Arlo video doorbell 2nd gen – front door sentinel at a great price (security review)
The Arlo video doorbell 2nd gen uses a 2K sensor and is available for $229.99 (currently on sale for $159)—a steal for this high-tech sentry. It also comes with a 30-day trial of an Arlo Secure Plan.
This lets you try out its Arlo Secure Plus plan with 30-day cloud storage, receive personalised alerts, Arlo AI intelligence, and customisable activity zones, and send the fire brigade, police, or medical responder your camera’s location with one tap.
A paid Subscription is required to maintain premium features after trial.
Why Arlo?
In 2017, I set up a system at my seaside home using these Ultra and Pro, 2 and 4K cameras. Six years later, the cameras (with solar panels and in a saltwater air environment) have not missed a beat. Arlo Secure subscription plans and Privacy as A Pledge suit my rolling storage and privacy needs. Over the years, Arlo has added new cameras, doorbells, etc., and they all work together seamlessly.
Why a subscription?
Aussies may hate subscriptions of any type, yet they flock to Netflix and Spotify because these add value—you get shows and music you can’t see on FTA TV.
Well, an Arlo Secure subscription adds immense value to what a Wi-Fi camera sees. It enables AI analysis of images, reduces false alarms, and recognises people, packages, vehicles, and more to make owning and using Arlo seamless security.
A single-camera basic Arlo Secure plan costs (RRP and promotion price) $8.33/6.67 per month, and unlimited cameras $12.50/10.83). The Plus plan is $16.67/15 per month, billed annually.
Australian review: Arlo video doorbell 2nd gen Model AVD4001-100AUS
| Website | Company Product Page |
| Price | $229/$159 |
| From | Arlo online, Optus (customers only), Harvey Norman, Joyce Mayne, JB Hi-Fi, Good Guys, Bing Lee, Retravision, Videopro, Bunnings |
| Warranty | 1-year ACL swap |
| Made in | Vietnam |
| Company | Arlo is an American company that makes wireless surveillance cameras. Before an initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange in August 2018, Arlo was a brand of such products by Netgear (Wiki) |
| More | CyberShack Arlo news and reviews |
Fast Facts
| Name | Arlo Video Doorbell 2nd gen 2K |
| Resolution | 2K (1944 x 1944), 2MP, 1:1, 2.2um, F/2.0, Fixed focus, up to 12X digital zoom. |
| Video Modes | 2Mbps fall back to 1536/1080 |
| Storage | Arlo Secure Cloud – if you don’t have a plan, you can see same-day events. |
| Field of View | 180° with in-sensor cropping for fish-eye reduction. |
| Digital Zoom | 12X |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 2.4Ghz for up to 100m line of sight or 30m inside a home. Does not use an Arlo base station. |
| Night Vision | Mono Night vision to 6m via single IR 850nm LED |
| Motion Detection | PIR motion detection to 3m |
| Mic and Speakers | Full duplex audio, noise cancelling |
| Siren | Integrated Siren, Manual or automatic trigger |
| IP Rating | Weather resistant |
| Battery or power | Non-removable battery for up to four months (typical use) USB-C 5V/2A/10W charge (not included) – must remove doorbell from mount. Can operate 8-24VAC hardwired |
| Wall mount | Flat or Right/Left angled wedge door mount |
| Chime | Uses Arlo Chime 2 $79/63 |
| Price | $229 includes a mount kit and USB-A to USB-C cable. |
First Impression – Pass+
Due to its built-in batteries, the Gen 2 range has a smaller, softer form factor. You can power it with an 8-20VAC transformer using the existing wiring (not the existing DC transformer).
I really like the 1:1 image ratio that allows me to see head to toe!
Setup – Easy as – Pass+
I really like the Arlo app for setup. It is visual and helpful, and I have never had issues adding cameras.
You select the camera, press pair, and it joins the Arlo app. It tells you connection strength. All defaults are fine.
