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Customer Service Doesnt Really Help, Considering Each Customer Invests $500 into NetGear

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Dislexiksmurf
Aspirant
Aspirant

So, I read through alot of the questions and I'm seeing alot of them unanswered or ignored by the mods.

I decided to confide in Customer Service to see if they had more answers, since it's been almost a year from some of the questions being unanswered and some of the Idea Exchange Ideas, and no incling towards the creation of even one of the Ideas.

Below is my conversation. Am I crazy, or did I have to push past 2 political answers to get the direct answer to my direct question? Also, is anyone working on a custom Rom/Firmware/software to flash into the netgear and be able to run off your own computer? I would possibly donate money towards the timely creation of this third-party Software.

 

Irene: Thank you for choosing NETGEAR.
Irene: My name is Irene with Expert ID 46358. How may I assist you today?
Chris: What are the USB ports for on my Arlo base?
Irene: This is for future purposed, the Arlo engineering team is preparing that for future features
Chris: such as what?
Irene: As for now, some of the possible uses for the USB ports will include future smart home antennas and smart home protocols (sets of rules and standards for communication between electronic devices). This capability will play an integral role in connecting not only computers, TVs, smart phones and tablets, but also everyday devices such refrigerators, thermostats and light bulbs to name a few.
Chris: Any estimated release date for ANYTHING that might use the USB ports? Even local storage or anything.
Irene: As of this moment we don't have the information yet.
Chris: So, after a year of advertising the use of the USB ports being 'in the works', we still have no information on when to expect a return on our investment?
Irene: For now we do apologize Chris, we do not have the information yet. but rest assured that by the time the USB port is available, we will post it on our website.
Chris: I'm sorry, but I misunderstand... The USB   IS available... Thats why my Arlo has 2 USB ports on it.
Chris: So, what did you mean to say?
Irene: What i mean is the USB feature is not yet available.
Chris: Ok. Just clarifying.
Chris: When is Netgear planning on allowing longer recording durations for motion-activated recording?
Irene: For now, as for the wireless camera can only record up to 2 minutes.
Chris: Do you know the reason for the limit? Is that the most the camera can store, and then it has to upload to the cloud storage?
Irene: Since the camera is a wireless camera system and it a battery operated device, this limit up to 2 minutes of recording only.
Irene: We do have an upcoming Arlo Q wired camera, that can do continuous recording.
Chris: I understand, but is this limit because of a hardware limitation? Or is it what NetGear decided, but if Netgear Re-Wrote the limit to 2.5 minutes, would the hardware still be able to handle the load?
Chris: The Arlo Q is wired, and if im not mistaken, looked like it was indoor only.
Irene: As for that, this is the feature the the Engineering team designed for the Arlo camera, but if yo would like to suggest a longer length of recording, it would be better if they put this as a feature request in the idea exchange. It may not be implemented right away but atleast developers can see if this can be implemented in future releases
Irene: As for the Arlo Q. it it wired and for indoor use only.
Chris: I've seen the Idea Exchange. The moderators only chime in with stuff they know about(little or nothing), and the rest seems literally ignored for a year or more. The Arlo Q would be useless in my application, but thank you for the suggestion.
Chris: Is the Arlo Software/firmware an opensource at all?
Irene: Yes, you can visit support.arlo.com.
Chris: cool thank you for that info.
Chris: Next question: Why does Arlo not have the option to record 24/7 etc?
Irene: As for the Arlo wireless camera we will go back to the cameras feature since the camera is a wireless camera system and it a battery operated device. As for the arlo Q, it can record 24/7 if you subscribe to CVR options.
Irene: What I meant was , As for the Arlo wireless camera we will go back to the cameras feature since the camera is a wireless camera system and it a battery operated device. It is a feature limitation. As for the Arlo Q, it can record 24/7 if you subscribe to CVR options.
Chris: See, the problem is that, you initially say it's because it is battery operated and wireless, but then said it is the design the developers came up with. So it being a feature limit, it feels like a purposeful limitation to keep customers from using the arlo wireless to its full potential. But you're right, I already asked that question. sorry.
Chris: Final Question is a bit long...
Chris: When I set a rule in Arlo to not send E-mail notifications, the android app still notifies me on motion. Is there a way to write a rule where it will activate/deactivate notifications of both E-mail and mobile app notifications? That way, when I get home, I can activate motion recording without my phone going off all the time.
Irene: As for the email notification, you can disable the email alert from the Arlo account settings, as for the mobile app Push notification, you need to disable it on the Phone Settings> Notification> Arlo> Disable alerts
Chris: I know those are options. My question was: Is there a rule that can be setup in the app or web-app that will perform the enabling or disabling of app push notification by selecting a 'mode'?
Irene: None so far.
Chris: Ok. Thank You

 

 

6 REPLIES 6
CloudHopper
Apprentice
Apprentice

You asked a series of largely contrived questions. I'm not sure what you expected from them in return.

 

As for the new tech, they are not going to give out specific details of new technology in development, as this could be useful to competitors.
Try phoning up Apple and asking for the details and release dates of their next iPhone.

