I'm so glad someone else has the same mindset as me with this. It seems to me Arlo set it up to fail because all they want is everyone to pay now.

Great video. Unfortunately fell into the same trap, paid around $1,000 and I can't make use of the camera's features since I can't subscribe to Arlo smart in my country... the whole setup is useless now! Even if I use an external hard disk it just isn't practical at all. Really hate Arlo for not making this clear ... wouldn't recommend this brand at all!

Outstanding review. I won't even purchase these types of items until I watch one of your reviews. I've been with Arlo for the past 6 years now. But disappointed in this feature as well. Thank you (and the others) for even taking the time to make these videos.

I will never buy or recommend any Arlo product again . Without remote access it’s useless. The fees for von or cloud is ridiculous. I feel ripped off!!

First I want to say that I absolutely like Steve's videos, "to the point" is what I like and very well explained.

Im pissed i paid $1800 nz, my 3 mouth subscription ended yesterday now it's practically useless what a rip off.

They should at the least allow all users to have a certain amount memory in the cloud, like at least 5 gigs, so you can view when cameras are triggered and not have to to wait to get home to see what triggered it.

1. Setting up VPN on modern routers is very easy and free. 2. Port-forwarding is typical to make your internal networking available publicly and Arlo is correct in advising it is a security risk because opening things up to the internet inherently does increase security risk. Arlo could absolutely use UPNP to bypass manual port-forwarding, but it can be argued port-forwarding is very easy to setup in all modern routers (you don't need to contact your ISP unless you don't know how to work with your router). Eufy uses UPNP and carries the same security risks; all internet connected devices do. Eufy homebase connects to Chinese servers regularly… no one has researched what on earth it is sending out. Besides these two things, Arlo have released a pretty crappy/half-polished feature. Disappointing? Or expected?

paid a fortune for these cameras!! And so disappointed they want more money for a subscription . What a kick in the ribs ! Shame on you arlo

Normally I don't comment.. but I gotta say I totally agree with you. I'm very dissapointed and I have decided to return my set of 4 ultra cameras. Here is a list of things I disliked: - motion detection is bad. Postman was recorded first time when he arrived to the door. What about the huge van arriving infront of our door?! Sensitivity is 100%. - wifi range is bad. Cannot stream 4k image if camera distance is >15 m (wooden house). Sometimes no connection at all. Live image loading takes 10-15 s - you cannot connect cameras to your home wifi which is probably a lot better than Arlo "base station" - there is 10-15 s delay in live view - cannot access local videos via router VPN. It was said in Arlo forum this might be Android app specific problem. - no thumbnails for local videos until you open the video - 180 / 155 degree image is not being "straightened". 120 degree image has basically no fish eye effect - no option to use night vision only. Usually b&w image is sharper - app HMI could be a lot better - company seems to be super greedy.. first make the product, then sell it. Not other way around.

Arlo is the worst without being able to access the base station using direct access. And Arlo nickeling and diming the customers to death with subscriptions. I made a big mistake buying there garbage. I have five cameras and a doorbell camera and in my opinion they will lose customers until no one will buy there junk. I am going to sale there equipment and look to a company that listens to there customer. No more Arlo for me.

‪give all users at least 5 gigs of free cloud storage, Or make easy access to local storage remotely ‬

The bottom line is that the arlo cameras are now “USELESS” after your 3 Months trail subscription ends. Removing all these features after you bought these expensive cameras its a rip off. Arlo should be ashame, they r trying to use the same strategy on their older models too. They know their ecosystem will fail if they continue. Don’t buy them, look for alternatives, Ring, wyze, etc.

I am trying to enable port forwarding but o luck. Can you tell me steps to enable it? I did confirm with my ISP and i was not they don't need to do anything from their side

Thanks for doing this video Steve. I'm like you and quite disappointed with Arlo's poor reaction to customer input. I love my Ultra's but the monthly is really going to kill some of their business I believe. To me, the local, seamless storage option is a no brainer.

Great video Steve!, I saw your video and returned Arlo cameras. Thank you so much!

