Customer Ratings & Reviews

This product was exactly like the picture! It came with 4 cameras and a charging plug for the cameras. I really love that it also came with the screws needed to set up as well as clear instructions on how to install the cameras. I have installed one at my front door and will install the rest in the backyard and garage. I love that all 4 cameras come together because I can make sure my entire house is secured from all angles. I do wish that the cameras came fully charged but I will say that to charge them full battery did not take long. For the size of the cameras they do so much and you can control it all from your phone which I absolutely love! Overall 10/10 product.

Great video quality which is what I was looking for. Downside are subscription costs but that’s almost all wireless cameras. Another down side is the fact I need to charge the cameras when they finally die. I don’t like the thought of taking them down to charge leaving my family vulnerable for the time of charging. Opposed to a traditional battery where I could pop it out and pop new one in losing the cameras for a matter of seconds.

Really good picture quality. Pretty happy with camera except the activity zones set do not seem to work... every tine a car goes by, the camera records even though the activation zone stops before the street. This causes the battery to run down quicker.

Great product! Simple to set up and so far so good, the batteries charged after a few hours, install took just a few minutes as it’s three screws and a QR code to scan to add the camera to the app. I like that the app has three sensitivity settings and the picture is very clear, video loads up quickly with great sound as well. Solid cameras to install around your property for the added peace of mind. Would recommend and buy again.

Bought these to monitor our goats and sheep. They do a great job in the barns and for near distance scans. Does not pick up motion much past 25 feet. No connectivity issues at all!

Verdict: The Arlo Essential 4-Pack camera is a very compelling system for new and existing users of the Arlo ecosystem. Setup was very easy, performance is great, and the price is fair for what you get, assuming you are willing to pay a monthly subscription fee. Unfortunately, once the free trial is over, free usage of the cameras severely limits the capabilities that the Arlo ecosystem offers. If you are considering Arlo cameras, please understand that to get a useful system, you will need to pay a monthly subscription. The current functionality of the free tier is mostly useless in my opinion. I hope this review is helpful to guide an informed purchase decision. Background. I am heavily invested in the Arlo ecosystem. We have over twenty total Arlo devices ranging from older Pro cameras, floodlights, a doorbell with chime, two base stations, and now these four brand new essential cameras. I also pay annually to access premium services. While I would prefer not to pay, I find the value I receive to be worth the $120/year cost for unlimited cameras, unlimited storage on a rolling 30-day basis, protection zones, identification of camera triggers, animated previews, 24/7 response, etc. In this review, I will try to address the value of Arlo cameras from both the free tier and the premium subscription. First impressions. The package is small for 4 cameras… that’s because these cameras no longer require a base station, which is good and bad; good because they easily connect directly to your app on your phone through Wi-Fi, and bad because you no longer have access to local storage for your video recordings. The package includes 4 cameras, 4 mounts, one charging cable, and a quick start guide. Setup. The quick start guide includes QR codes to access videos. The app also does a fantastic job to walk through each step of the setup process with short video clips. While setup is very easy, it took some time… maybe 30 minutes, to setup all four cameras primarily due to the software update requirement for each camera. The essential cameras come with a free trial, which allows users to experience the full range of Arlo services from the premium subscription. Subscription model. After the free trial ends, users will still have access live-streaming, push notification, and two-way audio. HOWEVER, please note that you will not be able to view recordings… None! So you will get push notifications but will not be able to view the recorded videos associated with them, in my opinion questioning the value of having cameras at all. Users will need to pay a monthly subscription to access recordings. I suppose once you get a notification, you could livestream the cameras to see what’s going on and then use two-way audio to interact with a person on the other end. Hopefully you catch a notification on time, and you are not sleeping or out of network signal on your phone. If you are willing to pay ~$11/month indefinitely, you get a powerful system with unlimited cameras, storage (rolling 30 days), and other advance features. Subscription cost for a single camera is ~$5/month. With an Arlo Secure Plan: (1) Access video and event history for rolling 30 days, (2) Quick One Tap Direct Dispatch for police, fire, medical help (some plans), (3) Detect a person, package, vehicle or animal, (4) Customizable Smart Activity Zones for alerts that matter most. Without a Plan: (1) No video history on the Arlo Smart Cloud, only live viewing with camera, (2) No 24/7 Emergency Response capability, (3) Basic notifications without object detection, (4) Motion notifications that are not customized, (4) No around-the-clock monitoring from 24/7 Live Security Experts. Performance. I am very happy with the performance of the essential cameras. Image quality is very good. Notifications are fast. The spotlight is nice for added visibility and as a deterrent. Integration is seamless with the app and other older devices managed in the app. The app is intuitive and powerful. Features. The few features available in the free tier (once the free trial ends) work well overall, and these are obviously also available with a paid subscription. Live-streaming takes 5 to 8 seconds to connect, even when connecting to the cameras from another state or country. Two-way audio takes about 3 to 4 seconds to connect, AFTER you are connected on live-streaming (5 to 8 seconds). Notifications work well and come very quickly. With a paid subscription, you can customize notifications based on activity zones and benefit from AI recognition of vehicles, animals, people, and packages. Notifications also have live preview of movements, which is really helpful to quickly assess if a recording a worth viewing. You can tap on any notification and it will take you directly to that recording in the Arlo app. Things I love: - It works seamlessly with all my other Arlo devices (except the base stations) - App integration is perfect; the new cameras appear next to the old cameras in any order you want - Very good value for 4 cameras, completely wire-free, 2k resolution, and spotlight - Image quality is wonderful compared to the old first gen Arlo Pro cameras I have - I love the included spotlight. It serves as deterrent by letting people know a camera is recording - Night vision is fantastic. The spotlight also helps to provide different details from night vision - USB-C Charging! Thank you - Notifications with the new cameras are FAST! I get a notification within a second or two of a detection. This is much better than previous generations of Arlo cameras - I am happy with the app. It’s intuitive and powerful enough to do most things I need. The Arlo website provides more powerful features to adjust settings, membership, and more if you need - The 130-degree field of view is very generous and a welcome improvement from older cameras - Cameras can be installed as far as you can get a quality wifi signal. I have one camera about 40 feet from the house in a tree Things I don’t love: - No swappable batteries! I have these mounted a tree and in three other locations that require a ladder. When the old cameras are low on batteries, I grab the ladder and a fresh battery from one of my cameras that is always plugged in, and I put a fresh battery in the camera and I am done for another 45 days. Essentially, this is a 5-minute or less process per old camera. With these new cameras, I get up on the ladder, dismount the camera, leave the ladder in place while the battery recharges for an hour or so, and then climb back on the ladder to remount the camera… so inefficient. When I first tested these cameras, I briefly thought I would replace ALL my original pro cameras with these new ones, but I actually will definitely NOT do that. The lack of a removable battery significantly increases the time it takes me to keep these charged and operational. I think I won’t use these in hard to reach areas anymore, which is unfortunate because of the image quality. - I really miss the magnetic mounts. The included mounts make no sense to me because these cameras do not have swapable batteries so the camera must be removed from their mounted location to recharge. Of note, the mounts have a slide mechanics that makes the dismount process easier, but not as easy as the magnetic mounts. - The free tier does not have access to stored recording. The essential cameras are NOT compatible with base stations, so even if you have base stations (I have two), there is no way to get the cameras paired with a base station for local storage of video recordings. I think this is a mistake. I understand charging for cloud storage, but limiting access to local storage is pushing too far. Additionally, I recommend that Arlo provide a rolling 24-hour access to video recordings for free, otherwise there is no value at all in the free tier. At this point an Arlo camera requires a subscription, or it isn’t worth the purchase at all. Overall, I love my Arlo system and I love this bundle of four Essential cameras. I find that it’s worth the subscription cost for me, and it would probably be worth it for most users that have many cameras. My current Arlo system completely fulfills our camera and security requirements. The camera system is easy to install and very versatile. For users that are willing to pay for a subscription, I would rate these cameras a glowing 5-stars and highly recommend purchasing. However, for users who are no interested in getting into another subscription commitment, I would rate these 2.5 stars, and I would not recommend purchasing into the Arlo ecosystem; there are probably better options for you out there.

