Arlo Video Doorbell Chat with Neal Skura, Sr. Product Manager Thursday 12/05 at 11 a.m. PT

[JamesC]

Last week we launched the all new Arlo Video Doorbell. This week, we’re hosting a live chat in the Arlo Community with Neal Skura, Senior Arlo Product Manager. Please join us at 11AM PT this Thursday 12/05/19 as he discusses and takes your questions about the all-new Arlo Video Doorbell.

If you can’t make it during the scheduled live chat, we will leave this thread open until the end of the day Thursday 12/05/19 to allow you to post questions for Neal.

Neal Skura is a Senior Product Manager with Arlo Technologies, responsible for the Arlo Video Doorbell, Arlo Go LTE camera, and Arlo wired cameras, including Arlo Baby and Arlo Q. With over 17 years of experience in the consumer technology industry, Neal has held a variety of roles across product management, engineering management, embedded software development, and quality assurance. Fueled by his genuine passion for technology and technological curiosity, Neal is excited to bring new consumer products to market. Neal has earned an MBA in Management of Technology, complementing his Bachelor of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering.

We look forward to having you join the conversation!

Thank you!

[Whatarussh]

The Arlo community is fed up with the lack of support to resolve the ongoing and repeated issues with Geofencing. Why should anyone buy new or legacy products from Arlo when the company demonstrates such incompetence and lack of customer support? 

[Danny_87]

If I buy a doorbell can I add it to my pro system? I have 5 pro cameras and no subscription plan right now, will I have to subscribe for the doorbell? Do I need another base station or can I use the one I have now?

Thanks!

[g3nius]

Please stop all development work on everything and focus on getting Geofencing to work. I have 3 cameras that are useless because the geofencing doesn’t work!

[Lbessin]

One of the reasons I have not bought a Ring video doorbell is because of privacy concerns.  For example, Ring turns the video over to law enforcement without consent of the consumer. What protects will you have in place to protect personal privacy with this new product?  https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-11-20/ring-doorbell-video-data-privacy

[mmcipdn]

when will arlo fix the issue of cameras not connecting to the Alexa devices with the arlo app?  This problem of not connecting to arlo devices with video began when arlo updated their app to version 2.11.0-12.

Thank You

[dashmonkey]

Before I bought the Arlo system I had a Ring doorbell. The problem was that my front door faces the street and there isn 't a way to attach a doorbell type device that doesn't face the street. I live on a fairly busy street so it picked up every single car that went past. Even on the lowest sensitivity setting it still went off every time a car went by. How will Arlo be any different?

I returned the Ring and now have the Arlo camera on my porch. I have it anchored above and to the side giving me a pretty good image of anyone on my porch but not a direct face shot. I wish I could use a door bell type device but I don't want to go through the same issues I had with the Ring. 

[Probablynot]

Will the time delay to open/boot be similar to Arlo Pro? I love my Arlo system, but lets be real, unless you have a Pro 2 and the cameras are plugged in you're dealing with delays in triggering/opening/viewing to get to where you're actively viewing the feed. I've also never gotten the two way audio to work properly (separate issue) so I'd be concerned about the viability of a doorbell camera integrated into the currently Arlo system in it's current state, for something that is meant to deal real time with people coming up to your door and ringing the bell.

Now, if you can include this in your triggering scenarios that may help. IE: If my driveway camera triggers the doorbell starts recording.

[Brill53]

There isn't a category for the Arlo Video Doorbell?? Is there a wiring diagram for a 2 video doorbell system?

[LNavarro]

Will the video doorbell integrate to my existing Arlo (not pro) system so that I can view captured video in the cloud app as I do now?  Or will it require a separate paid subscription and its own separate hub?  It would be a great add on but if it requires separate hub, app and subscription then this opens it up to competitive devices.

[SEEtheREPLAY]

Are there any units for review?

[Retired_Member]

So I'm an early video doorbell adopter and had it pre-ordered.  I installed it basically next-day when it was released and shipped from Best Buy.  It's functioned great so far and is a good supplement to my existing porch camera as I have them trigger linked.  I love that it connects directly via WiFi as well and wish more of the Arlo camera products did this instead of being so heavily reliant on the base station which is super temperamental.