Thank you. You also forgot to add that you can’t delete the locally stored video from the app. You have to unplug the external drive and then delete from a laptop. Very odd IMHO.

So if I do not opt for the cloud storage option and use my own usb storage unit will not send me push notifications for any human activity? Is that understanding right?

By the way, I discovered videos got recorded locally with my old vmb4000 on my USB thumb drive. I complained to Arlo support and said it works without having to purchase and upgrading to a Arlo smart hub. Arlo support decided to ignore me afterwards.

Thanks so much for clearing this up! Very informative... And also disappointing to hear. It's a half-arsed attempt to reduce customers' dissatisfaction whilst they protect their money-spinning subscriptions.

My arlo subscription recently ended. I do have a USB drive plugged into the back of my arlo system. When I click on library, and move the option from cloud to my arlo system (security system & cameras), there are no thumbnails available at all and it says "videos stored on security system & cameras are not available. Please check your connection settings." What does that mean? Where are the thumbnails?

For those watching much later (like me that want to know more about the cameras) Setting up the VPN is a feature that may... or may not be a included in your home wifi router. Signing up for a VPN "service" will not help you for access to your cameras. "Port Forwarding" while certainly an option... is not recommended by most experts, as it will allow anyone in the world to "Attempt" to login to your cameras.

I think what everyone here should realize is that in the world of security cameras, there are generally two types of products; products targeted for the DIYer/ homeowner and products targeted for professionals/ commercial use. What Arlo has done is an attempt to make somewhat of a hybrid product between the two (a diy product with a pro feature). I previously worked as a professional installer of commercial network equipment, A/V equipment, and security cameras. We installed commercial setups as well as residential and we regularly opened ports on routers or setup VPN’s for remote access to cameras. For years I have been looking for a product that combined Harry Homeowner features like Alexa integration with more traditional IP camera features like vpn, other networking options, and most important NOT being required to use a cloud to store/access my own videos. In theory what Arlo has done is great. The base station is acting as an NVR! Besides the thumbnail issue (which definitely should be fixed), I don’t really see the problem. I hope everyone is able to calm down, get their setups working properly, and realize that concepts like this are potentially huge game changers in the DIY market and is really how IP cameras traditionally have been and should be. Companies like Nest and Ring are the real crooks haha.

My free trial just ended and i have to say i agree..there remote access of the videos is cumbersome and not easy for a person not tech savy and not determined. 1. Thumnails - what he says is true annoying 2. My router supported VPN so i had to read my router manual and set it up 3. I had to configure it on my phone 4. its slow and have to download all the videos 5. YOU cant give someone else access to the videos...i found that SUPER ANNOYING I been fairly happy with their cameras, not a huge fan but i wasnt expecting much from wifi cameras. But the subscription at 10 a month is pricey in my opinion, it should be like $5 or less for a small camera system.

I was going to buy 4 Ultras and basestation tomorrow, but that will for sure be, No thanks. Its way to expensive to pay 1500 $ for the set in Denmark and then monthly fee !?! Thanks for the video.

Thank you for this info. I was going insane with this problem. It sucks.

i absolutely love the arlo 3 pro camera, my trial subscription ran out and the library for the cameras was wiped. this is very shifty to say the least, by Arlo, it is deceptive to say they have given their customers access. i am thinking about trashing the system and going to a hardwired system.

So i searched a bit and could not find the answer, does the local storage overwrite after being filled, giving you a seamless transition to new footage or do you need to manually delete the old footage to make room for the new footage?

Great video. I appreciate your explaining the USB storage; it confirmed what I read on the Arlo site. Ugh, I guess it's pay the monthly subscription or pretty much lose many of the desired features.

I've been leaning on getting Arlo cameras, but the deeper I dig, the more disappointed I get. I really wanted Arlo, but after finding more info like this, I get more disheartened.

