Arlo Video Doorbell 2K Review: Full Test Results
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This product was purchased for this review.
Tested with scoring system 1.0
What do these scores mean?
Learn about our data-driven scoring system.
Pros
✔ Superb audio quality✔ Full range of smart detection types
✔ Accurate and reliable motion detection
Cons
✔ Compression lets down the 2K camera✔ Short motion detection range
✔ Live view is a bit slow to start
The Verdict
The Arlo Video Doorbell 2K is a well-rounded doorbell offering that offers a range of novel app features, good smart detection options, and the choice of wired power or an internal battery. My testing found the audio performance to be flawless, and motion detection using the smart features to be reliable and accurate.
The 2K camera affords some focus on the porch area by using a square aspect ratio to deliver a head-to-toe view and better package visibility, but I found the quality was let down by aggressive compression that obscured fine details and reduced its effective range.
Notification performance is a mixed bag, with Arlo providing some differentiation by highlighting the source of the motion event in the initial thumbnail, and then adding a short, animated clip of the triggering motion. This can greatly help in determining if action is required and if the trigger was a false alarm. These features do take some time to process, however, and would be unacceptably slow if not for the fast text-only notification that precedes them.
I also found the camera to be a bit slow to wake up, which adversely impacts how quickly an approaching person will be recorded, and how quickly the live stream can start playing. In both cases the Arlo Video Doorbell scored relatively poorly compared to the average of my test results to date.
For covering the front door and greeting visitors, Arlo provides a great option in the mid-price range, with a number of unique features for response and notification control, but for wider front yard surveillance and package security there are better options.
Type: Hybrid video doorbell
Subscription: Required for most features
Price Segment: $$$$
Test Results
Each doorbell I review is put through a series of repeated test cycles over a 30-day period. These tests give me 32 data points that make up the 7 overall category scores above. These scores rate each doorbell key performance requirements like video and audio quality, motion capture performance, smart detection accuracy and the overall user experience.
Here’s how this video doorbell ranks compared to the average of other doorbells I’ve tested:
| Data Point | This Model | Average Score |
|---|---|---|
| Video Quality | 6.9 | 7.8 |
| Night Vision Quality | 7.1 | 6.9 |
| Dynamic Range | 5.0 | 6.7 |
| Two-Way Talk | 10.0 | 7.6 |
| App Audibility | ||
| Outdoor Audibility | ||
| Recorded Audio | 10.0 | 9.0 |
| Notification Delay | 8.7 | 7.5 |
| Thumbnail Average | ||
| Doorbell Average | ||
| Text-only Average | ||
| Thumbnail Effectiveness | 9.0 | 6.9 |
| Day Success | ||
| Night Success | ||
| Missed Events | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| Day Misses | ||
| Night Misses | ||
| Camera Wake Delay | 5.4 | 8.1 |
| Frame Remaining Day | ||
| Frame Remaining Night | ||
| Event Capture | 3.9 | 5.8 |
| Record Start Day | ||
| Record Start Night | ||
| Package Monitoring | 5.8 | 5.6 |
| Package Features | ||
| Detection Success | ||
| Smart Detection | 7.8 | 6.9 |
| Smart Features | ||
| Day Accuracy | ||
| Night Accuracy | ||
| Live View Response | 6.6 | 8.6 |
| Live View Time | ||
| Doorbell Ring Response | ||
| Privacy Features | 7.5 | 8.2 |
| App Usability | 8.6 | 7.8 |
| Battery Performance | 6.4 | 7.9 |
| After 30 days | ||
| Time To Dead |
The Basics
Tech Specs
Power: Wired or BatteryRemovable Battery: No
Can Use Wired Chime: Yes
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz
Resolution: 1944 x 1944
Storage: Cloud
Weather Rating: Not provided
Field of View: 100 degrees
Compatibility: Alexa, Google, IFTTT
Smart Detection: Yes
Footprint (WxH): 5cm x 13.5cm
Notable Features:
- Built-in siren
- Animated thumbnails
- Illuminated button
- Voicemail feature
The Arlo Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) is a 1:1 aspect ratio hybrid doorbell with a 2K camera resolution of 1944 x1944. This gives the camera a reasonable view of the ground and surroundings of your front door but doesn’t quite provide complete package coverage close to the doorbell.
