Arlo Essential Security Camera 2K | Outdoor - Indoor | 2nd Gen | Wireless with Spotlight, 2-Way Audio, Color Night Vision, Live Stream, Motion Activation, Real Time Notifications - White, 3 Cameras

I’ve been using the Arlo Essential Outdoor Camera for a few weeks now, and overall I’m quite happy with it. Setup was quick and easy—it connected to my Wi-Fi without any issues, and the Arlo app is intuitive and easy to use.The video quality is excellent, especially during the day. The 1080p resolution provides clear, detailed video, and the wide field of view covers a large area. The night vision also works surprisingly well—the image remains clear even in complete darkness.One of the best features is the built-in spotlight and siren, which can be activated manually or automatically when motion is detected. This adds an extra layer of security and peace of mind. The two-way audio is another handy feature that allows me to communicate with visitors at the door without having to open it.The motion detection is accurate, although it can be a bit sensitive at times. However, you can adjust the sensitivity and set activity zones to reduce unnecessary alerts.The only downside is that some features, like cloud storage and advanced object detection, require a subscription. But even without it, the camera offers solid performance for basic security needs. A great choice for those looking for a reliable and easy-to-use outdoor camera.

I have another very popular home security camera brand and compared to that I will say, the Arlo camera was superior.The camera quality is great it captures and NOTIFIES in real time. With my previous camera the notifications were late and lagged, the app didn’t open right away and when I need it to check what’s going on it always fails causing me to just look through the peep hole. The app for this camera has not failed me yet and when I need it to work it does, as requested, every time.The camera lights up at night using a high flashlight, but you can control the brightness on the app as well. You are able to speak into the camera through the app to communicate as well. You can listen and mute also.I stood in front of it with a red shirt and it sent me a possible fire alert which I honestly thought was absolutely amazing and gave me an extra feel of great security I didn’t know I was missing. That is a feature that as a parent, homeowner and just human with a dryer in my home gave me a huge sense of comfort. You do get a free trial to the subscription which is nice to not have to commit right away but instead get a feel and make the decision later. The camera is easy to install as it does come with a stand that you can screw into place in any wall of choice.Great quality at all times and weather.The Arlo home cameras and app are both absolutely reliable and I highly recommend.

There is some combination of settings I use in their app that will brick these cameras permanently with no ability to factory reset. I haven't figured out which combination of settings it is, but it seems that it might just be safer to keep the cameras at their out-of-the-box settings if you want to avoid bricking the product. This is garbage coding by the manufacturer. It's easy enough to return a new one, but you are out of luck (and money) if you brick an older one. Pretty cool business model to place a trap door in your firmware code that forces people to buy your product again.EDIT: figured out the trick to re-syncing these when you get stuck with the blue light long flash. What's happening is that when you have gone into the app and removed the camera, it can no longer connect to your wi-fi. The issue is that it is STILL creating and trying to upload recordings nonetheless. When you go to perform the reset and reconnect steps they wont work because you are handling the camera and generating new recordings by creating motion. The trick is to: 1. Make sure the camera is fully charged. 2. Set the camera on a shelf in a well-lit room, facing a static scene like a wall or at objects that will have no motion from things like shadows, movement or lights being turned on/off. Leave it here for whatever amount of time it needs to complete trying to record/upload. Wait until the long blue light flash stops plus some time for good measure. 3. Press the pair button on the camera for 3 seconds but do so while holding the camera perfectly still and not generating a shadow in the view of the camera - all of this while facing the static scene you created. This should give you the fast blue light flash we need. 4. start the "add device" process in the app. 5. the add device process will tell you this device has been previously paired and needs to be reset. 6. press the pair button on the camera again, this time for 15-20 seconds (or until you see an amber light flashing) - again, hold the camera perfectly still. 7. Wait until the amber light stops flashing, then press the pair button again to get the fast blue light flash. 8. tell the app to attempt to connect to the device again. This time the app should find the camera. 9. in my case, the app froze when attempting to name the camera. If this happens, close/terminate the app. Re-open the app and go into the settings for the camera you just successfully added. It will have an error message that "onboarding must be completed", click that and complete the rest of the setup if necessary.What a farce. This company needs to fire their developers and bring on new people to improve this code/logic.

I installed this Arlo Essential Outdoor Camera on my balcony and it gives me so much peace of mind, especially when I’m home alone with my baby. The picture quality is amazing, and I love that it works day and night. It’s battery-powered, so no complicated wiring. I already had the Arlo doorbell camera and adding this just completed my home security system. Totally worth it!

The video quality on this camera is excellent the 2K resolution makes a big difference compared to standard 1080p, and the night vision with the built-in spotlight works surprisingly well. The motion detection is responsive, and I like being able to talk through the two-way audio. Setup was straightforward, and the camera feels sturdy enough for outdoor use.The main downside is the battery life. If the camera gets triggered constantly by people, animals, or other movement, the battery drains much quicker than expected, especially if it’s not connected to continuous power. It’s manageable, but it does mean you’ll be recharging more often if the camera is in a busy area.Overall, it’s a great security camera with sharp video and helpful features.