Customer Ratings & Reviews

I have been a Arlo user for couple of years I bought the Arlo Pro 2 6 camera pack they were good But the ULTRAS have several significant upgrades like the wider field of view the audio is quite a improvement And the color Night vision

The new Arlo Ultra Security Camera and Hub are nice improvements from the previous Pro 2 series, adding 4K video, enhanced hub, spot light and an update mobile app along with other excellent features. Setup was rather smooth with the mobile Arlo App, had my system up and running within an hour. The app walks you step by step through the whole process, from setting up the network connection to adding and placing cameras. Covers all the bases in a security camera system. Clear crisp video monitoring and recording. Love the fact you can zoom the camera to read a license plate in the driveway. For me it is great for keeping an eye on the kid and Beagle on our football field size front and rear yards. We live on the edge of the city with ten acres, three acres being in yard and seven acres in woods, it is a big plus to have an excellent view of our surroundings. Features that make the Arlo a leading security cameras system: - “Noise-cancelling microphones that reduces distracting background noises like wind, rain and street activity, providing you clearer distortion-free sound.” - Two-way microphones and speakers for clear conversation, fun when your friend watches your house for you! - One-year Arlo smart 30 days of cloud storage. - e911 service which will send police to your home with a touch of a button. - Weather resistant in all seasons. - Color night vision. - Spotlight built into the camera. - SD Storage. - Good documentation (download). - 180-degree view. Have mixture Arlo Ultra and Pro2 cameras in my system, which work seamlessly together connected to the Arlo Ultra Hub. The hub is backward compatible with all Arlo wire-less cameras. I keep my cameras plugged in so that I do not have to charge them weekly, so I have not tested the battery charge life. What I do like about the wire-less nature of the cameras is that it is simple to unplug them from the charging cable and place them in temporary locations. Arlo is still using Adobe Flash; I believe they need make the move on to html for smoother operations on the PC. On a Windows 10 PC with Chrome you must enable Flash in Chrome and each time you want to view a camera feed must re-allow Flash Player within the interface to run. The mobile app does not require that extra exercise to view the camera feed. Coupled with our home/garage security system the Arlo Ultra gives us an extra security layer that keeps us feeling comfortable at home and away.

This so called 4k system has such low video quality that when you try to zoom in on a face from less than 15 feet away it looks like a tv show where they purposely blurred out of the face. I really don’t know how they claim this is 4K when it’s not even 480p Totally unusable footage if zoomed at all. Also, when it gets a little foggy or it rains they cloud up & are even more useless. I did also buy a high speed sd card for it because it was supposed to have better video quality with it but it didn’t improve at all. Also if you plan on having the cameras further than 20 feet away they have a Posterous amount of lag time & audio cut out. Even when right next to the base station they have tons of lag time. It’s not my internet, modem or router either. I have a very high end gaming setup. Also, they start recording when motion is detected but they take a few seconds to start recording so whomever or whatever set off the camera is often left the view of the camera before it starts recording. Horrible... The batteries only last about a week if your lucky,so you go buy the solar panels for them adding an additional $250 to the cost of the system. Only to have to return it all upon finding out that the video quality was so horrible. By the time I was done buying the entire system I was over $1350.00 in. After I returned everything I did my research and found “backstreet surveillance” cameras that have actual 4K video & optical zoom lenses for just a couple hundred dollars more. Best Buy should look into carrying their products.

I’ve had a few recent security cameras that were total dogs. These weren’t cheap no-name cameras. A few have retail prices of several hundred dollars and were made by major, well-established manufacturers. With the exception of two brands, every other security camera I’ve tried has been a total failure. The biggest common problem was connectivity. Most of the dog cameras failed to maintain connectivity. They’d work fine for a little while but eventually lost connectivity during the day. That’s a dealbreaker. I’m not even a demanding user. Other than our doorbell camera, we only need camera coverage when we’re away. I don’t need to see my home when I’m there. Therefore, I need rock-solid reliable remote connectivity. This Arlo camera has so far proven to be very reliable as far as connectivity. I believe the included hub is a major reason. So far, I’ve had no issues connecting, even if it sometimes takes a minute or so to connect to live footage. The Arlo camera was easy to set up, configure, place and use. The included magnetic camera mounts are very strong and can be installed pretty much anywhere. An Arlo account is mandatory but easy to create. The camera can either work off of battery or ac power (with optional additional equipment). The user-replaceable battery can be charged without removing it from the camera using the included magnetic USB charging cable and AC adapter. Battery life depends on usage. I typically get a full day or two of use per charge. This is for an 8-10 hour period, not 24 continuous hours. Video quality is very good but not what I would consider spectacular, even in 4K. With 4K enabled, it’s about on par with the HD quality of my other reliable cameras, particularly the one that rhymes with “west”. The Arlo can capture up to a wide 180 degree area. The one and seemingly only area of weakness that I’ve noticed is backlighting. If there are any bright light sources like windows or lighting in the frame, they blow out the exposure of the immediate surrounding area. I even get overexposure from windows on somewhat bright overcast days. I tried adjusting brightness but it only marginally improved the overexposure and is the only setting available to do so. I attached photos of the same area recorded on the Arlo camera and photographed with my smartphone. The properly exposed photo is the cell phone. I did not make any exposure settings. That’s fully automatic exposure. The two overexposed photos are the Arlo camera. One is before and one after adjusting brightness. Low light and night vision recordings are very good and the camera has a motion triggered light for full color recording when triggered. Motion detection is good as well. If something passes in front of the camera, it gets recorded. As good as my doorbell camera is, there are occasional times where it will inexplicably miss motion triggered events. The app is very good with alerts and notifications of triggered events. The camera also does a good job of detection people in a scene, even if they face away from the camera and stay on the fringe edges of the recorded area. The camera also supports two-way conversations and can sound a loud alarm on demand. The app is easy to use and a full year premium subscription trial is included. The premium subscription includes up to 10 cameras, 30 days of video playback, activity zones, person detection and e911. The camera also supports an external USB for constant video recording. An optional CVR subscription is required for that feature. The live viewing, activity history and playback all work very well on the app, even remotely. The app also supports fingerprint login. I am satisfied with the Arlo cam. I like the reliability, ease of use, recording quality and even the added bonus features. It’s not the cheapest option but the premium is worth it, especially with far inferior cameras out there selling for similar or higher prices.