The doorbell uses an integral rechargeable battery for power which can be optionally kept topped up by regular doorbell wiring. Existing doorbell chimes are supported, and Arlo offers a wireless indoor chime as an optional accessory. Connection is over Wi-Fi but, as with most doorbells, only on 2.4GHz.
Doorbell wire connections are handled inside the mounting bracket, which allows for easy removal of the doorbell for additional charging if required. The mount is secured by two screws along the centerline, released by a simple pin tool (provided) at the top.
The button includes a white light ring around it which pulses when motion is detected and stays on while two-way talk is active. This helps draw visitors to the button which would otherwise be less obvious thanks to it being the same gloss black as the face of the device.
Video Storage
Video storage is only available on Arlo’s subscription cloud service. Arlo’s plans provide 30 days of rolling video storage and event history There is no local storage option.
Chime Options
Existing Mechanical Chime
Arlo Chime V2
Google or Alexa smart speakers
Camera Performance
The second-generation Arlo Video Doorbell features a 2K camera as opposed to the original Essential doorbell’s 1080p resolution. Like its predecessor, Arlo has gone for a square aspect ratio, giving the camera a maximum resolution of 1944 x 1944. I expected this resolution to perform well in the clarity test but was surprised at the results.
I struggled to get a clear view of the test chart for any length of time due to constantly shifting compression artifacts. Giving the doorbell the benefit of the doubt and taking the longest range reading I could manage only yielded a clear viewing distance of 5.5m (18ft). That sounds like a respectable distance, but it’s actually the lowest recorded clear reading of the chart I have taken yet, and that includes from numerous 1080p models.
2K video clarity is commonly over-hyped (it’s not really that much higher resolution than 1080p), but this was a disappointing result.
While testing at night obviously I obviously encountered the same compression issues as during the day, but night distances are also heavily impacted by IR illumination and light sensitivity, so many doorbells fall considerably shorted here.
Arlo actually managed to regain some ground in this test thanks to very good performance in both of those factors. While the best clear reading I could get was at 5m (16ft) this actually puts it slightly above average thanks to this excellent infra-red performance
Taking a still of the OECF test chart with a sunlit background provides a quantitative test of the loss of detail you can expect when a person is standing in front of the doorbell in shade. This dynamic range test is another area where I was surprised that Arlo dropped the ball. This could be partially due to compression again, but it’s much less of a factor at the close range of this test. The lack of clarity is definitely visible in the partly zoomed test image.
Arlo scored only 6 clearly or partially distinguishable gray swatches with HDR on (HDR is restricted to ‘auto’ or off in the app), again a below average result. Keep in mind partial swatch results only score half a point. The software could only make out 5 clear swatches, with 2 broken, but discernible.
Rear view of the doorbell
The mount where the wires attach
The button light when illuminated
Audio Performance
I half expected more disappointment in the audio tests, but this didn’t come to pass. Two-way talk performance was excellent. There was no distortion, drop-outs, audio artifacts, static, or lack of quality present in the test conversation. Both parties were able to clearly communicate at normal speaking volume right out to the maximum 10m (32ft) of the test range. No quality issues whatsoever and maximum audibility results in a perfect score for this test.
Recorded audio was just as good as the two-way talk, with no quality issues noted in video clips, no wind noise, static, or audio artifacts observed, and clearly discernible speech out past 3m (9ft), which is the key scoring requirement for distance in this test. Again, a perfect score was achieved here.
Notification Performance
Notifications are an area where Arlo both offers some uniqueness, but also has issue with delivery speed. Notifications are always handled the same way: A text notification is sent first advising of the type of motion detected which is then updated to a still image with the triggering object highlighted by a yellow rectangle. This can be updated again with a short, animated clip of the initial motion. This clip is effectively a low-resolution GIF containing a few frames in sequence, but it’s enough to clearly see the cause of the event.
You can turn the animated preview off, but otherwise this is how it works in all cases. With an average delivery time of 4.5 seconds, the text only portion is still a bit on the slow side, but it’s acceptable. The rest is much slower. The thumbnail arrives an average of 5.2 seconds later, or a after a total delay of 9.7 seconds. I consider that to be unacceptably slow for responding to issues, but the combined nature of the notification delivery makes up for it and pulls the score up considerably.
