Customer Ratings & Reviews

Already being the owner of three outdoor Essential XL 2nd gen cameras, I was excited to acquire the Arlo-Essential 1 Pan and Tilt 2K outdoor security camera. I have my three Essential XL cameras hooked up to solar panels and they are always charged and ready to go. I wish there was an option for a solar-powered pan and tilt, but I understand that they use extra power. The Arlo Essential 1 pan and tilt delivers on the quality I have come to expect from Arlo, with the added benefit of being able to follow moving objects and the use of AI technology for identifying objects and even things like fire, which can literally be a lifesaver when you connect your security camera to the emergency features, which will activate responses from first responders. In the app when setting up emergency services, you have the choice to pick which services you want. I really appreciate the customizability that Arlo includes and the options they have that give you the freedom to set up your emergency service responses just the way you want them. I have another high-end camera system as well running and that one does not have nearly as many features or options when compared to my Arlo cameras, but they do have built-in solar. I would still easily pick the Arlo cameras over the other outdoor cameras I have tried. I have used some other very good ones, but Arlo delivers a well-rounded product with quality cameras and good software, even including a web portal to view your cameras on a PC. No cameras or camera systems are perfect, but they are getting better all of the time and companies like Arlo that are willing to put out quality hardware and do the work to make good software can offer really good choices for DIY consumers. The only issue I have had is that sometimes the cameras do not give me a view very fast when I operate them manually. However, they do a good job of catching things on their own for at least a short clip. Sometimes I feel like they could record cars a little longer, but it has not been too much of an issue. Overall, I am really happy with my Arlo cameras and the new addition of the Arlo Essential 1 Pan and Tilt.

I have been using Arlo cameras for several years. I have moved from the server based to the essentials that are all WiFi based. I currently have 2 essentials and a doorbell camera. This is added to my current setup. I am using this as a way to track deliveries to my house. I set this up on my porch. It does track people as they walk up and drop off a package. So far it also tracks the squirrels that are in the tree in my front yard. I have not gotten Arlo to learn to stop tracking them. The camera does have the street on its zone. The camera will go recognize a car and send a notification, but won’t track it. You can set up “home” so the camera will default back to a set position to look for more movements. I have not set up audio tracking but I’ll get to that. When you are setting this up. Try a few places and test them. I found a few places that looked good and actually were not. My only place faces the setting sun. Hope it does not melt. The picture quality is very good. Better than 1080. 2 complaints I hate plug creep. If you make a wall plug, it goes not be so large it takes over 2 outlets. There are extra pieces you may not need.

I have had the pleasure to own many security camera systems. Arlo ranks pretty high up there in my list of likes. Let's start with setup. Setup takes a little bit of planning as it requires a hardwired electrical outlet. So keep that in mind when you purchase and place this PTZ. After that is settled, you can then set either a ceiling mount or a wall mount. After you have mounted the camera and plug it in you just need to download and install the app. Stepping through the process took about 10 mins. Calibration and setting home position and I was up and I was up and running. I already have an Arlo account so that is needed to to have full access and function use. So operating the camera for about a week and seeing how it performs with AI and tracking and determining what is good to video and what isn't is pretty good. Main issue that you need to be aware of is the field of vision and sensor to track. In other words if there is someone or something that is out of its field of its sensor it will not turn and track. Also after it starts to track there is a blind spot. As you get right under the camera it just stops tracking. I have tried this a few times and have found that that is it's limitation in tracking. Other than that. Great camera. Both day and night vision resolution is good. Distance for focal point is pretty good as well.