I got this camera for security at my front door. We don't really have any crime where I live. I have a sheriff's deputy next door and a detective across the street. However, we have had a few instances of some kids ringing our doorbell and running off at 2:00-3:00 am. This prompted me to want to get a camera to find out exactly who is doing it. They haven't been back since I installed the camera. I unpacked everything and decided where I wanted to install the camera. I chose the front corner column of my front porch facing the front door. This keeps the camera from being easily seen from the front yard. With the camera being white and my column/house being white, it is hard to notice unless you are looking for it. Installation was simple. The mount and the camera have a very strong magnet. The mount is concave and the back of the camera is a rounded shape. This allows you to install the mount and then adjust the camera without changing the mount position. It is a simple one screw installation. Just install the screw and slide the mount onto it. Installation and getting the camera adjusted to point exactly where I wanted it to took less than three minutes. The Arlo app is simple to use and set up. Just download it and follow the instructions. I have the hub close to the router and the camera is directly in line with my router, with only the outside wall between the camera and router. I haven't had any issues with connection as others have stated. I have a new tri-band gaming router that has a large range. Perhaps others have a lower end router and/or more walls between the two. In setting up the camera, there are many options. You can set dead zones that will not trigger the camera. This is great if your camera's view sees a road, or trees that could set it off in the wind. I have a small section in frame that catches the road, so I have set that corner as a dead zone to eliminate false alerts. You have different options as far as when it is armed. You can set it to capture video and audio and to set off the alarm. I prefer to leave the alarm off because I don't want it to go off every time someone delivers a package. I have it set to alert me any time there is movement in the "alert" area. The options for motion alert include people, vehicles, animals and other motion. I have mine set to record people and all other motion. This should, in theory not alert if a dog walks up to the door for example. I haven't had this happen, so I can't speak to how well it works.I have had several incidences of a carpenter bee and wasp setting off the camera. However, they were within inches and even crawling on the lens, so I would expect that. This being a 4K camera with HDR, the resolution is perfect. You can see everything in detail. You can even zoom in on the live image up to 12X. At night, the images are perfectly clear as well. If you want to see it in color, you can turn on the spotlight (which is quite bright) and the image will be in color. The wide angle lens captures everything in a 180-degree field of view. You can have the camera automatically zoom and track movement. I personally leave this feature off as you lose some video quality with this option and my area that I'm covering is small enough that I don't need it. The battery life is great. They state a 3-6 month battery life with the standard battery and normal usage. Of course, the more you view the camera, the more battery usage will occur. I installed this camera a couple of weeks ago and the battery level is at 88% and I have been viewing the camera a lot and turning the lights on and off a lot since it is new. I fully believe that they are accurate in their battery life estimate. They do have an optional solar charger that you can get so that you never have to charge the battery. Charging is magnetic as well. Simply remove the camera from the mount, attach the charger and hang the camera back up when it's done. You have the ability to speak to people through the camera, or set off an alarm. I tried the alarm this morning through the app. The app warned me that the alarm was extremely loud. However, I was standing in my bedroom about 20 feet away when I set the alarm off and I could barely hear it. I even opened the front door where the camera is at, and although it was loud enough to scare someone off, I don't believe that my neighbors could hear it, so it's not very loud at all. There is also an option for e911. You set your address and if necessary, you can press the e911 button to alert police. You can do this from anywhere in the world and it will use the address of the camera, not where you are, to alert the police. There are a couple of drawbacks with this camera. First, the alert is about a three second delay for me and my setup. While this is kind of expected due to the transmission from the camera, to the router, and finally to my phone, the theory of catching a package theif in the act is a little unreasonable. Anyone could walk up, grab your package and be gone before you are even alerted. Therefore, being able to get the alert, bring the app up and tell them to leave your package alone will never happen. Although you will have a crystal clear video of them doing it to turn over to the police. Also, while the mount is secured with a screw, the camera is only held in place with a magnet. This means that anyone could just grab it and run off with it. They do have an optional mount that screws into the camera, and this would make it a little more secure and harder to remove. I believe this mount should be included with the camera also at this price point. Overall, this is a great camera with many features. I am probably going to get a second camera to mount by the garage to oversee it and the driveway. I highly recommend this camera. I would even suggest getting this setup with multiple cameras. Believe me, once you see it, you will want more cameras. I have included two pictures. Both at night. One is with the spotlight off, and the other with the spotlight on, which gives you full color.

