Arlo Pro 2 Add-on camera price – is it battery powered?

What is the Arlo Pro 2 Add-on camera price? Is it worth buying? Arlo Smart adds powerful intelligence to your Arlo cameras. Customize alerts to detect people, specific zones, and contact emergency responders right from your smartphone’s lock screen. Watch and record crisp HD video in more detail than ever before. Wide-angle PIR motion sensors make sure no movement goes unnoticed. Get more in Arlo Pro 2 Add-on camera review.

Pros & Cons – Arlo Pro 2 Add-on camera

PROS

• Excellent-quality 1080p video.
• Weatherproof.
• Rechargeable batteries.
• Supports IFTTT and Alexa voice commands.
• Pre-buffered video recording.
• Continuous recording capabilities.
• Free and subscription-based cloud storage.

CONS

• Expensive.
• Requires hub (included).
• Many features are only available when plugged in.

What specs are you getting at this Arlo Pro 2 Add-on camera price?

• Camera Arlo Pro 2
• Price $220
• Field of vision 130°
• Resolution 1080p
• Zoom 16x
• Two-way audio Yes
• 24/7 recording Yes
• Night vision Yes
• Cloud storage Yes
• Local storage Yes
• Battery or Wired Battery

Arlo Pro 2 Add-on camera price

I like that the Pro 2 is battery-powered like the $200 Canary Flex, but you have to pay for person alerts (whereas Canary offers them for free). At the same time, the Pro 2’s 7-day free cloud storage is much better than Canary’s 24 hours. The Pro 2 doesn’t have as many features as the facial-recognition-enabled $349 Nest Cam IQ Outdoor, but it requires a power adapter to work. Be sure to check out this roundup to learn even more about the other outdoor security cameras available today. 

Arlo Smart Premier: $10 per month for person detection, motion zones, rich notifications and e911. The Premier service also extends the video storage period from one week to 30 days. It works with up to 10 Arlo cameras. 

Arlo Smart Elite: $15 per month for person detection, motion zones, rich notifications and e911. The Elite service extends the video storage period from 30 days to 60 days and it works with up to 20 Arlo cameras. 

What is the key feature at this Arlo Pro 2 Add-on camera price?

• 1080p HD video for super clear live streaming and recording
• Wireless setup so you can place cameras at a distance without worrying about their proximities to power outlets
• Weather resistance so that the cameras can be placed outside
• 2-way audio so that you can communicate with anyone from inside or outside of the house
• Local and cloud storage to review footage and store recordings
• Mobile alerts to be notified when something is happening in the area that you are recording
• Geofencing so the camera knows when to arm or disarm itself based upon whether you are in its vicinity
• Smart siren to alert others of an emergency or to scare off intruders

Compare Arlo Pro 2 Add-on camera price vs Canary Flex

Arlo Pro 2 Add-on camera review

Design

A magnet embedded in the rear of the enclosure allows you to attach the camera to the round metal mounts or any metal surface, or you can just place it on any flat area. It weighs 4.8 ounces, and has a glossy white housing that meets IP65 waterproof standards. 

These cameras have a nice sleek design with a white plastic exterior. In the front, you’ll see their shiny, black faces, each with a recessed lens. Their size? The manual says they are  3.1 by 1.9 by 2.8 inches (HWD) so they aren’t super large or anything- they shouldn’t be difficult to hide.

 Mounting

You can mount these cameras on a metal ball mount magnetically or using a 1/4″ screw mount same like you would use for a camera. The cameras come with a metallic hemisphere that you can hang on the wall and then mount the cameras magnetically on it but that is meant for indoor use.

Connectors

I found two buttons on the cameras. At the back of the camera, there’s a button to access the rechargeable battery and at the front, I found the button that allows you to sync the camera to the Arlo hub.

I also found the USB-C port for charging, the mic and speaker for two-way audio, the threading metal for wall mounting, and two indicator lights that tell you whether or not you are properly synced up.

Base station

The base station that comes with the Arlo Pro 2 cams is a required accessory. It has a built-in siren and connects to your router, but seems highly unnecessary. Current Arlo users with a compatible base station can buy single Pro 2 cameras for $220 each. There’s also a four-camera Pro 2 kit (with a base station) for $800.

Arlo told me the base station is a “battery booster,” but I’ve seen no obvious proof of this. Its siren isn’t particularly useful either. Having a siren go off inside when you’re most likely using the cameras outside to scare away wildlife or potential intruders isn’t helpful. 

Camera

The biggest upgrade here is the camera’s ability to stream and record 1080p video (the original Arlo Pro topped out at 720p). Otherwise, it offers the same 130-degree field of view and speaker and microphone array for two-way audio communication. Six infrared LEDs provide up to 25 feet of night vision in black and white, and the camera offers an 8X digital zoom.

