If you’re looking for the best wireless camera system for home security, you should take look Arlo. Arlo is a NETGEAR company that offer a range of wireless home security cameras and accessories that can help secure your home and keep your family safe.
Arlo products are well made and have a sleek modern design that should be easy to fit into your home. Arlo’s wireless security cameras and other products are designed to work together to provide complete security coverage. There are a variety of accessories available from the company, so you know they’ve been designed to fit the cameras and have the same quality.
Arlo’s designs are meant to fit innocuously into the modern home and they are easy for the average person to set up. All Arlo security cameras, both indoor and outdoor, have night vision. What’s really great about the Arlo security system is that basic cloud storage and access to all features are included with the camera, so you don’t have to pay for a subscription.
To completely personalize your Arlo wireless home security cameras, you’ll need to spend a bit more money to purchase various mounts and skins cine they come separate from the system itself. The wireless home security camera system is not cheap, either. If you want 24/7 recording, you will need to pay for a subscription service.
Here’s an overview of the Arlo wireless home security camera range and some of the accessories you can purchase to customize the system. Take a look at the features, pros, and cons of these Arlo products to see if they’re right for your DIY home security system.
1. Arlo Smart Security System
The Arlo smart Security system comes with 2 cameras and an outdoor mount. This is the most basic Arlo kit. These Arlo wireless security cameras are battery powered and have no wires. The batteries last 6 months. They record in 720p and are weatherproofed for indoor or outdoor use. The cameras connect to the Arlo app and record 7 days of footage for free onto cloud storage. When the storage is full, the oldest footage will be erased. This free service also includes support for up to 5 cameras. The app will send you alerts when one of the motion sensors on the cameras is triggered.
PROS
- It’s great to have a week’s worth of cloud storage without having to pay for security footage. If anything happens, you will easily be able to supply footage to the police.
- Having completely wireless outdoor cameras means that you can place these cameras in a variety of places.
- You can expand this system with other cameras. Depending on whether or not you want to subscribe to Arlo’s expanded service, you can end up with a very large wireless security camera system.
- The Arlo app has recently undergone some updates and has a really great user interface.
CONS
- These cameras are very easy for someone to steal. Arlo has put out a variety of accessories to help camouflage and secure these cameras (discussed further below), but that does cost extra.
- The cameras do not come with rechargeable batteries. They are another thing that Arlo sells that will cost a bit extra.
- Cold weather sometimes causes issues with battery life.
- Sometimes there is lag between the triggering of the motion detection and when the camera starts recording.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a smaller, decent set of cameras, these Arlo ones are a good choice. Having free cloud storage is rare for cameras of this quality. You will need to spend a bit more to properly secure them or expand the system, however.
2. Arlo Pro Security System
The Arlo Pro includes 3 cameras, 3 sets of rechargeable batteries, 3 wall mounts, and a base station with a built-in siren. The siren goes off at over 100 decibels. All the cameras included with the Arlo Pro have two-way audio, motion detection, and are fully weatherproof. You receive 7 days of storage with every Arlo system, but you can also expand that by attaching a hard drive to the base station if you do not want to subscribe to a larger storage package. You can program all settings and view live footage or recorded footage from the Arlo app.
PROS
- It’s great to have two-way audio. You’ll be able to see and hear what’s going on outside your home, as well as alert anyone that you are watching.
- These have a nice range of wireless connectivity, extending about 100 feet out.
- The mounts are magnetic ball mounts that you can screw onto almost any surface. They’re very easy to install and can be angled however you like.
CONS
- A spare set of batteries would be very useful so you could have a fully charged set on hand when the other set is getting low.
- The motion detection delay and potential theft issues are a problem for these cameras just like they are for the Arlo Smart Security cameras.
- Cold weather can cause green stripes to block the field of view.
Conclusion
The Arlo Pro is a good choice for your DIY home security system if you’re looking for a solid and fairly reliable wireless security camera system for a temperate climate. It’s not a great choice for colder climates. The wireless range is great, however, and makes this a great choice if you want a number of cameras scattered across your property
3. Arlo Pro 2 Security System
The Arlo Pro 2 has many of the features of the Arlo Pro. It comes with 2 cameras, rechargeable batteries, and a base station with 100+ decibel built-in siren. All cameras are weatherproofed and have two-way audio. These cameras record in 1080p. All elements of this wireless security camera system have been updated to allow you to set activity zones for the motion detection. The Arlo Pro 2 works with Alexa.
