The Arlo Smart Home Security System – Ticks all the boxes

If you want a sleek, awesome looking nanny cam or home security camera that is easy to use, unobtrusive and water proof, then the Arlo Smart Home Security System might be the one for your family.

I will tell you right now that the features this security camera doesn’t have are 2 way communication, sound detection (it has motion detection) and pan & tilt, but if you are fine with that, then keep reading, because you are going to like what you see.

• HD crystal clear images.
• 720p Resolution.
• Requires the Arlo FREE app.
• 100% wire free design (really wireless).
• Requires 2 x CR123 lithium batteries.
• Easy magnetic mounting.
• Freestanding as well.
• Clear HD night vision (25 feet).
• View multiple cameras on the one screen.
• Zoom function via app.
• 110 degree field of view.
• Motion activated sensors.
• Customizable alert notifications.
• Supports up to 5 cameras on one network.
• Works with smartphones, tablets and PCs.
• Weatherproof cameras for indoor and outdoor security.
• Size: 5.08 inches x 9.42 inches x 11.7 inches.
• Weight: 2.93 pounds.
• Free cloud storage.
• Works with IFTTT and Samsung’s SmartThings app.

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The Arlo Smart Home Security Cameras are 100% Wireless

How often have you looked for a completely wireless nanny cam or security camera and there is not a good one on the market?

Well your worries are over, because the Arlo Smart Home Security Cameras are 100%, completely free from any wires.

This means that you can easily move your cameras around inside and outside your home without having to make sure there are any power points near enough to the camera. You can also place them in little tiny spots where you would never be able to set a mains powered nanny cam.

Instead of plugging into the mains power, like so many other nanny cams or security cameras you simply use 2 CR123a lithium batteries. Don’t worry that you will be forever changing these batteries, because you can optimize the battery life on the Arlo website.

On the app you will see the charge in the batteries, but customers have reported that they have had it powered up 24/7 for a month with alerts set for between 8pm and 6am and the batteries have only just needed replacing. The battery life really does depend on how often you record live videos, and online reviews are mixed – some saying that they last for 6 months and others for 1 month.

Customize motion alerts with your Arlo Home Security Camera

Whilst the Arlo Security Camera doesn’t have sound detection, it does have motion detection alerts that are customizable.

Using the Arlo app you can test whether you have found a good spot to locate your camera and whether or not it will easily pick up motion across its field of view.

This means that you don’t have to guess anymore and you can locate your security cameras exactly where they will be sure to detect motion.

You can also create schedules for arming and disarming each individual Arlo nanny cam and decide whether you want an alert SMS or an email sent to you if motion is detected, and whether you want each detection to be recorded on video.

If sound detection is important to your family, then check out the Nest Cam or the Piper Home Security System.

Night vision with your Arlo Smart Home Security Cameras

With the Arlo System you have crystal clear night vision with HD clarity, so you can easily see what is happening in the dark. This gives you complete security for your home, knowing that if anything that happens after dark it will be clearly caught on your nanny cams, inside or outside your home, even if it is raining outside.

Free Cloud Storage with your Arlo Smart Home Security Cameras

One of the benefits of the Arlo system is that you can automatically save all of your video recordings to the Arlo cloud.

These are the videos that have been triggered by the motion detection sensors and can easily be viewed via the Arlo app on your smartphone.

All Arlo cameras come with a free basic subscription plan giving you 7 days of cloud recordings (up to 1 GB), with the ability to view the recordings from the last 7 days for free. On this free plan you can also connect up to 5 Arlo cameras on the same system (but the 1 GB of storage has to cover all 5 cameras).

FYI: If you reach the 1 GB storage limit within 7 days, then no more videos can be stored on the cloud, until you manually delete older videos or until they are automatically deleted when they reach the 7 day limit.  

You can of course, upgrade your plan to store your videos for longer on the cloud.

Premier Subscription plan

• 30 days of cloud recordings.
• Up to 10 GB of storage space.
• Up to 10 cameras.
• Currently $9.99/month (or $99 a year).

Elite Subscription Plan

• 60 days of cloud recordings.
• Up to 100 GB of storage space.
• Up to 15 cameras. 
• Currently, $14.99 per month (or $149 a year).

Arlo Smart Home Security Cameras Customer Reviews

The one big factor that all Arlo customers love is that the cameras are wireless and you don’t find many of these around on the market.

This is without a doubt a huge selling point for this camera, but customers also love how easy it is to set up and that it is waterproof as well.

The fact that the Arlo Smart Home Security System doesn’t have 2 way communication isn’t a problem, because you can easily add the Arlo Q Plus camera to the mix, which does have 2 way communication. 

FYI: There are issues with the fact that the batteries need to be changed frequently and some customers have connectivity and buffering problems.

Summing up the Arlo Smart Home Security Camera System

Without a doubt, the Arlo Home Security Cameras are a fabulous find and ideal if you have been searching for a good quality wireless nanny cam for your home or even your office.

Even though it doesn’t have 2 way communication, sound detection or pan and tilt (and the zoom is one of those ‘pinch’ zooms you use on the app), I think that this is one of the better security cameras on the market.

Also, when I think about it, this Arlo camera doesn’t even have SD storage, but what it does have, it does well and it is WIRELESS, which makes up for a lot of sins. You can’t go wrong checking out the Arlo Smart Home Security System today, however if your heart is set on 2 way communication then check out the Arlo Q Plus (but you have to give up the WIRELESS connections or mix them in one network). 

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Read more of my nanny cam reviews, here.