End Of Life Policy

[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

[voodoo12]

Whoever is behind this "brilliant" stunt should be fired without compensation. The class action law suite will follow, no doubt. I have 8 Arlo cameras which are now collecting dust + 2 base stations, one of them has a hard drive attached for recording locally, so I should be able to access my local recording no problem. However this is not the case. I am no longer consider Arlo, nor recommend it to anybody. I have spent over 1K for cameras, solar panels, extra batteries, etc, etc for unreliable Arlo stuff. I will be seeking compensation via class action, or via small claims court, or both.

[TSWRA]

Just had my first contact with Arlo support today.  It appears that Arlo is pulling out all the stops to become profitable after some very rough years.  They are looking for ways to establish a continuous revenue stream after the sale and they are making it difficult or impossible for people to complete the return process.  That reduces warranty losses.  I don't think that they necessarily hate their customers but I believe that they are in survival mode.  

[voodoo12]

Below is what Arlo have sold to me (I keep all records). I was unable to use the product after they disconnected my cloud storage. This is not fair regardless of Arlo's business model and/or profitability goals. I will be seeking compensation. Such unfairness should not be rewarded. Do your job or leave the marked and do not confuse or mislead customers.

"Service is included
Your Arlo system comes with a free basic plan
Live remote video streaming.

7 days of secure cloud DVR storage.

Email motion alerts & push notifications.

Support for up to 5 cameras.

One base station/one location.

You can upgrade for more storage & service levels."

[DannyBearAgain]

@voodoo12,

If you purchased a newer camera later than a pro2 model it may have only been supported with a trial subscription period.

The 7days free cloud storage feature ended in 2018 when the ultra model was released.

Any model after the pro2 requires a paid subscription when the trial ends.

The EOL policy generally impacts the pro2 and earlier models.

[voodoo12]

I have bought them prior to all that paid subscription stunts. The product description clearly said that it comes with free subscription. Yep, I was so naive to buy their joke at face value.

[AmyArlo24]

Screwing ppl over won't endear them to customers though. I am only upset because I love my Arlo. I talked others into buying them and wrote a great review on a site that I updated every year with yet more positive comments. If they had come to me with a cheaper 7 day rolling offer, say $5 pm, I would have seriously considered that. Sad they chose to alienate the ppl that could keep them afloat.

[DannyBearAgain]

@voodoo12,

When did your 7days free cloud storage stop working?

@AmyArlo24, @voodoo12 

Might be worth reading the new arlo EOL policy again at the head of this forum page. Things have quieted down some. 

[StephenB]

---

@DannyBearAgain wrote:

@AmyArlo24, @voodoo12 

Might be worth reading the new arlo EOL policy again at the head of this forum page. Things have quieted down some. 

---

To summarize - Pro 2 EOL has moved out to 1 Jan 2025, and the new terms have Arlo providing free 7-day cloud storage for legacy cameras indefinitely.

To be clear - Arlo simply removed the end-of-service announcement for free storage with legacy cameras.  They haven't explicitly promised that it will continue forever.  

[joeykraj]

Sorry if this question was already asked/answered.  I'm am a legacy user with 5 Pro cameras.  If I purchase a newer model camera will I be able to swap out one of my old cameras and keep the free 7 day storage?

[StephenB]

---

@joeykraj wrote:

I'm am a legacy user with 5 Pro cameras.  If I purchase a newer model camera will I be able to add it to swap out one of my old cameras and keep the free 7 day storage?

---

No.  That was not possible even before the EoL policy was rolled out.  All newer models (starting with the Ultra in 2018) require a subscription for cloud storage.

[TerryTak]

I read the new EOL policy letter. . .does it actually say that they will keep their free 7-day cloud storage for all their EOL hardware or does it simply not lost the 7-day cloud storage as part of what will be ended?  I can't find anywhere in the language that they will keep free 7-day cloud storage for their EOL hardware.

[voodoo12]

Re: "To be clear - Arlo simply removed the end-of-service announcement for free storage with legacy cameras. They haven't explicitly promised that it will continue forever. "

They have explicitly advertised that the storage service is included. That's why they have lost me as a customer. As for me Arlo is no longer a reliable trustworthy business. Sadly I had too much upfront trust.

[57A]

---

@TerryTak wrote:

  I can't find anywhere in the language that they will keep free 7-day cloud storage for their EOL hardware.

---

Note 1, bottom of page 1.

https://downloads.arlo.com/images/PDFs/EOL_Policy/arlo-end-of-life-policy-021023.pdf

Obviously, this can be changed at some future date with appropriate notice (along with other items discussed like notifications, etc), however, it stays for now.

[TerryTak]

Wow. . .thanks @57A , I poured through that document several times and didn't even notice "Note 1" at the bottom of p. 1.

Thanks! 

[Minburn57]

The Feb 10, 2023 revision of the EOL policy . . . . 

So much in this document appears to offset other statements and I'm certain leaves open doors for the Co, but that footnote on the most current revision . . . is it the understanding then that all EOL products will still have 7 days of free cloud reporting . . . period?

If so, it appears the pushback from users and their influence on market share may have yielded something from Arlo.

