Does the Arlo Ultra come with free 7 day cloud storage?

[W__R]

Not seeing this feature being promoted with the details on the Arlo Ultra. 
Is it not available for the Ultra?

[Paul_FCCL]

We've heard your concerns and have an exciting announcement based on your feedback. Take a look here for more information: Local and Remote Access to Local Storage for Arlo Ultra via Arlo App Expected in Second Half of 2019

JamesC

Well......here it is, it’s official now!

[Wolj]

James C.... that is fabulous. I certainly for one will be upgrading the day that happens!

I am impressed that you proactively have reacted positivly to community feedback. Big "hats off to you".

If you can let me /us know when that roll out takes place I will be the first in live to get a triple Ultra set up.

Cheers

[AncientGeek]

This is very good to hear.  Access to local storage has been a significant deficiency since it was announced and should become a very useful product feature and differentiator.

My interpretation from the extremely limited statement, is that this will only be for the Ultra base station.  Perhaps the Pro base station is not capable of getting this upgrade or Arlo wants to use the new feature as an incentive to upgrade to Ultra.  I’m sure existing Pro users would prefer it include them, but if that isn’t possible, it is good to have a path to this functionality in the Arlo family.  

I also I am not clear on whether this change means cloud recordings will be available without a paid plan or if just local Ultra recordings will be available without a paid plan, but through the app.  I guess, if access to local recordings through the app is well implemented, that distinction will be less important, but if it is only access to local storage, users will need to be educated as to the implications of that reality.  A stolen base or data card from the base would mean all recordings left the building when the thief left (hence the value of a paid cloud plan).  Also, if a thief cuts internet access, no recordings would be visible remotely even if the base unit and storage card were not stolen, until the owner was able to return to the site to retrieve the video either through the app or locally.

Also from reading this, I can’t tell if access to the local storage “through the app” would be possible when on premises and when the internet connection is down.  I’m assuming the app will still need to access the images and recordings through the Arlo cloud infrastructure, but it would be nice to know that for sure.  Ideally, we’d have local access to local storage when on premises even with no access to cloud services, but that could have implementation challenges.  Second best would be any well implemented access to the locally stored content through the app, but it would be a huge improvement, nonetheless and strongly welcomed.

Clarification on these points would be helpful.

Just Ultra or both Pro and Ultra base stations?

A free plan for both cloud and local recordings or a free plan for local recordings, but they will be viewable through the app?

Local access to local storage through the app without access to cloud services or only when cloud services are available?

[jguerdat]

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@Wolj wrote:

James C.... that is fabulous. I certainly for one will be upgrading the day that happens!

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Just to be clear, the existing offer for a free year's worth of cloud storage overlaps with the (hopefully accurate) release timeframe for local access of the SD card. You could buy now and have service without interruption although the process to access the videos would change.

[Tim_BR]

I just found out that it doesn't come with a 7 day free cloud storage plan because it already comes with a 1 year 30-day included plan that you have to pay if you want to keep it after that period. I would'nt mind paying, if it was available in my country (Brazil), but unfortunately it isn't.

Then, since I can't access the 1 year 30-day free plan included in the package (4 Arlo Ultra cameras), and there's no 7-day free storage to this kit, I thought that I could use the microSD card and access the videos via the app, but... actually it is not possible too. Only if I remove the microSD from the base and take it to my PC, absolutely not practical.

Besides the 4 Ultra cams, I have 3 Pro cams that I use inside my house (with the 7 day free storage plan) and I was a big fan of Arlo, now I'm totally disappointed. 

[AncientGeek]

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@Tim_BR wrote:

I just found out that it doesn't come with a 7 day free cloud storage plan because it already comes with a 1 year 30-day included plan that you have to pay if you want to keep it after that period. I would'nt mind paying, if it was available in my country (Brazil), but unfortunately it isn't.

Then, since I can't access the 1 year 30-day free plan included in the package (4 Arlo Ultra cameras), and there's no 7-day free storage to this kit, I thought that I could use the microSD card and access the videos via the app, but... actually it is not possible too. Only if I remove the microSD from the base and take it to my PC, absolutely not practical.

Besides the 4 Ultra cams, I have 3 Pro cams that I use inside my house (with the 7 day free storage plan) and I was a big fan of Arlo, now I'm totally disappointed. 

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Actually Arlo announced last week they are going to allow access to the videos on the microSD card via the Arlo app later this year.  So you might be ok.

[JamesC]

Tim_BR,

I will reach out to you in a private message to gather more information on this topic.

JamesC

[Spamilton]

Why doesn't the Ultra at least have the free 7-day cloud storage for 1080? I assume it's to push the subscription plans, but people are going to be turned off by this. I was planning on buying the cameras and using them mostly at 1080, but I think that's out of the question now. Might as well just get the Arlo pro 2.

[kdm67]

Will the arlo ultra have any free cloud storage at a lower resolution like 1080p. i get it comes with a year subscription for free but after that year if i just do 1080p can i still get 7 days of free recording or am i forced to get the subscription if i want any type of clould recording?

[JamesC]

Take a look at this article for more information on options after the free 1 year expires: What options will I have when the Arlo Smart Premier 1-year service plan ends?

JamesC

[kdm67]

So by that I’m better off just getting the pro 2 then.

[Spamilton]

Yes, unfortunately the Ultra cams are getting poorly reviewed on the Best Buy site as well. I'm not sure what went wrong with this iteration, but I hope it can be addressed.

[kdm67]

Looks like I’ll opt for the pro 2 which is cheeper as the benefits seem better. I don’t want to pay to have recordings. I don’t care for the 4K I just like the 180 degree view

[AncientGeek]

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@kdm67 wrote:
So by that I’m better off just getting the pro 2 then.

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With regard to the options available after the one year is up, I believe if you start at the beginning of this thread and thread all the way through, you will see that Arlo has committed to add the abilty to view locally stored video via the app later in 2019.  So it depends on what you want.  If you want 7 days of cloud recording for free, Yes.  Not Ultra.  If you want Ultra and can live with local recording that will be viewable both locally and remotely through the app after the one year free period is up, Ultra might be right.

[kdm67]

That’s true but using local it’s another additional cost to an expensive camera set

[AncientGeek]

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@kdm67 wrote:
That’s true but using local it’s another additional cost to an expensive camera set

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Yes.  Though prices now are about $50 for a 1TB USB HDD.  My first personal HDD was 5MB for $300 in1983 dollars!

[kdm67]

That’s fair I’ll just have to wait to see if they allow local to be viewed later this year.

[W_MOUKA]

Does the ultra kit come with. Base plan of 7 days rolling cloud video recording like the Pro 2?

[W_MOUKA]

Thank you all for your contributions to the discussion! So clearly:
- no 7 days rolling at any resolution for the ultra
- new feature of being able to access SD data from app (for ultra, rest TBC) to be rolled out this year

This means no ultra for me...