Arlo Pro Cameras Rendered Useless

[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

[ArloSucksNow]

For those located in United States…we just filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission…would recommend others do the same. 

Make sure to reference the previous Arlo website literature promising “never expires” at this location: https://web.archive.org/web/20170606033243/http://www.arlo.com/en-us/products/arlo/default.aspx

ftc.gov/complaint

[redsoxfan44]

existing or enhanced storage options do not help Arlo Q users with no base station. 

[cbaileyuk]

Exactly that waybackwhen archive. That is the central argument and Arlo has a mountain to climb to defend against that prior promise.

Any right minded judge will struggle to argue against that very simple declaration from the firm. Never is a big, big word.

I say this, with some legal understanding.

Good luck litigants!

[Bv343]

I would like to know why they're screwing us over, I wouldn't even care if I could self host my own cloud for arlo clips on my nas but they just took our money and said sucks to be you guys. If they don't reverse this decision I'll be sure to inform everyone I possibly can how crap Arlo as a company is. 

[securemyhouse]

So those that have the Pro2 that shows end of life 1-2024 are we losing the 7 day FREE cloud storage now or 1-2024?

[StephenB]

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@securemyhouse wrote:

So those that have the Pro2 that shows end of life 1-2024 are we losing the 7 day FREE cloud storage now or 1-2024?

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This says 1-1-2024:

• https://kb.arlo.com/000063018/Arlo-Legacy-Cameras-End-of-Life

[DaveWoj]

@cbaileyuk 

I don't hate Eufy so I'm not sure where you got that idea just because I'm asking "legitimate" questions.

The best info I'm going to get it from actual "knowledgeable" users, people telling me to check out their site and info on the internet when I can't get clear and specific information is a waste of time.

If you or anyone else can tell me where Eufy is clear about being able to use ALL of their cameras with a constant powered wire option, I'd like to see it because I don't see that anywhere I've researched. 

Eufy information is terrible. What does 100% wire free mean??????

Does it mean that it's impossible to run it by AC with a charging cable?

Comparing apples to apples, it looks like if I want to replace my cameras with Eufy, go all AC powered, cross trigger and subscribe to the cloud, I don't see where Eufy is that much less expensive.

I'm just trying to get answers about certain features that match exactly what my Arlo set up is now.

I may be wrong but it sounds like you would prefer Arlo and the biggest reason you left was because they dropped the free 7 day. Nothing lasts forever, it doesn't matter what they may have said about "never expires". That original marketing promise was from Netgear. 

We can all complain, wish and hope they offer us some great free deal on the cloud because we all feel hurt and lied to or we were original, long time customers etc. but eventually we need to move on and get a totally new option or accept that we were screwed and continue to stay with Arlo.

Life isn't fair. Arlo pulling this policy on us isn't fair. But you know what? They don't care. They'll lose some business but in the long run it won't matter. They've made their money on us and they're moving on.

Me buying new Arlo cameras (if I decide to do so) doesn't mean that I support their ethics and agree with what they did, it only means that I've decided it's still the best option for me.

[cbaileyuk]

@DaveWoj 

It's nothing about "fairness", it's about contractual obligations.

As to Eufy, if I were you, I'd move on pal.

I have, from Arlo, to Eufy. Because Arlo have failed to honour our agreement; no more time wasted on "our" debate.

Headline "Arlo failed in their promise, I moved to Eufy, litigation will take place with Arlo".

[Zzzzzzzzzz]

Lately, I've been spending a lot of time researching security cameras. More offerings than there were a few years ago. I find that all the companies do a very poor job providing details about what their products do and don't do. Plus with new designs and advances, it's hard to figure out and keep track of who's offering what functionality from just reading their websites. There are some cool new features and designs out there.

Most online "reviews" just re-state what the company websites say. I find that LifeHackster on youtube does in-depth reviews and testing, starting from opening the box. He shows all the mounting options; shows the app; tests the video and sound quality; tests notification time; etc.. He also does comparion tests of different cameras.

https://m.youtube.com/@LifeHackster

[securemyhouse]

Thanks that's good information, my hub does not have that option but I have pro2 camera's do you know if I can upgrade just the Hub so that I can record to a card?

