Smart Plan now 5 cameras instead of 10?????

[CaliArloUser]

Over the last two weeks I have bought eight more Pro2 cameras, another VMB400 base station and a WMB4050 base to add to my existing five camera Pro2/VMB 4000 system at a cost of $1,200. It was my intention to eventually expand this even further to 20 Pro2 cams. Went to subscribe to the $14.99/mo Elite plan today, 12/13/19, only to find a shocking price increase/camera limit decrease in the subscription plans was also announced today. It is my understanding that  anyone who already had an existing Premier or Elite plan will not be effected by this change and their plan costs/cam count will remain the same and if I had signed up yesterday (guess I should have but I was busy spending $1,200 on more Arlo gear) I also would be able to have up to 20 Pro2 cams for $14.99 a month. Does Arlo think customers like me who spent $1,200 on more hardware immediately before this subscription plan change are now going to also pay $390 a year for 20 Pro2 cams while other customers only have to pay $180 a year for the same exact service? I don't need or want 2 or 4k video, I only need Pro2 1080p cameras. Why wasn't a separate plan for those of us who only have, and will only ever have, Pro2 1080p cams introduced? Why does Arlo think it's ok to now charge some customers more than twice the amount of money for the same exact service others are getting? Why couldn't the $9.99/10 cam & $14.99/20 cam subscriptions have remained the same but been modified for 1080p cameras only and separate subscription plans for 2K and 4K cams been added. Before I even had the chance to get a plan and hook up these new cams/bases I now have to pay more than 2x as much as others for the same 20 camera Pro2  subscription service? This is not right nor fair at all to those of us wanting to simply add more Pro2 cameras, what is Arlo thinking with this extreme egregious pricing change?? Why would I want to keep the $1,200 in product I just bought on top of the $600 I had previously spent only to now have to additionally spend over 2x as much as others for a subscription plan that offers me absolutely nothing more for my money? Can anyone  from Arlo please explain this to me or tell me why I wouldn't want to return everything I just bought? I was a happy Arlo customer but to say I am now an extremely unhappy Arlo customer would be putting it mildly.

[techit]

When did the plans change from 10 cameras to 5? This nearly doubles the annual cost with no notice to customers. I've invested in 10 cameras and two base stations. The whole reason was due to the affordable smart plans. There needs to be some sort of price protection. I'd buy a multi-year plan if discounted and with price protection.

Just call me alienated.

[mhnatt]

No kidding! They keep shifting plans around and it’s now impossible to protect two properties. Used Arlo for going on 7 years now. I Used to have 26 cameras, then had 24, then they rolled out Smart with stingy plans that had only 10 cameras, and now leave users either being limited to now 5 cameras. Geeze! I’m getting sick of this.

[CaliArloUser]

Over the last two weeks I have bought eight more Pro2 cameras, another VMB400 base station and a WMB4050 base to add to my existing five camera Pro2/VMB 4000 system at a cost of $1,200. It was my intention to eventually expand this even further to 20 Pro2 cams. Went to subscribe to the $14.99/mo Elite plan today, 12/13/19, only to find a shocking price increase/camera limit decrease in the subscription plans was also announced today. It is my understanding that  anyone who already had an existing Premier or Elite plan will not be effected by this change and their plan costs/cam count will remain the same and if I had signed up yesterday (guess I should have but I was busy spending $1,200 on more Arlo gear) I also would be able to have up to 20 Pro2 cams for $14.99 a month. Does Arlo think customers like me who spent $1,200 on more hardware immediately before this subscription plan change are now going to also pay $390 a year for 20 Pro2 cams while other customers only have to pay $180 a year for the same exact service? I don't need or want 2 or 4k video, I only need Pro2 1080p cameras. Why wasn't a separate plan for those of us who only have, and will only ever have, Pro2 1080p cams introduced? Why does Arlo think it's ok to now charge some customers more than twice the amount of money for the same exact service others are getting? Why couldn't the $9.99/10 cam & $14.99/20 cam subscriptions have remained the same but been modified for 1080p cameras only and separate subscription plans for 2K and 4K cams been added. Before I even had the chance to get a plan and hook up these new cams/bases I now have to pay more than 2x as much as others for the same 20 camera Pro2  subscription service? This is not right nor fair at all to those of us wanting to simply add more Pro2 cameras, what is Arlo thinking with this extreme egregious pricing change?? Can anyone  from Arlo please explain this to me... I was a happy Arlo customer but to say I am now an extremely unhappy Arlo customer would be putting it mildly.

