Customer Ratings & Reviews

I've long been familiar with Arlo wireless cameras, but have never personally owned one. That changed when I got my hands on the Essential XL Spotlight Camera. With 1080p video and on-board spotlight, alarm, and two-way audio, this little device kind of exceeded expectations. PROS No Wires, No Fuss - The setup is very. There are no wires to hassle with and no base station bother setting up. All you need to do is charge the battery and connect it to your WiFi. Bulky - The camera is a bit larger than I expected, making it a bit hard to conceal it outside in my setup. I was able to find silicone covers on Amazon to change the color from white to black, so that also helps with concealing the camera. Mounting - The camera comes with a couple of mounting options, but none of them worked for my setup. I ordered a magnetic mounting base from Amazon and it helped with my needs. Regardless, this thing can fit almost anywhere with the provided mounting options or third-party. Battery Life - This camera is rated at up to a year battery. I've only been using it for about two weeks, so there is obviously no dent in the battery life. It does seem very promising though as long as I've been using the streaming and stuff since first installing it. CONS Alarm and Light Not Very Bright - The alarm is clearly audible, but not nearly as loud as like the base station alarm of my Nest Protect. While it's kind of disappointing, you can still hear it and it will hopefully grab the attention of any bad guys and scare them off. The spotlight is pretty good, but it could be brighter in my option. Overall, both the alarm and light do an okay job given the small packaging and battery. Delay - There is a slight delay in notifications from when there's activity and when the notification reaches your phone. FINAL THOUGHTS Overall, the camera turned out to be better than I could have expected. The setup was straight-forward and there are no special hubs or base stations to mess with. Cloud recording is available through the Arlo Smart service. I think this would be a great solution for anyone who doesn't want to mess with a base station and only needs a camera or two for monitoring.

it's ok to use it for now but the video is buffering and slow and the night vision is not as promised.

I'm sorry to say, this is an awful product. It doesn't do what it says it does. The Activity zones aren't working as they should. I should only get motion alerts when there's motion inside them. It seems to insist capturing anything in motion inside the video frame without consideration for the activity zones. I also set the smart notifications for people and animals only. Yet, it still sends me any kind of motion. Most of the time, I don't see any object in the frame except plants and a small banner, yet when someone runs across the activity zones, it doesn't detect it. It spends a lot of battery power. Product label says up to a year of battery power. But with the way it runs, it only lasts three weeks! I am waiting to hear from Arlo about this.

I bought this to watch over my livestock in labor and it has worked great! I turned down the sensitivity just because animals move alot and I was able to watch over my animals even away from home. The picture and sound were great and it was very user friendly.

I've had Arlo cameras for several years and have always been pleased with how they work and how easy they are to set up and monitor. I upgraded to the Essential XL spotlight version and wow! I didn't think I could have a better experience, but I was wrong. Even easier to set up and the video quality and night vision are both top notch! Longer battery life is definitely a big plus too.

Worked great for about a week then we started to have connection issues to our Wi-Fi. We have other devices connected to the Wi-Fi without issues.

I would give this camera zero stars if I could. It's completely useless and a total waste of money. Installed the camera a week ago and it keeps disconnecting from my wifi. There is nothing wrong with my wifi and the connection is strong. First thing in the AM, I'm climbing out on my roof for the umpteenth time to deal with this camera. Only this time, I'm removing it and returning it to the store. One more thing...I found a hairline crack at the bottom of the camera. Never buying anything from Arlo again.

I had fears of leaving my home with little to no security in place other than the traditional locks on our doors and windows. Arlo made me feel safe to be away and provides me with peace of mind. I love the features- microphone, alarm when movement, and how it sends me alerts straight to my iPhone when there is movement. Detects differences between my dog and actual humans too. I appreciate the different settings available as well, like: arm when away, arm when at home, and stand-by. Not to mention it didn't break the bank either! Very satisfied with Arlo. I would recommend them to anyone.

