras since the first arlo gen 1 with batteries. have arlo, arlo pro 2, arlo pro 4, and arlo essential cameras. With this price increase I will be discontinuing my service as there is no added value from their upgrades to justify the almost double price hike. They will basically be losing an almost decade long customer with this increase. I also am already in the Ring ecosystem for alarm and cameras as well and am paying around $100/year there, so the extra $10 a mo price hike can easily go to buy more ring cameras at this point and just use the arlo pro 4s and essentials without cloud storage. The pro 2's still have 7 day cloud storage grandfathered so good there. Ring cameras are by far superior in terms of notifications and ease of use. The arlos constantly ping me for no reason, miss the actual person, and the activity zones have never worked since day 1. Plus the app is garbage compared to ring for flexibility and adjustments. Sorry arlo, but this was the last straw for me

[tbeaulieu]

Sign here for a reduction or don't sign and be automatically increased. 

Why not just grandfather us?

My guess? By signing here we agree to automatic increases and some other bull**bleep**.

I'm feeling so pissed off about my six camera system and subscription that I'm one martini away from replacing it.

Anyone remember WINK? I dumped their ass the minute they tried to distort me.

30+ IOT devices.

[g-ae]

We all have to realize they have grown subscriptions from 2 to 4 millions in a couple of years. I'm sure forcing people into it is part of the numbers. They have not turn a real profit. It seems that the bottom line for them is the company valuation on the stock market. So if they raise their subscription by 60% and loose 20% of the customers they are still ahead. They're playing the clock on the back of their customers. A practice I despise!

Time will tell if it matters in the end. As far as I'm concern they're a zombie. Still alive but kind of dead...

[ccl2]

@g-ae I figure the same; they would need to lose 30% of their subscribers to make a financial impact.  They are banking on many people who are heavily invested in the product and are complacent with the price increase.