Customer Ratings & Reviews

A great camera great quality I love it! Highly recommend

i got the Arlo Essential pan and tilt camera a couple weeks ago cause i wanted something to keep an eye on my living room and front door area when i’m out or at work. i was expecting just a basic camera, but this thing is way better than i thought. setup was super easy. i’m not great with tech but it literally walked me through everything in the app. i had it mounted and streaming video in like ten minutes. just plug it in, connect wifi, and it works. no drama at all. the picture quality is actually really sharp. it’s 2K so i can see faces clearly, read labels on boxes, and even see my cat sleeping on the couch in full detail. the pan and tilt feature is probably my favorite part though. i can move it around from my phone and look all over the room. i didn’t even realize how useful that would be until i started using it i can check both windows and the hallway with just one camera. the night vision is solid too. the image is clear, not all fuzzy like some other cameras i’ve tried before. and the two-way audio works great i can talk through it from my phone and the sound is clear on both ends. i also really like that it’s plug-in powered. i used to have a battery camera and it felt like i was recharging that thing every week. this one just stays on all the time, no worrying about it dying or forgetting to charge it. the app is pretty easy to use. i get motion alerts whenever there’s movement, and you can change how sensitive it is so it doesn’t go off every time my cat walks by. i set it to only alert when it detects a person and it’s been pretty accurate. it also works with Alexa which is a nice bonus. i can just say “alexa show me living room” and the video pops up on my Echo Show. honestly i can’t think of much to complain about. the video’s clear, setup’s simple, it moves smoothly, and i feel like i got more than what i paid for. i’m probably gonna get another one for the garage soon. if you’re thinking about getting one, just do it. it’s super reliable, easy to use, and the quality for the price is seriously impressive.

The Arlo Essential line is an excellent series of cameras for someone looking to monitor their home without professional install and with a very low cost to get started. Where Arlo differentiates themselves from so many other camera brands is the fact that they are a US-based company and that they tend to have very good privacy protections for their users (so far...). Unlike a few other well--known brands, Arlo will not share your video with law enforcement or the government without your permission unless they are presented a warrant. #Unboxing and first impressions# Unboxing the Arlo Essential Pan-Tilt camera was pretty pleasant overall. The camera arrived in a relatively small cardboard box, with all cardboard packing materials inside to ensure safety for shipping. There is thin plastic film on the camera itself, but otherwise the packaging is all recyclable. The camera comes with a wall/ceiling mount kit and power adapter with a permanently attached USB-C cable. Note the adapter is 9V output, so it's probably incompatible with anything other than the camera. However I was able to test the camera with a standard USB-C PD adapter and the camera worked fine - so if the included cable gets damaged, you probably have lots of options. #Using the Arlo Essentials camera# The Arlo Essentials PT(Z?) camera was really easy to set up. Arlo includes a 30 day subscription to their Arlo Secure subscription which is normally about 8 bucks per month per camera (or 18 bucks/month for unlimited cameras). Without the subscription, you can't record video and get no AI recognition features, but you can watch live video at no charge. It was incredibly easy to set up the camera in the app. I just had to follow simple instructions in the Arlo app and tap a button on the camera body, and it was able to add it to my network with zero fuss. Notably, the camera supports both 2.4 and 5ghz wifi, so you do NOT have to put this camera on a 2.4ghz only network! That alone is a selling point for me. Video quality is really good. The real time/Live video feed is very high framerate (appears to be 60, but not sure exactly). The recorded videos arrive with different framerates depending on the amount of motion in the clip. The downloaded clips great, with few compression artifacts.The camera will turn to follow people/pets/objects in motion, which is pretty standard these does but regardless the Arlo Essentials model does it well. #Final thoughts# I think Arlo has a decent value proposition with the Essentials line. You can spend a bit more money on a camera or system that has local storage and doesn't require a cloud subscription. You can also find camera systems that have much cheaper cloud subscriptions for a single camera. However, once you're at the multi-camera stage where you have 3 or more, the unlimited camera sub for Arlo is pretty reasonable, and the person/pet detection works really well in the week that I've had the camera. Considering it's a US based company with a strong track record for privacy, I'd consider Arlo as a premium option for security cameras.