Verdict: Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much at this price range, but I was pleasantly surprised! While this camera must remain plugged-in to work, it’s a capable little camera that can be used in specific places to significantly enhance your Arlo system. Of note, to get the most out of this camera, you will need to get a monthly subscription. Background. I have been using Arlo cameras for at least 8 years now. We have over twenty total Arlo devices ranging from older Pro cameras, a floodlight, a doorbell with chime, two base stations, essential cameras, three Pro (6th Gen) cameras, and this pan-tilt camera. I also pay the subscription to access premium services. While I would prefer not to have the added cost of a subscription, I find that I receive quite a bit of value for my money: unlimited cameras, unlimited storage on a rolling 60-day basis, protection zones, identification of camera triggers, animated previews, automation, etc. First impressions. It’s light, perfect size, and looks nice. The package includes a camera, a ceiling mount, a wall mount, a charging cable, and a quick reference guide. When I plugged-in my camera to sync it with the app, it tried to calibrate but it didn’t seem to pan. Sure enough, the camera struggled to pan most of the time after mounting it. I did a live-chat with customer service and my issue was resolved very quickly. I was initially disappointed with the quality of the camera… but this experience actually showcased the great Arlo customer service! My camera is up and running now and it’s working fantastic! Setup. There are two planning factors to consider for this camera before you get started: (1) because it connects over Wi-Fi, it can only be as far as you have good Wi-Fi signal… so consider how strong your Wi-Fi network is when thinking about location; and (2) This camera needs to be plugged-in to work, so you must install it within 6 feet of a power outlet. Then, download the app and it’s incredibly easy to complete from here: plug the camera, press the + sign in the "Devices" tab, and follow the instructions; the app walks through each step with great visuals. Subscription vs no subscription. Arlo charges $7.99/month for a one-camera subscription, and $17.99/month for unlimited cameras. The subscription includes, among many features, 60-day rolling storage, detect people, packages, vehicles, or animals, set Smart Activity Zones, create automations and more. Without a subscription, you can still live stream, receive push notifications, and use two-way audio, but… you will not have access to recordings. Performance. The Arlo pan-tilt camera is much better than I expected. While there is a lag of about 1-2 seconds between pressing the controls and seeing the camera move, it works really well and offers awesome coverage. I’ve had only static cameras for 8-10 years. Having the opportunity to play with a pan-tilt camera now is very neat. You can set a home target so that your camera is always oriented there. You can also press the scan button so that the camera quickly does a perimeter check. My favorite feature by far is that the camera follows movement once it detects a person or animal; it will pan and tilt until the movement is too far or out of view, and then it will return to the home view. Resolution is great, and the spotlight can be well employed because the camera is plugged-in, so no battery drainage. Things I love: - Very easy to install and works perfectly with other Arlo devices - Pan-tilt works great, with just a minor 1-2 second lag - Alerts are quick; maybe 1-2 seconds delay - Live streaming takes about 3-4 seconds to connect - Great resolution (2K) - Two mounting options; should work in most situations - I love the spotlight! And because the camera is plugged in, it doesn’t drain battery! - Great price for such a capable camera - Worthwhile night vision - The app is well designed and powerful; it offers lots of functionality and customization Things I don’t love: - This camera must be plugged-in, so it’s not for all places and it’s not for all situations - In the future, please include some plastic clips for the LONG power cable. This would cost just a dollar at scale, and it would make the installation much cleaner - The camera does not really detect movement if it's outside the view of the camera, which is unfortunate because it has the capability to pan or tilt to see such movements. I recommend adding sensors on the right and left side of the camera body so that Arlo can know if it should pan to look at something happening outside the camera view - The free tier doesn’t offer as much value, but then again this camera is so well priced that you could buy one or two of these just to get alerts and then view in livestream Overall, I love this Arlo outdoor pan-tilt camera. It’s affordable and capable. And since it’s connected to power, once you set it up, you will not have to worry about it anymore. I love this camera and highly recommend it.

