End of Life - DO THE RIGHT THING

[simonjf]

I have just received an email about the End Of Life policy. If this is actually what is going to happen then I need to follow up with all my friends and family, social media connections to advocate against Arlo, and search for an alternative company and service, likely starting my own online storage service for them with appropriate security cameras.

Additionally, contacts at Arlo seem to be designed to prevent actual communication - which has the stink of a company that hates its customers.

[JamesC]

New, updated information is now available regarding the EoL policy that is very relevant to much of the discussion taking place here in this community thread. These changes will allow Arlo legacy users who currently have 7-day storage service to continue receiving that service, uninterrupted.

I encourage you all to visit https://downloads.arlo.com/images/PDFs/EOL_Policy/arlo-end-of-life-policy-021023.pdf and read up on these changes.

Thank you,

JamesC

[JamesC]

Hello Arlo Community,

With the recently announced Arlo end-of-life policy, we understand many of you are seeking more clarity and a path forward after your device becomes end-of-life. In the coming days we will be reaching out to impacted users via email with special offers. Keep an eye out for those emails as they will contain more details about these offers and instructions on how to take advantage of them.

For those who may not have read this new policy or have questions about how this may impact you, I encourage you to take a look here: https://downloads.arlo.com/images/PDFs/EOL_Policy/arlo-end-of-life-policy-021023.pdf?cid=a&cid=a

If you've not received a discount offer via email, visit https://www.arlo.com/en-us/eol-offer-form.html and enter your email address, if your account is eligible you will then receive the discount offer via email.

Thank you,

JamesC

[drbethel]

This shows what a horrible company Arlow has become. They are using this absurd EOL policy to take away a feature that we paid for. They have lost their way as a company and are getting desperate.  The way they treat their customers is pathetic, they should be ashamed.

[vintagegamingsy]

As a user of 12 Arlo cameras using multiple base stations, I am very unhappy with the new End of Life policy (https://kb.arlo.com/000063018/Arlo-Legacy-Cameras-End-of-Life) that Arlo has released. I have spent over $1,200 on cameras and base stations over the past 5 years, only to have them rendered worthless by a company policy, if I do not pony up for a new subscription plan. Arlo initially hooked me with their free cloud 7-day cloud storage and now they state in their End of Life Policy that "Services and cloud functionality may be reduced or unavailable for the device". I bought this device because of cloud storage and features. 

I should have bought a Reolink or some other camera system instead of this.

One thing I am worried about is that criminals that understand security systems may know that the likelihood of them being caught by one of these camera systems is much lower because their customers didn't up buck up for the new subscription plan. This puts homeowners and businesses at risk. 

Another thing this also affects is the resale value of their cameras. 

I may be filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau soon after April 2023, once I figure out how much functionality I have in the cloud with my End-Of-Life devices.  

[LP79]

There is literally nothing in this thread that is not a civil discussion yet twice you have piped in talking about hate speech and politics???

Someone may need to take a little break from the internet. Talks of lawsuits are not hate speech and this has nothing to do with politics.

[Jpbuiatti]

I couldn't agree more. More than 2k invested in Pro2 and now it will be EOL in a year? This needs to become a class action suit immediately.

[LP79]

This is actually how eufy works. I would be okay if they switched to this model for the pro. I think I would actually be happy as I was never thrilled about having my footage on the cloud to begin with.

[LP79]

"According to the company, it has shipped 21.6 million devices, has 5.82 million registered accounts, and has 877 thousand paid accounts, as of January"

So basically, yeah they only have 877k paid accounts an 5.82 million accounts. They are going to try to stiff 5 million people out of what they advertised and pushed at the time of purchase.

Not going to end well for them.

[AshTray900]

hope you aren’t talking about me, I just meant lawsuits are probably never going to happen. My cameras are well aged, don’t really have a dog in this fight now that i know the cameras will still function as long I keep my subscription.

