Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I am writing this review after using my Arlo Pro 2 cameras for 30 days. The set up is truly quick & easy. My review will cover my experience with my Arlo Pro 2 cameras (used outdoors), as well as Arlo's customer service. So, I believe that anyone considering the Arlo Pro 2 should be forewarned that although the support services phone number for Arlo is a CA phone number, all calls are routed to the Philipines. Attempting to get help is very time consuming, frustrating, and practically worthless. Support is painfully scripted, and incredibly unresponsive. Arlo relies upon customers/subscribers using the community for FAQ's and to post and answer questions to troubleshoot issues. Ridiculous DIY stance for a top-rated and expensive item of such importance. An exercise in futility. You can independently confirm this by visiting the Arlo website, and even calling their support services number if you'd like. Also, aside from the excellent technology, consumer guide, and purchaser reviews for the Arlo Pro 2, one of the features that nudged me toward Arlo Pro 2 over a top highly-rated competitor was that there was a complimentary service plan. I like purchasing high quality items without having to continue making payments to use them. If you are like-minded you should be aware that there is a Basic Plan that is complimentary, but that to set up your system and account you will be required to submit your credit card data and agree to their terms and conditions anyway. If you don't provide this information and agree to their terms and conditions, you cannot get set up/use your cameras. The Basic Plan will not allow you to filter notifications by type of motion detected (vehicle, person, animal). This is fine if you are setting it up on your personal computer only, but most will want to install the Arlo app on their phone so that notifications are sent and received wherever you may be, and asap, as this will allow you to choose to view, speak, listen, dial 911, or sound the alarm in response to an issue. Without filtered notifications, you will potentially receive hundreds of notifications round-the-clock. You can, of course, turn notifications off and just randomly view your cameras and library of recordings, but this will contribute to the cameras not being very effective for home security purposes. At best, they will only record an incident, vs. helping to prevent or apprehend a suspicious person or criminal. So, when I set my account up and saw that Arlo was offering a 30 day free trial for the upgraded services that supposedly allow for filtered notifications -- the cameras will still record all motion, but you will only receive push notifications for the type of motion you have selected -- I upgraded to the Premium Plan. Although the filters were successful the majority of the time, in my case I only wanted to be notified of animals and people, because of the significant lag time between detecting and recording motion, the cameras sometimes only detect something as "motion" and do not specifically identify it. So, you will still receive notifications you have deselected. I mentioned lag time, and this is a hugely dissatisfying issue. I watched more than one YouTube review of the Arlo Pro 2 and it didn't seem the lag time was bad. In my experience, if the person, animal, or vehicle is moving slowly, the lag time is not bad, and the camera will usually be able to record the person, animal, or vehicle's movement and activity throughout the period of time they are within the camera's view and range. It is very important to know, however, that most people, animals, and vehicles are not slow moving. So, the recording of vehicles and people (and animals that don't circle or linger in the camera's view) most often only shows the vehicle/person/or animal for 1 or 2 seconds or less. No slow motion is available, and when you try to zoom to see features or details, they blur very badly so that zooming is pointless. Lag time causes recordings of vehicles/person/animals to magically appear at the center or exit point of the camera's range/view point. So, you don't know if the person that's briefly recorded has just climbed over the fence of your backyard, or if someone from that vehicle that's leaving the frame is the perpetrator of vandalism... Further, just as lag time in recording is an issue, there is lag time in notifications. Notifications are sent a minute or so after the recording. This means that vehicles/persons/animals that triggered the recording are usually out of sight, and God knows where, by the time a notification is sent. Another issue is that although the picture quality of the camera's view is nice and clear during the daylight hours if mounted outside, and good when used inside, that when used outside, the facial features of people more than 10' or so away from the camera are poor, and they blur very badly when zoomed. Same issue with license plates on vehicles, or even trying to zoom for make and model information. NIght time recordings when the cameras are used outside are very poor even of slow moving things and things that are within 10'. The overall picture will be good, but if you try to zoom to see specific features, forget it. Blurry and useless. Each camera's settings can be adjusted for sound, motion, and recording quality. Even when at their highest settings, voice recording