There are lots of choices for Arlo Secure that you can play with. Remember that this is a 30-day trial.
Wi-Fi setup
99% of any issues you may experience (with any brand and model of router or Wi-Fi camera) are due to Wi-Fi. If you have a low-cost router supplied by your ISP, it likely won’t have the signal strength to go 100m line-of-sight or 30m through a few layers of plasterboard, brick, etc.
If you cannot get a decent Wi-Fi 2.4Ghz signal, you may have to consider buying a mesh system from D-Link, Netgear or TP-Link. Read Seamless whole-of-home Wi-Fi now easy with Wi-Fi 6/6E/7.
Mounting – Pass+
It can be mounted on either side of the door frame (left or right wedge mount) or the door itself. It has 180° vision, and the ideal height is 1.22m off the ground.
Power – Battery or Wired
Arlo states that it lasts up to four months. That will vary with settings, use, activity captured (events), and the environment. We found it used about 3% daily, averaging about 20 triggers daily. We feel it is safer to bank for about half that time if you are in a heavy foot traffic area.
The batteries have at least 300-500 full recharge cycles (we have not had them that long to test this). That is 55 years of life at three charges a year—it won’t be an issue.
It can be wired (details here using a 240V AC to 8-24V AC 10VA transformer (Right image—as do its competitors like Nest or Ring). Wired power means continuity of service and enables higher-resolution day and night vision.
Your existing wiring is most likely connected to an 8V/1A/8W DC power (Left image) to run its wired ‘ding-dong’ Friedland/Honeywell doorbells (no electrician required as it is DC and usually has a plug pack).
Day and Night Vision – Pass
It has an 850nm IR LED for mono night vision. In our experience, you are better off having a security light to enable both colour and higher-definition images.
Motion detection – Pass
It has PIR (Passive Infrared) motion detection out to about 3m. It works best if you cross the beam rather than straight on. If you get too many false positives, you can adjust the sensitivity.
Unless you have an Arlo Secure Plan, it can only live stream, and you have no Activity zone exclusions.
Two-way full duplex voice – Pass
Depending on the Wi-Fi signal strength, you may have a 2 (typical) to 10-second lag for both video and audio. That is not critical, but the lag could make the doorbell communications tricky. It gets significantly worse when answering a doorbell on your mobile, as this adds a further 40-200ms lag.
We notice superior noise cancelling compared to Gen 1.
CyberShack’s view – Arlo video doorbell 2nd gen – great performance for a reasonable price
The only real decision is whether you enter the Arlo ecosystem and accept that a subscription is necessary for advanced and useful features.
We were impressed with the image quality (day and night), and we expect the build quality to last at least five years—even by the sea.
Arlo video doorbell 2nd gen ratings (2024 are based on 70/100 pass mark)
- Features: 80 – Lower cost with few compromises (in-built battery mainly), but several features depend on the Alro Secure subscription plan.
- Value: 80—Wi-Fi camera, well made, Arlo quality, not much more than generic cameras.
- Performance: 80 – no issues at all, provided you have decent Wi-Fi
- Ease of Use: 80 – Foolproof. The default app settings are fine. If you want to delve deeper, you can customise settings to suit your needs.
- Design: 80—It’s a nice design, but the built-in battery and the need to demount and charge can be a bother.
Arlo video doorbell 2nd gen Model AVD4001-100AUS
RRP $229 but look for deals
Pros
- The video (colour/brightness/detail) is vastly better than Gen 1.
- Sound quality and noise cancellation have improved.
- Arlo secure subscription adds 2K, 30-day rolling storage and other AI features.
- Works with Alexa, Google Home and IFTTT.
Cons
- Wi-Fi N 2.4GHz - ensure you have a decent router and coverage.
- It is not as useful without the Arlo Secure subscription
- The doorbell requires charging (or wire it in)
- 2K live view but can’t save it (unless you have an Arlo Secure Plan)
- Even with strong Wi-Fi, fallback to 1080p seemed the norm.
