Review of the Arlo Pro 4, a sensible and easy-to-install security camera to monitor your home (or your blackouts)

On July 1, Arlo Europe officially launched the Arlo Pro 4, which was a successArlo Pro3 – Logically enough – without changing it. A small security camera, and clearly intended to avoid some gray hair for its users without pulling it out during installation.

Not so much to fight against thieves, but we had the opportunity to experiment in somewhat original way with the opportunity to eagerly follow the nests of two black birds that lived in our Parisian gardener. A great way to test some of its functions and properties from motion detection and night vision to water resistance.

Summary, simplicity, live wifi!

The Arlo Pro 4 can carry gadgets with its feathers 316g gas, 8.9 cm long, 5.2 cm wide and 7.84 cm high, it is resourceful. Like its predecessors, it is designed to deliver quality video stream, regardless of whether it is for power or signal transmission. Without the need for an Arlo station, the connection is made via WiFi – i.e. placing it in a place where it is closed by your network. We therefore recommend showing interest in loop router solutions (Asus Genwifi, Netzier RP, DP-Link Deco, Amazon Euro, Etc.), if you haven’t already picked up the fall, whether it’s a WiFi 5 (AC) or WiFi 6 (Ax) model, it doesn’t matter, Arlo will work.

In terms of power, the Arlo Pro 4 relies on a small and given battery for three to six months. We haven’t tried this in such a long time, but this estimate is a bit ambitious, extending from our experience and we know that the percentages of battery consumed during our test.

Keep in mind, however, that autonomy will obviously vary depending on the level of stress on the camera. If it is filmed a lot at night, by running its small projector or by frequent stimuli according to detected movements, there is a risk of rapidly consuming its energy reserve.

Either way, it’s not a problem because it’s so easy to separate it from its cradle. Netzier did not attach it with screws or nuts, but with a strong magnet – you’re a little scared that your anti-theft camera would have been stolen. If this is your thing, you can use a classic site where your Arlo Pro 4 is screwed on.

However, its magnetic base is slightly concave and the curve matches the design of the camera – luckily it makes things better – allowing it to easily adjust its position to the angle you want. Monitor. The magnetic foundation is fixed so that it, with a thin screw, cannot be solved by a small blow of the drill. Also, the good news is, in theory, it only takes 3 hours and 30 minutes to fully charge the camera battery.

So positioning the camera is very quick and simple, especially at its 160 angle which allows it to adapt to a wide range of functions. During setup and installation, we use the Arlo utility – this requires an Arlo account and assigns the operating system as the trusted device. The video link is explicitly encrypted.

Once the camera is connected to your network and the configuration is done rigorously, it will show the filmed stream almost in real time and also indicate the quality of the WiFi signal, which is the limit of your wireless network that is convenient to keep your camera out of the box. Speaking of which, the ARLO recommends a minimum speed of 2 Mbps, which should be quite dynamic if you have a minimum of your WLAN.

A significant additional cost

During configuration, we find that Arlo plans to store our video streams in the cloud and charge for its intelligent functionality – locating people, animals or vehicles, creating zones, and so on. Or even 2K video quality, otherwise you have to settle for 1080p.

Make full use of it, so it is important to watch regularly. The Smart Premier subscription costs 2.79 euros per month for one camera and 8.99 euros per month for up to five cameras. You can also enable the 24/7 Continuous Registration (CVR) feature if you wish. You have to spend 8.99 euros a month or 17.99 euros a month to keep this data for 14 days and protect it for 30 days. The first three months are free, but it ends up being a real small budget.

Note that for individual purchases, you can store videos locally using the Arlo docking station. The station will also benefit from opening the Arlo Pro 4 to Apple’s homekit universe. It is possible to turn on the cameras when you leave your home from your iPhone or speaker. This is because the Arlo Pro 4 camera works with Alexa and Google Assistant, especially in Google Home centers.

Very efficient intellectual functions

Once our Arlo Pro 4 was installed, with another Arlo Essential XL camera, we were able to wait to see if it was going to lend itself to the character of our Dobin and Robin stars. With strong performance, the Arlo Pro 4 detects each of its inputs in its field of view. Zoom tracking (which changes the size of the image) allowed them to be viewed in detail until they moved farther.

We were able to reduce the camera’s field of view to 110 or 125 degrees, but we wanted to use the function of defining areas to be monitored. From the application, it is possible to define an exact part, in the form you want. It is perfect for monitoring the bottom of a nest, in the hope that one day the eggs will hatch there or to monitor a door or window.

Can also define multiple zones. This is an AI that alerts you to the settings you have defined. Therefore, you can ask to be alerted if a man, vehicle, animal or a package enters or is deposited in a monitored field. Convenient if you are waiting for a man to deliver an animal in a vehicle …

Keep in mind that if you have control over the Arlo Pro 4, you can call your partner or friend to access the camera. For example this is practical when you go on vacation and if you want to hand over a potential intervention in your home to a trusted person.

Day or night, the Arlo Pro 4 produces a standard 2K video stream (maximum 2560×1440 pixels), but you can also choose full HD (1080p) or HD (720p). The night view is very readable and gives a lot of details. It actually offers a color version.

Apparently, the integration of the projector in the camera can illuminate the scene when activated by an intruder or a blackbar returning from a night out. In this case, we preferred the eyes of these little birds.

Anyway, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the audio track: the sound details are clear and well audible, whether it’s a bird cheering at sunrise, a neighbor muttering in his window, or the sound of rain on the leaves of plants in our Persian window boxes. Because, in fact, Arlo Pro 4 boldly emboldens the elements. Its design – the camera body slips into a piece of housing – allows it to reduce the risk of flooding on its internal components.

Arlo Pro 4 has other functions as well. Thus it can be activated by a noise, or detect smoke or very high CO2. Even though it was placed inside a kitchen on a grilling evening, it did not work, however, we opened the windows giving way to the camera and our ceiling light.

It’s time to talk about the difficulty in animal reporting. Our marbled, realizing that its eggs were not fertilized, dropped its nest and four beautiful eggs. So we had to find other guinea pigs because if there were no thrushes, we would eat blackberries, if there were no blackbirds, the tester would have to find something to cock.

So, we put the Arlo Pro 4 somewhere else, this time, near a strategic location, where big cats meet, sometimes without asking parental permission. Area to see? Location of game terminals in the living room.

We will not show any pictures, but we were happy to test the built-in audible alarm. Our underground and teenage players were distracted and greatly surprised by the siren – we understand them. Be aware that this cavalry bell can be triggered automatically in the event of an intrusion or manually triggered if you see the tracking current. One piece of advice, do not do this when you or a blacklist is next to the camera …