Thirty Camera Wireless System For Business Doable?

[SJBusiness]

My boss wants to put in a security camera system in a large two-story building without paying much.  Can Arlo's products be used to set up a system of 30 cameras, most wireless?   Exterior cameras will likely need to be wired.  Is this a realistic scenario?  I've installed wired systems in the past, but have no experience with wireless systems. 

[Streak2]

In theory it is possible but for a business solution I would look at going wired or a combination for areas that can't be wired.

Issues to consider would be battery life, access to cameras to change/charge batteries, signal strength etc.

[SJBusiness]

Thank you for your thoughts, yes, I agree with you, but the owner is looking for a quick solution not requiring running wire. How many wireless Arlo cameras can be on one system?

[StephenB]

>>> How many wireless Arlo cameras can be on one system? >>> Arlo says the number of cameras in the account is unlimited: https://kb.arlo.com/1108731/How-many-cameras-are-supported-on-my-Arlo-account. There are limits to the number of cameras you can connect to each smarthub.

[SJBusiness]

What is each hubs camera limit? Are there different hubs that can handle more cameras?

[StephenB]

Each hub can stream up to 5 cameras at a time. You can pair more than 5 - not sure that that ceiling is.

[jguerdat]

I happen to have 12 devices connected to my hub and will be adding more now that the Essential Gen. 2 cameras can be connected. WHile the limit of 5 cameras simultaneously streaming is fixed, the number of devices basically boils down to the hub's response due to hardware limitations. Since the original question was about 30(-ish) cameras, I'd suggest at least one more hub, perhaps two.

[StephenB]

@SJBusiness - The range of a smarthub is about the same as a consumer router, and it cannot be extended. One or two smarthubs are not likely to be enough for your large 2 story building. If the building has good wifi coverage already in place and if the subscription in your country includes unlimited cameras, then best option is to use the wifi already in place instead of smarthubs, and pay for a subscription.

[SJBusiness]

Thank you all for the responses, I'm obviously a neophyte and very much appreciate the help. Is there a way to test how strong the wifi signal is in the building and how strong does the signal need to be for the cameras to operate properly?

[StephenB]

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@SJBusiness wrote:
Thank you all for the responses, I'm obviously a neophyte and very much appreciate the help. Is there a way to test how strong the wifi signal is in the building and how strong does the signal need to be for the cameras to operate properly?

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The easiest way is to install the Ookla speedtest app on your phone, and measure the speed at various parts of the building.  Turn off your phone mobile data while you do this, to make sure you are measuring the wifi speed.  The cameras need between 1 and 3 megabits upload speed while streaming.  You won't need 30x times that speed, since the cameras won't all trigger at once.  

Arlo cameras won't connect to an unencrypted network, it needs to be protected with a wifi password. Another thing is that some corporate wifi systems require you to log into the network, and not just connect with the network name and password.  Arlo cameras can't do that login, since they have no user interface.  So make sure the network doesn't require that.

[SJBusiness]

Okay, thank you StephenB for all the good advice.  My boss thought that this would be an easier way to go, but it looks more complex than the old wired systems I had previously installed.  His ease of installing a wireless system at his home was the convincing factor, unfortunately.