Can I ever trust this system again?

[Fort_Knox]

Sadly, my problems have returned.

Strange thing is that the symptoms keep alternating - notifications arriving or not and video recordings showing or not. Sometimes all works like a charm. This unreliable behaviour is the worst of all. I know that things can go wrong but this is really frustrating since NETGEAR sells the product as a "Smart Home Security System" -  well, right now the system is very stupid and has been so far too long.

When, and if, NETGEAR fixes the problems they will have a steep hill to climb. Can we ever trust this product again?

My biggest concern when purchasing this product was the cloud storage -  the system should have temporary local storage capability if the cloud service fails, whatever the cause. But many evaluations were very positive and rated the cloud service stable and reliable.

Well, here we stand.

[nicholshornlake]

Makes one wonder if the "engineers" know what they are doing. Never seen software so buggy.

[Fort_Knox]

Ouch. Found the thread "Why I am going to return my Arlo system" in the Buying Tips forum.

Original post is from 2015-06-28. One of the issues are (I quote):

"The inability to use local storage or take advantage of the local network.  Over the past couple days, the Arlo services have had problems.  I've received motion detection alerts on my app, but there is not a corresponding video in the library.  Furthermore, I've been unable to view the live stream on the cameras many times due to issues with the Arlo service.  Forum posts by Netgear staff seem to confirm there were issues with timetable for resolution.  This is unacceptable."

The problems with cloud services were obviously known by NETGEAR more than 6 months ago! And they still remain. As the original poster wrote - this is unacceptable.

I wish I had read that thread before purchasing my set. Now I'm stuck with these expensive cloth hangers.

[Fort_Knox]

I still havn't given up on the Arlo system, even though it is not working as intended at the moment. I love the design and (most of the time) simplicity and flexible installation. I really hope NETGEAR will solve the issues soon enough (not another 6 months) because there are very few competitors out there (if any). 

[JamesC]

For_Knox,

A fix was recently implemented that addressed an issue with delay in content arriving in the library. With this fix, the alert counter on the cameras screen was disabled. We are actively working on a solution for this and hope to have one soon.

Are you still experiencing this behavior?

JamesC

[Fort_Knox]

Thanks for the update JamesC. I actually don't regard the counter as a problem as it is simple to just have a look in the library.

My system had been running fine for a couple of days until yesterday, when motion was sensed on the backyard camera (our cat was walking by). The camera recorded as supposed to but there was no recording from the camera at our back porch, despite rules stating that it also should record. The day before it worked as expected.

No emailnotification was sent for the back porch camera as well (only for the backyard camera). I believe the rule never was invoked.

Today when our cat walked by the same camera, all corresponding rules where carried out. Why this unstable behaviour occurs is a mystery to me.

I have previously repositioned the Arlo base station to a higher level, leading to stronger wi-fi signal and faster start of  recording when motion is sensed. The lag is no longer a problem (within 1-2 seconds).