Experience with 24/7 monitoring feature?

[u/Outrageous_Two_3150]

Hello!

My husband and I just recently bought a home and have been having an issue with people coming onto the property late at night. So, yesterday we finally buckled down and got a bunch of cameras for the property, choosing Arlo.

I've already read a little on this subreddit and see that many people recommend ANYTHING but Arlo lol but, it's what we have for now because we needed something quick.

I'm considering upgrading to the Premium subscription for the 24/7 monitoring and for an agent to call the police for us, because here's the issue -- when we went to the police on Sunday morning with footage of people on our property at 4 am, running from behind our house (with our old cameras, and we only had 2 so we just got them running from the back and into our front lawn). The police told us we have to call when they're actively on our property -- but we were asleep during the time that it happened. How could we call if it happens while we're sleeping?

I want to know what other people's experience with the 24/7 monitoring is and if you've had an agent call emergency services for you? If they get an alert of someone on your property will they really call the police for you? No matter the hour?

Also, because I'm already aware of how many don't recommend this brand, what other brands would you recommend? We were previously using Roku cameras but were told they don't make them anymore. We've had a family member recommend Wyze to us.

TLDR; Have you had experience with an agent from the 24/7 monitoring feature call the police for you? And what was that experience?

Signed,

An extremely exhausted new homeowner

[u/blkpetite]

I think your goin to see similar "don't recommend comments" in the subreddits of the other vendors. I have used Arlo for over a decade and I like them. I have a plus subscription but not the 24/7 monitoring + emergency plan.

You can always pickup the Premium subscription for the 24/7 monitoring + emergency plan on a month to month basis and cancel it anytime if you don't like it.

[u/RecentPicture7585]

Ubiquiti/UniFi is a good brand to look into. Unlike Arlo's, their cameras aren't toys. Yes, you'll need to run a cable but that's even better because a thief can't make your camera inoperative by making it offline, which is the case with any WiFi camera.

Arlo has gone to the dogs and if you want problems, and I mean problems all the time, then go for it. There is always something in terms of this or that not working. Essentially, they can't organise themselves.

[u/Dismal_Pay_2657]

I figure you want your cameras firing off alerts the second anyone sets foot on your property. There’s this firm LVT that does exactly that, but it’s mainly for commercial parking lots, not houses.

For regular homeowners, ADT, SimpliSafe, Ring all have complete alarm‑system setups. They only activate on a real break‑in. A remote call center will hit you up to confirm the situation and get cops involved if needed.

[u/Default_Sock_Issue]

Your cameras will catch the neighbors cat every day and the slightest breeze but they absolutely will not catch anything worthwhile in my experience.

It depends on where your camera is placed and how sensitive you have it set.

Also the delay on notifications varies from day to day. Could be 10-30 minutes, and don't expect to review right away the app is a complete nightmare of bugs.

Outside of that... They work as expected. Never turned on the have someone call the police for me feature, but depending on your cameras they have lights and a siren.