Activity zone

It has the addition of Activity Zones that allow you to zero in on a specific area of the camera’s field of view so that only motion in the zone will trigger a recording and alert. However, in order to use the Look Back and Activity Zones features, the camera has to be plugged into an AC power source.

Arlo Pro 2 Add-on camera setup

Installing the Arlo Pro 2 is super easy (especially if you choose the wire-free, battery-powered route). It’s pretty much a plug-and-play system. To set up an account, you’ll need to download the Arlo smartphone app.

Once you’ve created your account, check to make sure the base station is powered up and connected to your router—look for the little green LED lights for confirmation.

TipYou’ll need to connect your base station directly to your router using an Ethernet cable (included).

It’s worth noting that your base station has to be within spitting distance of your internet router. (Or rather, within Ethernet distance.) Our router happens to be down in an unfinished basement, so it’s not in an ideal location.

Syncing your Arlo system with your account is pretty easy, Choose “Add Device” in your Arlo app, and your base station should automatically connect to your account and show up in the app.

To add cameras, insert the battery pack into the camera and then press the sync button on both the base station and the camera you wish to connect. It should take only 10–30 seconds for the camera to sync with the base station. Rinse and repeat for subsequent cameras.

The whole process takes around 15 minutes, and that’s if you’re fiddling with a spiderweb of ethernet cords in the basement like we were. All in all, it’s a super easy setup.

Arlo Pro 2 Add-on camera App

Get started by specifying the system mode in the app — armed, disarmed, schedule or geofencing. From there, you can customize whether each camera records video and what type of alerts you receive. You can get push notifications and emails. For example, when my system is armed, I want both cameras to detect motion (but not sound), record video and send me a push alert (but not an email).

If you’re getting too many (or too few) alerts, you can adjust the sensitivity of each camera. And if you pay for Arlo Smart, you can specify if you only want to receive person alerts rather than alerts every time any motion is detected. I found the cameras were good at differentiating between people and everything else, and they send prompt alerts.

Other feature

It’s easy to create zones, too (only available with an Arlo Smart subscription). Log in to the Arlo web app, select a specific camera and customize up to three zones. 

The two priciest Arlo Smart plans also offer a feature callede911. The feature is designed to connect you to emergency responders in your area if something happens. It isn’t the same as a professionally monitored system, but it is supposed to offer “one touch” access to law enforcement and other emergency personnel in your area. I didn’t test this directly, but it’s available with Arlo Smart Premier and Arlo Smart Elite plans. 

Arlo Pro 2 Add-on camera Performance review at this price

The geofencing feature always armed the cameras when I left my home perimeter and disarmed them when I returned, and my IFTTT applet to turn on a D-Link Smart Plug when a camera detected motion worked every time. Motion and sound email and push notifications arrived instantly after a sensor was triggered, and I had no trouble viewing video on my TV using an Amazon Fire TV Stick and Alexa voice commands.

The cameras delivered excellent daytime video in 1080p with rich colors and sharp image detail. Black-and-white night vision was also sharp out to around 25 feet and nicely lit. Motion detection worked very well, but I had to lower the sensitivity to avoid false alerts due to high winds.

What is the alternate for Arlo Pro 2 Add-on camera at same price

Blink XT

The XT’s 110-degree viewing angle is significantly less impressive than the Arlo Pro 2’s 130. There’s only a 3x digital zoom. There’s no two-way audio, sound detection and zero cloud storage.

Like the Arlo Pro 2, the Blink XT is another wireless indoor/outdoor camera that can be placed pretty much anywhere. I think the Blink XT is a decent camera, and it’s much cheaper than the Arlo Pro 2. But I definitely think you get what you’re paying for if you know what I mean.

Overall, I think the XT is a great bargain buy but perhaps not the most appropriate for someone who wants a more comprehensive device.

The only saving grace for the XT is the night vision. It’s much crisper than what I found with the Arlo Pro 2. I would add that the XT’s two-year battery life is also a huge bonus, but I read reviews complaining that the batteries only lasted a few months.

Amazon Cloud Cam

The first thing to note right away is that the Amazon Cloud Cam is not a weatherproof wireless camera. So if that’s what you are looking for, the Cloud Cam is not your best bet. But this camera does have some advantages over the Arlo Pro 2.

Once again, the Arlo loses in the night vision department. Artificial intelligence-wise, the Cloud Camera also beats the Arlo Pro 2 with “person detection,” which can tell the difference between your friends, family, and intruders. The Arlo Pro 2 can’t tell the difference between anything.

To determine, which camera is better, it really depends on whether or not you need an outdoor camera or prefer a camera with crisp night vision. Otherwise, neither are bad choices.

This is where the Arlo Pro 2 wins: Its field of view is 10 degrees wider. It has local storage and much better free cloud storage — Amazon only gives you 24 hours free. The Arlo also has a siren, if that’s what you’re into and it can pair up with other IFTTT systems besides Alexa.

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