Arlo Video Doorbell Instructions

[Aussie_In_AZ]

G'day all,

I am looking at buying the new Arlo Video Doorbell.  I can't find much information about it.  The Arlo website is kind of useless.

I have the Arlo Pro 2 base station (VMB4000 I believe).  Does it connect through this hub?  Are there any online manufacturer installation instructions that I can view before I purchase the product?

Cheers in advance

J

[RLC5280]

Regarding the new Arlo Video Doorbell, it would be nice if it was totally integrated with the Arlo Pro Camera and Base System.  However, it makes sense that Arlo is marketing it as a separate system, since people without the camera systems and the base unit may be interested in just buying a doorbell.

[Ceophoto]

But the bottom line is that the doorbell does not have 7 days free storage as the cameras come with....not worth it...there are other more appealing options coming that all storage is free.....namely the Netatmo doorbell, and ring is the current standard

[SC_h]

What about video call support without Arlo Smart subscription?

[brh]

Like it or not, all new products from Arlo will require a paid subscription for cloud storage. Whether this will backfire on Arlo or not, only time will tell.

That being said, I believe that the Arlo Video Doorbell is the best video doorbell on the market. Also, one thing about Arlo is that they are not in the market to share your personal information with everyone as some of the other manufacturers are doing.

The Arlo Video Doorbell currently connects directly to one's Wi-Fi so no hub is needed. There is no local storage built in, although if you have earlier model cameras, you can cross trigger them to record to the cloud just like the Arlo Audio Doorbell.

Brian

[SC_h]

Thanks. So only losing the cloud storage but live stream and video call still works?  That’s good enough for my purpose.   Honestly, comparing Ring and Arlo.  And Ring has been in the market for a while already. 

[brh]

Personally, Ring wants all the police departments to have access to their doorbells and the Google cameras have been hacked too many times. If I have something that I want to share with the police, (which I have done a couple of times in the past), that will be my decision. I don't trust either company with my personal information. Arlo is not in the business of sharing my personal data.

Brian

[Traithnin]

For clarity, as I understand it, and I am talking about in the UK (not every country is the same after all), police can ask owners to share video with them via the Ring app, only if they are investigating a crime in the area and user consent is required before that video is shared. Which they would do with anyone if they are doing door to door enquiries and see a camera at the front of the house. And pretty sure they would do the same if they saw an Arlo doorbell in the course of investigation. There are still privacy concerns however, and I'm sure Amazon would love to have free access to look at my bins being collected but joking aside it's nothing like the invasion of privacy some would have you believe.

I am also genuinely considering the merits of both (and find that for some reason delivery people seem to knock and ignore the existing bell!!) and at the moment a camera I already own, mounted out front and perhaps a smart audio only bell seems better.

The main reason I haven't done this yet is actually the lack of a genuinely secure way to fit the camera, a problem with the Arlo range of accessories. A little bit of wire looped through the camera battery door doesn't really look to be much help.

[Mjbeuke]

@Traithnin  You may be interested to know that there is a replacement program for 1-year from purchase if it were stolen - but there are quite a few hoops to jump through to get something replaced. Here's the link:

https://kb.arlo.com/000056563/What-do-I-need-to-know-about-the-Arlo-Theft-Replacement-program

[Aussie_In_AZ]

As the OP of this discussion I must say thank you to all who have contributed.  I must also say how disappointed I am in Netgear for taking a functional system and fragmenting it.

I bought the Arlo Pro 2 system and have 4 cams currently connected and have a USB stick in the base station for local recording and backup.  I bought this system because I thought it would be expandable as far as local storage.  The comment @brh is probably on the money unfortunately and Arlo products going forward will need not only a premium price for the hardware but also a premium (and in my mind, unnecessary) premium online subscription.

Some of do not have the fastest or most reliable internet connection but the local storage makes up for that in some way.  The Video Doorbell looks to be a great "premium"  priced bit of kit that I would pay for in a heart beat if it were compatible with my already premium AP2 system, but without that integration and the now fragmented incompatibility has made me rethink my entire system.

Bummer

Aussie

[Traithnin]

@Mjbeuke Thanks, I vaguely remember hearing something about this, however, only applies in the states, so rest of the world need not apply! Thanks anyway.

[corbeano]

Glad I saw this post. Got my doorbell canceled on Amazon before it shipped!

[maggiedm]

I just received the ARLO doorbell camera but will be returning it because I have now learned that it does not have 7 days of cloud storage.  

[Aussie_In_AZ]

Yep.  Netgear messed up with this one 😞

J

[SC_h]

Really?  Thought the 7 days cloud service is basic. Just without subscription, no 60day cloud storage and no custom active zone.

That’s very confusing.    

[Traithnin]

Just seen a homeguard 1080p video doorbell on Amazon for £60 (so probably about $60 as well), which includes 30 days free rolling cloud storage. That definitely goes into the mix when considering possibilities. Looks quite new to market so not reviewed and will be interesting to see what feedback that gets. Arlo video doorbell doesn't seem to be available in the UK yet but I think fair to say a challenge has been laid down.

[jimjc]

have the vmb3000 and wanted a doorbell the utilizes the purchased hardware with some synergy.  With the lacking information on this this I feel that other doorbells are just as viable to try to incorporate.   Looking at Ring.  Any comments?