I do think a better alternative for me at least when they die off is to pay for a consolidated service for, doors, cameras, smoke detectors and all the other bells and whistles.

enjoyed the cameras, no so much the repetitive charging, but eh, they are still working 6 years later guess I don’t regret it for the time.

I feel bad for anyone who purchased them recently just to find out it wasn’t set in stone. I think transparency should be important and they should have either just kept it going or put a term limit on the box plain to see. Like I said before the devices with the advertised plan will all be dead in a few more years. Whats the point. Maybe they see that as income loss, but I guarantee every customer they cut off will at best subscribe until the devices are actually physically eol or they will just leave as of now.

I don’t really see the space required for that plan as being a big drain, maybe those customers not paying 9 bucks a month is lost revenue, but kicking them off their current policy isn’t a guarantee they will start paying, rather a guarantee they will eventually jump ship.

a peace offering at least would be one more firmware update to the base to let it function as its own cloud, this isn’t a monumental task.

EDIT I don’t know where you got the account figures, not sure if they are accurate but if so that is surprising, maybe they are already failing if they aren’t able to sell new devices and everyone’s rocking cameras 6-8 years old, I dunno

[vintagegamingsy]

https://community.arlo.com/t5/Arlo-Pro/End-of-Life-policy-End-of-Customers/m-p/1893590/highlight/fal... 

As a user of 12 Arlo cameras using multiple base stations, I am very unhappy with the new End of Life policy (https://kb.arlo.com/000063018/Arlo-Legacy-Cameras-End-of-Life) that Arlo has released. I have spent over $1,200 on cameras and base stations over the past 5 years, only to have them rendered worthless by a company policy, if I do not pony up for a new subscription plan. Arlo initially hooked me with their free cloud 7-day cloud storage and now they state in their End of Life Policy that "Services and cloud functionality may be reduced or unavailable for the device". I bought this device because of cloud storage and features. 

I should have bought a Reolink or some other camera system instead of this.

One thing I am worried about is that criminals that understand security systems may know that the likelihood of them being caught by one of these camera systems is much lower because their customers didn't up buck up for the new subscription plan. This puts homeowners and businesses at risk. 

Another thing this also affects is the resale value of their cameras. 

I may be filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau soon after April 2023, once I figure out how much functionality I have in the cloud with my End-Of-Life devices.  

[BetrayedByArlo]

As a customer I was given only 3 months notice for the end-of-life. This feels very much like an underhanded ploy to move customers onto their subscription model. Arlo may be in breach of the agreement with this change. I’m no longer an Arlo customer and will be joining the class action suit.

[BetrayedByArlo]

I’m interested in joining the class action. 

[DJCummins99]

What is the best way for us all to organize our feedback to Netgear? We need to organize a concerted effort, if we want to have a real voice about this. Perhaps one of us should create a list of Arlo customers/users that can be sent in an email — in addition to each of us sending our own feedback. What happens in practice is that people agree and even feel strongly about it, but don’t actually take the action needed. One of us needs to be willing to do this, and we all need to be willing to supply our names and some additional way of identifying that we do indeed own the Arlo product . Some way to prove to Netgear that we are verifiable Arlo customers. This is difficult, I think. It’s certainly worth doing and I am willing to give my name and email address, which should be enough for Netgear to verify that I own their product. 

[tji58]

I agree....Its time to look for another camera system. I purchased my pro2 bundle from Costco several years ago and have been adding cameras, subscription cloud s/w, and solar panels on a regular basis. This new EOL says I have  a year before the pro2 and the storage option  is obsolete.  Since Netgear has taken over, its been a steady downhill slide with no signs of stopping.  

Netgear: how about an discounted upgrade path for existing, loyal customers?  overwise see ya later.....

[Kevinintx]

Thanks for the input on Blink and Eufy Cam 3.  There is a very good video review of the Eufy Doorbell cam at Amazon where it goes up against several other Doorbell Cams including Arlo.  It was a five point score for each of his "tests" and the Eufy came out on top with about twice the points of the Arlo.  I am leaning strongly towards replacing my whole Arlo with a like count Eufy but will wait to see if Arlo "does the right thing" and reverses their recent EOL plan. 

