Smart home surveillance devices like the Arlo cameras come with a range of features. And unless you are using all or some of them, you’re missing out on a lot. Features like motion detection, sirens, night vision, auto-recording and sharing, alarm detection and more can be leveraged to secure your home and assets at all times. If you own an Arlo camera but are not sure how to make the most out of it, this blog is something you should read.
This blog will walk you through some of the most attractive features of an Arlo camera and discuss how you can enable them on your Arlo device.
Adding features to Arlo Camera
Your Arlo camera works in different modes. These modes tell it what to do in what situation. You can either customize the existing modes or add new ones to make your camera even more functional. Here are some of the existing modes you can deploy in your camera:
- Motion Detection,
- Scheduling, and
- Geofencing.
You can always customize the Motion detection and Scheduling modes to work in different ways. Now, these modes further consist of rules that are basically a set of instructions for the Arlo system to follow. For each of these modes, you can choose different values like:
Triggers:
Triggers, as the name suggests, get activated when your Arlo camera detects motion in its range. You can adjust the camera’s sensitivity to detect true motion and avoid making false alarms. Triggers can also be customized to work in a way that a second camera is made to record video when one camera detects motion.
Actions:
Again, this is an activity carried out by the camera upon a trigger. Your camera may take a snapshot, and record video as well. These can also include the push notifications that it sends over to your mobile device to alert you of the movement. You may also choose to send these alerts to the emails of your friends, family members, or anyone.
Also Read: Arlo Camera Setup Process
Activating features on your Arlo Camera device
Several features inherent to your Arlo Camera can be enabled/disabled easily from within the Arlo App. Alternatively, you can choose to do that using the ‘my.arlo.com‘ web portal. Once you have signed in to the same, you may proceed with the activation process. Below is some information on the same.
Motion Detection
- You can enable or disable motion detection features on your Arlo device using the smartphone app. You can download the Arlo app from your device’s app store.
- If you are an Android user, launch the Google Play Store and look for the app. Once the download page appears, install the app. Apple users can use the App Store to download and install the Arlo app. Allow some time for the app to install itself.
- Tap the Arlo icon on your smartphone.
- If you are using a computer, you can use your web browser to enable the features. Launch a web browser and in the address bar and type http://my.arlo.com to access the Arlo camera setup wizard.
- Once the main Arlo Login page appears, you can sign in using the account credentials. You will be redirected to the Arlo camera settings wizard.
- Here, tap/click on the Mode button. A list of devices will be displayed. Select the camera icon.
- This will populate the Mode page in front of you.
- Tap or click on a mode to activate it. The mode that you have selected will switch itself on immediately and will remain active until you change it manually again.
Changing the sensitivity
Once you have enabled the Motion Detection on your Arlo camera, you can set the sensitivity levels so that it doesn’t trigger a response due to unnecessary movements or activities. For example, you may not want the alarm to go off whenever a cat or dog or a bird crosses the path or trespasses through your premises. Here are some steps you can follow to set a sensitivity level:
- From the Mode page, click on the Edit button next to the selected mode.
- Under the Rules section, again click on the Edit button next to the rule you wish to change.
- You’ll now see conditional statements like ‘If the following’. Click on the Edit button next to the ‘Motion is detected’ option.
- You can now adjust the sensitivity level for motion detection using the slider.
- Once done, click on the Save button and the settings will take effect immediately.
Scheduling of Arlo Camera
With so many features present in your Arlo camera, you can set a fixed schedule for individual features to get activated and deactivated on their own. To add a schedule, here are some steps you can follow:
- Launch the Arlo app or get to the Arlo camera settings page on a web browser.
- From the Mode page, select the Schedule button or the clock icon.
- Click on the Edit button next to the Schedule section.
- Click on the Add button and a new page will be displayed.
- Set the days and time and finally click on the Save button. This will save a schedule and your Arlo camera will start performing the desired function accordingly.
Geofencing
Geofencing allows you to receive alerts when someone enters or exits a predefined zone. Here are some steps you can follow to set up geofencing:
- Firstly make sure the GPS or location services are enabled on your device.
- Also, power on the WiFi feature.
- Now, open the Arlo app and navigate to the Mode page.
- Then tap on the Geofencing button. The app will prompt you to allow using the location. Tap on the Allow button.
- In the address field, type in the address for your location and tap on the ‘Next’ button. By default, you’ll see the geofence radius displayed as Medium.
- To change the same, tap on the Radius icon and select the size as per your preference. Finally, tap on the ‘Next’ button.
- Then specify a name for your location and tap next.
- Select an away mode and a home mode and finally tap Next.
- Select the preferred mobile device and tap on the Next button.
- Finally, tap on the ‘Save’ button, and the settings will be saved.
Reach out to the experts for help!
Additional features like alarm detection in your Arlo camera use push notifications to alert you whenever it detects the fire alarm at your home buzzing due to smoke/CO(Carbon Monoxide). You can set your preferences using the Arlo app or the web-based setup portal easily. If you still face issues enabling/managing these Arlo camera features, you can always reach out to the tech experts at our end.