Setup and installation of this camera is really easy with Arlo's app. Compared to other cameras I've used, I actually really like Arlo's app and the cameras are super easy to use. Once setup and connected you have an option to use a subscription to store video on the cloud and access other features depending on the plan. You absolutely can still use the camera without a plan though and still get realtime alerts and notifications on your phone. It also connects and works with Google Home and I was able to view the camera on my Samsung SmartTV which is pretty cool. In terms of PTZ, the functionality works great and for me worked smooth. There could be some delay depending on your connection of course but I found the delay to be minimal. the subject tracking does also seem to work pretty well too. In terms of image quality, I installed this camera near my front door so it can spot anyone approaching either my garage or front door and I can clearly ID/see anyone approaching those areas. 2K up close is perfect for capturing enough detail to identify people or objects and maybe license plates depending on how far it is. Night vision is pretty good as well, epsecially for lighted areas like a front porch/garage door lights. Audio works great too and you can set it to alert you of specific sounds like a scream or dog barking. The only negative I can see so far is the limited features you have without a paid plan. It does work but most of the advanced features are part of the plan. While that can seem like a negative, you do get a lot for the plan so it really boils down to what your security needs are because the paid plan is well worth it considering the cloud storage and features that really do give peace of mind should something happen. Overall, from setup to using it, I really like Arlo's cameras and this camera in particular is amazing. If you haven't had a PTZ camera, you should get one, they're well worth it because you can see so much more.

Arlo Essential Pan & Tilt 2K Security Camera I have had 2 Arlo Doorbells and I am familiar with their products and the App. This little guy seems to perform really well. Out of the box, the setup went easily. I used the QR code that was provided inside the top of the box and in the Quick Start Guide booklet included in the box. It immediately brought up my Arlo App on my phone, and started the step-by-step setup instructions to connect to my phone and then my WIFI. I was up and running in no time. I like that this camera shows up in the app along with my doorbell. I can actually view both at the same time. If I rotate my phone to landscape orientation, I can get a full screen from either device. Mounting the camera is fairly straightforward, but I also felt the mounting clips on the bracket seem weak and vulnerable. On a cold day, the plastic may not hold up. The power cord is long, approx. 17 ft long which is good. By the time you mount the camera on your home, it could be 8-9 ft in the air plus the horizontal distance to an outlet. The cord is reasonably heavy and durable for outdoor use. The camera has no type of battery backup. Keep that in mind and try to conceal the cord and plug, as an intruder could simply unplug it and no more video would be recorded. The camera tracks moving people very well. It can rotate fairly fast and it does so smoothly and quietly. Tracking manually using the app, I’m impressed how far it can turn in either direction. It seems it can turn almost 350 degrees left to right. The picture is bright and clear. Notifications come across quickly. At night, the provided built in light is bright and really helps to keep the image clear. The light alone could scare an intruder off when he gets surprised and sees the camera taking his picture. I have not tried the siren yet. Using the camera inside before mounting it, I felt it would make an excellent inside camera. In that scenario, I wish the camera could be just set on a table or a shelf and the image could be rotated 180 degrees to allow the camera to operate sitting, and still provide a correctly oriented picture. Just a thought. I have come to the realization that you just have to buy the monthly plan to get the full use out of the camera. It’s the only way to utilize all the features and to be able to keep videos from the past 60 days. CONCLUSION: Overall, the camera is very reasonably priced for the quality and features it affords. It’s easy to set-up, no batteries are needed, and it works well as long as you have an outlet in a location where the camera will get coverage. I would also suggest mounting it under an overhang or the eaves to shield it from rain, ice, and snow. I would recommend it to a friend.

