Arlo is a well-known name fordoorbell camerasandsecurity cameras, but the company’s devices can do more than just show you who’s at the front door. Arlo can sound a siren or create a motion trigger to activate other smart home devices like lights. Equally important is what Arlo isnotdoing – if you don’t want to be inundated with a constant barrage of notifications, Arlo has settings for that too.
If you just pull the Arlo out of the box, mount it, and walk through the app setup, you may be missing out on some of the platform’s best features. These Arlo tips and tricks can help you get the most out of your doorbell or camera, integrate Arlo into your smart home system, and more.
Do you need an Arlo subscription? How much it costs and what you get
Arlo security cameras are great devices, but how much do you really get if you don’t want to pay a monthly fee for the Secure subscription service?
1Turn on geofencing
So your own motion doesn’t trigger notifications
While you can arm your system manually every time you leave the house, Arlo can also do it for you automatically using geofencing. With geofencing turned on, the app will automatically start sending notifications when your phone leaves home. This can be set to just one phone, or even be tuned to the entire family’s devices. The feature can also be set up the opposite way – sending notifications when you are home but stopping them when you are away. To turn on geofencing:
2Use motion detection sensitivity and activity zones
To reduce unwanted notifications
If you don’t want to give Arlo access to your phone’s location, there are other options for reducing the number of unwanted notifications. Activity zones allow you to only receive alerts when your cameras detect motion in a specific area. However, this feature does require an Arlo Secure subscription or a continuous power source. Activity zones determine whether or not to send a notification, but because the camera still looks for motion across the frame, frequent movement outside of Activity Zones will still cause the battery to drain faster.
To create activity zoneson compatible cameras:
Another option is to adjust the motion sensitivity inside the device settings. This allows you to trigger notifications with large motions but ignore small movements.
3Try Arlo Secure’s person, animal, vehicle, and package recognition
Get smarter alerts
An Arlo Secure subscription includes object recognition. The software can differentiate between people, animals, and vehicles so you may determine if you want the motion of your dog to trigger an alert or not. The cameras can also detect packages for notifications as well. Smart notifications also include a setting for all other motion – you can turn this off to prevent things like swaying tree branches from triggering a notification.
FindArlo’s Smart Notificationsin the user (person icon) menu >Locations and Plans.
4Don’t forget smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors
Alert yourself to a potential danger
Arlo’s Smart Notifications will also listen for the sound of a smoke detector or CO2 alarm, which alerts you to a potential danger even if you aren’t home. This feature requires a subscription. The settings can be found by navigating to theuser menu(person icon) >Locations and Plans>Smart Notifications.
5Create custom modes
For different scenarios
Arlo’s modesare designed to customize your notifications for different scenarios. Arlo cameras come with four modes built-in:
you may also create your own modes or edit existing ones by setting up rules that dictate what the cameras should do in that mode. For example, you can create a mode that will record video but won’t send notifications. Modes and Rules are found in the Arlo app under the Routines tab.
6Schedule your cameras
When to turn on and off
The Routines tab also houses a scheduling feature, which allows you to turn different modes on at a set time every day or week. Routines also allow you to change camera settings automatically, such as setting the camera to record for longer stretches overnight.
8Use the Arlo motion sensor for smart home routines
Automatically trigger
Because Arlo cameras and doorbells are designed to detect motion, the devices can also be used to trigger smart home routines. Arlo works with Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, If This Then That, and Samsung SmartThings. Paired with one of these systems, Arlo can be used to trigger a routine. For example, paired with Alexa, motion on Arlo can trigger a smart light to turn on. Check which devices are compatible onArlo’s complete list.
9Use Arlo night vision
Some models even have color night vision
Some Arlo cameras feature a built-in spotlight — which allows them to stream and recordcolor night vision. In some cases, Arlo devices will default to the black and white infrared-enabled night mode. To change the night mode:
10Activate an alarm
Sirens can also be activated