The Arlo Essential Pan Tilt Security Camera is a standalone, plug-in security camera that works very well at a very reasonable price. One advantage of this camera is there is no base station to worry about. It connects directly to your Wi-Fi. Another is there are no batteries to worry about. The Camera: The camera is light weight and plastic. It doesn’t feel cheap but it also doesn’t feel super solid. The power connector on the camera is USB-C. At the other end of the cable (which is around 16-18 ft long) is a fairly small AC adaptor block that is just big enough to block 5 of the 6 outlets on my outdoor extension box (I can only close the door if it is in the top center outlet and in that location, it overlaps the other 5 outlets.) The pan tilt feature works very nicely. It can be a little jumpy but the camera does an excellent job recognizing movement and following it until it stops. To connect the camera, you first need to download the app to your cell phone, set up your account, go to devices, tap the plus icon, select your camera and press the Pairing button on the Camera. The app recognizes the camera, helps you connect it to the local Wi-Fi, installs updates and asks you to name the camera. After that, you just need to mount the camera. I didn’t want to drill holes into my siding, so I used exterior grade mounting tape to adhere it to my soffit. The App: Once the camera is mounted, you can go into the app. Along the bottom of the home screen are 5 icons – Dashboard (Home Screen), Feed, Emergency, Devices, and Routines. The Dashboard allows you to quickly arm or disarm the cameras based on the routines you set up under the Routines section. The feed is where you go to see the recordings that the cameras have taken, the Emergency icon allows you to quickly contact first responders in the event of an Emergency (Premium subscription required) The Devices screen is where you add/remove cameras, adjust settings, view live video and interact with visitors thru the cameras. The first thing I did was change the resting position of the camera to reduce the number of alerts from cars driving by my home. This was a bit agonizing due to the delay between tapping the screen and the camera responding. There is no indication that you tapped anything, or if the input was accepted. After tapping the screen, the camera would take up to 40 seconds to respond. After some trial and error, I was able to get the position I wanted. Next, I adjusted the sensitivity and created detection zones to reduce alerts even more. I get alerts fairly quickly. I do have other cameras that are quicker to send alerts, but this one is not bad. One thing that has been bad is the amount of time it takes to download the videos to view. Sometimes I sit there for minutes on end waiting to view the videos I was just alerted to. This has been the worst part of the Arlo system so far. It takes way too long to view the uploaded videos. I have fast internet at home and at work and I don’t have this issue with my other camera systems. I have a feeling this issue is caused by Arlo’s servers being slow to feed the videos. To get the most out of the camera, you need to get one of Arlo’s subscription plans. Without one, you can get alerts, view the camera live feeds and speak/listen through the cameras. With the Plus subscription, you get cloud storage to save recorded video, and your notifications can identify motion (person, animal, packages, cars, etc). You can save and share clips from the cloud. You also get discounts on future equipment purchases as well as extended warranties and priority support. If you get the Premium Plan, you also get 24/7 Professional Monitoring and the Emergency Response function in the apps. You also get a few other perks. So far, this is my favorite Arlo camera. The affordability and function can’t be beat if you have an outlet you can connect it to. If they can fix the lag in the controls and the video downloads, it would be just about perfect…

I’m really impressed with this Arlo Essential Pan-Tilt Outdoor Camera. The picture quality is excellent, delivering crisp 2K video that makes it easy to see details day or night. Installation was straightforward and quick, which is a huge plus for a small outdoor camera. The viewing angle is fantastic—being able to pan up, down, and rotate a full 360 degrees gives me complete coverage of my outdoor space without blind spots. I also love the sleek, professional design; it looks modern and blends well with my setup while still feeling very durable. For the price, this camera is packed with features you’d expect from higher-end models, making it a great value. If you’re looking for a reliable, easy-to-use outdoor security camera with flexible viewing options, this one is a solid choice. Would you like me to also craft a shorter, punchier version (like a quick 2–3 sentence review) that’s perfect for people who skim reviews?

Exelent camera. Great price. Easy setup with arlo app clear pictures and video night vision is exelent. Sound quality is great. I can call my dogs in without leaving the house. Sales person was very knowledgeable. I i tend to buy more