Even if where you live is generally considered safe, it is not a bad idea to still have security cameras installed. Even if it's just for a heads-up that a delivery is arriving or a neighbor is stopping by. We were familiar with Arlo after having used their wireless cameras before up until we moved and could install our wired cameras everywhere we needed (previously, we live in a 2-story house that we really couldn't run wired cameras to every place we wanted a camera) and kind of was done with needing to recharge the cameras. Still, all of those are fixed cameras with just barely enough of the areas being covered. I had been looking to add a pan and tilt camera for a while, but one system I use doesn't offer an outdoor one and the other I use had one, but the price was a little high. After discovering the Arlo Essential Pan Tilt was wireless but powered (and having installed an outlet in the overhang for house holiday lighting), I was thinking this would be nice to try out. After opening and getting it plugged in, I started the initial setup in the Arlo Secure app. That was fairly easy (also helps if you already have the app installed and an account created). I started to try out everything with it, especially the pan and tilt functionality. At that point, I was already glad to have gotten this camera. Unfortunately, the camera cannot record locally as there is no support for a microSD card and no way to connect to an Arlo SmartHub Base (like the one that I still have and used previously for recording locally before going to a wired system), so to record anything a subscription is required. Even though it uses a USB-C connection for the power cord, it use proprietary power supply that outputs 9V vs the normal 5V for typical USB connection, so likely cannot use an old power block or an outlet with a built-in USB power port, although it could possibly use a Power Delivery charger block with it (didn't try it out myself though). The power adapter is a decent size, so that, along with the extra cable I have tucked in the outlet cover (camera is only about 3 feet away) will make it a bit difficult to leave it plugged in while I have the holiday lighting plugged in. I do have some offset/extensions I might try to be able to still have the camera plugged in at the same time. After getting the camera installed outside, I initially had some issues with getting the live view in the app, even with strong Wi-Fi signal. It didn't matter if I was outside or inside right next to the wireless router. Strangely, I could still see the current view/preview when looking at the Video settings. I found that it would actually work properly in the my.arlo.com website app, but not on their beta webapp site. Later that evening, I checked again and it had started to finally work in the app without any additional changes. So far, I am liking what I am seeing and can do with the camera! It has a great looking wide view (130°), covering a larger area than our other cameras. For nighttime, the Night Vision can be set to Black & White or Color Night Vision. For Color, the spotlight must be enabled, which I wish wasn't the case as our front driveway is well lit at night. When in Live View at night, temporarily turning on the light (bottom right icon) will automatically change to view in color until the light is turned off. To get to the Pan and Tilt functionality (along with some other functionality), don't tap play on the Dashboard page. That just gives the static live feed. Instead, tap anywhere else on the image (other than the Play or Setting icons). This will take you to the list of events to review, along with another Live View Play icon. Tapping the play icon here will display the live view and pop up the camera movement controller, as well as any preset positions to view. Also, while in this view, on the bottom right-center, there is a quick-pan icon to do a quick automated step-through of all the preset locations or will do sweep of entire range of motion if none are set. I liked being able to set the Home position, along with an additional 4 preset positions, which makes getting the camera pointed to the area I would like to view much easier. To set those, go to the Device Settings (from any Settings sprocket icon, then Camera Positions. Set the Home positions first (where the camera will always return to when not being used), then add the other up to 4 positions. I also like that the motor that moves the camera is very quiet, so it shouldn't draw any attention when it is moving. The detection and notification features are nice. It can notify if detecting a vehicle driving by, or a person walking or approaching the house, among others. The notification that pops up (at least on the Android version) is the best I've seen so far. It will actually show a short, time-lapse of the event, along with a little "cut-out" picture of the person or vehicle it detected. As I will not likely get a subscription after the trial expires, I'm hoping that the style of these notifications (and the notifications themselves) are still available without the subscription (one of the other systems we use will only give a preview image with an active subscription, which is why we still use another one for those notifications). And when Auto Track turned on (in Video Settings), the camara can actually pan to follow the person or object that was detected, but I don't plan on using that. Whether looking for your first or fifth(+) security camera, and are fine with no local recording or with going with one of their subscriptions, with all the features available, this is a really nice camera and should be considered.