Lot's of new routers have VPN options. For example many TPlink routers give you access to an OpenVPN connection which is super easy to set up. Then you simply download the OpenVPN connect app on your phone and turn the VPN on whenever you're away from home. The general "port forwarding leaves you vulnerable" argument is... misleading. Lot's of devices use UPnP which auto port fowards (assuming your modem/router support it) so there are always ports "open" into your network

I definitely agree. Arlo needs to rethink their business strategy. I would have bought 3pack Pro 3 already (and likely added pro 4) if I was able to set up local storage and access it outside the network. You're out of your mind if you think I'm going to spend $500-800 on the product and pay you $120/year to make the product usable. I get that cloud storage server aren't free to set up or maintain. But don't push yours onto us. Lots of people have access to free cloud storage, as well as their favorite paid cloud storage. Let us use those. This day and age of subscriptions is really holding a lot of products from reaching their full potential in terms of value.

Thanks for doing the review. Did Arlo ever add thumbnails for local storage?

I've set up port forwarding but still cant access the storage remotely. I mean you just go into the WAN settings plug in the information from the Arlo app and it should work right? I also set up an internal static for the Arlo base station but no luck. any ideas?

Steve, how many days of footage do you get on USB flash storage with your particular setup ? Also, which flash drives work best with the Pro 3 base station ?

Great video Steve! Sadly it is still the same situation 20 months later... As a workaround, do you know if there is a way upload the videos stored on the local storage? it seems like we can't attach a NAS... Any clue?

I'm surprised that looking for a decent camera, with reasonable "features", at this point in time with quality cameras *everywhere* and in all sorts of devices (phones, tablets, etc.) is so difficult. It'd be nice to find something that just films in good quality, has multi functionality (motion detection, night vision, etc.), doesn't pose big security/privacy risks, for a reasonable price.

Another major feature lost is the ability to manually trigger recording. The older Pro models still have this capability, but the new Ultra does not, unless connected to the Arlo Cloud. This makes no sense, for a semi-pro system supposedly designed for independent commercial use. You absolutely should be able to manually trigger recording anytime you like. Another major miss from Arlo with this product set.

1 year later and port forwarding is terrible on Arlo, regret getting the system.

I've had Arlo Pro3 for 3 years without a subscription (recording locally) and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. For more than a year now they regularly popup ads while I'm checking the library, dismissing the ad disables the library after which all I get is "No Recordings". I then have to reboot the base in order to correct it. I tend to believe this is done purposely to convince me to sign up for their subscription, in Canada ($17.49/mo +tx) the past 3 years would have cost me $700 when local recording suits me fine, if it wasn't for their interference with popup Arlo Subscription Ads and the problems they cause. I will be adding a doorbell Camera and you can be sure it won't be Arlo's, never again.

just bought arlo essential xl i do get motion clips automatically saved on my arlo app to view when it detects motion do i need a base station whats the benefits of base station?

I wonder if there is a way to do this without a smart phone, for example on my Windows 10 machine?

I just bought an external hard drive wrongly thinking, with local storage, I could have continuous recording. What exactly is the benefit of local storage? I don’t understand it. I wish I would have seen this video earlier. Other than this hiccup, I am happy with Arlo.

I did my research but I got taken by Arlo. Consumer Reports recommended them. After 30 days it is basically a notification on motion. Step up Arlo and earn the money your customers paid for base station.

you know you view this as a negative, but Arlo has made it so you eliminate the middle man all together. If arlo or their servers go out of business you can still connect to the device using port forwarding. This is what tech heads love because it bypasses a middle man--in this case arlo, and in many cases from other devices, Ring, Kuna, Nest, etc etc. So yes this is more of an expert setup but its essentially the BEST setup if you become knowledgeable about it. This of course assuming the device still works normally and records to local storage even if its not on the internet. So again if arlo's servers are down or they go out of business, you still have a functional security system that you can connect to anywhere to view footage. Of course the notifications may not work if its depending on Arlo's servers but you still got footage. If you look at IP cam forums, those are advance level of camera users and they dont even consider cloud based cameras--local storage and being able to connect to it and have this freedom is a must. So Arlo basically satisfy both regular consumer based with their monthly paid service, AND expert level of local storage and directly connected. What you should "Call out" on them is that they did a great job on providing these options, because ring and others would dare NOT allow this kind of access because they make their money on cloud storage.

