Arlo cameras are quite popular in residential homes due to their affordability and user-friendly features. Arlo cameras without a subscription are still functional, but you will miss out on features such as motion detection, CVR, and cloud storage, among others.
Most Arlo camera users rely on motion-triggered videos, but many wonder if their cameras can record continuously. This is useful information, especially if you want to monitor your home when you’re away.
Arlo has a feature that will allow your cameras to record footage in the cloud. It also captures the background and allows you to rewind in case you missed anything. However, you must connect your camera to AC power and pay for a subscription. This article details how you can set Arlo to record continuously and how much that will cost you.
How do you set Arlo to record continuously?
Arlo’s Continuous Video Recording is an optional feature on some Arlo models, which allows the device to record 24/7. This feature is available in the following Arlo devices; Arlo Pro 2, Arlo Ultra, Arlo Q Plus, and baby cameras.
Currently, Arlo doesn’t support downloading CVR footage; you can only watch them from the cloud. Therefore, to set Arlo to record continuously, you must first purchase the CVR plan for the CVR-compatible devices. Here’s how to do this:
Things you need
- CVR-compatible Arlo camera( Arlo Pro 2, Arlo Ultra, Arlo Q Plus and baby cameras)
- CVR subscription
- And outdoor or indoor power adapter. You must plug the Arlo camera to power to support CVR.
- Compatible Arlo SmartHub(A SmartHub is unnecessary for Arlo Q Plus, Arlo Q, Essential Indoor, and Baby cameras
Directions
- Add a CVR plan to your Arlo account.
- Download the Arlo Secure app from the app store and log into your account. Unfortunately, you can’t purchase or change your Arlo subscription on the Arlo iOS app; you’ll have to use a browser.
- Go to Settings > Subscription
- If you’re using the app, tap Edit Account
- Select Subscribe Now and follow the prompts to buy your CVR subscription. Now you can access 14 or 30 days of CVR, depending on the subscription you paid for.
- On the Arlo app, click on the menu icon on the camera with the CVR subscription.
- Tap Timeline. Here, you can watch footage from the past 14 or 30 days.
- Select Done once you finish viewing the CVR timeline.
Note: CVR is unavailable on battery-powered Arlo cams because it drains batteries too fast. Also, since Arlo CVR to local storage is unavailable, you have to watch the footage from the cloud, then use a third-party screen capture software to store it locally.
How long do Arlo cameras record?
You can customize your Arlo cameras to record footage from 10 seconds to 120 seconds long. Arlo models such as Arlo Pro, Arlo Ultra, Arlo Pro 3, Arlo Pro 2, Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight, Arlo Essential wire-free, Arlo Q Plus, Arlo Q, and Baby cameras; you can set them to record until motion stops up 300 minutes(5 minutes).
Nonetheless, video recording requires either a subscription or local storage. Here’s how you can adjust the Arlo camera recording length.
- Log into your Arlo account via the app or browser.
- Tap Mode
- Select the Arlo device you want to adjust.
- Click the pencil or edit icon next to the mode you want to adjust the recording length. You can only adjust the recording length of active modes such as Armed or Custom modes. But you can’t adjust recording length for Disarmed and Scheduled modes.
- Click the pencil icon next to the rule you want to edit.
- Tap the pencil or edit icon next to Record Video.
- Choose Record until activity stops (up to 300sec).
- Or choose Record for a fixed length of time. Then adjust your desired recording length in seconds.
- Click Save.
- Tap Edit Rule > Done. Your recording length is now updated.
Does Arlo only record when motion is detected?
All Arlo cameras and doorbells have motion detection. However, the system has modes that instruct your Arlo cameras to respond at different times. You can customize your modes, but some are part of the default settings:
- Armed: Arlo cameras respond to motion. Models such as Arlo Ultra, Pro 3, Pro 2, Pro, Q Plus, Q, or Go cameras will respond to both motion and sound. It sets to record video for 10 seconds by default, and you will receive email alerts and push notifications when something triggers the cameras.
- Disarmed: Motion or sound does not trigger the cameras to record. Therefore, there is no video recording and no notifications.
- Schedule: This mode allows you to set your Arlo system to enter a mode or modes at a specific time every week.
- Geofencing: Similar to schedule mode, this mode allows you to set your Arlo system to switch to another mode. It relies on the location of your GPS-enabled mobile device. The system switches modes whenever your mobile phone is a certain distance away from the Arlo camera.
You can customize your modes by creating rules that instruct what the cameras should do while that mode is active. You can also edit an existing mode to your specifications.
How much is Arlo’s continuous recording?
Arlo’s Continuous Video Recording(CVR) starts at $9.99 monthly for 14 days of storage, up to $19.99 monthly for 30 days of storage. If you have one Arlo camera, it will cost $2.99 per month to enable CVR.
The Arlo Secure subscription allows you to record footage to the Arlo cloud with 2K video resolution on camera or more. In addition, your footage will be accessible on the Arlo cloud up to 30 days after recording.
Conclusion
Arlo cameras are fairly priced. However, they require a paid subscription to enjoy the best features, such as 24/7 recording. With this article, you can set your Arlo cameras to record 24/7 at an extra fee.
In addition, you have two Arlo recording options; the Arlo Secure plan offers up to 2K video resolution for $9.99/month for unlimited cameras and $2.99/month for a single camera, and the Arlo Secure Plus plan offers up to 4K video resolution for $14.99/month for multiple cameras.