My only question is if there are any plans to allow for "fun" door chimes or customizability of the chime thereof.  Nest's doorbell allows for neat holiday chimes.  Do you envision this as being a feature soon like your competitors currently do?

[Thepradels]

We have been waiting to purchase the Arlo Video Doorbell because we do not know whether it will connect through the Arlo Pro base station, and whether we will have to pay for the Premium service. We would like to be able to use Arlo's video doorbell solution through our base station, and without an additional fee. -Victoria & Karl

[jlt1267]

What are the plans to add CVR? Since it is hard wired, and WiFi direct connected, wouldn’t it make sense to have Cloud CVR similar to Arlo Q instead of video clips?

[Whatarussh]

Will the Doorbell have the same nearly continuous Geofencing problems that the Arlo cameras have? I'm assuming yes, so why should anyone buy any new product made by Arlo?

[Bigd3048]

All the reviews I’ve read on this doorbell ringer says it’s not good and don’t buy it

[MadRC]

Hi Neal, I recently reviewed and tested the Arlo Pro 2 system on my YouTube channel and overall I was really impressed with how the system works And like the look of this massively.

How well does the new Arlo doorbell integrate with the Pro 2 base station and is a separate subscription required for the bell and the Pro system cloud storage ? .

Secondly and something that is important is how fast will users receive notification of a button press on their phone via this system as I have found many of the other smart doorbell systems to be too slow in giving the user notification of someone at the door. Ultra low latency is very important as many delivery drivers won’t hang around when parcels can’t be left.

Finally is this supported in the UK as well?

Thanks

Ian
MadRC

[Groovok]

Concerning the new Video Doorbell, do you need a working chime inside your home? 
My chime wasn't working properly, and we replaced the hardwired unit w/ a battery operated wireless doorbell, which ended up being garbage.  However, the line is still live, so do i need to have a working chime in order for the new video doorbell to work if i hardwire it to the line currently occupied by my old press doorbell outside. 

[Mdterps]

Hello Neal, Integration with IFTTT and Smartthings is extremely important for the way I utilize my arlo system. Do you anticipate having the video doorbell as an available device in IFTTT and Smartthings?

Also, my doorbell is installed close to a white wall which is set back and seems to be reflecting the IR lights so that when the night vision is on, my picture is very dark. I tried the angle piece to tilt it away from the wall and also cropping the image, however, neither of those items worked. Do you have any troubleshooting ideas to help fix this?

[langdoy]

I've been waiting for this as I was fed up with Ring and their app.  Honestly, Arlo took too long releasing a useless non-video version.  The fact that you HAVE TO get a plan for recordings and the fact that the Pro cam 'activity zone' only works now on a plan killed it for me.

I switched my Ring to an Eufy instead and about to change my Arlo pro cams out as well.

[Arlo38]

How did you get the camera to turn on when someone rings your doorbell when no one else can get that to work? Mine stopped like everyone else's when Arlo updated the software.

[jhorts918]

I am having issues with the activity zones on the Arlo Video doorbell.  I live on a VERY busy street with lots of car traffic and also pedestrian traffic on the walkway. Essentially, the doorbell would record all day long if I can't use activity zones. 

I've tried setting them up and selected only the area where I'd like the doorbell to record if motion. It seems that the doorbell completely ignores the activity zones and records when their is motion outside of the set zone.

I've essentially made a MINUSCULE zone in the cameras view and set the motion detection to 1. This seems to ensure that I don't get any of the street traffic - but it's also missing when individuals come up the steps as the zone is so small.

Do you have any plans to fix this? The doorbell is essentially useless on a busy street and I would recommend that NO one purchases it until Arlo can get this correct. 

[Kami9a]

Hello Neal,

I currently use an Arlo Baby cam, 4 Arlo Ultra cams and a Arlo doorbell that oddly required me to buy a separate base station (VMB4000) so I have two base stations for my system because the Ultra cameras came with a VMB5000 that does not work with the door bell.
My questions are:
Will this work with the VMB5000 base station?

Will this allow me to pair a Ultra camera with a door bell?

I have had a lot of intermittent problems with audio not working, either inability to hear or be heard by guest at door bell. Has this been tested with slower connections and what have been the issues?

[FGARCIA25]

I agree. Geofencing seems to have broken in the latest iOS 13. Please correct.

[FGARCIA25]

Agreed!!!