I have a 2K pro 4xl with hub and finally figured out how to do local storage but mine only has 1 usb port. So do I have to unplug my usb and look it over at home with the same wifi? And does anyone have a base station with only one usb slot? I want to unsubscribe and use the local storage but will I loose all the rich notifications?? Thanks!

you are very right, very disappointing from Arlo. I need to be able to access my HD also outside my network!

Am very disappointed with arlo I got the same problem

Thanks for this review. I was going to pull the trigger on the Arlo Pro 4, but after watching your very useful review re. access to local storage vids. I think i'll look into eufy. Great video. Thank you.

Hi Steve Would you change your mind now given eufy’s issues? I am paying for monthly Arlo subscription and am very interested what will I loose if I were to buy a base and go for local storage. 😊

Hello. I have enabled the ports on my router but in the Arlo settings of the hub it says „status not available „ and it won’t let me download the videos from outside: please check your networksettings bla… Anyone can help me?:)

Thanks for sharing this videos, in another words you’d the hard work so we can watch and dice if the product really worth it....

Great vid. I felt like I was being gas lit by Arlo. But infact it doesn't work with my base station. (Sad face) 😭 Now, i gotta figure out how to resell this Arlo stuff on the net. (All I wanted was cameras with local storage @ no subscription fee) exhale..

how is the arlo storage now? I was looking at buying a base station to work with my arlo essential spotlight cameras. what is your suggestion?

So are you safe if you disconnected the cameras and have them threw the base station? Or is that a risk too? Base station from wat I remember helped the arlos reach further away and secured? Any ideas?

I have an Arlo Pro 2 with 4 cameras and a VMB4000 base. If I upgrade to a VMB5000 base, will I be able to access my USB storage? No subscription. I'm using Windows 10, able to see Library and Live Devices, no trouble. W10 updates allow me to pair and share to Mobiles.

Thanks for the info bro, I think you just saved me money, time & frustration

I really needed a video back from ARLO today can possibly but someone away who is trying to harm my life and BAMM they hit me with the BUllshit about not being able to get the video when i paid for a plan that should be recording the videos!!!!!

Steve... since Arlo 4 n Arlo 3 are basically the same camera... other than one having the hub... which one is actually better and convenient as far as connection and having to get a subscription?

Steve, I am not sure if anyone else has called this out. In addition to the items you listed, access to videos stored in local storage is limited to the same date range as you can access from Arlo's cloud. In my case my subscription gives me 30 days of storage on the cloud. My local storage holds much more than that. But, the app will only allow me to access the last 30 days of videos from local storage. That's lame.

Thank your this video. MR Arlo. What type of external drive will be compatible with Arlo pro 3 ? Any brand or capacity?

I think this a bit harsh. Lets start with connectivity. If the person supporting this is at all familiar with connecting back to home without a vpn the port forwading thing will be pretty easy. They also already know anytime something of that nature is less secure. Mainly because that device and app is exposed to the internet for everyone to see. At that point you are depending on how well it is secured on your local device. Vulnerabilities are constantly being found so even though nothing is known today something may be found later. The VPN connectivity is speaking directly about using a vpn to your home router and not a service. That is a free item most likely. I have test out a vpn that uses my home server and that isnt working. It is likely a routing issue and i am working with arlo support to fix figure it out. It isn't perfect, but they have openly stated they are working on thumbnails. I would expect it will be resolved eventually. You seem to gloss over the fact that this is completly subscription free with any of the newer cameras. This effectively turns the base station into a NVR that you can attach as many cameras as you like to it

Sounds simplistic but whatever happened to buying cameras and just feeding to home computer? No app or monthly fee purchases.

What would you reccomend the 4 camera ultra 2 at Costco for 700 Or the pro 3 kit with 3 cameras for 400 with 2 extra for 300 ? Both kits come with the base station

Thank you for the information, it was very helpful.

I have an old VBN 4000 and I have 6 ARLO essentials, Should I just drop The vbm4000?

