Arlo camera stolen

[BillSF]

I just had an Arlo camera stolen from the front of my house. Can it be tracked or blocked via a serial number or MAC address?

[jguerdat]

It strikes me that the camera was WAY too low, easily within reach (it's just above the person's head). That's probably why Netgear suggests mounting at 7 feet or so above ground. The use of a second camera for situations where you just can't do it could be useful, too.

You'll never be able to solve every problem.

[mocodi]

The average adult male can reach 7 feet, so that recommendation has little to do with theft deterrence.

Certainly see people having good options for placing the cameras out of reach, yet mounting them lower for the sake of convenience. But many houses don't give you much of a choice - you might only have about 8 feet to play with before reaching the eaves, with a lack of practical options above that.

[jguerdat]

I'm 6'4" and have to use a step-stool or a trash picker to reach my cameras. Reasonable consideration for placement goes a long ways.

[anand_pent]

That is not true. Tried pairing one of my friends arlo pro to my base and it synced though it was already synced to his own base station.
Got couple of my arlos stolen and whoever stole can use it regardless whether i have removed this device from my base or not.

[Clarkevader]

You're clearly not reading this blog with understanding... I will give you a one sentence clarification on what is being said here, and what the conclusions are.

"A stolen or used Arlo cannot be registered to a new Base Station if it's currently registered with another".

Everybody got that?

[anand_pent]

To test this, I borrowed arlo.pro camera from one of my neighbour (the camera is slready synced with his current base station). He has not removed the device but allowed me to sync to my new base station and use the camera.

[mocodi]

Seen comments asserting/assuming that you can't do it, but several others across various threads indicate that cameras can indeed be used with a new base station despite remaining registered to an existing one. I have a spare base station, so might test it myself sometime.

[Clarkevader]

That is interesting... and definitely not what has been implied here. I think if this is the case, the Arlo community should push for some software updates, as this issue affects every one of us.

[anand_pent]

Definitely something netgear should take it serious and push the update. Significant number of cameras were stolen in my neighborhood and arlo pro cameras are being targeted specifically.. guess the thieves are using the wifi signal from base station to find which house has arlo cameras and targeting them.
Skybell , Ring does block the stolen serial numbers already.

[mocodi]

That's long been my concern - that the understanding of how easy and low-risk it is to find, steal and sell these cameras will spread until it becomes such a problem that Netgear finally acts, but it'll have become so entrenched that it will take a long time for the market to realise that stolen cameras are worthless. In the meantime, many more cameras will have been stolen than otherwise would've.

Allowing cameras to work with a new base station regardless whether they're still registered to another does make sense because of the reality that legit sellers are going to forget to remove sold cameras, and Netgear would rather not have to deal with the buyers needing assistance getting the cameras to work.

But being able to specifically report your camera stolen and have it blocked, and for that practice to visible, makes sense. Netgear may not want to be involved here either and prefer to just completely leave it to customers to address the physical security aspect in an ad hoc way, but I think it's inevitable - it's just a shame it'll be reactive instead of proactive.

End rant 🙂

[Clarkevader]

Arlo will not be able to wait long... as theft is obviously an extremely important issue to every single Arlo user. This will have an immediate effect on sales.

[raven66]

Myself and two other neighbors had our Arlo cameras stolen on the same night. Mine was mounted around 8 ft. high, but the thief boosted their accomplice up to grab it. Really disappointed that Netgear does not have the ability to lock the camera or track it somehow based on the serial number. Camera theft is becoming quite common unfortunately.

[JerryInc]

Netgear offers camera replacement now but only to those who subscribe to a monitoring plan AND for only up to one year after the camera purchase AND only if you are the original owner AND only if you purchased directly from Netgear or an authorized reseller.  https://kb.arlo.com/000056563/What-do-I-need-to-know-about-the-Arlo-Theft-Replacement-program

[Clarkevader]

While that is nice, I think the future of security is going to be based on being able to track everything electronically. Cars, Electronics, and other valuable property will be traceable in real time. I also can't imagine that it would be harder to implement than a replacement policy at this point. Arlo cameras by default are registered by serial number online, so why all the pushback on something so simple? It's going to have to be done one way or the other so you might as well do it now, or someone else will. 

[Neoanderz]

This is My Arlo Pro 2 getting stolen, I've had 6 cameras, 2 got stolen, wasted so much money on these. I've managed to get Dahua CCTV system installed. 100 times better and reliable.

Here is a little tip for the people who got their cameras stolen already.

DO NOT remove stolen Arlo from the Arlo App. Keep the camera connected dispite being stolen/disconnected, once the theif installs it somewhere, you will more likely to see the video feed from the stolen camera and be able to provide the video to the autorities. So there is a possibility of getting your cameras back. 

[Clarkevader]

Arlo will have to do something about this, but my guess is they will wait until sales drop. I'm not recommending the system to anyone until they do, bottom line. The cameras need to be traceable, nothing else will do. 

[Sushiseaward]

Our camera was stolen last night while the camera was recording. Missed the guy by 5 minutes as we were driving over to building while watching the guy from app on phone. Is there anyway to locate camera that was taken????? Does anyone know

[ShayneS]

Hi Sushiseaward,

I have attached an article that may be of assistance regarding your camera and the situation.

What do I need to know about the Arlo Theft Replacement program?

[raven66]

Unfortunately, Netgear does not provide owners the ability to track the camera. Would be a beneficial feature to add. I had one of my cameras stolen a few month as back.

[SteveHale]

So, this replacement plan... Article #2 states that an “ELIGIBLE DEVICE must have been purchased directly from a Netgear/Arlo authorized reseller within 12 months preceding the theft...”... so... if it’s OLDER THAN 12 months, this plan does nothing to loyal consumers of the product/service and Netgear/Arlo is absolving themselves of this and most likely recommend BUYING a new Arlo camera. Did I interpret that correctly?

C’mon guys. I won’t list here your competitor, but their replacement plan is far more simple, does not list a time limit purchase restriction and i didn’t even need to scroll down on my browser to read the whole thing.

The only time related things that they mentioned on it was, Your competitor must receive the theft notification WITHIN 6 months and that as soon as the victim’s police report is verified, your competitor WILL GLADLY provide a FREE REPLACEMENT WITHIN 7-10 BUSINESS DAYS.

How many days before sushiaward or any other victim gets their replacement assuming it’s even covered? I’m sure i’m not the only one who wants to know this. 😞

[dvsdan]

Netgear could VERY easily implement camera tracking  and blocking. Each camera has a specific SN. Its absolute bull**bleep** that  our stolen cameras can be used by anyone.  It does not give me any faith in staying with my arlo system.

[raven66]

I noticed after the latest Android app update that the serial number of my stolen camera is no longer displayed. Haven't checked the web version to see if it is still there.