Why do my Arlo Pro2 cameras record to my phone but the doorbell video only records to local drive?

[WolfyGrl]

I started out with 2 of the arlo cameras that worked great, no subscription required and the recording would save to arlo app on my phone.  I decided to upgrage our previous video doorbell with the arlo doorbell and now, since I did not want to pay the monthly subscription, the recording from the doorbell only record to external USB storage devise connected to base.  Is there any way (without paying a subscription), I can get the video from the doorbell saved in the arlo app on my phone (like the cameras do without a subscription)?

[jguerdat · Accepted solution]

To be clear, the recordings were never to your phone/app but in the cloud on the Arlo servers. The app just gave you access to them as does the web client.  With that in mind, the doorbell (and any camera newer than the Pro 2) requires a subscription to record to the cloud. Without a sub you have to use local recordings via a USB drive on your base or hub. The app can be used to access the videos directly but that requires a VMB 4540 or higher base/hub. If you have a VMB4000 or 4500, you would need to safely eject the drive from the base to be able to view the videos on a computer.

[WolfyGrl]

I got it. My cameras are grandfathered in basically. It’s a shame, I love the system but will replace it all at some point with non-subscription platform that allows recordings to be saved to phone. Thanks for answering.