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!

[JustinPPPPP]

Arlo claims and advertises compatibility with Alexa yet more than 50% of the time when I try and display one of my cameras I get an error message.  Talked with Arlo and of course they are scripted to blame Amazon.   I have spent well over 2k on my cameras, lights and would love to add the doorbell but hesitant because of your existing issues which now in 2 years have shown ZERO improvement.

[McCreary637]

Sounds like you need the Arlo Audio doorbell paired with your camera rather than a video doorbell.

https://www.arlo.com/en-us/products/arlo-doorbell/default.aspx

[azarloGuy]

Don't hold your breath.  The arlo cameras supposedly integrate with Alexa and have a skill, but oh yeah, that doesn't work either.  Alexa is supposed to announce when there is motion detected on a camera.  Every once in a great while out of the blue I'll get an announcement.  Maybe once out of 50 times or more, so I know I have it setup correctly. I asked about this several months ago and just like everything else.....Crickets...

[michael-colby]

so if we already have arlo smart premier subscription i can add a doorbell to it?

[rseward]

You just did

[Kami9a]

McCreary637
McCreary637 Novice Novice
‎2019-12-05 11:31 AM
Sounds like you need the Arlo Audio doorbell paired with your camera rather than a video doorbell.

https://www.arlo.com/en-us/products/arlo-doorbell/default.aspx

I would love to pair my Audio door bell with my cameras but it does not pair with Arlo Ultra cameras! 🤦🏻‍♂️

[Neal_ArloPLM]

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@Thepradels wrote:
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

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Today, our wired Arlo Video Doorbell connects directly to your 2.4GHz WiFi network and works on its own, without any base-station - but our team is working hard on adding base-station support.

To get the best of the Arlo Video Doorbell, an Arlo Smart subscription provides access to cloud storage, activity zones, rich notifications and customized alerts - but even without a subscription, you still get access to live-streaming, instant alerts on motion detection, and doorbell video calls direct to your mobile device.

[Neal_ArloPLM]

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@jlt1267 wrote:
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?

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Unfortunately, right now there are no plans for CVR to be supported for the Arlo Video Doorbell.

[rseward]

Don’t you guys make camera 🎥?
This should have been a video presentation with a Q&A at the end.

[Neal_ArloPLM]

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@MadRC wrote:
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

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The Arlo Video Doorbell connects directly to your 2.4GHz WiFi and works without a base-station.  The doorbell comes with a 3-month trial of Arlo Smart, which enables features such as cloud storage, activity zones, rich notifications and customized alerts (Person, Package, Animal, Vehicle).  Arlo Smart subscription plans can be applied to your account and benefit both cameras and the doorbell.

As for latency, the Arlo Video Doorbell uses a SIP video call architecture to deliver a video call to your mobile phone with the minimum latency.  Also, as the doorbell calls appears as an incoming call, answering your door is as easy as answering your phone, no matter where you are.  The Video Doorbell can also be armed for motion detection, so you will receive alerts as soon as someone is detected, even before they ring your doorbell.  #knowbeforetheyknock

[bmwdriver7175]

I have 19 cameras scattered across several properties so I am heavily heavily invested.  I also have the Audio Doorbells.  I cannot in good conscience give this company any more money unless and until they demonstrate a commitment to fix broken software promptly.  I have been an early adopter now going on 4 years.  The number of problems that are plaguing this system are enormous, some date back to 2018 and still have not been addressed.  The biggest current problem is geofencing not working.  Then there is the problem with the badge count being off, sometimes it tells us there are 300 new videos when there is 1.  Then there is the request to disable notifications (AND RECORDING) temporarily to not waste batteries at remote locations we can't get to easily to replace batteries, e.g. a winter home that's thousands of miles away.  That's more than a year old, yes we can disable notifications, but it's the recording that's really driving this request.

Alexa integration is laughable.  It's supposed to announce when there is motion.  I think it's done that once this past year.

You guys keep adding more and more products and digging the software hole deeper and deeper.  If you would just get the software right, you'd have thousands of advocates for your product.  Now you have many  angry and frustrated customers.  If you are not reading ALL the forums, then you are part of the problem and have your head in the sand!!