[CaliArloUser]

Over the last two weeks I have bought eight more Pro2 cameras, another VMB400 base station and a WMB4500 base to add to my existing five camera Pro2/VMB 4000 system at a cost of $1,200. It was my intention to eventually expand this even further to 20 Pro2 cams. Went to subscribe to the $14.99/mo Elite plan today, 12/13/19, only to find a drastic price increase/camera limit decrease in the subscription plans was also announced today. It is my understanding that  anyone who already had an existing Premier or Elite plan will not be effected by this change and their plan costs/cam count will remain the same and if I had signed up yesterday (I whould have but I was busy spending $1,200 on more Arlo gear) I also would be able to have up to 20 Pro2 cams for $14.99 a month. So am I now to pay $390 a year for 20 Pro2 cams while other customers only have to pay $180 a year for the same exact service? I don't need or want 2 or 4k video, I only need Pro2 1080p cameras. Why wasn't a separate plan for those of us who only have, and will only ever have, Pro2 1080p cams introduced? Why will some customers like me now have to pay more than twice the amount of money for the same exact service others are getting? Why couldn't the $9.99/10 cam & $14.99/20 cam subscriptions have remained the same but been modified for 1080p cameras only and separate subscription plans for 2K and 4K cams been added. Before I even had the chance to get a plan and hook up these new cams/bases I now have to pay more than 2x as much as others for the same 20 camera Pro2  subscription service? This is not right nor fair at all to those of us wanting to simply add more Pro2 cameras. Can anyone  from Arlo please explain this to me...

[jbimmerle]

I recently purchased seven cameras (5 ultra and 2 pro 3). Is there a way to use the Smart Elite plan for the five ultra cameras and then add the Smart Premier plan for the two pro 3 cameras via single plans? If not then this seems very limiting for people with needs beyond 5 cameras as we'd be left setting up multiple accounts and granting access to different accounts. Seems like such a horrible user experience. This is seriously why people return stuff.

[CaliArloUser]

Within the last two weeks I purchased nine more Pro2 Cameras and two more base stations to add to my existing five Pro2 cameras/base station system with the intent on upgrading to a total of twenty Pro2 cameras. Unfortunately because of work and  family commitments I didn't have the time to add all these new cameras/bases to my system and subscribe to a Smart Plan (would have been the Elite Plan for 20 camera coverage) until yesterday 12/13/19. With this new plan change it will now cost me more than 2x as much per month/year to have a Smart Plan to cover twenty Pro2 1080p cameras than those who upgraded to a Smart Plan before yesterday. I don't need 2K or 4K cloud video recording, I just want to have twenty Pro2 cameras on a smart plan but don't want to have to pay more than 2x as much as those who upgraded to a Smart Plan before 12/13/19 in order to do so when I purchased nine more Pro2 cameras and two more base stations within the last two weeks. There does not appear to be any kind of a grace period for those of us who were already existing users and owned multi camera Pro2 systems and who made another huge monetary investment in even more Pro2 cameras and base stations (nine and two in my case) within the two weeks prior to this Smart Plan pricing/supported camera change yesterday. I don't want to have to pay more than 2x a month/year now to only have the same 1080p cloud recording for twenty Pro2 cameras as those who purchased a Smart plan before 12/13/19. How is it fair and justified in any way after another huge monetary expense on Arlo hardware within the last to weeks to now have to pay more than 2x as much as others will pay for the exact same twenty camera 1080p cloud service, this seems completely unreasonable to me. I am shocked and feeling as though I will have no other choice but to return for refund everything I just purchased unless some sort of reasonable answer can be found. Since these plan changes took place with no warning whatsoever it would have been nice if Arlo would have granted some type of grace period to those of us who were already Arlo users and made very recent huge monetary investments in even more physical product to add to our existing systems. People like me who only need 1080p cloud recording and bought nine more Pro2 cams & two bases over the Thanksgiving holiday to add to our existing Pro2 systems but simply had not upgraded to a plan yet, because why do that until you're ready to add the cameras to the system.

[CaliArloUser]

