What is it? – One of the most popular security camera/monitoring packages currently in stores, Netgear’s Arlo has overtaken DropCam in terms of sales in the crowded camera space. Netgear is an established home networking company with a long track record, so we’d expect a reliable web-connected camera solution from the firm, and the Arlo doesn’t disappoint.
Arlo includes wireless, weatherproof, battery-powered cameras that come with adjustable magnetic mounts that can be easily repositioned for optimal viewing. Arlo comes packaged with 2 cameras and a control hub, which starts at $330.
Is It 50+ Friendly? – The Arlo app is easy to use and provides reasonably clear views of what’s happening at home—or at a second home. The wireless cameras include night vision and deliver a 720p picture, which is not the highest resolution available but certainly adequate for detecting intruders, including in my case small furry marauders in a dark basement.
Plugging in the Arlo hub and setting up the cameras is a relatively painless, smartphone-based process. The Arlo app (Android or iOS) is straightforward, with individual windows for each camera view; recordings are listed by date in a timeline. Arlo can also be accessed using a Web browser on any device, a handy feature and an option some other cameras lack. Many only work with a smartphone app.
One additional advantage of the Arlo wireless cameras is that they offer better range than most Wi-Fi connected devices I’ve tested, reaching far-flung basement rooms that other systems failed to reach. Moreover, the home network I tested Arlo on over the course of several months had a habit of crashing (either due to ISP problems or electrical outages). But in nearly every case, Arlo easily reconnected on its own once the network came back up, a definite plus for anyone trying to monitor a second home that is hundreds of miles away.
Frustration Factor – The wireless Arlo cameras detect motion, but not loud noises and have no built-in microphones (if you want audio, the wired $220 Arlo Q offers two-way communication and a sharper, 1080p picture).
Furthermore, the Netgear Arlo cameras use a unique wireless protocol (rather than Wi-Fi or Bluetooth), which means to connect the cameras to your network you have to add a supplied Arlo hub that plugs into an Ethernet port on your existing Wi-Fi router. If you don’t have any thing else on your network, that shouldn’t be a problem, but if you’ve already added other hub-based or Ethernet connected systems (such as Wink, Wally, or Lowe’s Iris system), it can start to get crowded.
The other downside is that each cameras uses four disposable 1.3-volt lithium batteries. If you put the camera in a space where there’s a lot of traffic or motion, those batteries are going to drain down within a few weeks. The problem: the batteries are $8 or more each so that replacing them in just two cameras will set you back at least $64.
Is it Worth the Money? – If you’re planning to install two or more cameras to monitor your home, the Arlo system is competitively priced, especially considering the fact the cameras are wireless and can be placed outside. Furthermore, Netgear does not charge a monthly fee for recordings or alerts with its basic plan, which supports up to 5 cameras and stores recordings for up to 7 days (up to 1 GB total). If you want more extensive monitoring, premium plans start at $10 a month for up to 10 cameras with 30 days of recordings (up to 10 GB).
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