Do you need an Arlo subscription to use direct storage access? I enabled it but it didn't show anything in there library at all. I haven't enabled a subscription yet.

the VPN they are talking about is _not_ a paid VPN that you use to hide your IP. it's _always_ free. check openvpn for an example. (you are correct - it's very tricky to set up on most routers)

They should just put Micro SD in every camera I don't see why they want to rob everyone with a subscription

Does any of this affect the Arlo essential cameras can you still view away from home with the essential camera

Instead of curiosity you said you don't use your ultra base anymore you use your GoPro 3 base So are you using your ultra cameras on the base 3? You have any issues with running your 4K cameras on the base 3?

What if I use a wireless HD like WD My Cloud? Will I be able to use the WD app to access the locally stored footage?

thanks Steve. Any idea if Direct Storage Access allows access to your full database of recordings, regardless of how old they are?

I have been using Arlo for years. I have the original Pro 1 and a VMB4000r3 Base Station and I just bought a new Essential Spotlight to add to my other 2 camers and guess what, the ONLY way I can view local storage for my Essential Spotlight is to unmount the USB drive and view the files on a computer. This is even atated in their knowledge base. Ridiculous.

Instead of a USB thumb drive how about a USB SSD or Hard drive?

Does this mean that you can use arlo cameras without any monthly subscription fee? Just by enabling direct storage access and attaching an external hard disk to the arlo pro 3 base station. 😊

F the subscription fees

What was the external hard you used. I have tried 2 and none of them will format

hello steve, i have couple qs hope you can help me with: i have this basestation set up and its able to record arlo pro2's clips up to 7 days on cloud. and i link my other camera to basestation, like essential indoor camera, flood light, but there are not able to save clip on cloud? i also set up the record locally, and i dont have the option to pick from cloud or locally on top of library. how do i open clip that got save on locally drive?

My free subscription is up and I don't want to take up the subscriptions on offer. It would appear that you have to be a computer expert to try and set up the Local Recording option, and even then there are serious deficiencies. Have there been any improvements since this video which was done a year ago?

Can you at some point can you go over adding a pro 3 camera to a pro 2 base station and what can and cannot be accessed. I want to add a pro 3 but dont necessarily want to buy a new base

Can I save video clips to a thumb drive connected to my Arlo Pro 3 base station? And can I remotely view the video on my smartphone?

One other thing it can’t do, authorized users have no access to Direct Storage either. Why the heck not? It’s local to only my network, unless one does the other setups you mentioned. I certainly should have done more research before buying Arlo!

Thanks for this! Was looking into using an external hard drive to get by the end of life for my Pro 2s. Looks like it's a no go. It's too bad, the Arlo camera performance has been great in terms of motion detection. Wish they could grandfather the cloud functionality for us early adopters. Never again Arlo! Onto Eufy or Reolink

I got the Pro 4 so I would not have to get the Smart Hub and was told the video would be recorded on the app. THIS WAS NOT TRUE! ! ! The work around " The work around sucks, but" On Apple device add the screen recorder to the slid up screen, so when you get a notification start recording your screen and then go watch the camera. Yes, that sucks.

Oh man, I think I dodged a bullet with Arlo! Thank you so much for this informative vid. I just saw the Eufycam 3 vs Arlo Ultra comparison video....I bought the Ultra system but have not opened it yet. I think I’m going to return it for the Eufy since it has the easy on the fly storage viewing feature on the app that Arlo dropped the ball with and doesn’t have yet.

Very disappointed too.. What are other Arlo alternatives ?

You just need to have a router with a built in VPN server (many routers now have this feature), this is a function that allows remote connection TO your router to connect to your home network - YOU DO NOT NEED TO PAY FOR A MONTHLY VPN SUBSCRIPTION! Also, if it can support openVPN it will also work.

Hello, can I any any usb hard drive ? Do I have timeline option or only videos ? Thank you so much

Now is the end of 2021, I can not access to my base station through the app when I am at home. When you select the base station in the Library, I don’t see any clips recorded even all my cameras are connected to the base station. It might be the case that I am still in the 3 month cloud trial so the base station would record anything locally? Anyone could give a tip what is going on? Or the the base station is just a joke.

Asus Routers come with Open VPN. Open VPN is free. You do not have to pay a monthly fee for a VPN that is setup on your own personal router. It may not be simple to setup for non-tech savvy people.

