Why does the video Doorbell require a subscription when my cameras do not!?

[MrMan365]

Just bought a video doorbell in the UK, installed it and noticed I have 3 month trial. I then learned that after the trial if I do not renew and pay, my Video doorbell will essentially be left just an expensive doorbell.

Why has Arlo done this when their cameras do not need a subscription?

What a money grab and I will have to just return mine to Amazon as its "not fit for purpose" and go back to my normal doorbell where I dont have to pay for people to ring it.

Rip off.

[TomMac]

It's a shift in how Arlo works,,,  most companies charge a service fee now to cover costs of storage/maintenance.

But the legacy cameras are still free with the 7 days storage (newer than Pro2 requires plan ) as they stated originally they would be free.... maybe you should look at a Pro2 setup

[jguerdat]

Also, when connected to a base or hub you can record locally and view the recordings via the app. You need a VMB4000 or newer to do this - I'd suggest at least a 4540 to make it easiest.

[Pro-666]

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@TomMac wrote:

It's a shift in how Arlo works,,,  most companies charge a service fee now to cover costs of storage/maintenance.

But the legacy cameras are still free with the 7 days storage (newer than Pro2 requires plan ) as they stated originally they would be free.... maybe you should look at a Pro2 setup

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So really how much does "storage/maintenance" really cost them? Say they have 400,000 customers. At $3/month that's $1,200,000 a month they receive. So that's $14,400,000 a year. Their "cloud" storage actually costs them way less than (accounting for profit) 14.4 million dollars a year. Did I multiply 400,000 by 3 correctly?

When companies give you 15GB of free storage (Google), or 5GB of free storage (Apple, Microsoft), or 2GB of free storage (Dropbox), it's kind of a kick in the gut when a company wants to charge you $3/month for a (limited?) amount of storage.

How much space does one actually use in "cloud" storage for 30 days of video doorbell recordings? 500MB? 1GB? Chump change. No amount of arguments could justify 1.2 million dollars a month for storage and servers. Did I multiply 400,000 by 3 correctly?

[MrMan365]

To me its unethical and a sneaky ploy to gain extra reoccurring revenue from us. The video doorbell is expensive to begin with and its basic functionality in which we have paid for in the unit price should be standard and not unlocked with a monthly fee.

The more people that allow greedy large companies to take advantage of us the more they will do it.

The company plays a role in my buying choices and it needs to be one I trust and can get behind and offer god value for money. IMO > Dyson, Telsa, etc. But Arlo or Netgear or whatever they are called are greedy and dishonest.

I urge people not to buy into their unnecessary subscriptions and definitely not make excuses for them!

[jguerdat]

That's up to you but the product info is that a subscription is required. Actually, any Arlo camera newer than the Pro 2 requires a sub and has been that way for quite some time now.

[MrMan365]

Just because it states it in the small print on newer products doesn't make it a reasonable expectation or a reason for people to be compliant.

[jguerdat]

Sorry but your lack of reading the details does not constitute any crime, ethical or otherwise.

[MrMan365]

Sorry my critism of a greedy company hurt your feelings fanboy.
I don't follow the herd.

[Pro-666]

Oh, here's an article from Jan 21, 2020 stating, and I quote, "Ring hasn’t released any sales numbers of its own and declined to comment for this article, but has said it has “millions” of customers."

So let's be frugal and take that as at least 2 million customers. And more frugal at $2.5/mo from $30/yr.

So 2,000,000 customers times $2.5/mo = $5,000,000/mo.

Five million dollars a month. Wow. What a money maker "cloud" services are.

And this doesn't even include any "upgrade" services like Ring's "plus plan" at $8.33/mo.

Or Arlo's "elite plan" for $14.99/mo or their 30 day Continuous Video Recording (CVR) for an additional $19.99/mo.

So with Arlo, if you wanted, you could be paying $34.98/mo, or $419.76/yr.

I'm sure Arlo has fewer customers, but the crime is still the same.

[Jimc03]

At the time I made my purchase. All the salesperson did was confirm there wasn't a need for additional subscription.
And when I connect it using the app it insists on upgrading my other camera, it does present itself as being a necessary upgrade to the other cameras there for the entire thing seems misleading.