Within the last two weeks over the Thanksgiving holiday I purchased nine more Pro2 Cameras and two more base stations to add to my existing five Pro2 cameras/base station system with the intent on upgrading to a total of twenty Pro2 cameras. Unfortunately because of work and  family commitments I didn't have the time to add all these new cameras/bases to my system and subscribe to a Smart Plan (would have been the Elite Plan for 20 camera coverage) until yesterday 12/13/19, the day the plans changed. With this new plan change it will now cost me more than 2x as much per month/year to have a Smart Plan to cover twenty Pro2 1080p cameras than those who upgraded to a Smart Plan before yesterday. I don't need 2K or 4K cloud video recording, I just want to have twenty Pro2 1080p cameras on a smart plan but don't want to have to pay more than 2x as much as those who upgraded to a Smart Plan before 12/13/19 in order to do so when I purchased nine more Pro2 cameras and two more base stations within the last two weeks. There does not appear to be any kind of a grace period for those of us who were already existing users and owned multi camera Pro2 systems and who made another huge monetary investment in even more Pro2 cameras and base stations (nine and two in my case) within the two weeks prior to this Smart Plan pricing/supported camera change yesterday. I don't want to have to pay more than 2x a month/year now to only have the same 1080p cloud recording for twenty Pro2 cameras as those who purchased a Smart plan before 12/13/19. How is it fair and justified in any way after another huge monetary expense on Arlo hardware within the last to weeks to now have to pay more than 2x as much as others will pay for the exact same twenty camera 1080p cloud service, this seems completely unreasonable to me. I am shocked and feeling as though I will have no other choice but to return for refund everything I just purchased unless some sort of reasonable answer can be found for this. Since these plan changes took place with no warning whatsoever it would have been nice if Arlo would have granted some type of grace period to those of us who were already Arlo users and made very recent huge monetary investments in even more physical product to add to our existing systems. People like me who only need 1080p cloud recording and bought nine more Pro2 cams & two bases over the Thanksgiving holiday (a pretty popular time for these kinds of purchases) to add to our existing Pro2 systems but simply had not upgraded to a plan yet, because why do that until you're ready to add the cameras to the system. I have heavily invested in Arlo Pro2 physical product and am more than willing to spend a reasonable amount of money for a Smart Plan to cover all of them but don't want to now have to pay more than 2x what other users will pay for the same exact 1080p cloud recording and camera count. Is there anyone from Arlo who might be able to comment on the possibility of such a grace period being instituted for those of us who find ourselves in the same situation as I now find myself in. 

[Cwmmmm]

I’m livid, arlo should be ashamed that they did this! We don’t deserve this at all.

[JamesC]

CaliArloUser,

Given the number of cameras you have, and the features you're looking for, you might take a look at the professional business plans as those may better fit your needs than the Arlo Smart plans. For more information on these, take a look here: Arlo for Business

JamesC

[icyy]

This is unbelievable!!!

We have 1 month to return all of our new Arlo purchases!

We  all should do so if this situation is not resolved!

[tumo135]

This is crazy.  I have 3 arlo pros waiting to be setup.  I already have 5.  This has to be resolved. 

[Boot879]

I regularly recommend Arlo cameras over traditional security systems (ADT, CPI, etc). I also point out how expensive services like Ring are. As a police detective I get questions about security all of the time... so I'm always happy to be able to provide a cost effective solution to folks.

Full stop. No more Arlo advertising from me. This is just another company that lured people in and has now moved to gouging them for money. I'll be looking for another company/system to recommend. I happen to upgrade to the $14.99/month 20 camera max Arlo Smart Elite plan a few months ago. I'm good for now... but I assume Arlo will find a way to phase me out in the future. I'll have a new company/system ready to go when that happens. A sad day for Arlo users.

[Phobin]

I have the two homes (almost a 3rd) that I monitor ... main home, beach trailer and almost a mothers-in-law home. I have been a very happy Arlo customer .. very happy .. until now

1. I didn't receive a notification that my subscription was about expire ... and it expired ... great customer service ...

2. The new pricing plans are more than doubling the cost. I am not a business and its apparent that Arlo is not considering its install base. 

I spoke to a sale rep 'Mark' and he indicated in order to have the same service as before my subscription was going from $129 (149?) to almost $300. I explain that Arlo was pricing it's self out of a long standing customer. He promised that someone would contact me ..... (spongebob voice ..." many ... days ... later ... ") no one has contacted me. 

Maybe time to look at Ring, Blink or CPI/ADT ????..... 

Anyone have a similar experience with this new pricing plan ?? I own a 30 year old single wide trailer near the beach .. I am not a business nor am I rich ... 

Anyone want two base stations and 9 cameras (gen1 and original Pro versions really cheap) and a dual charger? 

[Mavrrick]

This is appalling. The way tech works is that over time tech improves and it is easier and cheaper to provide services. Cost should go down and not up.

This is why google its revamping its pricing next year and ring is already super competitive. The arlo pro 3 kit I purchased a bit ago is going back to BB and i am not getting any more Arlo cameras. I am going to switch over to someone else or just get something i can stream to my home server.

[Mavrrick]

@JamesC

I wonder if this is the compromise that was agreed upon internally to allow ua to have access to recordings locally. I wouldn't mind this price hick as much if i could have as many cameras on a single basestation as i like and access the recordings remotely as Arlo promised. That was suppose to be avaliable by the end of the year.