I recently purchased the Arlo Essential 1-Camera Pan Tilt 2K Security Camera (Wired Plug-In Powered – White) to expand my existing Arlo setup, and overall, it’s been a good value for what it offers. The setup and installation process was incredibly straightforward—Arlo’s app guided me step-by-step, and I had the camera up and running in less than ten minutes. It integrated seamlessly with my other Arlo cameras, instantly appearing in my app without any extra fuss or complicated syncing. The pan and tilt features are responsive, and the 2K resolution provides sharp, detailed images both day and night. The wired power means I never have to worry about changing batteries, which is a nice bonus for continuous monitoring. However, there are a couple of drawbacks that prevent this from being a perfect product. The biggest disappointment is that there’s no SD card slot for local storage. Everything has to go through the cloud, and unfortunately, you can’t view recorded videos without a paid Arlo Secure subscription. For a camera at this price point, that feels like a big limitation. I wish Arlo offered at least basic recording access without forcing you into a plan. All things considered, it’s a reliable and easy-to-use camera that performs well and fits smoothly into an existing Arlo ecosystem. But the lack of local storage and mandatory subscription keep it from being a five-star product. For me, it earns a solid three stars—good hardware and performance, but too many strings attached.

My existing home security setup is all fixed camera systems so I was excited to try out my first pan/tilt camera. This is the first Arlo camera system I have tried and after some time with the system I came away with mixed feelings. On the hardware side of the device, the physical construction of the device is mostly plastic and the mounting system is flimsy. While the device pans and tilts as designed it feels like the camera and the mounting bracket have never made a firm connection. The 14 foot USB-C cable connects to the camera from the rear in a deeply recessed connection. I’m assuming this is to prevent the cord from coming unplugged during the pan and tilt operations, but the placement makes it a frustrating installation experience. I ended up needing to use needle nose pliers to shove the cable into the slot as my fingers were too large to fit in the gaps. At least the connection is secure. At six inches in length and just under four inches in width the device is compact enough to not feel like an eyesore, but it’s definitely not going to be blending into the environment. When motion is detected the camera pans and tilts to focus on where it detects the movement. This is louder than I anticipated and immediately draws attention to the camera. If you have the light enabled, it’s a bright, blinding light which is quite frustrating to deal with because you hear a noise, turn to look and immediately go blind from the brightness. But the 2K image of you getting blinded is comical to look at after the fact. On paper the specs of the camera are exceptional for this price category. The camera is 2K resolution with 180 degree pan/tilt range and a 12X digital zoom. The device includes a siren and 2-way audio and echo cancellation, all useful features that annoyed everyone I tested it with, primarily because they were blinded by the lights. For daily operation you’ll be relying on the SmartPhone app. I was disappointed in how slowly the pan and tilt operations respond to the the commands in the app. This is the first wireless camera I’ve tried as I prefer POE but that is not an option for this camera. The camera supports 802.11n for 2Ghz and 5Ghz and I’m using Wifi 7 AP’s on a 1.5GB download/ 350MB Upload. I was surprised at how slowly the video operations work within the app. As an aside, I have remote controlled robot vacuum cleaners on the same wifi and their controls respond instantly so whatever software controls are being triggered they are just not useful for anything more than frustration. To workaround this, the camera includes a quick-action button that when pressed tells the camera to do a full pan around the room. It’s a great button, but it’s also slow to respond and I kept thinking to myself that if someone was in my house breaking in and I was trying to real time tell the police what they were doing that I would be cussing in frustration a lot because these controls are so slow to respond. Aside from this one huge pain point, the App is simple to use, shows you what you need to see as long as you don’t need to change anything, and easy to review past footage. And the final thing to note is that this camera has no local storage and no ability to switch to local video storage which means you’ll be paying for a monthly subscription ranging from $7.99 a month for a single camera up to $24.99 a month depending on the specific features you need. The camera comes with a 30 day free-trial period so you can experiment.

