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

[DaveWoj]

@Zzzzzzzzzz 

Thanks for that info. Yes that's important to me.

If the battery is kept in it the power probably doesn't override the battery unless it's taken out.

I also believe that wired without the battery in it should let it run in sub zero temps without shutting down below a certain temp.

I'll check out the link.

[DaveWoj]

@Cartero95 

I agree with the points you bring up.

If Arlo was still selling the Q's after the takeover and failed to change the marketing/packaging, then your points are valid.

Did they change any of the labeling on the Q's or leave the Netgear logo's on them?

Mine say Netgear on the back and on the serial number label.

I'm assuming Arlo just took all the old stock (Netgear) cameras and weren't thinking about EOL at the time.

[DaveWoj]

@StephenB 

I actually did know that and I've got some Anker speakers and cables.

I guess my point is that they are like Netgear. Multiple products.

And Arlo apparently was the most profitable.

Maybe my line of thinking is dumb, but it seems to me that a company that tends to focus on one product and hopefully do it well, is more reliable and responsive than one that dabbles in multiple products.

I say that even after the EOL debacle and hope that Arlo learns something from it moving forward.

[StephenB]

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@DaveWoj wrote:

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.

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Netgear divested Arlo in 2018 (7 August - 31 December of that year).  All the devices on the EoL list were launched when Netgear owned Arlo.  The Ultra was on the bubble (announced after divesture started, but before it was completed).  That was the first camera that didn't come with 7-day cloud storage included.  The Go 2, Pro 3, Pro 4, Pro 5s, Essentials and the video doorbells were all launched after the divesture.

Products launched pre-divestiture do have references to Netgear in the manuals and other materials.  Old base stations and cameras had Netgear branding on the product itself and/or labels.  Even now, chargers and other components might still have some Netgear branding.  My Pro/Pro2 charging station has a Netgear label, my newer Ultra charging station has an Arlo label.

• https://www.netgear.com/about/legacyarloproducts/

[DaveWoj]

@StephenB 

That's interesting information.

It sounds like the Free 7 Day was only really an offer from Netgear then.

Because after the Pro 2 (Netgear). The new cameras all went to subscription after the changeover.

It also sounds like Arlo was already planning on phasing out the older cameras but kept the grandfathered plans to make everyone happy. Probably the main reason many, including myself thought we were smart and bought add on cameras for the free 7 day.

Arlo's biggest oversight was allowing these legacy cameras to still be sold (2nd and 3rd party) with the old marketing/labeling/branding tied to Netgear.

[Pstruzzi]

 Cannot believe that Arlo is discontinuing the free service for the Arlo pro

i bought this system for that very reason 

I now need another system for another condo but will go with a competitor as they are more upfront and transparent in their services 

I am sure I am not the only time disappointed with Arlo!!! 

[Zzzzzzzzzz]

@StephenB    Thanks for clarifying and adding to what I wrote. I re-read my phrasing, and it can come across the opposite of what I meant.

My Arlo Pro 2s that are wired with micro-USB automatically provide pre-recording for a triggered motion. The one on a solar panel does not do any pre-recording and is less reliable in detecting motion not close to the camera.

The latest generation of Ring Stick-up now offers a setting in the app to select wired or battery operation to add the wired functionality if it's wired (per LifeHackster's video); Ring refers to it as "pre-roll." Arlo (some models) and Ring Stick-up are the only ones I've found so far that have removable batteries and that can aso be wired to  a power source for better functionality.

[DaveWoj]

@Zzzzzzzzzz 

OK.

After reading your informative post, I found this video on Eufy.

What a mess trying to get to the sealed battery. That right there is a no go for me. Apparently the battery isn't meant to ever be replaced? I don't get that.

I would love to know how long the battery life is realistically.

I'd bet it's not 365 days.

And if I can wire it to be powered constantly through the charging port but don't gain any functionality like shutting down in sub zero temps, then that's also a no go.