TomMac
Guru Guru
Guru

As to the PC answers... Netgear employees have to answer to the company that pays them, the tech unusually run off flow chart type q&a.... So no, I don't think its unusual you have to "push' a bit to get an unscripted answer.

 

As to the Arlo cams, her answer were spot on... usage is a limitation of the batteries, which is why they came out with the Q cam... Batteries were the design factor to allow easy install and movement.... remember the Arlo cam were really a second gen device from the Vuezones ( which were a separate company till Netgear bought them up along with the associated info )

 

From what I've read, the Q cam will fill a lot of holes the Arlo cameras have, so they prob will compliment each other well.

 

It's not that customer service didn't help, it's just that your really asking question far above their pay scale...answer as to "why" and "why not" come from the much higher ups that  make decisions leading to a profit for the company

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Dislexiksmurf
Aspirant
Aspirant

CloudHopper wrote:

You asked a series of largely contrived questions. I'm not sure what you expected from them in return.

 

As for the new tech, they are not going to give out specific details of new technology in development, as this could be useful to competitors.
Try phoning up Apple and asking for the details and release dates of their next iPhone.


 

In what way would they be considered contrived? I thought to myself 'maybe these were just complicated questions or something', but then if they had no info to give, I get it. Just tell me in the first response. Don't give me the answer that "We're planning for the future" and thats it. Say "We're planning for the future, but as of yet, the USB ports are not an active feature". Political answers give no specific response to avoid sying something that might be true in a negative way. Thats what I meant.

I just didn't enjoy the beat-around-the-bush responses 2 times in a row, before getting a direct answer.

It's like, Apple, for instance. If I called in November(when they are usually releasing their new Iphone like literal clockwork) and ask "Hey guys, whats the new Iphone all about?" If they said they don't know yet or cant tell me, I'm OK. But, lets sit back and say Apple had a phone that didnt do certain things others did and people have been asking for it for a year. Say the Iphone didnt text message and Apple said it was coming and they are always working on it, b ut they dont say when. Now imagine, for a moment, it's December, January, or February. Far past the release of a new phone. They have cases and chargers for the new Iphone, but say "We are coming out with a new feature with the new Iphone. Stay tuned." Obviously we all know that they should have come out with the new phone already. They've already prepped us with accessories... But where's the phone?

^^ Thats a little more largely contrived of a statement for example purposes.

 

Any ways, I mainly posted just to see if maybe I was asking the questions in a confusing way that caused unclear responses the first response, or am I in some way justified in at least wondering where some of these promised features are? NetGear, I would at least like to see an expected release date. So what if it gets pushed back? At least we all know when to expect it, rather than hope it shows up while we still need it.

CloudHopper, thank you for the response though. I appreciated hearing from someone at least.

Dislexiksmurf
Aspirant
Aspirant

This is my concern exactly.

I do notice this morning, however, it looks like the web app is updated. It looks nice, but now wont connect to my base station. Says offline and restarts arent helping. I'm assuming my base station may be getting an update as well and causing the offline status. This is mildly frustrating, because I was adding and aligning a new camera on the system. LOL

Dislexiksmurf
Aspirant
Aspirant

Hey Tom,

As always, thanks for the responses on all these forum questions.

My main problem with the battery question was more that she gave me 2 answers. Answer one was it was because they are wireless and battery powered. Another was that the dev's simply decided this was what should be aloud, based on their random decision to. I asked if that meant it was hardware related(like maybe the cam temp stored 2 min and then auto uploaded to the cloud) this would explain how some people get 2-3 min delays between the motion captures.

When I asked that, she said that the developers made that two minute limitation, then she went back to it was the battery. So, I asked 'wait what? Is it hardware or software from the devs?' she then restated it was the dev's.

 

Any ways, in short, I like the new updates, but something happened where I couldnt get my base to connect again. Tried restart, delete and resync the base, and a factory reset.

I called customer service, and the girl had her step by step flow chart for troubleshooting. I get that, because I had a job where I had to do the same kind of flow charts. She interrupted me frequently, didnt listen to anything I said, made me try my pen twice, something els(so I chose a screw driver) then she said get something sharper. So I got a safety pin. Nothing worked, so she wanted to escalte to higher up. I get that, but ontop of belittling me, placing me on hold, me having to coach HER where to go to add a base, then tells me I'll have to provide proof of purchase etc now(which I am not super surprised), but I've hit my limit in the last 3 days. I'll be returning the whole system tomorrow and going a new direction.

Thanks for all your guys' help.

TomMac
Guru Guru
Guru

Dislexiksmurf wrote:snipped     ... but I've hit my limit in the last 3 days. I'll be returning the whole system tomorrow and going a new direction.

Thanks for all your guys' help.


Sorry to hear, but I can understand it.... I myself have been thru the levels of service lately ( not hardware issue ) and it can be frustrating to explain what wrong with the system and It's obv I know more than the tech I'm speaking to.

But , with that, I understand it's their job and they're working off a flow chart and till they can't resolved it or you hit the flow  end, your not going to go up tech level in service.  Normal today in cust service.

 

There are other options, but if you find one that does fit your needs better , don't keep it to yrself , post why..... maybe the things you find that work may end up here.

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Morse is faster than texting!
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