Thank you to Netgear for providing this device for review in exchange for my honest opinion.
As a kid, I grew up in a poor neighborhood that was constantly disrupted by gang activity. My bike was stolen from the yard a few times. Someone once broke into our garage. Bars on the windows and a steel security door were used to keep us safe.
I was fortunate to get out of that environment, but I remain vigilant about the safety of my home. I check the locks on the doors and windows and keep valuables in a safe place. At our last house, I had a security system installed, but I found that was more of a pain than anything else. The monthly fee for monitoring added up and the frequent false alarms made me doubt that the system was worth the trouble.
When we moved to Washington, I decided to try a home video system. The cost has really come down on video systems and wireless technology has made it easy to install without having to run wires. I was given a Netgear Arlo Wireless Security System to test out and, after several months of use, I remain very happy with how the system performs.
The Arlo system is unique because the cameras operate wirelessly and are powered by batteries. I’ve had my system for about five months and the batteries strength is still very strong. It connects through a wireless router that I simply plugged into my existing home internet connection. It was simple to get going and can be operated from my phone.
What is in the box
The system comes with everything you need to get started: a base station that you connect to your WiFi router, two cameras, and then you just download the free Arlo app to your phone. From start to finish, it took about 15 minutes to get it all running. You can buy extra cameras and connect them to the system just as easily if you want extra security.
Installation
The Arlo wireless cameras are small and can be mounted using the magnetic camera mounts, simply attaching it to a metal surface using the camera’s magnets, or you can just set it on a shelf. The first few nights, I used the magnets to attach a camera to the bird feeder in our backyard. I was delighted to see all of the birds and creeped out by the black and white footage of the mice that raided our bird feeder in the middle of the night.
I later mounted the camera to the arm of the satellite dish on our roof. The camera’s magnets just hold it in place, which made climbing on the roof the most difficult part of the installation. I was worried about the range of the wireless system, but it hasn’t been an issue. The backyard camera is mounted on one end of the house and the wireless base station is on the complete opposite side. It still maintains a strong signal, which I thought was impressive.
Video Quality
The cameras work best in the day and capture color, HD footage. It is good enough to identify faces and to get a clear idea of what is going on. You can’t zoom in on these cameras, which is why I mounted one somewhat close to our front door so it could get a really clear shot as someone approaches the house.
The cameras have infrared lights built in, which gives pretty good vision at night. The red lights are not super bright – you’ll notice them if you look at the camera, but otherwise wouldn’t grab your attention, which makes the cameras very discreet. I live on a dark cul-de-sac (no street lights) and usually leave the lights on in front of our house at night. The combination of the exterior lights and Arlo’s infrared lights has been enough to get clear images of the deer eating the flowers from our yard.
One of the best features of the Arlo system is that the video is saved to the cloud. This means that you don’t have to worry about buying a DVR or worry about storage space. It also means that you can access your videos from anywhere.
When I am on a business trip, I can easily check on the house by opening the app on my phone. I can live steam the video, which is a fun way to check the weather. The Arlo system also sends motion alerts, which pops up as a phone notification when it detects movement.
I am glad that we have a video system at our house because of the peace of mind it brings. But I am also glad that installing and maintaining the Arlo system has been hassle free. I had the system running within a few minutes and continue to be impressed with the random things it catches on camera. If you are considering a home surveillance system, check out Netgear’s Arlo wireless camera system for a simple way to protect and monitor your family’s castle.
