Clarification: Wired doorbell on Arlo Pro 2 hub station. No free cloud recording like a camera.

[VancouverBC]

Finally bought the Arlo AVD1001 Wired Doorbell. Had plans to connect to my Arlo Pro 2 base station VMB4000 as my 5th "camera" and enjoy free 7-day recording of the doorbell video to the cloud. Arlo support have posted "Wired Doorbell can connect to a legacy base station and save locally". So I guess they did tell us local recording but it didn't sink in for me that locally means to a physical USB memory inserted into one of the two USB slots in the base station. I assumed it was the version of the base station that had or did not have record to the cloud capabilities. I was wrong, it's the camera device. Mix and match and only legacy cameras have the free 7-day record to the cloud. 

So, to clarify, there is NO free 7-day cloud recording with the Arlo AVD1001 wired doorbell even if it's connected to a legacy base station, like the VMB4l000 I have for my Arlo Pro 2 cameras. Recording video from the AVD1001 wired doorbell to the cloud for remote viewing requires a mandatory subscription. It defeats the purpose of push notification if you have to wait until you go home, unmount the USB stick, insert it into a computer to view all the videos to see what happened during the time away. 

What I have without a subscription for the wired doorbell.

- Big, shiny, new door bell button at the door

- Notification on cellphone or tablet if someone triggers motion detection (but no recording to cloud). Not even an image for reference. 

- An initial still image from the triggering event in Devices. Only the last triggering event is visible, the image from the next triggering event replaces the older image in Devices

- No recording in Library (without a subscription)

Disappointed with the way Arlo has gone, their equipment is expensive enough. 

[StephenB]

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@VancouverBC wrote:

Recording video from the AVD1001 wired doorbell to the cloud for remote viewing requires a mandatory subscription.

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FWIW, that's been true for every camera introduced since 2018 (Arlo Essential cameras, Pro 3, Pro 3 Floodlight, Pro 4, Ultra, Ultra 2, and the two doorbells).

[VancouverBC]

@StephenB 

Thanks, I realize that now after having bought and installed the Arlo wired doorbell. I have a couple of Arlo Pro 2 hub stations with a mix of Arlo Pro 2 and Arlo Pro cameras. My mistake was thinking the free recording to the cloud with storage for 7-days was dictated by the base station. So I researched if the doorbell could connect to the VMB4000 base station (yes). Now I understand it's the model of camera that dictates if you get free recording to the cloud and it's not the base station that gets free video recording for anything linked to it. To get what I want out of the doorbell I'm now into the CAD$4.19/month subscription or another CAD$50/year expense.  

I hope others don't make the same mistake as me, or go into the wired doorbell and Arlo Pro 2 base station combination knowing up front that there is no free video recording to the cloud for the Arlo AVD1001 wired doorbell. The only free recording is to a USB memory stick physically attached to the base station. 

[StephenB]

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@VancouverBC wrote:

My mistake was thinking the free recording to the cloud with storage for 7-days was dictated by the base station. So I researched if the doorbell could connect to the VMB4000 base station (yes). Now I understand it's the model of camera that dictates if you get free recording to the cloud and it's not the base station that gets free video recording for anything linked to it.

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Exactly so.

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@VancouverBC wrote:

To get what I want out of the doorbell I'm now into the CAD$4.19/month subscription or another CAD$50/year expense.  

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Or perhaps purchase a smarthub and use "direct access to local storage".  https://kb.arlo.com/000062337/What-is-Direct-Storage-Access-and-how-do-I-use-it

US pricing is about $100, so the payback time of purchasing a smarthub is about 3 years for a single camera.  There are quite a few limitations with direct access to local storage, so I don't really recommend this option.  But it is good enough for some people.

[VancouverBC]

Thanks @StephenB 

 I have a couple of base stations (VMB4000) with  USB memory sticks inserted. The doorbell is linked to one of the base stations and the doorbell shows up as one of the Devices. That was my mistake in thinking because I was getting cloud video recording for the cameras already, the doorbell would be the 5th free "camera". But it's the model of camera that dictates whether or not I get free video recording to the cloud, it's not the base station. 

Agree, the free storage on USB stick is not the best option. I want to monitor what's going on around the house when I'm away and not have to wait until I get home then review  all the stored video on the USB stick. 

[StephenB]

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@VancouverBC wrote:

Agree, the free storage on USB stick is not the best option. I want to monitor what's going on around the house when I'm away and not have to wait until I get home then review  all the stored video on the USB stick. 

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Just to clarify this:  A smarthub (VMB4540 or VMB5000) will let you see the local recordings from the app.  Your older base won't.  It can be tricky to set that up for reviewing when you are away from home (particularly with Android), but it can be done.  If you want more details check the link on direct access to local storage that I provided above.

Though the new (smarthub-only) feature is better than what is available with the VMB4000, it's still not as good as cloud storage.

[VancouverBC]

@StephenB 

Thanks Stephen. I used to have VPN back to my home network so a getting a Smarthub is a solution. ideal would be a USB stick I can access remotely or if the files can be uploaded to the home NAS which I can access remotely.

For now I'll make the most of the monthly subscription and record video of every car going by. Haha.