Arlo Ultra Newbie advice needed

[alanbo1234]

HW VersionH6

Serial Number5GG2917EA3097

Firmware1.070.41.1_80_9996bd9

These questions concern the Ultra camera and hub I have just purchased.

1. The low light setting is set to "Constant" - does this mean spotlight is on all night or only when motion or sound activated?

2. The help files say, "You can record 4K videos from Arlo Ultra to a microSD card by inserting a microSD card into your Arlo SmartHub".

   (a) is this in addition to the free 7 day rolling online recording or instead of?
   (b) In other words, if I coose to record on micro sd card, will my video still be recorded online in the free 7 day rolling programme?

   (c) Does the free 7 day rolling programme continue after a year - i.e no subscription needed?

3. It is a very windy day and my camera is recording sound every minute - is this unusual? Wind and other sound reduction is on in settings.

4. (a) How many Mb/Gb does online recording take up per minute of video?
   (b) Is there any storage limit to the free rolling 7 day recording.

5. How many Mb/Gb does 4K recording take up on a micro sd card?

6. What battery life can I expect from the Ultra camera? So far it's used 20% of battery life in 6 hours.

[JamesC · Accepted solution]

alanbo1234,

1. This means the light will stay on for the during of the motion trigger. For more information on the spotlight and it's settings, take a look here: How does the spotlight on my Arlo Ultra camera work?

2. For Ultra content to be stored in the Arlo cloud, you must have a subscription, there is no free 7 day storage option for Ultra. Included with Ultra kits is a free 1 year subscription for Arlo Smart Premier which allows for content to be stored in the cloud for 30 days. Take a look here for more information on options after the free Arlo Smart Premier plan expires: What options will I have when the Arlo Smart Premier 1-year service plan ends?

If you enable local stroage via microSD card, content will be stored on the SD card and in the Arlo cloud. If you have no subscription content will still be stored locally on the SD card.

3. Try reducing your audio sensitivity in the rules for your camera. This could be causing increased triggers. How do I change the audio sensitivity on my Arlo camera?

4. As mentioned above, there is no free 7 day storage option for Ultra, for more information on subscription plans, see here: What are the available Arlo subscription plans and how much cloud recording is available?

5. File size can vary greatly depending on the length and content of a recording. We recommend that you use a microSD card with a minimum of 16 GB capacity. For more on SD cards, see here: How do I record 4K videos to a microSD card?

6. Battery life is similar to other Arlo Wire-Free cameras. This is largely determined by usage, environmental conditions and camera settings. Take a look here for more information: How long do Arlo camera batteries last?

JamesC

[alanbo1234]

HW Version H6
Serial Number 5GG2917EA3097
Firmware 1.070.41.1_80_9996bd9

Thanks, JamesC. That cleared up all my queries except one: still not happy about battery life. I have the audio settings set to reduce wind noise, the audio is on but set to minimum sensitivity, which is 1 rather than 0, and the power settings are a balance between video quality and battery life. I live at the end of a cul de sac so there is no passing traffic. Even though the audio sensitivity is set to the lowest, I am only getting 64 hours of battery life from a full charge, and there is 10-20 second audio recording every minute, even on low audio sensitivity. I don't want to reduce video quality because I need to read number plates of cars outside the house.

I can only get good battery life by turning audio off completely - surely that is not right?

[JamesC]

alanbo1234,

The development team is currently investigating reports of increased audio sensitivity/false audio detections. I don't have any new information at the moment, but this is certainly something the team is reviewing.

JamesC

[alanbo1234]

Hi JamesC - thanks for that information. Perhaps you can keep me updated on any progress on that.

I spent over two hours on the chatline support about this with two different technicians. Would they - should they - have been aware of this? They didn't mention it as a possible cause.

Regards

alnbo1234

[JamesC]

alanbo1234,

I recommend following this thread for new information on this issue.

Sound Detection Issues Since Update

JamesC