This thumbnail delivery process works fairly well in terms of reliability, and the Arlo system was able to produce a relevant image in 90 percent of the tests. Only 3 tests failed to produce a useable thumbnail, that is one that clearly shows the cause of the notification. Of those two didn’t capture me crossing the field of view fast enough, and one didn’t generate a thumbnail at all, just a text notification.
Motion Detection Performance
Motion detection on the Arlo Video Doorbell proved to be very reliable, with an overall accuracy of 99%. This is an excellent result which puts the Arlo doorbell above average on detection accuracy. Only two partial misses were recorded out of 93 test events. In each case there was an event recorded, but no notification was sent. One each for day and night test passes.
Camera wake delay is an important factor for surveillance considerations. This is the time it takes for the camera to wake up when triggered by motion and begin recording. This is tested by passing across the cameras field of view at close range, and so is measured as the portion of that field of view where the subject is captured on video. As fields of view vary, this is measured as a percentage of the video frame width in the app.
As the Arlo Video Doorbell uses a square aspect ratio, the app view was measured at 7.2cm across on screen. With an average of 3.9cm captured across all tests this equates to only a 54% capture time, meaning also half of the motion event was missed before the recording started.
The results across all tests were very consistent, with only a +/- 0.8cm variance. There was no significant difference between day or night tests and given the reliability of motion detection this clearly indicates camera delay over any other factors.
It’s worth noting here that Arlo’s marketing is a little deceptive. The Arlo Video Doorbell is advertised as having a 180-degree field of view. You have to do some digging to find the find print that notes this as ‘diagonal field of view’. This is a largely meaningless measurement that combines horizontal and vertical viewing angles and tells us nothing about the actual capability of the camera. I measured the horizontal field of view, which is most relevant for decision making, as 100-degrees.
Camera wake delay has an intrinsic impact of event capture performance, which measures the ability of the camera to detect and record an approaching object. Any delay in the camera starting will result in a shorter capture distance. We see that clearly in the testing, with an approaching person capture at an average of only 2.9m (9.5ft) out. The effect of camera wake delay is clear given the maximum motion detection range I achieved was a respectable 6.1m (20ft).
Most tests were around this range, with day results varying between 1.5m and 3.4m. There were two nighttime outliers where motion was detected at 5.3m, but this is likely due to background lighting providing a higher contrast and triggering motion detection earlier.
Smart Detection Performance
Arlo video doorbells use a square aspect ratio camera to provide a better all-round coverage of the area in front of the doorbell. This helps to provide more visible area on the floor, but it doesn’t quite give complete coverage and packages could be placed closer to the door than the doorbell can see. Still, it’s far better than a 16:9 camera and does capture most deliveries that I’ve had - at least in terms of visibility.
When it comes to actually detecting a package, I found that Arlo’s algorithm didn’t quite live up to expectations. Overall, the test packages were detected correctly only 55% of the time. There is a significant split between package types, however. The regular cardboard box was actually detected 90% of the time across all test positions, but the padded bag was only recognized 20% of the time using the exact same positions.
This seems to suggest color is a significant factor in the detection system, as I also noted correct detection of padded bags that were brown during actual deliveries, where my test bag is white. This is the first time I’ve had such a big differentiation between package types.
Oddly, Arlo only allows package detection to be enabled on one Arlo camera only. I have no idea why there would be this limitation as I haven’t seen such on other doorbell or camera apps. While not a big deal for most cases, if you wanted to cover multiple entrances or provide backup camera coverage of the doorbell area it might be frustrating.
Feature scoring:
✘ Visibility of the test package directly below doorbell.
✔ Visibility of porch area in front of the doorbell.
✔ More than 30 degrees off center visibility to the side.
✔ Presence of active package alerting feature.
✘ Presence of additional package alerts
The smart detection test covers other cases besides packages, typically for person detection. This is a very important feature for limiting notifications and recording to only events that actually matter to most people and is a powerful tool for eliminating false positives from other types of movement.
Most doorbells only have person (aka human) detection as an option, but Arlo throws in the other common types of Animals and Vehicles as well. Each type of optional and can be enabled or disabled on any Arlo camera. I found the detection to work very well, with a 96% accuracy rate on identifying objects during the test cycle. Only one night test failed to identify the type of motion.