However, the cynic in me tells me that footnote statement isn't actually presented 'anywhere' in the PDF as 'policy' other than in the footnote itself.  I see this as perhaps (more) sloppy Arlo service in the form of misleading docs.

[JamesC]

Minburn57,

7-day storage will not be EOL’d. Users who currently have 7-day storage service will continue to receive that service uninterrupted.

JamesC

[rjc356]

In addition to the new EOL policy, Arlo CEO Matthew McRae provided further comment in a series of Twitter posts on 11 February. I've copied the text below.

"UPDATE ON ARLO EOL POLICY

We listened to feedback and concerns from Arlo users since our announcement a month ago.  I personally interacted with many of you and deeply appreciate the viewpoints on where we should make some adjustments.  Here are the changes we are making:

1) 7-day storage will not be EOL’d.  I asked the team in early January to investigate ways to support this service through planned platform changes. After a significant amount of work there is a solution to continue 7-day storage.

What does this mean?

Users who currently have 7-day storage service will continue to receive that service uninterrupted. Any future migrations will be handled in a seamless manner. I know this was the source of nearly all concern & we are happy to announce that users will not be impacted.

2) We are pushing out EOL dates to extend the life of your devices. As an example, the Pro 2 class of products will now EOL in 2025. There is still limited parts, repair, and refurbishment capabilities but full software support will be extended to the new dates.

3) We will continue to provide security updates on products for one year after the EOL date. This is in response to specific concerns for some users. As an example, Pro 2 class devices will now receive security updates until 2026.

As I originally posted, our EOL policy is part of our effort to be fully transparent with our community and your feedback has helped us improve. And as I said in my original post, your feedback and suggestions are important to us. Hopefully our actions reflect that fact.

We know the important role we play in your lives and this responsibility drives everything we do at Arlo.

Having confidence to rely on Arlo for your safety, security, and privacy is paramount to our vision and mission.

Finally, to say thank you for the feedback, Arlo will continue to honor the special offers sent out via email and extend those offers until the end of June.

The updated policy is being posted and a new email will be sent shortly with updated information and the extended offers."

[Minburn57]

What a f mess.

Par for the course for Arlo.

[Minburn57]

When you say those that currently have 7-day storage service, do you mean (for example) those with the older cams that haven't even needed a subscription to have that storage?

[Mark85]

@rjc356 

Thanks for putting the update here. Looks like I will be able to continue using my Arlo Pro 1+2s with the existing 7 day free cloud storage, so my qualms with Arlo are done.

[melloworld]

"social media connections" nice... and why didn't you start that online storage service for yourself or them to begin with lol. Buncha huff and puff.

[shoustonnz]

Received by email tonight

Feb 17 (New Zealand time)

Steve,

On 1 January 2023, Arlo communicated our updated End of Life Policy addressing how Arlo would support legacy devices as they age. Some customers voiced concern over how they could continue to utilize the remaining life of their legacy product. More specifically, many customers reached out to us to tell us they enjoy the 7 days of rolling cloud video recording provided with legacy devices and don’t want that service to end.

We heard those concerns and as part of our continued commitment to support our Arlo community, we are pleased to share that owners of Arlo EOL products will continue to have access to 7 days of cloud storage. When your EOL device enters the EOL stage on 1 July 2023, your EOL device will keep 7 days of cloud storage at no cost to you. Arlo will also continue to provide critical security updates to your EOL product for up to 1 year after the EOL Effective Date. For a reminder of what it means when a device is EOL, please visit our Support Page.

Also, to say thank you for being an Arlo customer, we are extending the offer we sent out in the original email for 75% off any Arlo Secure subscription service for 12 months available on Arlo.com.*

We know you rely on Arlo to protect your everything and Arlo is committed to providing a service you can continue to rely on, even as technology evolves. Thank you for being part of the Arlo family and allowing us to serve you.

Arlo Team

[dcmccarthy]

Ironically this arrived the same day my new lorex cameras are being delivered.

Good riddance to my Arlo’s! Can’t wait for them to be out of commission and out of my mind. 

[KHBeck]

Already replaced by Arlo system with eufy. Much , much better system. Will never give Arlo a single cent again. 

[Jhallman]

With April 1 looming I also went and ordered some powered wifi enabled, SD Card Storage Hausafe cameras (available under about a dozen different names).  They were less than 1/3 the price of an Arlo camera so I thought worth a try.  So far pluses and minuses vs Arlo, the most notable is the Chinese app that runs them actually manages to be worse than Arlo's   😉 .  If I'm honest, I was enjoying the last Arlo alerts thinking how unfortunate it was that after about 5 years of fairly reliable service, Arlo managed to lose me as a customer.  So good on the community 'noise' for getting Arlo to wake up to reality, not sure how far I will go with vengeful behavior along the 'anybody but Arlo' vein as I think their self inflicted damage to their company name is likely irreversible.  The underlying reasons for their business decisions are all still there and I'm sure their competitors now smell blood in the water.  Their moderation of posts and membership on this forum also speaks to their corporate culture thinking they can 'hide' the bad stuff....