[Zzzzzzzzzz]

@securemyhouse 

My understanding is that, theoretically, with a hub with either that has a USB port or accepts a microSD card, you will still get notifications and can record to your hub. I have an old Pro 2 base station that has a flash drive that I can pull out and look at videos. 

People are saying that with new smart hubs with local storage you can access videos from your app only if you are on the same LAN but not remotely. There are steps you can take to access remotely, but it's a pain, not secure, and not that user friendly. This is per discussion on this community and on the internet.

https://kb.arlo.com/000062284/What-is-the-difference-between-each-Arlo-SmartHub-and-base-station

https://kb.arlo.com/000062337/What-is-Direct-Storage-Access-and-how-do-I-use-it

[Zzzzzzzzzz]

@DaveWoj 

I don't have Eufy, nor have I seen them in person. From watching the LifeHackster youtube videos, the battery Eufy cameras look like they have a usb charging port so that you don't have to constantly take the cameras down to change the battery. The latest one (3?) might need a USB-C connection, but they might provide the converter, and if I recall correctly, it connects to the latest version 3 of the hub, which currently has to be physically connected to your router (no wi-fi connection). I think you would need a Eufy hub to do cross-triggering.

It looks like the only Eufy outdoor "wired" is the Solo Outdoor Cam C24. From one of the comments/responses in the youtube video, only the wired version does a 3 second pre-roll. I am typing this information from what I remember from LifeHacksters youtube videos, so you probably want to double-check by watching his videos. Maybe reddit has a Eufy forum?

Also, Ring does cross-triggering as well, but of course, you need a subscription.

[DaveWoj]

@cbaileyuk 

I have a water heater (Amtrol)

Lifetime warranty to the original homewoner.

LIFETIME. That means LIFETIME right?

Amtrol was sold to Worthington Industries under the Amtrol name.

Worthington Industries has no obligation to honor the lifetime warranty.

So. My tank was not covered.

They aren't fulfilling their contractual obligations because they aren't the same company.

You can spin it what ever way you want, but that was Netgears 7 day policy. Not Arlo.

[securemyhouse]

Thanks I am probably going to look into other options. I’m disappointed in Arlo.  I found some good options that can store locally and that’s probably the route I will take. Reading a lot of good reviews on Eufy. 

[DaveWoj]

@Zzzzzzzzzz 

I understand that I would need a base for cross triggering but if you can attach a cable to the charging port, that also tells me that you should be able to leave the cable in permanently so it will run off constant AC power, with or (without the battery making it lighter).

If this is the case, then ALL Eufy cameras are capable of being "wired".

This is what I want but Eufy fails to make this known anywhere that I can see in any of the references I've found.

Eufy may be a great option. I'm just a little hesitant to buy a camera from a company that doesn't look like its main focus is security cameras. Their specialty looks to be vacuum cleaners.

I need to continue my research.

Thanks for the reply.

[Nancy_L]

Actually, I am sitting here looking at 3 boxes of VMS3330 Arlo cameras. They are all 3 cameras and a base station. One says Netgear Arlo and the other two are just Arlo at the Carlsbad address. No mention of Netgear. They all say included 7 day FREE cloud storage and email push notifications. 

[Zzzzzzzzzz]

@DaveWoj 

I watched Lifehackster's review of Eufy Cam 3C and read the comments again. In the comments section, "Wilson Pacheco" asked the same thing you are asking. It's kind of hidden as a sub-question. Lifehackster's answer was that you can add a cable to keep the battery charged. But the features will remain that of a battery camera, and it will not have the features of a wired cameras such as "pre-recording and better motion detection."  Unlike with Arlo and Ring, attaching a power cable to a camera with a battery, the camera will take on additonal functionality that wired cameras have. Also, only the Eufy wired camera can do continuous recording. So it depends on if those features are important to you. Check out his review (link below), and the comments sections can contain useful information. 

It can be a lot of details to figure out and process, depending on your needs. I think I'm going blind watching and re-watching online review videos...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sb8jVaPGWIw

[Kremmen]

Like everyone here I'm doing research. 