This is my first time using an Arlo product and I’m quite impressed by it. The Arlo Ultra 4K UHD Wire-Free Security Camera System is very user friendly and very intuitive to get up and running with ease. I currently have an off brand security camera that is also wifi capable, but requires an electrical outlet. My experience with this Arlo has left me with a great comparison between the products I own. This Arlo Ultra 4K provides a great picture quality and audio recording for my needs. I like to have a camera of this nature monitor my front walkway and front door. I can see who is coming and going and when deliveries are being made. My desire for this camera is strictly for residential purposes, but I’m positive this would be a great asset for a business owner setting as well. Main things included in the package to get you up and running are the following: 4K camera unit, wall mount w/ magnetic base, smarthub, rechargeable battery, and cables. You will also need to install the Arlo app to your smartphone, and in my scenario it worked seamlessly on my iPhone. Getting the smarthub connected to your network is easy as you utilize the Ethernet cable to plug into your network. Power up the camera with the battery installed and you’re up and running as the app will walk you through the process and it guides you very well. Once I had the smarthub and camera synced up, it was time to figure out where I wanted to place the unit for best usage. I was able to drill a small hole within my home’s vinyl siding in order to get the mount drilled in. The mount has a magnetic face to it and therefore the Arlo 4K camera has a magnetic base and it connects easily and strongly to one another. Position the camera how you like for your viewing area and it holds position very well. I really liked being able to place this camera outdoors without having to run wires and cables to hide them. The battery has been doing really well so far, as it’s down 15% and it’s been running for about 4 days now. I live in the northeast US and experience a good cycle of all 4 weather seasons. So far I’ve gotten the camera wet in a rain storm and it’s still working really well. Depending on which way the rain is blowing / falling it will distort the lens of the camera and possibly effect what you see and record. I’m assuming snow will be an issue for me when winter time is upon us as well. I have my camera in an uncovered area as I don’t have the ability to mount it under an overhang of some sort. The camera has a lot of great features which I’ve been playing with since getting this set up. The ultra-wide 180-degree panoramic view is nice. It gives me a full scope of my target area without a fish eye lens effect or cutting off the edges of my area. Great to be able to get a true full view of a larger zone. The advanced night vision works really well as I tried it a few times late at night. The infrared camera ability depicts the person and surroundings really well and it’s what I was expecting. The added bonus of this camera is that it has an integrated spotlight which lights up your target area and can create a color video to see a better picture of what’s happening. The light I feel is a nice security feature since it will activate on when motion is picked up and deter any potential bad guy from the area. I also have the ability to activate a horn like alarm from my app in order to make an audible sound to deter someone and let them know they’re being monitored with two way conversations from the mic and speaker. The Arlo Ultra also comes with a 1 year plan of Arlo Smart Premier Service which I feel is fantastic for having as a provided plan by Arlo. After that 1 year is up I can subscribe to different tier levels of playback service, and at a quick glance they seemed affordable. I wish this was a non-pay service to be able to monitor these videos. Another feature offered is an e911 action which will allow your Arlo Smart app to access emergency services. This seems like a unique feature that sets it apart from competitors. If someone is truly breaking into your house or you spot suspicious individuals, I would think this could be a great asset in order to alert the right authorities to your home address. On that note as well, you can also have the app contact a friend or neighbor for example similar to the e911 feature. This could be useful if you see something happening and can quickly have a neighbor across the street be alerted that something is occurring at your residence. The 4K camera is a big step up for me from my previous 720p camera which gives me a general idea of what happens at my front door. The Arlo 4K is very clear and detailed for my target area within about 6-10 feet. After that distance I have noticed that images tend to get grainy and blurry when I try to zoom in on something which is unfortunate. I was hoping to be able to see and read out a license plate of a car in my driveway about 20 feet away and couldn’t make it out at all. I could see what kind of car it is easily, but in daylight hours and camera set at BEST VIDEO QUALITY of 4K I was unable to read the license plate. This was a bit of a let down, but I’m toying with settings and trying to see if I can make adjustments to see these types of items better. The app is pretty easy to use and allows for some tweaking on which alerts you want to receive and you can also set a zone for your alert region. The camera has the ability to notify you of motion or person or animal for example when the alert pops up on my iPhone XR and Apple Watch Series 3 (non cellular). Great to see a snapshot picture of what the camera is alerting me about on my Apple devices. A few other nice features I’ve found while I’ve used this for the past few days have been the power management aspect. I can set this on a battery conserve method and it reduces the quality of the video, or I can go to a best video setting which will ensure I’m getting the highest content but the battery duration could suffer a bit. There is also an optimized setting which gives you a balance of video quality and battery life, and that is where I’m running it currently to help prolong until my next recharge. Another nice feature which I’ve utilized, but haven’t found fully useful yet is “auto zoom & tracking.” This feature helps to track a person for example as they come into view of the camera. In this scenario the camera eye tracks the person moving and follows them. In my case a UPS delivery was made and the camera tracked the person walking into the driveway to the front step and then away from the house. Interesting to see this feature, but I don’t know if it’s fully useful yet as I didn’t really find any benefit from it. There also is a feature for package detection in the beta stage within the app. I have this activated, but haven’t seen it function yet so I can’t fully give feedback about that. One concern I have with this product is for anyone that may have an older version of an Arlo camera they invested in. From what I gather this new Arlo 4K camera and smarthub only work with 4K camera units. Therefore for a consumer, who has a previous camera, they will not be able to use that older camera unit with this new smarthub. I hope that Arlo fixes this issue and will make sure to allow previous Arlo camera devices to be used with this new smarthub since it’s all within the same ecosystem. So far I’ve been happy with this security camera and feel confident in the Arlo brand. I’ve had great connectivity and am able to get a view from the camera via my smartphone when I’m away. No issues with connections or blur. Overall I feel it’s a pretty good camera with a high price tag at almost $400, for which you’re getting a smarthub base and a single 4K wireless camera. For me this is pretty good functionality, peace of mind home usage, and hoping for long term use with this. Hoping this helps you out in your decision. PRO: Small and compact design 4K video quality Wireless and wire free Great app for viewing and alerts Security monitor features to deter CON: Expensive price tag Backward compatibility Blurred imagery for distance viewing (license plate) Comes with only 1 rechargeable battery Needs a 2 or 3 hole base mount for better stability