I’ve been a fan of Arlo products since the start with 2 Pros, Gen 1 Essential Spotlight and Doorbell which all still work till this day. I haven’t had any significant issues at all until the release of their Gen 2 Essential Spotlight camera that I got last year which has been my main backyard camera after the Gen 1 Spotlight. It consistently had software issues that came and went randomly. Connection was almost always great, but the motion sensing was all over the place and changing the setting often did nothing, among other minor things. Others seemed to have issues with the other devices released at the same time, as well. Once I heard a new pan-tilt camera was coming, I thought it would be the perfect chance to replace it and see if this camera would be an improvement and return some of my lost faith in the brand. I have a couple of blind spots that this model will help with. Installation was the easiest it has been in a while. One big improvement is it is no longer required to use the 2.4 GHz band only to set-up the camera. Those of us with mesh networks had to shut off the 5 GHz band to get recent Arlo devices working. Arlo wasn’t alone in this but I’m happy they decided to do something about it. The new additional features so far seem to work really well. The motion tracking is on point and the AI descriptions (optional, BTW) for your alerts and in the feed of recordings is pretty impressive. I didn’t expect such details like about clothing, objects in the surrounding area and how a person is interacting with those objects. It knew I was holding my phone and what I may have been looking at and even knew the breed of my cat. Unfortunately, this is one of the features a subscription is required for much like most of the features in general which is a point of contention right now. But the motion tracking, reliability and actual full coverage of your property is still a big win here. As far as the software goes, I’m happy to say it is working like it used to again. It’s reliable like all of my older devices. I no longer get constant unwanted recordings even at a high sensitivity. I permanently have my backyard camera plugged in so when I saw this was wired only, I was actually happy to hear it. My thinking is if it was designed to stay plugged in, perhaps it would minimize any battery related issues. I believe the cord is 16 feet which is good. I usually have to buy an aftermarket Arlo cord and adapter for my backyard device each time I replace it with a newer model. It worked for my set-up so it’s nice not having to do it this time. There are some things I have an issue with, though. Besides the new stuff, all the other usual settings seemed to be there except I did notice one change. You can no longer change the audio of the siren, only the length of time it goes off. I have not needed it yet, but I appreciated being able to change the volume. I’m in a sub-division where houses are very close so I never need it to be any louder than the minimal setting. I’m afraid it’s going to be excessively loud for my situation. As for the wire, I wish it was flat instead of round. The aftermarket wires were always flat, making it easier to tuck around siding or use adhesive clips to work it along the house. It was tougher, but I managed to get it how I wanted. But my biggest annoyance was they made the adapter both attached and bulkier. Instead of the USB adapter that always worked before for their devices, this one is now a standard block adapter that doesn’t fit with another plug. Outdoor outlets have covers and while I replaced mine with a bigger and more improved one, I still can only fit this adapter into the top outlet and can no longer use the bottom one like I could before. I’m not sure why this change was necessary. Lastly, the way the camera slides into the mount worries me. It’s secure, but the little tabs seem fragile and I’m concerned taking it on and off will break them sooner rather than later. Hopefully I won’t have to do this much. Lastly, I’m considering going subscription free at the end of my term next year and run everything through one of the new Arlo smart hubs but I read the pan-tilt doesn’t have compatibility with the smart hubs at this moment. I’m sure this will be added later like the other models but it’s a big disappointment and it should have been implemented at the start. Overall, I’m very happy with this model. Despite some of the issues I mentioned, it has definitely restored some of my faith back.

I've owned plenty of different smart cameras and Arlo never disappoints. I've used Arlo cameras going all the way back to the first gen camera and have always loved these cameras. With each generation, Arlo ada now features that help it stands out in a very crowded field. The camera is super easy to set up. I just found a spot with power close by and hung it from the soffit of my house. Set up in the app was ready and seamless. Right away I had the camera added to my house and could control the pan and tilt the camera to see anywhere around the camera. The video quality is 2k and looks crisp and clear in the app. I was able to see anything astounds the app easily in the Arlo app. The app itself works well, though my biggest problem with this camera and generally most smart cameras is that most of the features are kept behind a pay wall. You won't get any storage without paying a monthly fee, not to mention many of the other features. And the subscription price is high if you have a lot of cameras.

