Answering a doorbell ring

[Kkelly1967]

When someone presses the doorbell, i get a call on my phone, which i have to answer to see whos at the door. That kind of defeats the purpose of having the camera and knowing whos ringing it. Why cant i see who is at the door FIRST and then decide if i want to answer or not? If there is no way to change this I will have to return and go to Google Nest or back to Ring.

[JamesC]

Kkelly1967,

With Arlo Smart, when your doorbell is armed to detect motion, it will send a Rich Push Notification that includes a snapshot of the motion trigger, so you can see who is at your door prior to answering.

Additionally, when the doorbell call is answered, if your mobile client is on mute, there is no indication to the user.  So you can determine who is at your door and then decide whether you would like to speak with them, play a Quick Reply Message, or disconnect.

JamesC

[ncoulet73]

i would agree that the process to check who is ringing prior to answering is counter intuitive. 

This should be automated in the application... the lack of automation is not user friendly.

[Ray_S]

I’m not following this as an answer. The flow is:

1. Video Doorbell senses motion
2. Video Doorbell sends push notification (may or may not be seen if phone in pocket)
3. Person rings video doorbell
4. Arlo App rings as a phone call would
5. I pull my phone out w/ the Arlo app in full focus (no viewing of notifications possible at this point)
6. No preview of who is at the door bell - just a big empty space where a preview is assumed to be
7. I have to answer the ring to see who’s there?