[vintagegamingsy]

It states on the box Includes Cloud Recording on the Arlo Pro 5-pack and Free Cloud Recording on the Arlo Pro Single. 

[ToneLoc77]

I’m with you all, will never by Arlo again! What do you all recommend for replacement?

[Kevinintx]

Agreed just looking to try and help "the next guy" with the report.

[MichaelRo]

Where are the moderators/Arlo staff on these discussions?  Just quiet?  Didn’t they anticipate this backlash?  I assume they consulted legal and strategy/PR before doing this bonehead move. 

[mamarcac]

I'm guessing they anticipated the initial outrage, then for people to lose steam/quiet down and most of them to just pay for monthly subscriptions. Mods were probably told to let people blow off steam, then in a few weeks we'll get their money anyways.

[MBasney]

Netgear knows exactly who we all are, they sent all of us an email.

[wy4j]

Agreed, this is just another way to squeeze a bit more cash from their customers. I have 5 cameras that will be going in the trash. last year I spent $100 for recharable batteries so now this is $100 down the drain.  Never, ever, ever will I purchase anything from Arlo, Been looking at Wyse. Inexpensive, much better product and easy to use with no fees and no batteries.

[Carson2616]

This is unbelievable. I have so much invested in the Arlo Cameras that I own for myself and Family. It appears that they are trying to get customers to purchase one of their Expensive plans. $240.00 year on Safe & Secure Pro
$179.88 year for Secure Plus. Well it looks like I will be getting Blink or Ring Security Cameras.

[liveoneday]

I don't like class action, but for this, I will join. 

[Kevinintx]

This is the video I found it on YouTube.

(148) Best Wireless WIFI Video Doorbells Of 2022 - Eufy, Ring, Nest, Arlo, Wyze, Blink - YouTube

[pc2k17]

Does anyone know if Eufy integrates with SmartThings? I use the arlo cams as motion sensors in SmartThings to trigger lights on/off.

[SubUbi]

Sometimes companies make big mistakes because they just don't think about who their loyal customers really are. Apologies in advance for the long post.  Just trying to make what I think is an important point. Not sure if Arlo management monitors these posts but I will try to get this message to the CEO or someone at the executive level as well. . .

Several years back, Sonos did the same thing as Arlo is attempting now by sunsetting an early generation of their products.  In their case it was a class of devices that were 8-12 years old at the time that they notified customers out of the blue, would no longer be supported and would be unusable with the new application being released shortly.  Customers like me had invested thousands of dollars in a very robust solution that was still working perfectly well. Like is going on right now with this Arlo situation, Sonos users reacted quickly and loudly.  To their credit, Sonos reconsidered within a week of the original announcement, and their CEO issued an apology and a modification to their EOL policy.  Their solution was simple - the older generation of products would remain fully functional for as long as they continued to operate.  Sonos would do nothing to decommission, cripple or deny access for any of these devices.  However, those devices would not be able to use the newest versions of their controller app and would not be able to benefit from feature upgrades - understandable since the old technology could not accommodate the new functionality.

What was the outcome?  Retention of thousands of loyal customers and a strengthened brand.  Speaking for myself, I am in the process of outfitting a new home with about $6K of new Sonos gear, and will be using the devices I purchased back in 2009-2011  to set up my workshop and some outside areas.  I was astounded by Sonos' reconsideration and remain a loyal customer - more so because Sonos did the right thing.

I'd ask Arlo management to reconsider what is a very anti-customer and a very draconian policy.  None of us purchased Arlo with any clue that the devices would go EOL any time soon - much less so quickly and so drastically.  The very features that are the selling points are what we bought into when we purchased the devices - flexibility, ease of use, reliability, and specific functionality like app-based control and 7 days of free cloud storage.  Please stand by your product and your brand - it's a good one. It would not be that hard to "do the right thing" for us that are already your customers and keep us in the family.