Packaging- a lot of precise detail go into the presentation of the Arlo Ultra. Seeing how it was packed made me more eager to see how it is with performance. Setup- The installation was very simple. You can eyeball the pieces and know exactly what to do. Arlo made it easier because all you need to do is download the Arlo app and it will walk you through the installation. It takes under 10 minutes including the firmware updates. Performance- Clear live image that you can playback at 4K quality. The Arlo Ultra is wireless and waterproof so you can mount it anywhere. Feel free to use your imagination if you think I’m kidding. The app have a bandwidth meter to show you the signal strength and I find that very useful when finding a placement for my camera(s). The Arlo smart hub does not come with a micro sd card for recording but it have a slot. I had a 32gb so I was able to use it after a quick format. Some may not need it because Arlo offers a few different cloud recording plans that fits different budgets. I recommend doing a trial to see if you need it. I notice a lag when connecting to the camera for a live view. Even the audio is delayed. To test this further I turned the light camera light on and it took 5 seconds if not longer to turn on. The camera is within WiFi range. I think that lag is a big flaw because every second counts when it comes time to react during an emergency. Quality- I’ve been using the Arlo Ultra for a week and I can only say that it feels like good quality. It has a nice glossy finish that I think will make it easy to wipe clean. The camera has a magnetic mount that allows you to take it down to charge it and clean it. I can’t tell if the casing will fade or look dingy after being out in the elements for a long time. Cons- I worry that someone can grab the camera off the magnetic mount if they are low enough for them to reach. A lag when connecting live feed. Pros: Quick setup and easy wire free mounting Budget friendly cloud plans sd recording option 4K live feed and recording Alerts on my Apple Watch I think the Arlo Ultra will be a great addition to any security system already in place. It is perfect for our house and I plan on adding more Arlo cameras later after I’m sure on how long it will take to recharge since it’s wireless. I feel like this is the perfect camera I need to optimize my current surveillance system. It is also easy to takedown which make moving out easy so you don’t have to leave your Arlo behind.

DIY Home Security System are becoming more and more the norm given how many options they are and how easy they can be. The Arlo Ultra is the next great step for Alto and so far it has been both great and frustrating. PROS: - I really like the design of this! The Camera is sleek and very easily blends in with its non-chalant white look and black face. Just overall it’s very appealing. - To me, outdoor security cameras are so much more appealing when they are wireless. I think it’s a lot more appealing to not have to drill an additional hole for power and run a power wire to it. It’s very simple installation since it is battery operated - but if you want to you could have it plugged into a power source 24/7 via the charging cord. - Set Up for the device was mostly easy (see cons) as all you do is plug in the Hub to the Ethernet and sync everything else via the Alto App. - I mounted outside and it was pretty easy. Since it’s lightweight and only requires one screws, there isn’t a lot to it. Plus since it’s all magnet based for the camera, you can swivel it around and take it off if you wanted to use it inside for awhile or charge it. - Once set up, it’s simple to use! The app is very user friendly minus a few things, and you can set up alerts and activity zones and view live streams whenever you want. - The Arlo Ultra comes with a 1 year free subscription to it’s cloud storage service so I can’t comment on how it works with no paid service, but it is nice to be able to see all the activity moments throughout the day. - Additional features that are great are the spotlight, two way audio, and of course the video quality is very nice! CONS: - Set-Up was not as easy as it could have been. I had trouble connecting to the camera for awhile, had to install a firmware update over and over because it wasn’t working, and it just isn’t as plug and play as it should be. Once you get past that it works great though. - I understand as a wireless camera, it probably needs a Hub. But I am just not a huge fan of the Hub setup, it seems more and more smart home devices are going for this and it just gets to be cluttered. - The BIGGEST issue I had with this Camera is the lag. First off, when I open the app it takes awhile for the Camera to load even though I have 150 mbps of internet and my phone is connected to the same WiFi. On top of that lag time, there is a 5 second delay between what is going on live and what you see via the app on your phone/tablet. To me that is a huge negative that you have those two lags together. Maybe I am asking too much from a security camera but it seems pretty standard to me that you would have a live feed given how easily other devices can stream things live (video chat, etc...) - Another issue I have is the 4K HDR. I assumed I would be blown away by the video quality but its just okay to me, not as high detailed as I would think given the specs but still very good. - In terms of the app, there are a lot of hidden settings that you need to dig into. One of those is you need to turn on 4K Streaming and when I turned that on my camera would display a black feed to my phone (Galaxy S10+) but worked fine on my iPad. So therefore I had to turn off 4K streaming since it makes the camera mostly useless from my phone. BOTTOM LINE: I think for most people looking for a DIY Camera system, they will likely go this route. It’s ease of use and wire free installation will make up for it’s faults, and overall will make people happy.