[gdhatt]

I agree...  I've slowly been adding to the inventory of cameras I own (went from the typical 5 - a mix of Pro & Pro 2 -- to 8), adding them as I could afford to.  When I went to complete a subscription today (December 18th), the website still has verbiage suggesting that cameras could be added to the Premier plan for as little as $1.49 per month for a "minimum" of five cameras.  Nowhere can I find the subscription option that will allow me to have eight cameras online.  I've now shelled out an additional $500 for three cameras that are going to cost another $160/yr JUST TO BRING ONLINE.  No frills, no activity zones, no recognition of people, cars, blah blah blah.

Bait & switch.  I'm tempted to contact our state Attorney General to complain about predatory business practices.

I may still subscribe, but only to get a year's worth out of these cameras while I look for a reasonable replacement from a company that values its customers for more than their credit cards.

Bad form, Arlo!  Better alternatives now exist, especially when considering the dismal battery life you offer...

[Mavrrick]

I have opened another thread to ask my question above more specifically. I also found a KB article about this subject as well. 

https://kb.arlo.com/88/What-are-the-available-Arlo-subscription-plans-and-how-much-cloud-recording-i...

That article has some very interesting information. Specifically the lower section on "No Subscriptions". The way i read that there are no limits to the number of cameras for the Arlo Ultra, Pro 3 or Arlo doorbell. You just don't get cloud storage. The Arlo Pro 2's and below continue to get their 7 days of rolling cloud storage, but are limited to 5 cameras. If this is true, depending on how they implement the local storage access I would be completely content with just using the local storage with the pro 3's i have.  

[gdhatt]

Except don't overlook one this particular inconvenience -- in order to ACCESS that locally-stored imagery, you have to remove the storage media, insert it in a computer (or other device) and THEN view it.  You cannot access the storage media remotely (viewing on the web portal via your smartphone or tablet, for instance).  MAJOR limitation, IMHO.

As for me, I've decided to explore the "Advanced" Business Plan, which allows for up to 16 cameras and 14 days of online retention for $12.99/month.  The way I calculate this, if I had a five-camera Smart Premier plan ($9.99/month), with two additional cameras (at half-off the 2.99/month for each of them), I'd be paying $12.98/month for seven cameras and 7 days of online retention.  For ONE PENNY MORE, the Business plan offers nine extra cameras and a retention period twice as long.  So far, I don't see the drawback... (except maybe the cost of the extra nine cameras!).

[Mavrrick]

That is true kind of, but once the Arlo ultra was released and the removal of the 7 days of cloud storage happened Arlo promised to enable access to locally stored recordings. That is what I am talking about.

https://kb.arlo.com/000062202/Can-I-access-clips-stored-locally-on-my-Arlo-Ultra-camera

[ckong]

The change from 10 cameras to 5 cameras is disappointing.

I have 5 cameras.  I was planning to add an Arlo Door Bell camera with Smart Plan and maybe one more camera.  Due to Arlo/Netgear halving the number of cameras supported, I started to look at other solutions.  It's not that I won't go Arlo in the future, but I had looked at them with the previous 10 camera plan first.  Now I'm leaning towards Ring, with a look at Eufy cameras as an alternative. 

Arlo/Netgear had my customer loyalty and attention, but now...I find myself looking elsewhere where I wouldn't have before.

[MichiganJR]

I currently have 10 cameras set up, with two sitting dormant.  I was about to purchase additional cameras to take me up to 20, and then upgrade the plan accordingly.  Fortunately, I checked the plan details before doing so.  I'm good on my current plan purchase by the year, but I guess they could force me to another plan when that year expires.

I'm about to start spending some quality time looking for alternatives.

[CaliArloUser]

James C.

I have looked into the business plans but the main "smart" feature I am interested in is e911 service. The business plans do not seem to offer this ability and I can't find any documentation to the contrary. I guess Arlo assumes that business owners wouldn't want the ability to call 911 if their establishment is being broken into. The fact that e911 services do not seem to be available with the business plans pretty much renders those plans useless imho. Do you have any information you could provide as a definite "yes or no" answer regarding wether e911 service is included with a business plan?

[Mavrrick]

I may have misunderstood something in another thread, but i think you may be able to get e911 just by doing the 5 camera smart plan regardless of how many cameras you have.

Think of it like this. Based on the article i listed above you don't get e911 until you subscribe to the new Smart Preimier 5 camera plan. I was also told in another thread that you can pick and choose what cameras get the smart plan features. So it would be reasonable to say your house is protected by e911 once you have that plan and be trigger manually regardless of how many cameras you have. If you also have the VMB4540 or VMB5000 base station then you will have the option to have cameras record to the base station and access the recordings localy. That means you don't exactly need Smart to record content. 

At this point you only use get the smart plan for additional cameras when you need just those features and not just to activate them or for the storage.

@JameC It would be nice if this concept was validated by Arlo 

[whtefur]

This increase did also affect existing customers.  I just got an email confirming my payment -- MUCH higher than it's been the last 3 years.