I looked at all the many options out there and decided to go with the Arlo Essential Spotlight camera because it met all my needs. Wireless, motion activated spotlight, two way audio, good battery life and weather resistant. I purchased three to cover my home exterior and I am very happy with the product.

Activity zones should be polygons not squares. Battery life suffers due to imperfect activity zone settings. Monthly price for AI-powered notifications is steep. Cheaper Arlo essential subscription with week-long clip storage and AI-powered notifications would fill need without selling unneeded features.

I purchased this Arlo starter kit after researching numerous similar products. My requirements were easy integration of multiple cameras, IR “night vision”, 720p resolution or better, no dependence on an existing wifi network, and a reasonable amount of subscription-free online storage with file retention. Scripted actions—in Arlo’s case, via IFTT or Alexa—were an added bonus. Ruggedness was secondary, considering I’d be installing the system inside an apartment, but it’s good to know the functionality’s there if/when needed. I found at least some combination of these features in all the competing products I researched, and there’s definitely no shortage of such systems. It was ultimately Netgear’s cloud storage model, combined with lots of favorable reviews and a large user community, that prompted me to give this product a try. After using the system for a few months, I think the pros far outweigh the cons.The list of negatives is short. Battery life can be short, too. This problem plagues all brands and models of wireless cameras, and depends on a number of variables. Some of those variables (e.g., video quality) can be tweaked, but battery selection and prolonging battery life are beyond the scope of this review. Depending on where your cameras are mounted and how skilled you are with basic electronic mods/repairs, it’s possible to hardwire these cameras to a permanent power source. An issue which applies specifically to Arlo systems, but not Arlo Pro, is the lack of local video storage. Netgear apparently intended to include such a feature, hence the usb host port on the system controller. Unfortunately, that port remains unimplemented in firmware, and future updates won’t change that. That brings me to my last concern: longevity. While I haven’t seen any formal statements on the matter from Netgear, no new Arlo hardware has been released since the significantly more expensive Arlo Pro series. Nonetheless, Arlo is still featured on the Netgear site, and I expect Netgear to support the system for the foreseeable future. More importantly to me, I think original Arlo hardware will remain available for purchase for at least as long.Overall, setup was incredibly easy, requiring no network nor security camera installation expertise. I didn’t read the documentation, which is only provided in electronic format. Getting the camera unpacked was the most time consuming part of the process—really. Based on the dumbed-down setup process and my experience with routers marketed to the same audience (SOHO and home users), I expected the Arlo user interface might be severely lacking in features. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that isn't the case, and there’s even more you can do in conjunction with IFTT.My wife and I have found uses for the system beyond security, per se: we’ve discovered we’re huge dorks who love watching our cats interact in our absence. We've captured repeated video evidence of our kitten scaling a bookcase to pilfer paper cranes and stuffed animals.On a more serious note, we once noticed one cat had become sick enough to warrant abandoning our plans at that moment to head home and bring her to the hospital, which likely saved her life. Does Arlo deserve credit? Maybe not, but I hate to think about what might've happened had our system not been installed that day.

Arlo Essential Spotlight was an amazing buy. The installation was pretty simple DIY and easy to recharge. We had sto set activity zones to have some extra battery life. Apart from which this pretty much easily integrates with the entire home system and app.

Due to some young hoodlums in an otherwise fantastic neighborhood, my wife and I decided to put up a security cam at the front door. I did a lot of research...everyone seemed to like the Arlo, but I wanted to be a bit more cost efficient. I picked up the Belkin Netcam HD and hooked it up.Sort of.Then I immediately returned the Belkin Netcam HD. Setup was horrible. Took me fifteen minutes to get it all going. It's always a drag when you head to the app store to get the app and find it has 1.5 stars.I picked up the Arlo. The box is...huge. Setup was stupid easy: Connect to router. Plug in power. Download app (four stars!). Sync camera to base with the push of two buttons. DONE. It took me five minutes.The app is great. It takes a few minutes to get used to the layout and go through all the options, but it's relatively easy and once I had a command of the functions I found there's not much that Arlo can't do.I invited my wife so she could view the cam at anytime as well. She loves it.Indoors or outdoors, rain or shine, Arlo's got an eye on what's going on. I wanted wireless connectivity because huffing and puffing around an attic stringing wires and drilling holes through ceilings and walls is not, in my mind, a pleasant experience for the minimal amount of security camera service I need.You can set Arlo to record different lengths of time once it sees motion. These videos are uploaded to Netgear's cloud service through which you can oh-so-easily view, delete, download, or share your videos. You have 1GB of space available and you can tell Arlo to either delete earlier recordings or stop recording once it fills up. The best part of Arlo is that it's all included in the entry price...no monthly fees unless you want to add more than five cameras or save more than 1GB of video.You can view it in real time, start recording, take a picture, go full screen...it's glorious.As the package only includes two magnetic mounts, I bought the Arlo metal mount for $20...I wanted to attach the camera in a harder to reach place outdoors. A magnetic mount simply would not do. Arlo is NOT tamper proof, even on the metal mount, so you're not going to want to put it within easy reach of young hooligans, predators, terrorists, thieves, murderers, or pirates. They could definitely steal it.I've only had Arlo for a day so I cannot comment on battery life. CR123 batteries aren't the cheapest, but I'm assuming the energy bang for the buck must be decent as Netgear doesn't seem to be in the battery business and they would gain nothing from using the non-rechargeable CR123's versus rechargeable AA's. According to a response from Netgear the software has trouble reading battery levels in cold weather and there is a firmware update inbound that should fix the issue, so I will wait to comment until after the firmware update drops.,The final word: Arlo is the real deal when it comes to home security.I will update as necessary, but for this moment, Arlo is exactly what I was looking for in a security cam.

It’s too early to rate the battery life, but I’m hoping they last at least 6 months. I’m obsessed with the Arlo app,. every time I get a notice that there has been activity, I check out who’s stopped by.

I have used Arlo for numerous years. This is the latest addition to the devices and I am currently so far pleased with the direct charging option instead of a battery since I am utilizing it inside. If I was using it outside, I would prefer using a battery option that I could just swap. Quality and night vision are great so far and are better than my Arlo 2.

Among few other professional IP cameras, I own both - Arlo and Arlo Pro, and I use them all for security around the house. I have to say, Arlo's are my favorite cameras for a few reasons: for one, they are wireless and can be installed anywhere within the range of the access point. The picture is great day and night. I have motion alert enabled and I get no false alarms. Both camera versions are weather-sealed and I have no problem with the ones that I have outdoors under open sun and rain. I have never tried the feature, but I like to know that if I ever have to use the built-in siren, with its 100+ decibel, it will knock the socks off of intruders. I also like the Arlo app on my phone and the battery - is amazing: I have them protecting my house for about 4 months now, day and night, and still have 45% of battery charge left! I highly recommend the Arlo product! Oh, and if you ever run into a problem, the customer service is superb too!