for outside will be faint, and the recording quality will be as stated. Also, other reviewers have mentioned the issue with the cameras frequently going off-line. In my experience, the off-line periods are fairly brief, but? Not reliable if they're not working. Note that when you need to recharge the batteries that you may also have to resynch the cameras so that they are transmitting the picture. Make certain you check this prior to climbing a ladder and putting the camera up, or else you'll need to take it down, resynch it with the base stations and put it up again. Another issue is that I have a one story home, and so the cameras are only mounted at approximately 7'. I read reviews before my purchase and so I purchased the Netgear mounts that allow you to screw the cameras on vs. using the included magnetic mounts. My rationale for doing so was that I thought at least if someone tries to steal the camera, they will have to linger to unscrew it and hopefully I would have a good recording of them doing so for law enforcement. Even this is an issue, as Netgear warns that if you use non-Netgear mounts that it may damage the camera AND the warranty of your camera can be rendered null and void. However, when I read some reviews of the screw-type mounts, some of the users noted that the mounts rusted outside. This is an issue because it could damage the camera. I decided to take that risk, because spending several hundred dollars for cameras and having the warranty voided by using non-Netgear mounts seemed to be a worse risk. I will not elaborate, as I'm certain that the bad guys that we good guys are trying to keep from being a victim of also read reviews to know the vulnerabilities of security systems, but I will say that these cameras are very vulnerable to theft, etc. Another issue to note is that in order to use more of the Arlo Pro 2 features, the camera must be plugged in. Just as the magnetic mounts that are included in the box and more appropriate for indoor use, the cords that come with the cameras are solely for indoor use. So, I had to buy two Arlo Pro 2 compatible cords that are rated for outdoor use, and sets of cord covers. Know that you will need to purchase an upgraded monthly service plan to use the additional features available for when the cameras are plugged in. Battery life is good when the camera is not detecting anything, but when the recording quality and sensitivity for sound and motion are set on the highest setting, depending upon the frequency of recordings, the battery charge may last for a longer or shorter period of time. All in all, I'm incredibly disappointed and completely dissatisfied with the Arlo Pro 2 cameras. Between the lagtime frequently causing people/vehicles to not be recorded long enough to be specifically identifiable, the details blurring when zoomed to actually try to get a clear/better look at the people, inability to read/capture vehicle license plate numbers, and voice recordings being poor, I would love to return these very expensive and overrated cameras (I purchased them months before I used them as I ordered the cords, found and purchased the outdoor mounts, etc after purchasing the cameras and so it was too late to return them). I mentioned the upgraded plan. The last straw was when I was awakened by vehicle notifications I had opted out of. I tried to cancel the upgraded plan and the system repeatedly told me to try again. When I did so and was repeatedly unsuccessful, I looked for a phone number for billing. None exists. Live chat was not functioning. I called the customer service number I previously mentioned. It is supposedly only for tech support and sales, but the rep confirmed it is the only number. I was told as they constantly update the app that sometimes you need to make changes to your account on a computer. It appears I was able to make the change from the Premium Plan back to the Basic Plan by making the changes to my account from my computer, but doing so seems to have locked me out of using the phone app without logging in each time I want to view a notification. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was told that there was none available unless it was okay with me to hold for two or three hours. Yes, that is what I was told, and I saw that at least one other person in the Arlo "community" experienced the same. This billing issue, the lack of customer service, and the fact that even with the complimentary and bad Basic Plan one must provide their credit card information, has the potential to be a serious problem. I am the type of consumer that spends days researching professional product-specific reviews, as well as consumer reviews, prior to making purchases. I view product manufacturer information, watch YouTube reviews, etc prior to purchasing high ticket items. In conclusion, I'm certain that anyone having read this review will see that if you are looking for a reliable home security camera to be used outside, and if you desire a product that does not require monthly service fees to use more/most of its features, and if customer service and support is important to you, that Arlo is not the camera for you. I would recommend going to the Arlo website and accessing their support and community tabs and seeing first-hand what's there. I believe that doing so will lead you to the same conclusion. Arlo Pro 2 cameras are better than nothing, but much more expensive.