PROS
- A recent update allows you to subscribe to 24-hour surveillance. You’ll have to pay, but this was not an option previously available for Arlo wireless security cameras.
- Being able to set activity zones allows you to more effectively monitor your home.
CONS
- Some users have encountered issues where the camera will suddenly go offline and needs to have the batteries removed and replaced before it will start working again.
- You will only be able to access the activity zones feature if the camera is plugged in using the included power cables.
Conclusion
The Arlo Pro 2 is a minor improvement on the Arlo Pro. The resolution is better and the additional features are a good change. It is slightly cheaper, but it comes with one less camera and add-ons cost a couple hundred dollars.
4. Arlo Go
The Arlo Go wireless security camera has two-way audio, weatherproofing, and night vision. It supports both 4G-Lite and 3G wireless connection, but it also supports local storage with the insertion of an SD card. This camera is designed for security while you are traveling. Use it for mobile homes, cabins, campsites, and hotels. You get a free 15 minutes of cloud storage (since it’s designed as a mobile security system) with plan available to increase the amount of storage available. The batteries can be recharged by plugging the camera in.
PROS
- It’s nice to finally have a wireless security camera you can use when traveling to keep yourself and your belongings secure.
- This camera has a decent battery life.
CONS
- Pay attention to where you get your Arlo Go, as that will determine who you can use for your data plan: AT&T, Verizon, or Netgear.
- The data plans for this camera are very limited.
- Does not work with Wi-Fi.
Conclusion
If you want a wireless security camera that you can take along with you wherever you go, this is a decent option. The data plans are less than stellar, however. The picture is good for something that’s meant to be portable and it is very reliable once you can get the data plan working.
5. Arlo Q
The Arlo Q is Arlo’s indoor security camera. It records in 1080p, has two-way audio, motion detection, night vision, and requires AC power. Like all Arlo home security systems, you have a free 7 days of cloud storage. You can use a memory card to expand this storage or sign up for a subscription cloud storage plan. The mount is magnetic, can be rotated, and can also be mounted with screws.
PROS
- These cameras last a very long time and will keep working well the whole time.
- The motion detection seems to be better with the Arlo Q than it is with other Arlo wireless security cameras. You will get alerts very promptly if the camera detects something.
CONS
- You can’t really integrate this with your other Arlo security cameras. It uses the same app, but it operates by different rules. The two systems will function separately. They’re just controlled by the same app.
- Brightness changes sometimes cause false alerts.
Conclusion
These are some of the top wireless security cameras for indoors. They are well worth the price and probably the best of Arlo’s product line. The fact that they are reliable over time will more than make up for the cost.
Arlo Home Security System Accessories
Skins
The Arlo outdoor cameras are shiny and white, so camouflaging them is something you definitely want to do. You can get Arlo Pro and Pro 2 skins in black and camouflage. You can find black, green, camouflage, brown, pink, yellow, blue, and gray for the Arlo camera. For the Arlo go, there is a black skin and a camo one, as well as a more elaborate ‘hairy’ camo skins. You can also find a wide variety of third-party skins.
Mounts
There are a wide variety of mounts available for Arlo outdoor wireless security camera systems. You can get sleek quadpod mount, outdoor security mounts in white or black, a magnetic table and ceiling mount, and packs of magnetic wall mounts. Like with the skins, there are a number of third-party mounts available for just about any configuration you want.
Charging and Solar
You can get rechargeable battery packs and charging stations for all Arlo outdoor security cameras. You can also buy a solar panel for the Arlo Go and Arlo Pro
Conclusion
The Arlo security cameras are a solid option for your DIY home security system. The free cloud storage for all their wireless security camera systems (except for the Arlo Go) is a great perk that shouldn’t be overlooked. Being able to give the police footage of a home invasion or theft is a big help for investigation. The two-way audio options will also help secure your home. Arlo is only one option among many for a great wireless security camera system for home security. Take a look at other reviews we have on our website to see if you can find the perfect one for your DIY home security system.