Upgraded from the Pro2, I decided to give arlo some time to fix all the kinks. Set up was a piece of cake. Activity zones didn't work at first then suddenly started working. I like all the features so far. No major complaints so far. wish the Charging Cable' was available so I can run all then on power. Battery life is pretty good also. Remember to charge them before installing cameras as they were all at 50% charge.

Having owned all previous generations of Arlo cameras (single-use battery all the way through 1080p version), the Arlo Ultra is certainly a step up in terms of quality and ease of use. I'll take you through the full unboxing and set up experience. If you want to learn more about the pros and cons of the camera, then skip to the bottom. =Unboxing: The one camera kit comes with: 1 camera, 1 base station, power cable (both cam/base station), battery for cam, mount, and all required cords to power the camera. Everything is packaged neatly and is a huge improvement over the other generations of Arlo cameras. Kudos packaging team. =Setup: (10/10) Just like all other Arlo cameras, setup is straight forward. Simply use the Arlo App and navigate through new camera setup. Since this kit comes with a base station, choose to add a new base station. Then follow all the on screen prompts and you'll be set up in no time - the process is so easy that my mom could do it. =Video Quality: (9/10) I currently run multiple Arlo Pro 2 cameras and I was able to clearly see a difference between the cameras. The Field of View is much larger with the added fisheye lens. The alleged 4K quality is noticeable and is very crisp compared to the previous generations - it won't blow your socks off. For those that want the clearest video quality will want this camera but those that may only want basic video may turn to one of the older generations. =Customization and App Control: (8/10) The camera has a built in spot-light which is very powerful. You can turn the light on manually via the app or it will turn on automatically when motion is detected. Within the app, you also able to manually record video, take a picture, and talk via the cam (good for telling your food delivery person to drop your meal at the door while you throw some pants on). The speaker isn't the best quality but what do you expect when stuffing so much into a small camera? Since the dawn of Arlo, the app has been a little rough around the edges but they have really made some improvements over the years. The installation flow is easy (no more push-to-sync button), and viewing your camera is straight forward. Accessing modes may not be the most intuitive but you after you set your modes then you'll never have to go back to those settings again. Set and forget. =Mount: (10/10) Included in the kit was the new Arlo Ultra mount. In terms of positioning and installation, this one is far superior to the other iterations. There is no need to fasten a neck screw or worry about a weak magnet. The mount gives you full 360-degree control over how your camera is mounted and even has a groove on the underside to conceal the power cable. All mounting hardware is included. Yes, the mount isn't 100% secure since someone can pull the camera or base off the wall/mount. Just don't install your camera where someone can walk up and grab it - it isn't rocket science. =Base station (Arlo SmartHub): (9/10) Not much to say here. It is a little more athletically pleasing and will look more natural on a bookshelf. This base station is required for Arlo Ultra's more premium features such as 4K video, Auto Track and Zoom, and local live streaming. You can still connect previous generation cameras to this base station. It would have been nice to have the previous generations fully compatible with Ultra but I can live with replacing or adding another base station. Additionally, the SmartHub doesn't have a siren but that will come down the line with the Arlo security system. ==Pros and Cons Pros: - Easy Setup - Great video quality - Increase Field of View over previous generations - Solid mounting option - Spotlight is fairly strong. Good feature to scare off snoopers - Wire-free!! - Intuitive app control Cons: - Slight lag when connecting - with the bitrate that this camera utilizes coupled with cloud video relaying, this is no surprise. Don't get disappointed when the live video takes 0.5 seconds longer to load or as a slight delay. = Other notes - Fisheye - the fisheye lens distorts the video a bit but this camera is built for security not for recording home videos. - Battery life - I haven't had the camera installed long enough to comment on the battery life. But mileage may vary depending on your recording habits. The more your cameras are activated and the longer video is recording then the shorter your battery life. It is really straight forward. - Connectivity - I haven't had the cameras installed long enough to notice any spotty connectivity. I will be keeping an eye on this over time but results may vary depending on the distance between the camera and SmartHub or other external factors. = Overall first impressions This is a solid camera to add to the Arlo family. The increase Field of View is a huge benefit of this camera as well as the wire-free advantage over other cameras on the market. I'll be replacing my front door camera with Ultra and moving my existing camera to watch over my fish tank. Arlo provided me with this product free of charge for testing purposes. The content and opinions expressed here are honest and based on my use of the product. But with that said, I'm happy with the product