Got the Arlo essential xl to mainly be able to keep an eye on a pet turtle. Box contents are the camera, mounting bracket, screws, charging cable and a couple of small information pamphlets. Plugged in camera to charge and while waiting downloaded the arlo app. Setup was a breeze taking roughly 5-10 minutes to setup my account connect to WiFi and setup the camera! Was easier than setting up my smart led bulbs lol. I have only viewed video on my phone but I am very pleased with the picture quality in both daylight and night vision. I like that there is a siren that can be set to go off manually or automatically. As well as the 2 way speaker/microphone. Although I won’t be using these features in my current use of the Essential xl it’s good to know that they are there if I need them. If your looking for a security camera that has good features and is easy to setup I would suggest taking a good look at the Essential XL!

I was able to setup and install in about 15 minutes, the video quality is excellent and the field of view is really nice. The two way audio quality was clear and the interface with the phone, for alerts and video viewing was easy to use. We are very happy with this camera.

Easy to install and use, clean picture and great sound quality! Love the rechargable battery and it doesn't compromise the quality of my wifi!

This Arlo Essential XL Spotlight Camera does the trick with its long life battery (up to 1 year) and clear image quality. For those not requiring super zoom or higher fidelity images, this is a great deal from a reliable home network equipment company. I replaced an older Arlo camera which was used for 5 or 6 years and required monthly charging or an AC power supply, and this one is far better quality and the built-in battery eliminates the hassle of constant interruptions to change batteries. Very good quality and ease of use.

Total piece of crap. Stopped working after 3 months. Arlo has the worst customer service I have ever experienced in my life. I’ve been trying for months to get them to honor the warranty and they are impossible to speak with and will not let me return it. I’ve been using their original cameras for years witty no issues but the spotlight camera is junk. I will never purchase anything from them again.

I already have a few type of camera system in my home. Swann for the exterior and wansview (amazon) for the inside. I also have a ring doorbell. With all these system, I can tell you that the Arlo Essential is a good camera but not great. I think because there is a lot of options out there that cost a lot less. The set-up was a bit tedious but the install of the camera itself was a breeze. I think if you use all Arlo cameras, once you set-up the app, the rest of the cameras will be easy. The quality of the camera for both day and night vision is good. Being that the camera is only 1080p, my camera was set-up pointed in my driveway, it was ok. Clear enough to recognize people at about 25 feet. Better than my Ring. If you want to record or see anything further, would not be good. Zooming in further becomes blurry. Battery life is ok but not great. My camera though is pointed in a high traffic area, so I can't complain too much. The app has many many features. More than I care to deal with. It is also quite a bit of delay, a little longer than any of my other cameras. This might be a deal breaker for some. I did not like this. The audio was really good though. But I would never use this unless I was yelling at an intruder. I don't hate this camera, I just think that for the price of this one camera, you can buy a few lesser brand camera's with almost the same features. The only real advantage that I can see is that this can be installed anywhere and has a decent connection. Would really be helpful for someone who is looking to cover an area where wiring would be tough. Also, if my whole house was on the Arlo system, I might feel differently.

Constantly disconnecting and not recording. Blink cameras work much better. Big and bulky. Not impressed.

Camera states battery life is up to a year. I understand it may with zero use but why. After fully charging the camera and mounting it outside it only last for 2-3 weeks max. A with zones only in driveway. It dies supper fast fast them the original arlos I have. Don't waste the money

This item didn’t sync WITHOUT my base station as it was sold to me by the salesperson, I Just noticed it stopped recording, at least 1 hr 4 me to unsuccessfully try to fix it. I believe, It’s not worth the money used to purchase it. I have several earlier models that still work, non was in stock, salesman suggested this 1.

This is a good "Basic" camera that integrates with the Google/Amazon ecosystem (Homekit requires the Arlo Hub) Camera quality is at 1080p (which in my case it just fine) and battery life (at least for the XL) is great. Again, this is a basic outdoor battery camera that delivers good results, I do find the App cumbersome a bit (it needs more optimization) but you can view the cameras though the Google Home app or the Echo App. For $150 it's not bad at all but don't expect super high-res video from them.

Love Battery life. Easy set up. Easy to install. Spotlight works great.

Didn’t bother to hook it up. Different than my other Arlos so returned it.