It’s also notable that there were no false positives at all. I’ve had other systems mis-identify blowing towels, swaying shrubs and even cats as people, but the Arlo Video Doorbell didn’t experience these slip ups during the test period.
Another important feature for eliminating false positives is custom motion zones. I’ve marked Arlo down here since the Arlo Video Doorbell doesn’t allow custom zones, only rectangular ones. You can create up to 5 overlapping rectangular ‘activity zones’ in the app.
This might seem perfectly fine, and would no doubt be for many use cases, but I’ve found it can be frustrating if you have specific objects you want to cut out and these are around the edges of the camera field of view. Without custom shapes you end up cutting out too much or too little, and it’s less than ideal. Virtually every smart camera can do custom zones now, so not having this feature is fairly inexcusable at this point.
You can see in the screenshot below that I can’t effectively capture just the approach path and not the shrubs on the right without some compromise.
Feature scoring:
✘ Custom motion zones.
✔ Person detection.
✔ Animal Detection.
✔ Vehicle Detection.
✘ Facial Recognition.
Creating activity zones.
Smart notification options for the doorbell.
The event Feed showing motion detection types.
Battery Performance
Running the full test cycle over 30 days on battery power alone, I recorded a reported battery level of 61%. The test cycle is quite punishing and subjects the doorbell to far more traffic than would be typically in a home setting. I also using high sensitivity settings to ensure I get the full capabilities of the device in the various motion detection tests. The scoring takes this into account to provide a fair baseline for comparison, and Arlo’s result is on par with the various Ring models I’ve tested but falls below some other brands.
Reported battery level can vary significantly over time, so it’s useful to look at the total Time Til Dead result for context. It’s also important to note that Arlo provides various options for improving battery life if that was necessary in your case.
App Experience
Like Arlo’s notification service, I’ve found the live streaming response to be a bit sluggish in the past. Testing the 2nd Gen video doorbell only confirmed that experience.
While the live stream started consistently most of the time, I’ve had numerous attempts where it wouldn’t start at all and I needed to abandon it and try again, and some cases where the stream started very late (23 seconds being the worst).
92% of the attempts started within 8 seconds, and ignoring the outliers the average of those was 6.7 seconds. Even excluding the high numbers and failed attempts like this still puts the response time about double that of every other doorbell I’ve tested to date. It’s not terrible, but that delay is going to start leaving visitors wondering what’s going on. That’s much worse when it fails to start. You’re going to miss people or events completely.
Responding to doorbell rings was a better experience with an average start delay of 3.6 seconds, a much more acceptable figure. I didn’t have any failures in these cases, which would be expected since the camera is already up and running due to motion detection.
Interestingly Arlo doesn’t simply present a normal notification you can tap on like other doorbell apps but treats a doorbell ring as a phone call. You need to answer it on your phone in a similar way and it effectively starts a video call. I’m not actually a fan of this since you don’t get the benefit of the notification thumbnail to see if it’s someone you want to talk to first.
Arlo has stepped up their security game in recent years and now supports device tokens rather than time-limited logins. These were a pain, so I’m glad to see this change. I’m also pleased to see the support of mandatory two-factor authentication. This is via an email code, and there is no support for one time passcode authenticators. This can be a bit clumsy, and it’s not as secure as a dedicated authenticator, but it’s arguably better than a TXT given the prevalence of sim swapping and social engineering attacks on these types of codes now.
Device sharing and access management is now quite good. Proper invitations to other users are supported, but clear visibility of who has been given access and which devices are sharing that access, as well as which devices are logged into your own account. You can terminate those logins directly from the Privacy Center as well, which is excellent.
Firmware updates are handled automatically, preventing any exposure to known vulnerabilities through inaction, but I wasn’t able to find any log of updates and what was changed.
Privacy controls are where Arlo loses the most points. There’s no support for privacy zones. These allows blocking out parts of the video frame where you don’t want to accidentally record, like neighbors’ windows. There’s also no way to quickly disable recording on the doorbell. Yes, you can set up the included modes (Away, Home, or Standby) that can be used to disable this, but you can’t just change the one device temporarily with these. There’s also no way to disable live view, even if the recording is disabled.