Today, I am reviewing the Arlo Ultra HD Camera.  Unboxing was a breeze; the camera came with a power cable, battery, mounting hardware, magnetic mount, and a hub station. Although cumbersome, the hub has to be plugged into your internet router to use the Arlo camera system successfully.  The instructions did not include how to mount the camera, though. After I went on the internet to look, I figured out that the plastic piece included with the mounting hardware needs to attach itself to the screw. The reason? This plastic piece fits into the back of the magnetic mount. Keep this in mind when you figure out where to mount the camera.  I charged the camera for the recommended three hours. Make sure to press the eject button on the camera, physically, to insert the battery into the camera for charging. Again, the instructions were vague on doing this. While charging, I downloaded the Arlo app and created an account. This process was simple. After the camera charged, I plugged in the smart hub into my internet router, opened the app, and unplugged the camera. The Arlo app locates both the hub and camera during the setup process automatically. During the location process, the Arlo app will download a firmware update for the hub and camera (this takes about five minutes). Again, this is a seamless, automatic process. Once the hub and camera's firmware are updated, you are ready to install the camera outside your home. Although you can do this on your own, make sure to have your application opened so that you can see where your viewing angle is inside the app. Installation was simple, and the mounting bracket is not necessary (I installed mine through vinyl siding above my garage).  After installation, the camera began detecting my movement, and it was smart enough to tell me that it "spotted a person." In the Arlo app, you can set up other settings such as "wide angle view," as well as video display settings. I chose the "4K" live video setting; for now, the camera will allow you to view live footage in 4K, it will not record 4K footage, yet (you have to pay an additional fee for cloud 4K video recording). Although disappointing, the camera does provide a clear picture. You can pinch the screen to zoom in and out of the camera, and still maintain a quality picture. The camera's built-in speaker captures the sound well. However, when using the talking feature (to talk back to someone approaching), the audio was not loud enough (I turned the speaker up and still, it was not that loud). Do not let this make or break your decision on picking this camera up. Additionally, there is an option to turn on and off the spotlight included in the camera. Since my camera is mounted above my garage, the two garage lights that were installed previously automatically turn on when motion is detected. Although not necessary for me, you have an option to turn the spotlight feature on, and off in the Arlo app. I will say, the spotlight feature is ideal for those who do not have automatic motion detecting lights (the picture was too bright). However, you can adjust the picture brightness on the camera if needed. Though, I did not need to after I turned the spotlight off (the picture was just "right").  With my high internet speeds at home (350 MBPS), I found the Arlo app easy to use, but at times, the app "lagged" when I went into the library to view footage, and change the viewing settings to my liking. Although not an issue, when playing back footage in the library, I notice that it takes the Arlo app some time to load. Again, this is not a big deal, but keep in mind that you may experience lag with playback and setting changes.  Now, the best feature that the Arlo Ultra camera provides is that it records when it detects motion; the Arlo Ultra does not continuously record (although you can pay for this setting). The point of this feature is to save your battery. You can monitor the battery in the Arlo app, by the way. After a few days of use, the battery remains at a full charge. Expect to have the battery drain more when you continuously record, though. According to Arlo's website, expect your camera to remain charged for three to six months. Noted, you will have to remove the camera to recharge it for three hours (so do this when you are home). Although if it is too cumbersome for you to remove the camera from the magnetic plate to charge it, you can install the charging cable into the device. However, this defeats the purpose of the "no cable needed" idea.  Additionally, Arlo includes a full year of thirty-day cloud storage (this trumps what Nest does, which asks you to pay five dollars per month for continuous recording/cloud storage). Other features include an auto-tracking option (this is a "pay for" feature).  Overall, the Arlo App is easy to use. However, app lag issues do not provide a "seamless" user experience (it takes too long to load videos and connect to the camera). The camera itself was a breeze to set up (after some research); the picture and sound quality are fantastic. I would recommend the Arlo Ultra system for someone that does not want to drill more holes into their home to feed wires. The design of the camera and the ease of use makes this camera an ideal suitor for those who want a "do-it-yourself" home security system. 

Arlo really delivers with the new Ultra camera and base station. The setup was super simple and getting the camera online only took a few minutes. Just install the Arlo app on your device, sign up for a new account or sign in to an existing one, then follow the apps instructions for setting up the base station. While on the same Wifi signal, it immediately detected the base station and walked through some basic steps. All you have to do at that point, is install the battery to the camera and add it. The prompts make the setup easy, and I didn't run into any hiccups. They even give you a diagnostic to verify video quality and guide you through proper placement, for optimal viewing. Given the ultra wide angle possible with the Ultra camera, I decided to mount it centered above the entry to my garage. I was amazed with just how much detail can be seen. Just make sure you enable the 4K Live streaming, or you'll just see 1080P. I was already impressed with the 1080 signal, and was blown away at the 4K. I was able to zoom in pretty far toward my cars windshield in the driveway, and make out the expiration on my registration sticker. The viewing angle was able to not only get the driveway, but the entire front yard, the street, and the surrounding homes all they way down the rest of the block on the opposite side. Zooming in all the way won't be nearly as clear, but given the distance you can, I'm pretty impressed. The spotlight on the camera is also incredibly bright. Almost like a full powered small flashlight you'd keep bedside. It kicks on during period of low visibility, and does a pretty good job making the video clear in dark settings. The microphone is also much better than other smart outdoor cameras I've used. It doesn't pick up constant wind noise, or loud chirping found with other cheaper cameras. I was still able to hear normal ambient noise, while not sounding like the speaker is about to blow. If you're curious about recordings, the unit I setup came with 1 year of the "Smart Premier" subscription, allowing for 30 days of recordings for up to 10 cameras, the enhanced notifications, activity zones, and person detection. The base station also has a MicroSD card slot for local recording. With the card installed, I also noticed slightly better 4K playback quality. I'm not sure if that's by design, or not, but it's a welcome perk. I installed a 64GB microSD card, and noticed that it doesn't save super long files. It's also only recording alerts it detects, based on the settings you've set. So if you have Activity zones setup, it will only activate recording during a detection in those zones. The activity zones are great, as they allow the camera to rule out areas you don't want covered, like a road with passing cars (my use case). It's worth mentioning the e911 service! It walks you through setting your home address, where the camera is located, along with a call back number. This allows you to call 911 within the app, using the alert button in the upper right corner of the app (the shield with the "!"). When you do, it passes on the home address and not your remote location. So, if you catch someone breaking in while on vacation in Hawaii, you can call 911 in the app, and be routed to the local 911 dispatcher. This way you're not calling the wrong 911 center while you're away. I don't want to test this feature, but I'm glad it's there. I'm really impressed with the Arlo system, services, and the app. This was my first Arlo camera, and I can understand why users are very loyal. The stability of the product, the quality of the video, and the overall ease of setup make this an easy recommendation. I'm actually buying more cameras to replace the cheaper ones I have now.

