Post 3-Month Trial Capabilities

[DesertCasa]

Purchased 4 Ultra 2 cameras about a month ago and I’ve actually been pretty satisfied with the system.  Video clarity is very good and the system has been trouble free.  But after discovering I’ll have to pay a monthly fee to retain several notification capabilities/features, and have cloud access to see the videos associated with notifications, I’m returning the system to Costco.  Arlo’s premium price should at least include 7 days of free cloud access. Beyond 7 days I can store and access videos from the base unit. The system is literally useless if you can’t immediately see notification videos.  Sure I can pull up a live feed but whatever/whoever tripped the motion detection is probably long gone. It’s one thing to pay a premium upfront for Arlo features, but to find out Arlo wants you to to pay every month thereafter to keep the features is simply a rip off.  Arlo may be be a top rated system but I don’t want to pay for anything forever. Especially when new excellent alternatives are coming to the market. 

I’m now looking for an alternative system and it appears Eufy’s 2C Pro and 2 Pro might be a good solution. No monthly fee, solid reliability and sharp 2K video.  Not 4K as touted by Arlo, but their 4K streaming is limited  to 2 cameras at one time.  And to be honest, I saw very little difference between their 4K and HDR recordings. 

I welcome comments from any one on this board who may have come to the same conclusion and switched out Arlo.  Especially, from anyone who actually installed an Eufy 2C Pro or 2 Pro system.  As for all of you who love your Arlo I’m not knocking the system, just their rip off, bait and switch tactics. 

Disappointed…..

[dcfox1]

Eufy also has a subscription for cloud storage. They have Base recording the same as your system for free. 

[DesertCasa]

Thanks for the input. But as it turns out, after doing a little research, Eufy may not be a viable choice after all.  Eufy is owned by Anker Innovations, which is a Chinese electronics company based in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.  Ran across some articles concerned about data security.  If possible I’d rather buy USA,  At the very least non-Chinese.  Which may be an impossible task these days, but even the hint of a data security problem is a show stopper.  Sooooo….the search continues. 

[Leafeon · Accepted solution]

If it's a data control and security issue you're worried about, personally I think Eufy ironically gives it's users more control of their data. Their basestations as said already, use built in storage and even allow for users to connect to a home NAS server. As the "No Monthly Fee Required" label says you get all the features of the app and cameras without having to pay for a subscription unlike Arlo. I genuinely almost considered selling my Arlo cameras but my main gripe with Eufy cameras is that it doesn't use removable batteries and the cameras don't have 2 way talk, only 1 way. Of course their recent security breach is definitely something to consider but I wouldn't rule out Eufy just because they're Chinese.