Video Doorbell| Motion Detection Built-in Siren

10 reviews for Video Doorbell| Motion Detection Built-in Siren

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Amazon Customer – January 11, 2020

   First off let me start by saying, if you are saying negative reviews on this product the Arlo video doorbell you are seeing reviews of the audio doorbell. Somehow the audio doorbell reviews got mixed in with the video doorbell reviews. This doorbell does have a camera and it’s fantastic. I have been wanting a video doorbell for a while and almost bought a ring but I held out for the Arlo because I already have two other arlo cameras and I wanted everything to be in one place in terms of app access. The camera is beautifully designed and works great. I don’t even have incredibly fast internet and it reacts and notifies me within seconds. If I had one complaint I’d say that it’s a little large but it’s not really an issue. Don’t hesitate, buy it, you won’t be sorry.

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Matthew McClain – March 24, 2020

   This doorbell cam isn’t perfect, buts it has been exactly what we wanted. We have an echo dot in everyone’s room and you can set the doorbell to announce there is someone at the door on every echo dot in your house. So if you have a teenager that is in his or her room 24/7, they no longer can say they didn’t hear the door bell. Alexa announces that the door bell has been pushed throughout our entire home. You. An also have the doorbell call multiple cell phones when the doorbell is pushed. We have an echo show in the kitchen and that has been hit or miss to see the camera on the echo show but my kids can peek at the camera on numerous other devices, Apple TV app, iPads, and or their phones so they don’t even use the echo show to see the camera. Plus if you log into view the camera it stops recording ( so arlo you have to fix that bug)I have seen some people on here complain that they don’t want their videos being uploaded to the cloud, that’s their choice but if you want an app based security camera system that you can log in and see what’s going on then you have no choice, your videos will be on the cloud. Well unless you want to spend thousands on a security system and then maintain that system. Arlo is a great service that is free for five cameras or less. All the other doorbell cameras want a monthly and or yearly fee to view your cameras.It’s super easy to install, I had it working in less than 30 min.Update 01.19.20Arlo has announced that you will be able to record to an external drive and view that external drive recordings through the app. Which means, you don’t need to store your recordings on the cloud. Thats good news for all the people who wrote bad reviews based on videos being stored on the cloud.

3. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Malcolm – April 17, 2020

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    Now had the Arlo video doorbell up and running for a week, very impressed, video quality is good and the 2-Way Audio is first class. The doorbell alerts are spot on, timely, have set them up to activate my front and hallway Arlo cameras, this works really well, with all angles covered when someone approaches the property. Have even managed to get Alexa to announce ‘motion is detected on the Arlo front door camera’, which is a real plus so you know someone is out there, no matter where you are in the house. The Arlo Smart Premier seems good, you get three months free! this will help me really understand the benefits from the subscription service by then. Thanks Arlo a very happy customer….

4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   SlompOchomp – July 12, 2020

   I was an early adopter of the Arlo Video Doorbell and I am very pleased with this device. The device has been preforming well connected to my RAX200 router and I have not seen any downtime or disconnections. I have been ringing the doorbell many times and I have been getting the doorbell calls to my cellphones without issues as well as cloud recordings and I am pleased with the quality. I like that the doorbell has a Tamper Detection which triggers the siren if someone attempts to remove the doorbell; here is hopping Arlo will add this feature to their cameras. The Doorbell currently connects directly to your router and does not use the Arlo Smart Hub although using the Smart Hub will be an option in the future. The doorbell also comes with free 3 month subscription trial which is nice. I also heard from a little birdy that when the doorbell gets support for the Smart Hub that you will be able to use the Local Storage and have the videos save to that location. I also heard from a little birdy that the option to view your files stored on the Smart Hub through Local Storage will be viewable through the Arlo app very soon as well as some other new features to come. All in all I am pleased with the Video Doorbell and I like it better then the Audio Doorbell although I still like the Audio Doorbell because it does not need direct power and I can place it anywhere whereas this Video Doorbell does need direct power and uses you existing doorbell wires to charge the internal lithium ion battery.

5. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   SweetMagnolia24 – July 12, 2020

   I really like this doorbell. I’ve owned 2 Ring doorbells and after years of Ring, I decided to switch to Arlo. I could not be happier.First, setup was considerably easier with Arlo than with Ring. One would think setup is a single event, but it wasn’t with Ring. I constantly had WiFi and connection issues. I was routinely going through a new setup in an attempt to get it running. Arlo was a simple setup, and I have not had to revisit it once. I did have some stumbling through adding additional users, but tech support was super helpful and walked me through it.Second, I had my Ring connected with my Echo Show but it was incredibly unreliable and by the time it connected…whatever triggered it was long gone. Arlo was much simpler; however you do have to change it to 1080×1080.Third, and super important. Arlo, when sending alerts, will tell you what it’s detecting. “Person detected”, “Animal detected”….this is an amazing feature that I love. In addition, when it gives this alert it also prompts if you want to sound a siren or contact e911. Again, something that wasn’t an option with Ring.Fourth, you can narrow down your motion sensing field quite precisely. Not a generalized circular area. We have a very small front yard on a busy street, FINALLY, I can eliminate the traffic while still capturing the sidewalk to my porch.And last, the quality, both picture and speed are far superior to Ring. Again, I couldn’t be happier with the Arlo doorbell. Truly leaps and bounds ahead of it’s competitor.

6. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Vijay Singh – July 12, 2020

   For reference, I am a tech guy, and do smart home integrations, and was looking for something for my own home. I’ve owned Nest products (Google) and had a Ring doorbell on my previous home. While those products are great, I was looking for something with a little better Apple integration, and also, something where my data wasn’t going to Ring/Google for my cloud recordings.I did a lot of research and stumbled upon Arlo. While it’s not a very large company, it’s a growing company and has focused a lot of its products on integrating with Apple (homekit/video/etc).A few thoughts on the installation/setup process:- Install – The install on this was very simple, and comparable to Ring/Nest. A couple of things to note:(1) Arlo is NOT battery powered. You can get battery powered Ring doorbells, so keep that in mind.(2) You need 16-24V of power. Some older doorbell transformers may not have that, so check before you buy.(3) You need to install a power kit. It’s not complicated, but you do need to install a power kit on the chime unit of your doorbell. The instructions to do so are dead simple, but just be aware of that- Shape – Note that the Arlo doorbell is skinnier than some of it’s competition. As a result, I was left with a hole behind the mounting plate when I installed the doorbell. Ultimately, it wasn’t an issue, as I just filled in the hole with spray insulation and clear caulk, but it was an added step I wasn’t expecting- Setup – The setup was dead simple. The app walks you through everything. It failed to pickup wifi the first time (I live in FL and have impact glass), but then I just opened the front door and everything worked.- Usage – My wife and I love this. If we get someone at our door, it just calls us, and starts with an audio call (in case we are in bad cell phone reception), and then, if we want to see video, we have the option to push a button, and get live video. The video quality is high, and crystal clear. Also, the motion alerts are crisp (you can turn on zones, just like Ring).- Cloud – The one thing I don’t love about Arlo is that to get cloud recording, you have to pay their subscription. The subscription fee. It’s $3/month, but it enables 2K recording and also allows you access to features, like face detection. I’m still not sure if I will continue using the cloud subscription, but I have it for a 3 month free trial.- Customer Service – While I didn’t need this during setup, I did call customer service on an unrelated matter, and they were knowledgeable, friendly and picked up fast. AMAZING!@Arlo – If you are reading this – Please consider HomeKit Secure Video integration. That would just be the cherry on top of an otherwise great product.

7. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Clint – July 12, 2020

   Had been waiting for a Arlo to have a video doorbell, as I thought the audio doorbell would be useless. I kept contemplating before to install Ring or Nest doorbells, but really wanted to use the same app.So far so good. Took about 30 minutes to install with my existing mechanical door chime. Instructions via the app were simple, and easy to follow. Had an Arlo Pro 2 4 camera set up, for more than a year so this is a nice compliment.It does not give as much coverage as the camera I had placed above the door in the corner of the porch ceiling, but obviously able to see faces better due to the angle.Also due to my specific installation one side of the porch is not visible. My doorbell location is recessed with brick sticking out about a 1.5 inch on the opposite side of the door. This is not the camera’s fault or a design issue. Just a placement issue.Works as expected. Only been up for a weekend, but no surprises yet.

8. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Masha – August 1, 2020

   I conducted some extensive research on camera doorbells before choosing the Arlo. I looked at Ring, Nest and other companies out there to see which one fulfilled my needs. The reasons I went with Arlo are:- it’s super easy to install, the app instructions are great- i love how it can differentiate between animal, package, vehicle and person. I once left my dogs in the backyard not realizing the gate was open and when I saw my Arlo notification that there was an “animal” outside my door I went outside to find my pups standing on the front porch. I was very thankful for Arlo at that moment.- night mode is really clear- I love how you can choose your notification range. I highlighted my entire driveway ( i have a long one) so that it notifies me when a car is going down it.- i also really like the angle. It captures every package. One time USPS tried to deliver a large package but couldn’t because i wasn’t home. I was able to pause and zoom into the package to find out what was being delivered.- the biggest bonus and differentiator between the Arlo and other doorbells is the siren feature. It’s loud and can definitely startle anyone that’s near it. Makes me feel extra safe having it.

9. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Junior Lara – August 13, 2020

   After extensive searching and comparing. Finally decided for the Arlo video doorbell.The main feature is the ability to see more of a vertical view rather than a horizontal. Which, I my case, I am able to see my packages that arrive at all times.- The installation process was a breeze! Following the steps through the app is about as easy as it can get. The only issue I had was turning off the power for the door bell itself. Tried any and all breakers that could be associated with the doorbell, but no luck. It is to my understanding that I may be wire with the furnace depending of the wiring. However, some homes may have the correct circuit breaker. I continued the installation process with caution and was able to install with no issues.- The screw is about an 8 size. I used a 1/8” drill bit for the pilot hole. Worked perfectly.**Update to this part: found a super handy chart and I realized I should have used a different size. Regardless, the 1/8” it still worked for me.- The set up process of the actual video doorbell was also seamless. The app guides you in detail through every step and even offers solutions to problems you might encounter.- Video quality of the Arlo video doorbell is phenomenal. Keeping in mind that it is a small camera, it definitely surpassed my expectation. Having that vertical field of view rather than the horizontal, to me was a lot more beneficial.- The app notifies you of any movement within about 6 to 10 seconds! Once on the app you’ll be able to view the video clip. At first I was fascinated by this, however, I quickly grew tired of getting notified of every car that passed by the street. And that’s where this app is better than others. The Arlo app allows you to customize zones that you want to be notified when something enters that zone. I am able to get the side walk, all of my front yard to include my entrance and some of my driveway. Keep in mind that not all entrances face out directly to the street. The Arlo video doorbell comes with a wall mount that is tilted so you are able to get a better view, with doorbells that do not point to the street.- If someone rings your doorbell, the app will call you phone. In which you can communicate with the person outside and let’s you view the video as well. Furthermore, it allows you to leave your own customized audio message if you do not answer.- The only “negative” comment I have to say about this is the subscription service. But that is relative, let me explain.Arlo starts you off with a 3 month free trial, in which, you get all the benefits of having an Arlo doorbell. Such as, setting zones is your video so you don’t get alerts for every movement. It learn behaviors such as people, cars and animals. Cloud service for 30 days in which you can save clips. And plenty more! After your trial is over, all these features are gone and it becomes a regular video doorbell. Yes, you still get notified but you are not able to make certain adjustments.If you want to continue with the service there’s a fee associated with every Arlo product that you have to pay for. For example, if you have Arlo video cameras and Arlo floodlight then they are considered independent which you have to pay for individually. I will provide an update, but I believe that for the door bell it is $3.99.- Overall I would highly recommend the Arlo video doorbell. The installation and set up process was extremely easy coupled with the guidance of the Arlo app, it sets you up for success. Additionally, it is worth noting that after 3 months of the Arlo service subscription you will be given the option to continue the service. Meaning monthly subscription. Regardless, if you are in the market for a high quality doorbell and service look no further than the Arlo video doorbell.

10. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Scot4ever – September 29, 2020

    I’m writing this review because there are a good number of negative reviews that I feel are not the fault of the product. Let’s start with some basic requirements. 1. Your doorbell chime transformer must produce at least 16 volts. Anything less and you’ll have problems. Most transformers will actually have a voltage rating on them and can be found attached to your doorbell chime that you already have. 2. Good signal strength from your home network is a must. The Arlo doorbell connects to your home network so the better the signal strength the better it works. 3. If you have a low bandwidth service this could affect the timing of alerts reaching your phone. I have FIOS 500/500 and it works very well.Installation is a breeze if you have a little DIY skill. There’s not much instruction in the box but when you download the Arlo app and go into setup to add the doorbell it walks you through install step by step so download the app first, create an account and follow the instructions for installation. Once installed setup in the app will show you the options for motion sensing and zones etc. it took me about 30 minutes start to finish. One thing to be aware of; if you use the angle plate you’ll have to put the screws in at a slight angle too so they sit flush in the holes. If you don’t you’ll have trouble getting the doorbell to snap into place. I gave no stars for technical support as I haven’t used it so can’t comment.The picture is very clear. Motion notifications take only a few seconds to alert to my phone and I can see my entire entryway. I was a little worried about that as my old doorbell was a too low; probably about hip height when standing at the door but the view is perfect and I see the everything. Picture is high definition and not at all grainy. I love the ability to zoom in when viewing by simply using two fingers on my phone screen. I haven’t really tested the two way conversation with someone at the door yet. Some reviews online have said the doorbell feels “plasticky”. I don’t share that opinion. The unit has a nice weight to it and the price point is good. I’m intending writing an update after I’ve had it a while but for now I’m very pleased with quality and performance.