Arlo Ultra Wireless Outdoor Home Security Camera System CCTV, 6-month battery, Alarm, Colour Night Vision, Weatherproof, 4K, 2-Way Audio, 4 Camera kit, With free trial of Arlo Secure Plan

I'll start by stating that overall the Arlo system has exceeded my expectations, it's a very well thought out design and I'd have no problem recommending it. However there are some things to know before you hit the order button.Their battery life estimates are very optimistic unless you live on Mars and never trigger the cameras at all. The fact that these are wireless is awesome but assuming you've a camera covering your front door and get post each day plus the odd delivery driver and next doors cat, you'll get about 3-4 weeks on a full charge. If you want to use the continual streaming in 4k internally you will need to wire it for power as otherwise you'll be charging it every few days. Great feature but doesn't play well with being wire-free. Unless absolutely necessary I'd switch off the spotlight feature, it eats the battery.The 'activity zones' work extremely well to define where the cameras should bias when looking for movement but I have found that if the defined area is at range, say 60-80ft from the camera, it can miss moving targets. I've had it fail to spot a deer walking across the field of view at that range for example. Below 60ft it seems very effective unless the moving object is very small within the frame, like a cat, in which case narrowing the viewing angle from 180 to 120 degrees improves detection quite a lot. Anyway, worth experimenting.The magnetic mounting kit is really well done, it allows a good range of viewing angles for the camera. Only note here, is that if the camera is at an acute angle to the mount it won't take much pressure for it to fall off. So test it a bit before you walk away - magnets can only handle so much force.Otherwise, setup was a breeze, the app is really good and the whole experience with Arlo has been magic.

I bought the 4 camera Arlo system in April 2019 shortly after its UK release. Like most people I’d read the amazing independent reviews coming out of both CES and from product sites that had been given early access. Everything about what this system is designed to be is exactly what I was looking for in a cctv system so I was keen to get hands on with the product.Having spent 2 years running this system as a cctv solution, I’ve grown to truly hate it and have realised that while this makes for a great gadget, it is a sub standard security solution.There are a range of problems that I have experienced with the Arlo Ultra system;> 4K. Ultra is positioned as a 4K wire free solution, however, the 4K only works when plugged into mains power (so not quite the wireless solution it claims to be) It is possible to store recordings in the Arlo cloud in 4K but this requires a monthly per camera subscription with Arlo. Access to cloud storage is offered in 2 and 4K with 4K being the most expensive. A 4K, 4 camera package will run at around £7 per month for 30 rolling days of storage.> Activity zones. This is a great feature of the Arlo cameras, but requires cameras to be connected to mains power to work. Again, this makes the system a wired, rather than wireless option. Users also need to subscribe to one of the above packages in order for activity zones to work.> CVR. The continuous video recording feature of Arlo is another strong feature, however, this can only be activated with a cloud storage subscription (£12.50 for 4 cameras per month and charged separately to the package that includes activity zones) which provides 24/7 storage for a rolling 30 days. Once again, this feature can only be activated with a permanent power supply rather than via wireless> Battery life. The battery life that I’ve experienced has been pretty low, where cameras are aimed at areas with a moderate levels of activity. As a result, I tried to use the solar panel charger (only good during very sunny days. No use where there’s any cloud cover, or during winter). As a result of the poor battery life I had to resort the wiring these cameras to permanent power to prevent having to change the battery’s every week> Base station. Ultra comes with its own base station. This cannot be used as a wider smart home base station (I.e cannot consolidate lighting or other smart home products into this) and needs to be permanent connected to your home router via Ethernet. The base station seems to be a real problem with the Arlo system. It frequently loses connection to cameras (despite nothing in the physical location changing) and will often randomly disconnect from the home WiFi causing gaps in security coverage.> Processing time. The Arlo system advocates instant alerts, however, it should be noted what this entails. In order to receive an alert the Arlo camera must observe an action, upload the action to the Arlo cloud, process the image and any trigger rules that have been set on the camera (I.e. notify if person detected), then push the alert to the end user. Even with super fast fibre broadband a a strong 4g connection on a mobile device the lag in receiving a notification is so significant that real time engagements with someone captured on camera is highly unlikely. Even when live streaming from the system, while at the same location as the camera, the “live” feed is displayed with a lag. Worth also noting that the implications of cloud processing here are that you must have a smart subscription with Arlo> Lack of support for local storage. Arlo’s base station allows users to add local storage via micro SD card, however, this appears to be poorly supported. Using local storage means that a user can store 4K images locally without a cloud subscription, but the functionality seems to be deliberately limited. No thumbnails or images appear for locally stored clips in the Arlo app (handy for quick review of what image might have been captured) and there seems to be no native way to access the local storage when you’re away from the property (or not connected to your WiFi network)> Support. Raising issues with the Arlo support team is difficult and complex. Basic issues take multiple contacts to address and will often drag on for weeks or even months. This is not sufficient where a security system has problems that need addressing.There are some great features to the Arlo system. When the solution works, it’s great. The 4K is clear, the night vision and spot lights work well. The app is pretty useful. The problem is that there are just too many compromises, disconnects, lack of coverage and wires required to make this system work as initially intended and advertised. The reality is that as a long term solution users will need to add a monthly subscription to an already expensive product.All in all this is a great gadget, but is not robust enough to be used as a security system.

There have been many small and niggly problems getting this set up properly.Many online chats and telephone conversations (free phone number) to Arlo support generally sorted them out over a few days. The support line is helpful and polite if not completely effective. Once you get through first line support the real tech people are much more knowledgable.However, over the course of about a week, I / we got the system functioning correctly bar a relatively minor but annoying software glitch.The Arlo Ultra cameras give a good picture quality.The batteries seem to be lasting well, 15days operating and battery capacity says they are down to 93% - 92% (I have four cameras).I can easily and reliably log into the system and remotely view the cameras across Wi-fi.Siren in the cameras are not particularly loud but would be an audible deterrent for any intruder.Light on the camera would also help to deter any intruder.Friends/family can be granted rights to view, arm and disarm the system.Overall I’m happy with the system so far. It has been operating for about a month now.Obviously the Ultra is an expensive system but I consider it to be fair value for money.