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All About Our Arlo Cameras

You've been asking and it's finally here! Below is our guide to a smarter + safer home with Arlo! We've covered every topic you can imagine and have given our complete review that is 100% our opinion. This is not a sponsored post! We've given you both the pros and the cons, the rest is up to you!

Scroll to the bottom of this post for shoppable links. You can receive your new cameras in two days thanks to Amazon Prime
(Click here to try Amazon Prime for a discounted rate!)

WHERE/WHY WE USE THEM
When we moved from our downtown apartment to our house a bit further off the grid two years ago we knew we wanted to add some sort of security system to our home. It was really for peace-of-mind to be honest. There's just something so comforting about having protection plus everyone should feel safe in their own home right?  We have them on every corner of our home both inside and outside and always feel like we know exactly what's going on around our property. 

ASTHETICS:
They are sleek and pretty much go unnoticed by guests in our house unless we point them out. They are small and compact so they don't stick out from the wall very far and fit into even the smallest of corners. The best part? Because they are battery powered, no ugly cords! Additionally, Arlo has launched skins (linked below) to change the color of the base making them fit into and around your home a little easier.

PEEP THE PHOTO BELOW!
There's TWO Arlo cameras in this shot. You tell us how easy they are for you to notice if you're not looking for them. Also note how high they are. Someone would need a ladder to reach them!


BATTERY vs WIRED
For some this will be a pro; for others, this will be a con. For us, it was both. We love that we have the ability to move these with us when we eventually buy/build another home. BUT, if you live in a high-traffic area and have cameras, the batteries aren't going to last very long. We ended up wiring our outside cameras (running them to power outlets) so we weren't changing batteries every week. Our inside camera batteries last months because there isn't as much traffic on them. With that being said, we don't mind breaking out the ladder once in awhile to change all the inside batteries. If you are looking to change zero batteries, you will either need to place them somewhere near a plug, run your cords behind the wall, or look for a company that will completely wire everything in for you.

Here's a video of Eddie changing the battery (after about 2 months of use) on our front porch. It's such a QUICK + EASY process!



USER FRIENDLY APP
It's easy to install and easy to navigate also. When you open the app all of your cameras are ready to be watched live in an order you've selected for easy navigation. At the bottom of the app you will also see "Library" which is where your videos will be stored for viewing at a later time. Depending if you are in the free plan or paid plan, these will last a different amount of time. For us, we have a 3o day viewing history window for all cameras. We fall into the Arlo Smart Premier Plan but know this is not necessary! More on monthly/yearly pricing below. Next you'll see "Mode." This is where you can manually change your cameras back and forth from AWAY to HOME or you can set a geofencing schedule to automatically turn the system to away mode when you leave the property. This is the mode we have been running since we got them. Not going to lie, sometimes it doesn't work as well as we'd like but it's easy to hop over and change it to the correct mode. 

*Important Note: You can also access the Arlo platform on the web. It's just as user-friendly but the app wins in the convenience category. *
VIDEO/PHOTO QUALITY
This is going to vary based on what generation/model of cameras you purchase. We ALWAYS recommend going with the newest and best option because technology is always changing and getting better. We started with the Arlo Pro and loved them. The quality of the photos/videos were great...then we upgraded when we decided to add additional cameras to our property. The Arlo Pro 2 is even better than the previous version and now, they have the new Arlo Ultra which I can only imagine is incredible. You can see some of our favorite videos we've captured to date. Get ready to laugh! 




PRICING // STORAGE PLANS
First of all, these cameras aren't cheap but Eddie did lots of research and we landed on Arlo because we would have the ability to pay for storage ONLY IF WE DECIDED TO get more than the allotted amount of cameras. If you fall in the free category you receive 100% free cloud storage for 7 days. SO, that meant only the upfront cost of the cameras! It was a win/win in our book. We fall in the Arlo Smart Premier Plan and opted to pay a one time yearly fee for a discounted rate. If you choose to pay monthly, the pricing is listed below with details on what is provided in each plan. So, CON: pricey. PRO: could be a one-time purchase versus a constant monthly bill where you are just "leasing" your cameras. REMEMBER, you can take these with you if you move!


ADDITIONAL ARLO PRODUCTS
Arlo also sales additional add-on products like a baby-monitor, security lights, doorbell, and mobile camera. You can also find products on other websites that say "compatible with Arlo." We tried a solar panel and unfortunately it just wasn't strong enough to power the cameras so we highly recommend ordering Arlo authorized products only. 

LINKS TO BUY:

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