I love my Arlo so far. I was a bit skeptical at first reading all the negative comments. I am glad I went for it. Purchased a 3 camera Ultra system and additional 2 solar panels. It is working flawlessly so far.

These cameras are so easy to install and the quality of the pic is amazing. I like you can check the library and set it up for certain motions/noises. I can check anytime on my phone if I hear anything going on outside.

We have been using our Arlo Pro 2 cameras for over a year and have been pretty satisfied with them. They were our first venture into security cameras. I would say they have made improvements with this Arlo Ultra camera. However, I can't say that I'm convinced that these improvements are worth paying for an ongoing subscription service that varies anywhere from $9.99 to $19.99 a month based on Arlo cloud services or continuous video recording (CVR). One of the major things that sold me on the Arlo Pro 2 camera was that a subscription was not required and one still had 7 days worth of cloud recordings. We have always found Arlo cameras to be very easy to setup and operate and this remains the same with the Arlo Ultra. The magnetic camera mounts are easy to install and offer a very strong hold for securing the Arlo Ultra camera. I had to delete our existing Arlo Pro 2 base from the Arlo app and then proceed with adding the Arlo Ultra base to the app and then syncing each camera. All of this is a pretty quick and painless process. Some may consider the 4K video and zoom capabilities worth the upgrade to the Ultra, but personally we were quite happy with the video quality of the Arlo Pro 2 and don't really feel that the 4K is a necessity for us. The Ultra does offer advanced noise-cancelling technology for two way conversations and advanced night vision with an integrated spot light. These improvements may justify the need for 4K quality video for some users, especially in a business setting. I can see the benefit of the 180-degree diagonal field of view lens on the Ultra as a must have in some installations that require a wide angle lens. Arlo Ultra includes some design improvements also; such as improved battery access and improved charging cable with magnetic connection. I'd have to say some of the advanced AI features with the Arlo Ultra are nice. One can now get specific notifications for people, vehicles and animals that can be set in the app specific to each camera. Activity zones can also be created to focus on specific areas one wants alerts from. The Arlo Ultra has the ability to provide video clip access for up to 30 days for 10 cameras. To do so in 4k will be a bit of an additional subscription cost also. Bottom line, Arlo builds a quality product that is easy to setup, easy to use and is reliable. One has to compare the features of each model of Arlo camera packages to decide what features are a must have for your installation. Arlo has added some nice enhancements with the Ultra cameras that include 4k resolution, Advanced Smarthub and AI technology which just may be a strong selling point for many users.

Security cameras: I've got a ton of them. As someone who walked in on a burglary as a young child I take security very seriously. My wife says perhaps too seriously. But nonetheless I have a lot of experience with various security cameras from different vendors. Every single one of them has usually a lot of redeeming qualities but is missing one or two things that keep them from reaching the "I want to buy more of this camera" stage. That's why I keep getting more security cameras. Well after seeing the Arlo Ultra reviews I decided to take a chance on, what is admittedly, a very expensive system. I was skeptical but I also knew I wasn't just paying for the camera but the base as well (which does a lot in regards to being a central unified hub that has wi-fi of its own using your ethernet and stores clips locally if desired using an SD card - in addition to, or in place of, the cloud storage). Setting up the Arlo was about as easy as it gets. Plug the base into your router using ethernet, then insert the battery to the camera and hit the sync button on the base. Charge up your camera (mine had about half a charge) and you're ready to get to using the system. Once you charge and pair your camera to the base you can put the camera anywhere within 300 feet of the base, according to Arlo. They do note that walls, concrete barriers and other issues can knock that down a bit, which is no different than typical wi-fi. In my case I mounted my camera about 50 feet and it connected just fine. I did have one issue though, trying to view the stream from the app on my phone resulted in a continual "Connecting" which was finally resolved by me choosing to operate my iPhone on a 5Ghz connection to my router as opposed to the 2.4Ghz. The camera itself is truly smart. You can view it in 4K or 1080p with auto-zoom. I really like the auto-zoom feature so I went with 1080p, which gives me a very good picture even though it is not 4K. If a person walks anywhere near the camera the camera will zoom in on them and then follow them around. It's really amazing! And at night it will even turn on the light so you can see them more clearly instead of just having to rely on the typical night vision. You can also manually turn on the light on the camera as well at night any time you choose. You can setup the light to strobe, pulse or stay on continiously on movement. But that's not all when it comes to the camera smarts, it can differentiate between people, animals and vehicles and guess what? It actually works. Absolutely works and categorizes all the video based upon those criteria. So if you know you're looking for a clip of someone driving by your house you can easily sort all of your clips by vehicle. Or if you want to see what dogs were wandering around in your yard you can sort your clips by animal. Its truly mind blowing that they got this right. Other random thoughts: The clips are saved to the cloud and the first year is free, after that I believe it's $36 a year for 1080p or $60 a year for 4K storage of clips. I believe the clips are accessible for up to 30 days but don't quote me on that. The system has a siren (which I did not test) you can sound if need be via a panic button. It also has the ability to call or notify up to three other people, which would be quite useful for a house sitter and/or a friend or neighbor to help check your place prior to calling police. These are really nifty, and well thought out features. Now for the only real negatives. First, the battery life for the camera in the documentation and advertisements say 4 to 6 months. My fully charged camera went from 100% to 90% in about two days, although admittedly I was looking at it a lot (which uses more battery power). So by my calculations I will need to get up on a ladder about once a week or once every two weeks, get the battery out, bring it inside, charge it and then go back out and replace the battery. I cannot see myself doing that so I'm currently considering buying a longer cord (about $49 for a 25 foot cord) to power it electrically or buying a solar panel that Arlo makes to power it via the sun. The solar panel is not cheap, about $79 for the official one. The good news is that most everyone says it works 100% effectively. But I will likely go with electrical over solar simply because the 3 second rewind, that is when the camera detecs motion it will go back 3 seconds prior to the motion, only works when powered over electrical. I did have a reason to test the tech support (see above about the continous "connecting" issue I had) via email. They got back to me within a day and asked me for a number they could contact me at. I told them I had resolved the issue. I do believe they have phone support as well but I did not choose to use it. All in all this system is not cheap but it's worth it just for how brainy and impressively performing the camera is. To add an additional camera (you don't need to buy another base until you have I believe 10 cameras total) is about $265 right now, which will, hopefully come down. I do plan to do that, when prices come down and/or I see a sale. This is, hands down, the best security camera on the market right now, bar none and I do not hesitate to wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone that takes home security seriously. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I waited 1 year prior to reviewing these cameras and want to give everyone a “heads up”. I had the non-4K cameras for about a year prior to purchasing the 4K cameras and seem to have minimal issues with the non-4Ks. There were issues that I overlooked, but cannot overlook the issues with the 4K. There is ridiculous lag (80% of the time you do not know what tripped the motion), pixelation, disconnection issues, delayed notifications (if at all), etc. Not to mention the bait and switch - you have to pay to record in 4K ($14.99/month for up to 5 cameras). IF you do not want to pay, you can store video to an SD card in the base (records only in 2K); HOWEVER, you cannot easily view recordings - you must pull the SD card out of the base unit and put it into a computer. Additionally, you have to “rig” something to be able to view cameras remotely. There are too many issues to list here, so don’t take my word for it. Hop over to the Arlo 4K forum and see what other owners are saying. I am appalled at the reviews these cameras are receiving without anyone telling the entire story. Had I known what I now know, I would have NEVER spent this type of money on these cameras! I tried to upload a couple videos to show the night vision pixelation, but was not able to. However, I did take a couple screens shots of the video. This camera is under a covered porch with a light that stays on. I hope the pixs versus the video helps!

