Arlo Essential Spotlight Wire-Free Indoor/Outdoor 1080p Security Camera - White

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] The Arlo Essential camera looks nice and unique with it's white body and black facade around the lens area. It's approximately the size of a hockey puck in size. This is my second Arlo camera being added into my Arlo ecosystem. I already own the Arlo Ultra 4K camera and smart hub. This was an easy way to have the Arlo Essential Spotlight added into my Arlo network at home. The app is easy to use to get the additional camera added in, and that process will take less than 5 minutes to do. The tricky part for me is the lack of distance that the smart hub can handle. I have a strong modem and router with broad coverage that works well in all of my 2400 sq. ft. home. I could not get this camera to connect properly to the smart hub to have an adequate signal.for a strong camera connection. So rather than putting the camera in the ideal security spot I wanted to, I had to settle for a different spot that would be closer in proximity to the smart hub. Not sure where the blame lies with this one, whether it's the Essential camera or the smart hub. Either way be sure to check the camera signal strength before you decide to place your camera in the designated spot. The Arlo app on iOS works well and is fairly easy to navigate. This camera displays in 1080p so it's a fairly clear picture you'll receive when it's wide, but gets very grainy and blurry when you zoom in. I also like the spotlight ability of this camera as an added deterrent to make sure that you can make others aware of its presence. I have my camera placed outdoors and it's weathered some rain already and continues to work well. The Essential camera is great for allowing 2 way audio to speak with someone on the other end in order to communicate with any visitors. The built in siren can be a good deterrent to make others aware that you're watching and help to alert nearby neighbors. One gripe I've had with this Essential camera is the Arlo claim of 6 month battery life. I have been disappointed with the lack of battery life in real world use. My camera ran for 5 days under the Arlo "Optimized" setting which allows for balanced video quality and battery life. 5 days of usage and experiencing a dead battery is unacceptable. I would hope that this is a product glitch or a defective product as one of the problems. I'm sure that no customer would want to be taking this camera off every week to recharge it with the supplied USB charging cable. One good thing I do like about this camera is that I get 3 months of cloud service to view recorded footage of motion activities. I don't like having to pay into an ongoing monthly subscription service in order to see any recordings. Just another money drain on your wallet by the manufacturers. Please offer an internal way for customers to view their own recordings with a micro SD card. PRO: Compact design Noticeable light and audio deterrent Free 3 month cloud video recordings CON: Battery life WiFi range connectivity Monthly subscription fees Video quality when zoomed in

I've had it about a weeks now and so far it's okay. When you get a notification about motion the app has a 2 to 5 minute delay before you can see the video sometimes. It synced up with my Google home app but it buffers for a new seconds to a minute before it shows you the live stream. The picture quality is good and so far the battery life is decent but not going to last 6 months on 1 charge. I got it, charged it, and installed it Dec 3rd and today Dec 10th and the battery is at 67% and thats with most of the notifications turned off but I do have dogs that run around my backyard so it detects them a lot

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I love the combination camera and spotlight. I have it over my garage and I’m able to see partially in may garage, both my cars, and my driveway very clearly. There is a bit of a delay but that’s to be expected on WiFi. Installation was easy and took a total of 30 mins altogether. That includes setting up the app and trying to find the best placement. The app has been easy to use so far. I’m still working through the modes and programming to make it right for my needs but it’s an easy adjustment. I have the competitor camera as well. I think with the light, I like this one better. I would definitely recommend this camera to anyone wanting to set up a new home security system.

Bought cámara at BestBuy in Chicago on December 2020. Camara worked great for the first 8 months… then I recharged it and now goes from 100% to 12% in less than 1 week!! In the pictures it was 13% on October 17th, charged to 100% that day and now today (October 23rd) is back down to 12%!

No disrespect to Best Buy because they immediately provided a free return shipping slip and subsequently reimbursed me once I returned the unit. So bravo to Best Buy for amazing customer support. I was hopeful about this unit after reading the reviews, and I'm sure this unit could be great, but I received a dud. The battery wouldn't charge to more than 85% after 24 hours of charging. Arlo's customer service tried to help, but in the end the unit was useless due to the defective battery. Plus, I didn't realize until later a monthly fee would be required to fully benefit from the unit once the 3-month free trial ended.