[JamesC]

jimjc,

Arlo Video Doorbell can be added to your existing Arlo account but operates as a standalone product as it does not require a base station or SmartHub, similar to other Arlo wired camera products like Arlo Q and Arlo Baby. Arlo Video Doorbell can cross-trigger actions on other Arlo devices within Arlo’s ecosystem when motion detection occurs.

JamesC

[Aussie_In_AZ]

@JamesC 

Absolutely, but it is still a fragmented situation for those of us who have already invested heavily in a stand alone Arlo Pro or Pro 2.  No local storage option and only a paid subscription is a kick in the pants to the above mentioned masses.

Netgear is just trying to nickel and dime us just like Adobe and Apple (who I also gave up on a few years back, but that is another story)

Cheers

J

[StephenB]

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@Aussie_In_AZ wrote:

Netgear is just trying to nickel and dime us

---

Arlo has been a separate company for over a year now.

Here's my take (not Arlo's! ): no service is actually free, and cloud storage does cost Arlo money.  In the case of the basic 7-day "free" plan, those costs have to be covered by a combination of new camera sales and paid subscriptions.  

For a new entrant into the market, it is relatively inexpensive to offer free cloud storage, because they have no installed base.  And it's a good way to attract new customers.  But as the installed base grows over the years, the amount of total cloud storage needed grows with it - and you eventually reach a point where funding the service for the entire base from new camera sales alone becomes a significant business issue. 

So any successful company in this space that offers free cloud storage will eventually either need to

• shift to paid subscriptions
• start embedding advertising to recoup the cloud storage costs
• increase the camera prices to cover storage costs for the expected lifetime of the camera. 

Providing free access to local storage instead of free cloud storage is IMO a better alternative.  That of course is already announced for the Pro 3 and the Ultra.  It'd be nice if they found a way to do that with the video doorbell also.

Note the above is just my opinion.

[EWSBill]

Well, my Wired Video Doorbell was just delivered yesterday.   As I start looking for install instructions I find this thread.   NO 7 day storage as with the REST of my system?   Did NOT learn that until I found this discussion.   Highly likely I WILL be returning this device.   VERY disappointing news.

Bill

[Aussie_In_AZ]

@StephenB

I stand corrected about Arlo being a separate company.  Cheers

Still, the AP2 base has local storage, so have an option to not use the online storage if users so wish.  The cost of manufacturing to sales price, I am sure, more than makes up for the cost.  Cameras are cheap these days to make.

All I wanted was, as I am sure many others did also, was to be able to add the new Doorbell to our existing set up seamlessly. 

Arlo (apparently not Netgear,) made a boo boo here.\

Cheers

J

[StephenB]

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@Aussie_In_AZ wrote:

The cost of manufacturing to sales price, I am sure, more than makes up for the cost. 

---

Are you saying that the existing doorbell price has enough margin to cover cloud storage costs for expected life of the doorbell (and enough margin to cover the SIP calls every time the doorbell rings, warranty, support etc)?   

Personally I doubt it.  Even if it does, the revenue would need to be set aside to cover going-forward costs. So I am not convinced.

---

@Aussie_In_AZ wrote:

All I wanted was, as I am sure many others did also, was to be able to add the new Doorbell to our existing set up seamlessly. 

Arlo (apparently not Netgear,) made a boo boo here.

---

It does work pretty seamlessly already.  There are a couple of gaps (not working with Arlo Chime being one).

Personally I don't think it is about "seamless" for most folks here.  It's wanting free video storage.  I agree that finding a way to store the videos in an existing base would be a good approach. 

[Mjbeuke]

I agree with you @StephenB  to me the doorbell is most excellent and is working extremely well. I believe will add some sort of local storage option to record to base stations at some point - but that is pure speculation and not any sort of confirmed fact.... I just think they will see that many people want this feature and make that change.

As for the subscription - you are right.... Any company who says you will have "free cloud storage" will eventually be forced to change to a subscription-based service to account for increased storage costs as the business scales.... Chances are a lot of newer unknown Chinese products such as video doorbells - these companies go under then you have zero storage....

I'm happy with the doorbell, and hopeful they that Arlo later incorporates base-station usage for local recording.

[accirco]

Well, that will teach me to research new products from Arlo.  Why would anyone with an existing system think a new product that is actually on the app as an added device wouldn't coordinate with the rest of the system.  I just installed the Video Doorbell and could not understand why it wouldn't work like the rest of the Arlo Pro2 system/devices.  THE main reason I bought the Arlo Pro2 system was local storage and full control at home.  I will be uninstalling this and returning it.  This really is pretty crappy of Arlo to do this.  I will be reading this forum if anything new comes available.  Thanks for all the input, just wish I would have read this thread first.

[Kwenda]

JamesC…..  Happy New Year…and thanks..

Two questions on the Video Doorbell.

• You wrote above:- ‘Arlo Video Doorbell can cross-trigger actions on other Arlo devices within Arlo’s ecosystem when motion detection occurs.’

Then can the Video Doorbell trigger my existing Arlo Chime.?

• Following on from above I don’t have an existing chime, just the Arlo Audio doorbell.

Can I just supply the Arlo Video Doorbell with the correct electrical power. Using the small electronic device supplied in the box if necessary.?

Thanks