Video: 5/5 Audio: 4/5 Speaker: 3/5 Human detections: 5/5 Other detections: 3/5 Responsiveness: 2/5 App: 4/5 Subject tracking: 4/5 Overall : 3/5 The Arlo essential pan and tilt camera is a affordable WiFi camera that includes all necessary features, as long as your willing to sign up for a subscription plan. The setup process with the Pan and Tilt is straight forward, just plug in and your off to the races. The app is well designed, and everything works right out of the box. The camera was recognized/added and adjusted to the best WiFi frequency. The app is easy to use, you can arm/disarm the camera with the touch of button and even set off the alarm or call for emergency service through the push notification. These features help make the Arlo app closer to a full-fledged home security system. The best thing about the Pan and Tilt is the camera quality, I own 4 other WiFi cameras, and the Arlo has the best video quality by far. I was impressed with how good it was, I was not expecting this from an essential camera. The video quality is clear during daytime and nighttime, the spotlight does an excellent job lighting up the surroundings at night. The follow function works great for a single person but when you have 2 people go separate ways it does jump from one person to another. The detections are good for person recognition; there is a 1 to 1.5 second delay before it recognizes people. The push alerts are fast and I didn’t have an issue receiving an alert as soon as motion was detected however loading the app to see the detections is delayed. This is huge as it could be the difference between catching someone stealing a package or setting off the siren to warn away intruders. The detections for cars and packages is a hit and miss, even with sensitivity increased to max the camera would miss motion from vehicles. One of the biggest issues I had with the Arlo system was the delay in response times, when trying to move the camera from the app there would be a lag of up to 4 seconds. Now this happened when I was home on the same WiFi and even if I was away from home. The Pan and Tilt camera has tons of features, its got 2.4 and 5 Ghz WiFi, it can provide 360 coverage. It does AI detections for objects, people, animals, car and even identifies people while allowing security zones for detections. It has one of the best cameras at any price point. The features included in the subscription are good, as mentioned above the features make this more of a home security system at a affordable price. With 24/7 monitoring , emergency response and identifications for individual people its really a complete package. With all the positives there are things that need corrected. The biggest issue is not being able to view any recordings unless you have a paid subscription, Arlo should allow the camera to save recordings locally for an hour a day or week. The other issue that needs to be corrected is you cannot view the camera in portrait mode, this is very frustrating. These two fixes would make this such a better product.

relatively inexpensive for this tecnology . You need subscription which is your long term cost. Only downside is absence of any battery backup if you lose power. Not sure how well it will weather long term. Software is easy to set up.

I recently got the Arlo Essential Pan Tilt Security Camera 2K (2025 release), and it has honestly exceeded my expectations. The 2K video quality is incredibly sharp—clear enough to catch small details during the day and still impressive at night. It makes me feel much more confident about keeping an eye on my home. The pan-and-tilt feature is a game changer. Being able to remotely rotate the camera for full-room coverage gives me peace of mind, and the motion tracking is smooth and responsive. It follows movement automatically, so I never miss anything important. Setup was super easy, and the app is clean and user-friendly. I love how quickly notifications come through, and the two-way audio works better than I expected—loud, clear, and perfect for quick check-ins. Overall, this camera feels like a major step forward in home security: smart, reliable, and packed with features that actually make a difference. Definitely worth it if you want great coverage and strong performance without any hassle.

The Arlo Pan-Tilt Security Camera is a solid choice for anyone looking for an easy-to-use and reliable home security solution. Setup and installation are quick, even for beginners, and the camera integrates smoothly with the Arlo app. The pan-and-tilt feature works well, allowing the camera to follow movement and cover more area without blind spots. Video quality is sharp, and the color night vision is a great bonus, providing clear footage even in low-light conditions. Overall, this camera feels like a noticeable upgrade from older models, offering improved performance, smarter tracking, and dependable monitoring.

I’ve been testing the Arlo Essential Pan Tilt 2K, and it’s a game-changer. Crystal clear 2K video, 360° coverage, and total control from my phone. Why I highly recommend buying this at Best Buy: The Geek Squad Protection is the real deal. I’ve personally used their support, and they are incredibly fast and efficient. No runarounds, just solutions. If you want tech that lasts and support that actually cares, this is the winning combo.

Bought two while they were on sale and thought to myself might be bad but i was totally wrong the ai feature is nice too i dont mind the constant notifications because it actually notified me when a total stranger decided to fill up 5 big jugs of water and the stray cats that keep coming into my back yard counted like 10 different cats if your wondering but great quality video and sound ive had other security cameras and the audio was a hit and miss but on this one im able to have clear conversations with my kids.

Instalation is easy, great quality and app is amazing

Easy set up and clear view of your home. No battery to charge. Very good camera

Great product. I always find arlo to have good products , and company good service. The tilt cam is nice easy to install . Set up good , and camera works very well .

Great image quality and smooth pan-tilt control. Easy to set up, works well day and night.

It’s good pan security camera , clear night vision

Love the camera, super easy to install, & set up. Down load the app and your ready to go.

I have bought three of these and they’re the best cameras out there for quality for the price sound and picture quality