Camera meets all stated specifications and picture quality. Only negative is the battery is not accessible for recharging. Special cord is required

Very easy set up and amazing picture quality and can decipher if it’s animal car or person

Camera is easy to set up. Picture quality it great, zoom feature is clear. Can live view multiple cameras at the same time. Sound quality is great.

Good product easy to install crispy image love it recommend 100%

These cameras work! I love them. Motion sensors notify you when a person or animal is going by. It records short clips of the activity up to a minute without purchasing the subscription and has clear views and sounds. You can also talk to each camera from your app on your phone. I love these. We have one set up in our living room as well for when we leave our dog home!

I am extremely pleased with the setup installation of cameras. Picture quality is very good. I would recommend this product to others.

Excellent night vision, very easy to install, perfect size.

We Love our cameras , wish they would stay charged longer .

Got these because we needed something to keep tabs on the area around the outside of the house. The charge lasts for about a months. What made these good though is I finally got the positioning for the Solar panels I put on the one main camera and it stays at full charge. No more need to take down to charge.

The cams were very easy to setup, Tutorial is easy to follow. The resolution of the cams and and setting at the Cellphone is great.

Just what I needed, works great! Although I did have to upgrade my internet… but that’s to be expected

Keep going back to best buy and purchasing additional cameras and solar panels. Very happy with Arlo. Excellent pictures from product.

We mounted our Arlo camera to the wood fence close to our side door & linked it to our Alexa added the motion detection so now whenever there’s motion Alexa gives us an audio notification and the camera shows on our Alexa screen its an added security feature helps life be a little easier. Great purchase would definitely recommend. We’re purchasing a few more

Every Good Camera I every like this one All way s