I really like the Arlo line, and have had exprience with them in the past. When this Arlo - Essential 1-Camera Pan Tilt 2K Security Camera opportunity came up, I jumped on it. One of the main reasons I got this was because our sone is a US Navy Nuclear Engineer on a boomer submarine. When we learned he was going to be stationed at Naval Base Kitsap, we ended up buying a few acres out there and had a tiny house installed on the land. After he moves on, it will make a for great vacation home for us. Anyhoo, with him being gone fpr the long periods of time, I wanted to make sure we could monitorhis property while underwa. This is the perfect platform for that option. Installation was simple. He is an EMN (Electricians Mate Nuclear) so for him, he cuold have installed in his sleep. He did "hardwire" it, but I watched him install the camera proper in just a few minutes. We downloaded the app and had it up and running, no problem. Camera control and 2K video is great. Arlo does offer a monthly subscription to staore and access the cameraand recorded clips. We are going to try it out for a few months and see if we like it. The good news is the subscription cloud storage is relatively inexpensive. The bad news, is it only holds the video's in the cloud for two months. When he goes underway, he can be gone, for quite literally, who knows how long. A 6 months cloud storage would be preferred for us, but I do recognize our use it not like most others. For most, this should not be an issue. Our workarond is that while he is underway, his mom and I will monitor the house and alert local Law Enforcement if need. I just started looking onito it, so can not comment with any authority, but I believe there is an Arlo hub that can be associated with the arlo cameras for local storage via microSD cards. I am pretty sure we will also lookinto that to store footage locally for longer periods. End of the day, this is a great consumer choice that offers good control, and great 2K video.

If there is one thing that Arlo gets always right, it is the quality of materials, it is durable while being light. Installation is straight forward as the app easily picks it up, so getting it ready is a breeze- with a little delay on updates. The hardware is easy to place and it has all the nuts and bolts needed for my wall set up. Cable management slips easily from the top down to the wall. The camera is an easy add to my Google home, though the widget does not load as fast as my doorbell cameras in the dashboard—the feed is a little slow to load. This is the downside of not having a hub (vs. this which directly connects to wifi). I like that there is a subject follow option. Although the video load is a little slow, the video panning stutters. I have gig internet here at home so I don’t see any reason for the data communication to be slow. The video is pretty good in bright light, but I find it a little soft. The notifications are great as it tells me what it detects, like a person, or an animal. And the feed is great, granted that I have subscription to see the log. It is a good addition to my Arlo system. If you can live with the subscription and the load delay, especially with its reasonable price, this is a good option.

Arlo - Essential 1-Camera Pan Tilt 2K The Arlo - Essential 1-Camera Pan Tilt 2K is fairly close to being the perfect camera for indoor pan and tilt cameras. The cord that it comes is very long compared to most cameras that I have purchased in the past and the mounting hardware made this thing a breeze. The camera had to complete the firmware update process twice. The first time I did have an issue so I restarted the camera, and it began the process all over again and after the firmware updated the camera began operating like it was supposed to do. Now, why four stars instead of five? The pan and tilt is why. While it is quick, it is not super quick. So it would pick up someone walking, but not running, in close proximity to the camera. However, the purpose of where I have positioned the camera is that it does a great job. The fact that I am able to check in on the camera and go to pre-positioned areas with out having to manually press the buttons on the camera to get there is another wonderful thing about this camera that makes it that much better. The video quality is perfect, along with the audio.

The Arlo Essential Pan Tilt Wireless 2K camera is a very well-designed device that underwent a substantial test from me in my garage and came out excellent. This camera by Arlo has a strong built-in ability to find and easily stay on your Wi-Fi connection, even in my garage about 20 feet from the router through walls and a fire-proof door. Arlo has done a great job in their connectivity design which is so critical in these devices – no signal drift or lost connections at all. The installation is very easy, it is a marvel of simplicity. Once you install the Arlo Secure app (I was using an Android phone), the app will take over to guide you to the selection of this device and then will do a firmware update. The Quick Start Guide is pretty much just a couple steps to download the app and show you the series of selections to add this specific device; but it is a very intuitive process even without using the documentation. Tip of the cap to the Arlo engineers for a streamlined process. The app will also help you physically install the camera. The camera has the latest top-notch technology to track and follow people or pets or vehicles. There is a spotlight which is motion activated and this alone is a great deterrent to scare off intruders. This 2K camera has a very clear and crisp day or night color vision. The very advanced functions also include audio detection like barking or glass breaking. It has a 360-degree pan and 180-degree tilt capability. The device provides instant alerts to your cell phone. I liked using it set up in my garage since I often leave the garage door open and go back in the house at times. Also, this unit is plug-in, so inside the garage it is very convenient and won’t require re-charges. It currently works to keep me informed for smart home delivery to my garage – it seems ideal for this purpose. I found this camera to be of the highest quality and with so many terrific functions I certainly can highly recommend it.