Arlo provides us with some promises and measures they use to ensure security on their Privacy Pledge page. All the right things are there, and they do hold a number of independent security certificates. There have been some security vulnerabilities, but Arlo has self-reported and fixed these through firmware updates.
It’s been a while since I’ve had cause to dig deep into the Arlo app, so it’s been good to do that with the ‘New Arlo Experience’. While the app is now more polished and responsive, I still found some of the design choices to be baffling. Navigation was always an issue with the old one, and while the new app does a better job of discoverability, it’s not there yet.
There are some odd features placement decisions, like burying the smart detection settings three layers deep under your account instead of making them available on the device settings themselves. The new dashboard is also curious. I can see they wanted to make it so you could choose to just have the devices you needed to glance at quickly available, but it just duplicates the exact same functionality that’s on the devices tab.
With two places to access the doorbell, it was also odd to find they behaved a bit differently in termr of the video playback window. The differences are subtle and wouldn’t affect regular users, but it left me scratching my head at times while trying to capture test footage for this review.
That said, Arlo does a mostly good job of explaining features, with some explanatory text where it’s needed. There could be more detail and some links to support documentation here, and some other brands do this better. The support center itself is quite nice. With contextual links to support articles pertaining to specific devices, and a built-in view of any support tickets you have open.
Accessing video clips was fast and reliable. Again, you can do this in two places: under the device view or in a separate Feed section. The Feed section includes clips from all you Arlo cameras in chronological order and can be a better place to find things as it’s the only place where you can filter event types. The device view is just an unfiltered list, although you can select a date to jump to.
I was able to scrub through a playing video easily using the position marker, and this was quick and intuitive. A menu at the top allows you to flag, save, or share the clip.
I did experience a few minor bugs while testing the doorbell. At times I couldn’t get the play/pause icon to go away so I could take a screenshot. I’ve had the mute button fail to work, requiring me to exit the playback and try again, and I had the app get confused as to which clip I was playing. All of these were one-off events that I was able to easily resolve, and the testing went largely without issue, but it does cost Arlo a point here.
Overall the Arlo app gets 12 out of 14 points for usability.
Accessing live and recorded video.
The settings page for the device.
Extensive event filters, including from their alarm system.
Smart Home Features
Support for chime and live video playback on Amazon and Google smart displays and speakers
Supports for IFTTT triggers.
Extra Features
Built-in siren that can be triggered from the live view or through Arlo’s mode system.
Button light ring that directs visitors to the button and shows when two-way talk is active.
A voice mail feature that prompts visitors to leave a message if the doorbell is not answered without a set time period.
Alternatives
Package Security
Eufy E340
7.5 Overall Score
A dual camera design from major player Eufy Security provides far superior package security thanks to a dedicated package monitoring camera, built-in LED porch lighting, and the Delivery Guard feature. Delivery Guard not only detects packages and alerts you, but actively monitors them for interference and reminds you to collect them if you forget for too long.
Smart Integration
Aqara G4
7.5 Overall Score
The G4 from smart home brand Aqara provides a wider variety of smart home integrations with Alexa, Google, and full HomeKit Secure Video support. You can use wired power, or regular AA batteries for surprisingly long life, and all without a subscription.
Security Monitoring
Ring Battery Doorbell Plus
8.1 Overall Score
Ring's more expensive battery doorbell plus has similar video and audio performance, but with considerably better motion detection allowing for earlier triggering of recording at longer distances. It also benefits from very fast notification and live stream performance, ensuring you can respond to events in a timely manner.
Common Questions
Who owns Arlo?
Arlo Technologies is an American company spun off from its parent brand Netgear in 2018. Netgear is also an American company based in California and retains majority control of Arlo.
Is Arlo secure?
Arlo hasn’t had any major reported security breaches and has committed to user privacy and security through the engagement of independent security audits and responsible, open disclosure of vulnerabilities when they are discovered. A number of such vulnerabilities have been found and fixed by Arlo over the years. Arlo has a privacy pledge outlining the steps they use to ensure privacy, but there is limited detail on specifics.
Does the Arlo Video Doorbell 2K support Arlo base stations?
No, Arlo doesn’t support integration of the video doorbell with their base station products at this time. That means there is no local storage option or support for Apple HomeKit available.
See my video doorbell guides to learn more about other models, features, and options.