I am a daily user of 5) Arlo Pro 2 Security Cameras. I was very interested in comparing the difference between the Pro 2 & the Ultra Camera. This Arlo Ultra is a night & day improvement over an already excellent performer. Like the Arlo Pro 2 Cameras, the Ultra houses a large plug-in Li-iON rechargeable battery. The battery does NOT interchange with the previous cameras, however. The big news here: you do not need to disassemble the camera, and remove the battery to charge it. Simply place the magnetic bracket below the Ultra. It is connected to a USB cable. Simply plug in that cable to charge the Ultra. Or, if you have wall power available, plug in a USB adaptor to the cord and keep it charged 24/7. If someone removes the cord in order to disable your camera, the built-in battery will keep 4K video & sound rolling for weeks! Security with a redundant power supply is a great safety benefit. The full 180 degree visibility is amazing! 2-Way Audio is much more clear than all previous Arlo cameras with a larger speaker 7 more powerful driver. Built-in up-front spotlight & siren can startle an intruder & you can trigger either or both remotely. Color Night Vision is a great & unique benefit.. Motion sense, detection recognition between a person, a dog, a vehicle, even a package delivery! All this with no wires at all required - it will use the internal battery for power & broadcast the video wirelessly, as well. The Ultra is a beautifully built camera that looks & feels like total quality. It is a precision built instrument. The base station is a "Smart" Base; it will work with all past Arlo cameras; however, the Ultra Camera will not work with the previous bases. In other words, if you already own Arlo Cameras, you will NOT be able to simply order 1) Ultra Camera to try it out. It will not work with the old bases! You will need to order an Ultra Camera & Base combination for the Ultra Camera to work. This is not a big deal, but it is better to know this before you order an Ultra Camera that requires a "Smart" Base to function! This only makes sense, considering all of the Smart recognition that this camera can perform that is very much a function of the base! Wind Noise Reduction is built-in for the first time & is very effective! Speak to & listen to subjects at the Ultra Camera clearly, even in a windy environment! Auto Zoom & Tracking is a first for Arlo Cameras! It literally auto focuses on moving objects & does so with stunning clarity! You must pay for a subscription to record 4K Video. Arlo Smart 1 year Premier Package trial is included with the camera that works with as many as 10) cameras. After the first year, Arlo Premier package plan costs $99/yr, plus $19/yr per camera. Arlo - Ultra won me over & I plan to buy additional Ultra Cameras - and will probably replace my existing Pro & Pro 2 Cameras. I love the Geo-Fence arming option. Arlo really got it right & earned a 5-Star Rating & a Strong Recommendation to Buy!

Works perfect We can see everything clearly I’d recommend this to anyone

Was a little skeptical buying these by some of the reviews. So far they are great. Been having them for about a month. I upgraded my plan to view in 4k. Battery seems like they will last about 1 1/2 months without charging. Only complaint is the two way talk is a little low in volume but not a deal breaker. Color night vision is awesome!