This review is on an Arlo - Essential 1-Camera Pan Tilt 2K Security Camera, Wired. I am already signed up to Arlo so setting up this camera was easy. I opened the Arlo app on my phone and selected + sign to add a new device. I selected pan-tilt cameras, then pan-tilt security camera. All you have to do is hold the button on top of the camera for 3 seconds and click next in the app and it will quickly find the camera. When you select the camera to be added you then connect it to your Wi-Fi. It already had my saved info so I didn't have to enter anything. It adds your camera to your account and asks you to name it. Then it will recognize that it has an update and immediately start to install it. Then it will give you instructions on how to mount it. Installation with the mount was easy. The picture quality and color is good but not sharp. In the app you can choose to stop, mute, record, take a picture, use the mic to talk and turn on the security light which is bright. There is also a control for the pan and tilt function that you drag a joystick around to move it. You can setup zones that you don't want the camera to watch. If a car was to go by on the street, it would normally pick it up, but you can set a zone for it to not monitor the street. It also comes with a free trial. This is a great camera to order if you want to monitor a vast area around your home.

Arlo has finally added Pan & Tilt cameras to their portfolio, maximizing coverage for a minimal investment (as compared to purchasing multiple fixed-view cameras to get the same coverage). +++ Pros +++ + Setup is a breeze: as an existing Arlo user, just scan a QR code (**critical tip: be sure to select Pan Tilt Security Camera NOT Pan Tilt Indoor Camera**). + A.I. learning: the camera learns to distinguish faces and vehicles over time and can detect packages, smoke/fire and animals. While these features require a Arlo Secure subscription, a trial is included to allow for full feature testing. + Includes both mounting plate (for ceiling mount) and L-bracket (for wall mount) for installation flexibility. + Renter-friendly: because these use a standard wall outlet and not POE (power-over-ethernet) these are easy to install and move. - - - Cons - - - - A subscription is required to really get the most out of Arlo's products -- including cloud video history, smart zones, smart detection (people, packages and vehicles), audio detection (gunshots, screams, barks, glass break or smoke/CO alarms). Adding this with my doorbell, my monthly out-of-pocket cost more than doubled (from $7.99 to $17.99/monthly for the Plus Plan). If you choose to upgrade to the Premium plan which adds event captions, professional monitoring and emergency response that monthly cost goes up to $24.99 (note: these rates are if you choose the annual option - month-to-month rates are $19.99/month for Plus and $29.99 for Premium, respectfully). - No Battery Backup (MAJOR flaw): the camera can be disabled simply by unplugging it from the wall which is a significant security oversight. A battery for backup is a glaring critical omission. - Dated video quality: In 2025, on a product that's wired, it should support native 4k resolution and optical zoom. If theres no battery life savings there's no reason to cut back on the video quality and use dated 2k video and digital zoom technologies. - Does not support Apple's HomeKit Secure Video. *** Summary: *** The Arlo Pan & Tilt Security Camera is a welcome addition that marries maximum camera coverage with intelligent AI features; however, the value is significantly hampered by the mandatory subscription which can easily run you $215-$299/annually (the different price tiers for monthly vs. annual subscriptions is also a shameless additional money grab). The lack of a battery backup for a wired device is simply baffling. Buy if you're already committed to the Arlo ecosystem and are willing to pay for the subscription to really get the most out of the camera.