It's looking like a small subscription is going to be needed, but I know who's not getting mine.

An all camera sub here is close to £10 a month for more than one camera but Google Nest Aware sub, all cameras, is half that. Nest has Geofencing and if you can manage with 3 hours free storage then no sub needed. Just what Arlo should have considered IMO.

The only snags with Nest is the Geofencing isn't always the quickest to trigger, but for me nor was Arlo, and Nest triggers one notification then there is a lengthy 'cooling off' period before it triggers again unlike most other manufacturers devices that continually trigger while they detect motion.

[cbaileyuk]

@DaveWoj 

Not sure why we are now talking about water heaters 🤣

You need to take that point up.elsewhere.

[Cartero95]

@DaveWoj 

I think there are some slight differences with the case of the water heater example you mentioned.

- Arlo was spined-off from Netgear into a separate legal entity, not sold to another company.

- Also the current CEO of Arlo was the VP of strategy for Arlo at Netgear prior to the spin-off and well aware of the lifetime offer.

- The lifetime 7 day cloud storage offer continued well after the spin off. According to the 'wayback machine', the Arlo Q with the included cloud storage was still offered on the Arlo website until 2021.

https://web.archive.org/web/20210125023600/https://www.arlo.com/en-us/default.aspx

https://web.archive.org/web/20210123095657/https://www.arlo.com/en-us/products/arlo-q-plus/default.a...

[numb15]

Nest cameras are only 1080p resolution as far as I can tell, that’s probably why their subscription is cheaper?

[StephenB]

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@securemyhouse wrote:

I have pro2 camera's do you know if I can upgrade just the Hub so that I can record to a card?

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To clarify @Zzzzzzzzzz's information:

Remote access is possible with most - but not all - internet service providers.  It can't be done if you use mobile broadband (T-Mobile among others), Starlink, or a landline ISP that uses carrier grade NAT (CGNAT).  That is because it requires the remote device to make an inbound connection to your router (either using port fowarding or with a router-deployed VPN) when you want to view recordings.  Those networks simply can't or don't support inbound connections, they only support outbound.  Subscriptions work, because the base connects outbound to the Arlo cloud when a recording is made.

There are some other limitations to direct access to remote storage:

1. access to recordings is only through the app (not the browser)
2. access to recordings is only through the primary account (so no shared cameras)
3. no ability to make manual recordings or snapshots
4. no thumbnails (including notifications) - videos need to be downloaded to view.

While many here do use direct access instead of a subscription, personally I find the experience to be poor (and only use direct access as a backup to the cloud storage).  That said, if you want to upgrade the hub, make sure you get a VMB4540 or a VMB5000 - those are the only models that support direct access.

• https://kb.arlo.com/000062337/What-is-Direct-Storage-Access-and-how-do-I-use-it

[StephenB]

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@DaveWoj wrote:

Eufy may be a great option. I'm just a little hesitant to buy a camera from a company that doesn't look like its main focus is security cameras.

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Eufy is not a company - it is a brand owned by Anker (in particular, the "Anker Innovations" group).

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anker_Innovations

Anker makes a wide range of products, but I think it is most known for its chargers and power station products.  

FWIW, I own a pair of their Soundcore earbuds, as well as some of their chargers.

[StephenB]

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@Zzzzzzzzzz wrote:

Unlike with Arlo and Ring, attaching a power cable to a camera with a battery, the camera will take on additonal functionality that wired cameras have. Also, only the Eufy wired camera can do continuous recording. So it depends on if those features are important to you. 

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Actually several Arlo cameras also take on additional functionality when connected to AC power (including continuous video recording, hardware activity zones, and pre-roll).   But there are a lot of Arlo models, and not all of them do. 

With Arlo, CVR also requires a subscription.

[DaveWoj]

@Nancy_L 

I can't answer to one having the Netgear name and one not but as far as I know, that model still goes back to when Netgear still owned Arlo.

That's the original Arlo (i had a couple). The Arlo Pro 2 came out in 2017, I don't know when the Pro came out but The 2 I think, was still Netgear.