[DaveWoj]

@Zzzzzzzzzz 

Video Attached.

I'm sure you've already seen this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m8jmwH-5-w

[Zzzzzzzzzz]

Just want to share some interesting information based on my call with Costco.com this morning.

Costco is carrying some Wyze online and in some stores (e.g., FL per the representative). From the Costco systems, it looks like they are planning to offer 9-10 Eufy products/bundles both in store and online. But he was unable to tell regarding timeframe. He said "it's in the very early stages" based on the way it's showing up in the systems. Reolink is nowhere to be found in Costco's systems so no plans to carry Reolink. I did see one Reolink product on Sam's Club website.

And FYI, if people haven't checked Costco.com or in store recently, several of the Arlo offerings are on sale until 2/2.

[Zzzzzzzzzz]

@DaveWoj  Thanks; fun video! I had not seen it before. I'll have to check-out all his videos. 

For people who are interested in Eufy, they are a Chinese owned company, and they have had some security issues and breaches recently. One of the issues was that user data were sent to Eufy servers in China even though users thought that their data were only being stored locally. Another was that for a brief period some users were logging into and had control of other people's cameras. Supposedly it was detected "quickly" and fixed. Please research it and decide if it is a concern for you.

Also note that US owned companies (e.g., Ring and Wyze) have also had well publicized security issues. 

[Zzzzzzzzzz]

Also wanted to add that the latest generation of Ring Spotlight also has removable batteries. Currently, Ring's cameras and video doorbells that do have removable batteries all use the same original battery from their first video doorbell. All devices are still only 1080p.

[PeevedCustomer]

Please check the article again.

"The following Arlo hardware devices will be moved to EOL on April 1, 2023: 

• Arlo Wire-Free Camera (VMC3030)
• Arlo Pro Camera (VMC4030)"

Edit: Sorry I did not realize the "Reply" button attached to individual posts was a general reply button and incorrectly assumed it was to reply to the individual post. My post was in response to a poster who stated in error that the EOL for all models involved was 4/1/2024 vs 2323.

[PeevedCustomer]

See edit below:

Sorry but have you read the directions on how to retrieve an automatic video recording once the  cloud storage stops? And the fact that they cannot be viewed on a cell phone but only from where the base station is via the usb stick you had to remove from the base station and inset into your computer????

That is useless and so is Arlo at this point. Do you work for them?

Edit: Sorry I did not realize the "Reply" button attached to individual posts was a general reply button and incorrectly assumed it was to reply to the individual post. My post was in response to a poster who stated in error that the EOL policy "did not mean the sky was falling" and generally suggested everyone was overreacting. I strongly disagree as you might can tell. If any affected did not read the instructions for using a USB stick vs the cloud for viewing videos, the short version is it is ridiculous and cannot be done from any smart phone in any way. You have to record the videos via a USB stick plugged into your base station, go through a process to remove it, insert into your computer, and then attempt to find your desired video. Again useless, at least for me.

For those who have the ability to start a class action lawsuit on this, maybe first contact the CEO and other company officers if possible (names found on the Arlo "Wiki" page), give them maybe a week (before 4/1/2023) to revisit their highly unethical policy and respond, and then sue the pants off them if not satisfactory. No wonder Netgear (a company I have done much satisfactory business with), who used to own Arlo, dumped them like a hot rock a few years ago. Smart move....

[DannyBearAgain]

@PeevedCustomer 

Be aware that the arlo community forum suffers from text corruption, you will invariably notice when you read enough posts here that single letters and numbers that get altered often which can give you the wrong information.

Some might suggest you have finger issues but reality is different, they just appear sometime after the post has been uploaded. I always review my posts immediately after posting then logout and back in again to correct the text corruption as it happens. 

Edit: it also inserts extra words.