Tl;dr: Arlo’s pan / tilt camera is useful for monitoring wide open areas. Instead of using a super wide angle lens, the camera turns to where the action is. The downside is if there’s action happening outside the viewable area, the camera ignores it. It’s best to set a “Home” range pointing to the area most likely to have movement (even at the edges) to ensure events will be picked up. Detail review: The camera is engineered for top-down mounting only. It is specifically designed to be attached to a ceiling, overhang, or shelf from above, and does not include a base or mechanism to sit securely on a flat surface like a table or windowsill. Unlike many other cameras, the image cannot be rotated 180 degrees in the app. It features a longer cord than other cameras I’ve seen to accommodate the higher mounting points. The cord is hardwired to the power adapter, preventing someone from getting an extended length USB-C cable without also getting a power adapter. It uses ~20W peak. The camera's tracking capability is better with objects further from the camera. The camera will not rotate very quickly, so loses people who are walking close to it. At lease 5 feet away is ideal to ensure the rotation can keep up. There’s no supplemental motion detector to alert the camera to things crossing next to the camera when it’s looking the “wrong” way. While this would be an added cost, it would significantly improve the usefulness of the camera. Alro added a bright LED light to this camera. It will activate in anything dimmer than standard indoor lighting. This ensures you’ll have the best image quality available at a given point in time. Videos were detailed and sharp. The app helps identify people and pets, then flags the motion appropriately. The light brings out the details on people / objects up to 10’ away. Clarity and Color Reproduction: The picture quality is generally excellent, providing a sharp image. Color accuracy is reasonable in standard indoor lighting conditions, and it improves noticeably when operating in brighter outdoor or well-lit environments. There’s tough competition in the wireless camera market. Arlo’s image quality is better than most of their competitors. The biggest downside is the lack of mounting options. With good connectivity, a solid app, and vivid picture quality, this will be hard to say “no” do.

First impressions out of the box was neat, well built, and easy instructions with minimal hardware. The app setup was a breeze, a couple of days in and I noticed I was out of town and the camera wouldn’t connect. I figured maybe it was my connection. I kept using the camera after I got home and ended up resetting my router and it still wouldn’t pop up. I loved setting it up. Even loved using it and I’m pretty happy I held back for a few days because I keep getting the same connectivity issue every couple of days or so. As to the quality, I can’t complain. It looks great and I felt that it was responsive when I would log in. I did enjoy the trial because of the notifications but when it came to the detecting animal feature it worked 25% of the time. This was important to me due to my cats always getting on the kitchen counter regardless if we have scat mats and put foil paper, the little bandits find a way around the camera too apparently. Anyways, it’s a good camera, not the best but for the ecosystems and when it does function, I think it passes in terms of service and price. It’s since stoped causing me issues so I’m on the fence in terms of reliability which is why I deduced one star. I’d still recommend it as an alternative to a higher priced item.

The box for this was fantastic. Provided adequate information for you to determine what it does and how it works. Packaging also was sufficient to protect it in shipping the product it arrive undamaged. Upon opening, it was pretty easy to figure out what was what with clear labeling. It was really nice to see that everything you needed was in the box and anything that you might need was also in the box. App installation was easy. I installed on an iPhone 17 and iPad Air and a Google Pixel 9 Pro. App looks wonderful interface is easy to use. When the apps were installed, the ratings were very high physical installation of the device was also easy it took about 10 to 15 minutes to get everything set up start to finish. The biggest thing was just to make sure you had your wrap installed and ready to go, and you had an idea of where you wanted to place it. Video quality and audio quality was good as it allowed for you to see with no problems and distinguish who was who and what was what and for the other end to hear you. I would recommend this camera for anyone that needs this type of solution.

It is never a good thing when a customer has to search online for videos on how to set up a product. Unfortunately the instruction packet provided is woefully short on many details - such as - how to get the camera to secure to the mount without falling off when hanging the camera upside down as it is capable of doing. After 20 minutes I was ready to pack the unit up, but I finally managed to slide the camera into the bracket and it secured. There was never a mention of having to slide it nor was there any mention on what was the correct way to install it. Two very tiny arrows are there, but no indication what the arrows were guiding you to do. Connecting the device to bluetooth was not easy easy. I followed the instructions and the only thing that was happening was the camera wanted to turn on its own. Once again I finally risked breaking something to get the product to work - I held the camera to hold the bluetooth pairing button hoping the unit would still work afterwards. I've had other products of this company that were easy to install. This is really horribly supported by instructions provided. Oddly, in order to mount the bracket to the wall you have to have the camera uninstalled - hence compounding the act of mounting the camera to the mount. Really awful design. App is totally useless - supposedly this is a pan and tilt, but trying to get this to position the camera to monitor the area I want was like pulling teeth. None of the app areas was clear to use or to set up. I cannot recommend this product - it is essentially a fixed camera which means I didn't need to replace the one I had. And apparently they also want to have you to subscribe and to pay for some services. One of the worst products I have tested all year.