Again, I'm heavily invested and want (and need) Arlo to be successful.  When will a higher up address this community so we know they are truly listening and tell us what changes to expect in the future to address all these issues?  I'm getting older and running out hair to pull out!!

Thanks for listening to the rant!

[Charlif761]

Agrees..this is supposed to be a "Chat with Neal" but I am seeing little actual interaction..I think this should have been billed as "Sales Pitch with Neal." But good to know it is not only me! 

[Neal_ArloPLM]

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@Groovok wrote:

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. 

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@Groovok  Great question - the Arlo Video Doorbell needs 16-24VAC in order to operate, but you don't necessarily need a chime.  When setting up your doorbell, select "None" as your Traditional Chime as this will prevent the doorbell from attempting to ring the chime by closing the circuit.  Based on the information you've provided, the Arlo Video Doorbell should work fine, as long as you have 16-24VAC, with 10VA transformer.

[AKL2019]

Just to clarify: if I do not have a subscription, and I receive a notification of motion detected at the doorbell, will I be able to see what caused that notification to be sent?  Similar to when I receive a notification that one of my Pro2 cameras has detected motion,  I can see a short video of what motion was detected.  

[Esmca]

Agreed. I can see the video but Alexa tells me every time the camera goes off.

[Charlif761]

AMEN! Having already had my home burglarized and losing tens of thousands of dollars in property, not to mention sentimental items from deceased parents and grandparents that can never ever be replaced, I got Arlo to give me a little peace of mind. Now all I do is worry about whether Arlo is working when I am away from home and and obsessively check to see if they are offline. Based on my poor recent experience, my brother (a police officer) invested in Blink instead. Might be my next stop! 

Still waiting on this conversation with Neal to address this concern..so far it seems like an endless sales pitch for new products instead of discussing concerns of CURRENT USERS. 

[bmwdriver7175]

How are you getting notifications from Alexa for motion, I've set this up a long time ago and very rarely get a notification.  Do you consistently get notified by Alexa, if so, what did you do to make it work consistently?

[beccanels10]

I would like to know the answer to this question as well. I am a current Arlo Smart Premier customer, will the Video Doorbell just add to that, as I only have 3 cameras right now? Or am I going to have to add another subscription to allow the doorbell to record?

I currently have the Ring Pro as my doorbell and would like to be able to save money by not needed to pay for the additional fee, as I’m already subscribed to Smart Premier and have only 3 of the allowed 10 cameras in use.

[Kami9a]

@NeAl

Had a few questions posted, I noticed a few were answered Via others with similar questions.

I would hope there is an opportunity to talk to you at some point. There are some issues I have had with my current Arlo products and I would like to get products that work better.

This door bell is hard wired, does this mean it can be used without any batteries?

This door bell is WI-FI and used a new way to call your phone when receiving calls, what percent of dropped/incomplete button presses to calls have you experienced in testing?

[Neal_ArloPLM]

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@Mdterps wrote:
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?

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@Mdterps We're looking into technology partnerships - we'll get back to you with an update.

As for your feedback on the IR night vision reflection - you've tried a lot of good troubleshooting steps.  I would suggest that you try turning "Night Vision" off on your doorbell and confirm if that can work in your environment.  In many front entries, there is sufficient ambient light that the doorbell can continue to capture great video, even without the IR LED on.  I'm happy to take this back to the Engineering team as a feature request for further enhancement.

[Charlif761]

Apparently their chat technology is as good as their camera software updates! 

[Dwr1208]

Will those of us who purchased the useless first doorbell get a discount on the new doorbell.?  The first doorbell was a total waste of money. What makes this one different?

[Spartan300]

You'll have to buy another base station since you are only allowed 5 cameras per station. 

If you do buy another base, set it up with a different email address and in the settings of your app, grant your new station access with the different email you assigned it. 

[McDuff]

In fairness, this was billed (at least in the email I received) as a Video Doorbell Chat.  I joined to hear about the doorbell and more specifically the experiences of new users of which I am one.  So far, the conversation has mostly been highjacked by those complaining about issues unrelated to the doorbell.  I truly sympathize with those having issues in areas other than the doorbell.  I have had my issues elsewhere as well.  But the chat was supposed to be about the doorbell.

[lesreg]

What is the difference between the old version and the new version?