Arlo ultra 2 does not recording 4K

[BooIJ]

I have an Arlo Ultra 2 and a Smarthub VMB5000 with local storage.
However, it does not record locally in 4K. I have already followed the article below, but unfortunately still in 2K

How is this possible? And does anyone have a solution?

https://kb.arlo.com/000062124/How-do-I-record-4K-Arlo-videos-to-a-local-storage-device

[jguerdat]

In the past, although I see no reference to it in the current plans, the lower cost plan also reduced the maximum resolution for cloud recordings. How long have you had your plan in effect?

[BooIJ]

I think I have had the Arlo Single cam plan for about 3 years

[Edinburgh_lad1]

@jguerdat This user is talking about recording locally, not to the cloud. 

I too am not convinced that my Ultra are recording in 4k. The night-time footage is terrible. Day-time footage isn't any better. 

Streaming in 4k is hit and miss. When mine is saying it streams in 4k, the label is initially 2k, then magically turns into 4k without much of a difference in terms of quality. Most of the time, though, there is no label and footage is pixelated. 

[jguerdat]

While I can't be sure, it may be worthwhile to cancel the current subscription (hopefully not a yearly one since Arlo doesn't refund unused portions) and purchase a new one.

@JamesC , @ShayneS , @BrookeN can you verify single camera plan capabilities? I see nothing that states anything about resolution in any plan.

[jguerdat]

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@Edinburgh_lad1 wrote:

@jguerdat This user is talking about recording locally, not to the cloud. 

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Since the hub only records what is passed to the cloud, I don't think there's a difference. You should see the same thing in either method.

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I too am not convinced that my Ultra are recording in 4k. The night-time footage is terrible. Day-time footage isn't any better. 

Streaming in 4k is hit and miss. When it does stream in 4k, the label is initially 2k, then magically turns into 4k without much of a difference in terms of quality. Most of the time, though, there is no label and footage is pixelated.

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I can't be sure so it's up to you to troubleshoot but that sure sounds like a connection problem OR a faulty camera. Have you switched cameras around to see if that helps? I haven't followed your travails closely so don't know your history.

[BooIJ]

For me, it records at 2k both locally and in the cloud. That's true in the cloud, but locally this has to be 4K, right?
Yet this is not the case. How can I solve this?
Can setting up my subscription really work?

[jguerdat]

If the subscription limits the resolution, you'll get the same for both methods. Nothing processes a 4k video locally down to 2k for the cloud - it's 2k out of the camera.

[BooIJ]

So if I remove the subscription from this camera, it will record 4K locally?

[StephenB]

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@BooIJ wrote:

For me, it records at 2k both locally and in the cloud. 

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I think all subscription options (both Basic and Plus for single camera plans) now include 4K recording. But this does vary by country, so go to www.arlo.com and look at the plan details there.

I wouldn't touch your subscription plan just yet.  Note if you pay yearly, then there is no refund when you cancel.

Is the camera fully zoomed out?  If not, that could result in 2K recording.

You might also contact Arlo support for this.  Use the support center in the app - googling for a phone number almost always leads to a scam support site.

[BooIJ]

The problem is the secure plan.
I transferred this to another camera and now the ultra 2 records in 4K.

So this cannot be otherwise? The secure plan you pay for limits local recording.

[StephenB]

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@BooIJ wrote:

The problem is the secure plan.

So this cannot be otherwise? The secure plan you pay for limits local recording.

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It depends on exactly what plan you have.  US plans have included 4K recording for a long time.  International plans included 4K with the old "Elite" plan, but not the others. 

Checking international plans is complicated for users, you have to find the appropriate page for that country and then look at the plans.  I did check New Zealand, and the two plans there both include 4K.

• https://www.arlo.com/en-nz/arlosecure.html#compare

As I suggested above, look at the plan details at www.arlo.com - that will automatically give you the correct subscription info for your country.  If you have a legacy subscription plan, you might need to cancel it and resubscribe.