Arlo smart security camera review

Editor's Choice: The Arlo Pro 4 beats competitors like Nest with its solid features and reliable performance. Here's what to know.

Arlo is one of the top security camera brands today thanks to the way the brand keeps making better products each year. We saw this first-hand with each new product we tested. It all started with the Arlo Wire-Free, a battery-powered indoor and outdoor camera. Then, it just kept branching out from there with an ever-growing line of wire-free, wireless, and wired cameras. To put all of its top products to the test, we take a look at the Arlo Ultra as well. Arlo offers high-quality hardware backed by a solid mobile app. But, it falls a bit short when it comes to pricing.

Arlo smart security camera review

An outdoor security camera can keep tabs on welcome and unwelcome visitors, package deliveries, and furry creatures helping themselves to a midnight snack in your garden. They can also be a powerful deterrent to prospective mischief-makers. However, after reviewing dozens of cameras over the past seven years, we have yet to find a perfect model. Some are hard to place, some need frequent charging, and others require a paid subscription to be most effective. It also works with more smart-home platforms than our other picks, including Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, and Google Home. This battery-powered camera captures clear 2K video. The video storage subscription adds the ability to detect people, animals, vehicles, packages, and general motion. This 2K camera offers excellent battery life, the option to store recordings locally or in the cloud, and the best array of customizations for the money. This camera offers long battery life, a clear 2K image, HomeKit support, and three options for storing video. Being able to store recordings in the camera is common, however we recommend saving video to the cloud so it can be accessed if power goes down. Wi-Fi cameras can catch action close to your house, but faces and license plates may be unclear—even great cameras may be fuzzy around 20 feet away. All smart cameras can detect motion, but some can also tell the difference between a person, pet, car, or package, and record or send notifications on which of those matter to you.

After spending some time with it in my own home, I came away impressed by everything Arlo's Home Security System has to offer. Arlo allows you to log in on only one device at a time.

Arlo's DIY Home Security System offers you tons of options for protecting your home, with a reasonable starting price point. Arlo is mostly known for its popular security cameras , but the brand sells a DIY home security system , too. It's a simple, straightforward system that works with Arlo's cameras but doesn't require them. It also doesn't need to be professionally installed -- I was able to set it all up in minutes myself. There was no drilling or hard-wiring involved, and the Arlo app walks you through the setup process. After spending some time with it in my own home, I came away impressed by everything Arlo's Home Security System has to offer. Unlike most security system sensors, each of these tiny devices is capable of performing a number of different functions.

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Arlo smart security camera review

If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more. There is plenty to consider when you shop for a security camera. But two things elevate the best outdoor security cameras : video quality and notifications. Crisp picture quality and graceful handling of different light levels, combined with rich notifications based on accurate detections, are a recipe for security success.

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They can detect motion; doors or windows opening or closing; water leaks; temperature; tilt; ambient lighting; and the sound of a smoke or CO alarm. Purchasing a cloud subscription is another good fail-safe against theft, as all your recordings are stored safely online. It records 2K video and has a wide, degree viewing angle. While this means you need to buy a flash drive to store footage, it lets you buy more storage as you need it. While it costs a few bucks, we still suggest you sign up for Arlo Smart though. On the other hand, to take advantage of Apple HomeKit which Arlo technically does work with , you'll need a separate Arlo device called the SmartHub. You'll control your system through the Arlo Secure app, which lets you toggle between three separate arming modes; view camera feeds and clips; check the status of your multi-sensors; or craft automated rules for when the system should automatically arm itself. Despite those top-shelf features, it has a lower cost of ownership than our top pick. How to Clean Your Home Security Cameras by Rachel Cericola You should occasionally clean your Wi-Fi cameras to keep them free from dead bugs, water stains, and other debris that might alter their function. Arlo Pro 4 Security Camera Review A rock-solid security camera with a mile-long list of features: Is it worth the cost? And speaking of the delivery guy, the Arlo Pro 4 is going to be able to tell the difference between the UPS guy coming up the path and a stick blowing in the breeze in the frame. But faces and license plates may start to get fuzzy around 20 feet away—and that number could drop substantially depending on lighting conditions. Arlo might have an edge with its unique 8-in-1 sensors, which make for a more flexible system that you can reconfigure as your needs change. Otherwise, it's our favorite outdoor smart cam on the market. Just like all three cameras let you store footage on a local drive, all of the cameras have speakers and mics that allow for two-way audio.

Editor's Choice: The Arlo Pro 4 beats competitors like Nest with its solid features and reliable performance.

And today, you can buy huge flash drives with up to 2 TB of space. The competition. That means it can stand up to solids like dirt that can blow in the wind at your new camera. When it comes to video, the Arlo Pro 3 wins. Even without a subscription, this camera can distinguish between motion, people, vehicles, and pets. The Arlo Pro 4 is definitely the type of camera you can set up and trust to do its job. It can even handle low-pressure water jets thanks to its strong housing. Arlo Pro 4. We saw this first-hand with each new product we tested. Note that we strongly recommend doing so. Quick-to-load live feed.