It’s still not working. From experience Arlo products are basically in alpha test status. Their features rarely work and they never seem that worried about fixing them. It’s a great concept ruined by a rubbish product. Just have a look at all the issues posted on there forums. You were lucky to have the clips show up. Most of the time they either don’t sync with the cloud or they don’t show up locally.

Thank you Steve for the update. I have a question, why is my Arlo 2k camera dying within a week? Are all your cameras wired so it’s not only relying on the battery? Any help would be great. Thanks

Steve, great video. Question: Using Alexa, can you bring up the Arlo app on a smart TV (see the cameras on television)?

After trying setup local storage any idea how to delete ports that they say were open on an orbi router

How long do the battery alive when always use wire ? Arlo ultra

There should be an update and clarification of this function by you. So lets explain this so others are not misinformed. 1. The app works like your google home app, it is on your phone and you have to be on the same WiFi network, or accessing the cloud. The app can access the arlo base without the arlo being on the internet, IF your app and arlo are on the same network, IE, Wifi is easiest. 2. You can setup a VPN on your router and access the device and files remotely from anywhere if you know how to VPN into your home network. 3. The direct access function allows you to not send video to the cloud if you so choose, it is a function for those who maybe have information they don't want other to see. Such as, security codes, maybe watching cash registers or inside secure areas. 4. A business can plug the arlo base into the internal network, then setup a VPN so only the internal network can access the device. You would then use a PC or other device to access the files via the VPN connection, the good thing about this is, you could also do a macro file transfer at X amount of minute intervals and have it copy the video files to a larger server. Also known as Tunneling. It is common for large companies to set up Remote VPN tunnels through the open Internet via a secure network authentication. Example, lets say you use several of these cameras to monitor cell phone towers that are not manned and in the middle of nowhere. The function would be that the camera would be activated by motion and through the VPN when one of the cameras turns on, the Remote Monitoring Center would then see an image from that station hundreds of miles away. The images would duplicated onto a corporate server incase something happens to the base station and external drive there. The RMC could then call local authorities in that area about a possible break in or people trespassing. As a home owner, would you do this, well no, but they are starting to use the Arlo in commercial applications because this is Netgear, and widely used.

Totally agree, this is absolute crap, and they have the nerve to charge for it! My older Pro cameras still have Cloud access to everything, anywhere, anytime. I have wi-fi cameras - to be able to see, use and access them remotely! And now I can't! I bought the Ultras for their advanced features, paid a premium price for them, the store said nothing about subscription services, and this sort of result has me feeling nothing but ripped off and very disappointed in an otherwise very good product. Port Forwarding inherently makes my system less secure (great concept from a security company) and so far also simply doesn't work. If it does, the process to set it up is way too clunky , totally not user friendly, again in direct contrast to everything else "Arlo". Way to go Arlo. Totally alienate your customer base. Now simply on principal, I refuse to pay for the Secure subscription and would rather replace all of my cameras than be extorted into paying for "Secure". The Marketing genius behind this swathe of recurring revenue ideas should be walked! And if Arlo are paying attention to NPS scores, I was once a die hard recommender, I now would not recommend Arlo to anybody!

So why you don't use the Ultra base station?

I've loved my Arlo system for well over two years. I got several of my neighbors to install them as well and they have been happy with them as well. And then about two months ago everyting went to hell. My cameras were still working just fine and I good hear them firing off everyitime someone passed our home or entered through our gate. But I was unable to view any camera shots on my cell phone or computer. I was also getting error when I tried to access my cameras. It kept telling me that i had to log in - but I was alread loged in. And when I did tr to reset my password - they would send me a new one - but I still could not find it on my email address or on my computer. And then I started getting rejection responses no matter what I tried to do. The contorl unit still has all the features lit up and it is sittling righ beside my computer. But I holds no data. I put memoru sticks to record the events and they light up and flash as thing happen, bu there are no videos that are retained so that I can review them. So disappointed. It may be just a worn out control unit, but why would i be having problems with periferal issues? Why aren't my videos showing up on my camera any mor? Very , very disapointed.