Customer Ratings & Reviews

The Arlo Essential 3rd Gen camera is a 2K indoor security camera. It runs off of a standard USB-C power source. It stands about 4 inches tall and has a blue LED that goes on when the camera is running. When not physically recording anything, there is a white lens cover that closes over the lens, so you can be sure that nothing is being seen. When the camera has power and the lens cover is closed, the blue led is still lit, so you know it is working but not seeing anything. Everything works with an app called Arlo Secure, which is available for both Android and IOS. The camera captures images at 2K and there is a screw hole in the back for mounting on a tripod or other device. In Arlo Secure you have 3 modes. “Arm/Away”, “Arm/Home”, and “Standby”. Each of these modes can have their own A, Motion Detection settings and Audio Detection settings. You can control detection for people, packages, vehicles, animals, fire and you can detect all motion. You can have animated notifications for sound and you can control what sounds it is supposed to listen for. You can listen for gunshots, screams, barking dogs and breaking glass or you can have it listen for any kind of sound. When one of your chosen sounds is heard, you can control what actions are taken, such as turning on a light, taking a snapshot, activating a siren, or playing a sound. You can also control sensitivity for motion, audio, recording duration and siren settings. One thing that I dislike about these features is that many use a bar with minimum and maximum values, however, as you slide up and down the bar, there is nothing telling what the setting that you have selected is. You have to approximate what you have chosen. You can program a home/away schedule, so you don’t need to manually change the mode as you leave for or come back from work. Some of the features of the camera come from a subscription plan. They have Arlos Plus Single for $9.99 a month for 1 device, Arlo Plus Unlimited for $19.99 per month, and Arlos Premium for $29.99 per month. Each package offers different features. I personally don’t like having to pay for functionality on a monthly or annual basis. Whether the added features are worth it to you, is something that you will have to decide. I like the camera and the software. My three dislikes are the slider bar values, previously mentioned, having to schedule the home/away modes, and features being behind a pay wall. If all you want is a way to monitor inside your house when you are gone, and don't want the whole Arlo ecosystem with outdoor cameras and stuff, this camera is great. Otherwise, as much as I like the camera, I can’t personally recommend it because of the subscription being needed for some of the functionality.