Arlo - Ultra 4-Camera Indoor/Outdoor Wire-Free 4K HDR Security Camera System - Black

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.

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.

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

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.

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!

SUMMARY Super fast and easy installation and they’re 100% wireless with advanced features such as 4K HDR, integrated spotlight, plus an intelligent motion detection system that can tell the difference between a person and small animal. THE GOOD: Fast and easy installation Zero Wires + Waterproof Easy to use app with customization notifications Crystal clear video Night vision that shows colors Wide panoramic view Long life rechargeable battery 1 year video cloud service THE BAD: 5 GHZ interference with my fancy surround sound speaker system Camera only secured to mount by magnets making them easy to steal Camera connection can be a bit laggy INSTALLATION: An easy 3 step process where you connect the included Ethernet cable and power cord to the Smart Hub, download the app on phone and insert battery. Unfortunately when I tried to connect camera I got inference noise from my surround sound speakers and had to disable the 5ghz transmitter (this connect the 2 wireless speakers in the back) to get the camera to work. I contacted Arlo's customer support and was told not much could be done on their end for this situation. FINAL THOUGHTS: I’m very impressed by how easy and simple it is to setup a Arlo wireless security camera. Just two screws and you’re done. However, because the cameras adhere to the mount using a magnet, you’ll want to ensure they’re out of reach of those passing by or can’t be seen by onlookers. Conversely, this makes swapping out the Arlo security cameras for another painless. The system works very well, in my case were I have it on a patio with a busy street, needed to customized alarm area and sensitivity (65% in my opinion the default of 80% is too high) plus the app is set up logically where you can arm the unit with one key stroke, unlike other brands, with all that said this system is not for me due to Klipsch Surround 3 issue but should fill the needs for most.