[PeevedCustomer]

Thank you DannyBear. I reloaded the page and my posts (for better or worse) look as I intended. That is other than my previous assumption that the reply button that shows in individual posts, is a general reply to the full chain. Is it possible to reply to an individual post and have others see replies to that post as in most forums? No biggie if not, I'd just as soon everybody see everything, especially in the case of this unethical and immoral new EOL policy.

Did you see something amiss in my 2 posts or just giving me a general heads up? Thanks again.

[DannyBearAgain]

@PeevedCustomer 

Partly quoted,

“My post was in response to a poster who stated in error that the EOL for all models involved was 4/1/2024 vs 2323.”

Yes, My comment to you was related to the error you mentioned in a previous post as a heads up.

Regards when replying to a previous post your new post is delegated to the end of the thread rather than a sub post attached to the post your replying to. Hence  all users contained in the thread will receive an email.

The function of the reply button is to facilitate access to the post your replying to to be viewable while you’re creating your new post.

Also note that when the moderator merges a seperate thread into a common thread that not all posters are updated by email of the common thread changes only those posters from the seperate thread.

This invariably results in no email updates to those posters from other merged threads and so eventually who wants to wade through thousands of previous posts to understand the information contained within a common thread.

The advice is to direct your post using the @username at the head of your post and quote the details of the other users posted content to clarify what your posting about.

It can be very difficult to use the posting interface especially if the post gets long since when typing it as I text now takes a second to type each letter.

[DaveWoj]

An interesting article for anyone interested in Eufy

https://www.theverge.com/23573362/anker-eufy-security-camera-answers-encryption

[Kremmen]

This privacy aspect is what I like about my Arlo setup.

I have my 2 Arlo cameras on permanent armed and I use Smartthings geofencing (that works 100%) to switch my Q's into armed or standby. When in standby they are still connected so can be activated in seconds.

That means when I'm indoors my cameras are not streaming, no one can view me. 

I'm very tempted to continue to run my Arlo's for motion alerts and utilise my current Kasa and Tapo cameras, hide them, to record to SDCard.

[DannyBearAgain]

@Kremmen 

Regards to using smartthings for geofencing I may look at doing the same, need to test first.

ATM the arlo geofencing only works for 13days at a time since the arlo mobile background app session expires which also includes the receiving of motion notifications so I may end up with the same operational issues.

Need to buy some other brand cameras first.

[Kremmen]

Let me know if you need any pointers to get it working.

[juniortupapa]

I will join the Class Action suit without hesitation. This is not the way to treat customers.

[DaveWoj]

@Kremmen 

I find it a little ironic how everyone feels like they've been treated wrongly by Arlo but have no regrets about dumping Arlo for other companies that lie to their customers. I wonder how many Eufy owners are switching to Arlo. (LOL)

https://9to5mac.com/2023/02/01/eufy-security-camera-encryption/

[mamarcac]

---

@DaveWoj wrote:

@Kremmen 

I find it a little ironic how everyone feels like they've been treated wrongly by Arlo but have no regrets about dumping Arlo for other companies that lie to their customers. I wonder how many Eufy owners are switching to Arlo. (LOL)

https://9to5mac.com/2023/02/01/eufy-security-camera-encryption/

---

It's not people "feeling" like we've been treated wrongly. Arlo has literally broken the contract with their customers who purchased the products that were promised free 7-day cloud storage that never expires, written right on the box.

Look if you don't like Eufy that's cool. Personally if China wants to see footage of my driveway, please enjoy. Unless you're running a custom rom on Android, restricting all app access by locking down via root (su) commands, and only using Signal for messaging, you are sharing far worse things that way which you don't even know about.

[cbaileyuk]

Davewoj clearly has a stick up his *** for anything not Arlo 😄. I drew that conclusion pages ago and stated as such. Maybe he's an insider or it's disinf op sponsored by them ☺️ 😄😄

We've made the contractual breach position clear to him, he's choosing to ignore this with his random outbursts. Arlo have unilaterally reneged on a clear bilateral agreement which is heavily recorded. As stated previously, the relevant legal systems will consider it.