Additional Cameras

[jcbrooks24]

I currently have an Arlo system (Pro 2) with 3 cameras, and i am looking to add a few more cameras.  I do not have any sort of subscription at the moment, nor do I want one.  What, if any, cameras can I add without having to start a subscription?  I have base station.

[TomMac]

On the free account you can have a max of 5 cameras.... to stay with your current settings , you can add only the cameras from the legacy group.

In your case either Pro or Pro2 cameras.

[StephenB]

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@jcbrooks24 wrote:

 I have base station.

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What model?  Direct access to local storage requires one of the two smarthubs (VMB4540 or VMB5000).

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@jcbrooks24 wrote:

 I do not have any sort of subscription at the moment, nor do I want one. 

Arlo sold Pro 2 cameras with free 7-day cloud storage.  They stopped offering that with new camera models 5 years ago, and all of the current cameras require a subscription to get cloud storage.

If you have a VMB3xxx base, then it does not support local storage in any form.

If you want to see recordings with a current camera w/o a subscription with a VMB4000 or VMB4500 base station, then you will need to attach local storage (usb thumb drive with at least 16 GB of storage) to the base,  Since those bases only support recording (and do not support playback), to see the recordings you will need to eject the storage and connect it to a PC for playback.

If you were to replace your base with a VMB4540 or a VMB5000 smarthub, then you could play back local recordings in the app.

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

But it is a rather poor user experience - limitations include

• recordings only available in the primary account (not friend accounts)
• recordings only available in the app (not my.arlo.com)
• no ability to take snapshots or make manual recordings
• no thumbnails - videos need to be downloaded to the phone to see anything.
• remote access requires router setting changes that many find difficult (and which won't work with some internet service providers).