Arlo Baby Monitor Review - Best Wifi Video Monitor of 2018?

[@gregkiser5820]

Great Review! I didn’t know about the upcoming touch screen monitor but that definitely has made me a buyer of the Arlo Baby. Thanks for the information!

[@JaredBelcherCollected]

Love the Bibliotheca set you have in the background! One of my favorites. And solid review!

[@45eno]

Find a cheap $40-80 battery back up , disable the audio alert in the software so if power goes out at night you won't end up turning off the entire battery. Hook up just your modem/router to it. Many benefits to keeping your modem/router more stable with even brief power bumps. Less likely to need to power cycle and sometimes reconnect devices. Keeps that baby cam functional as well.

[@mas2rt]

Great Video, very helpful! One question for you, was is the view span of the camera? if you mount higher can you get a better view of the room? or just primarily the baby & crib?

[@renee9947]

Love your videos/ honest reviews. Debating on which monitor to get still but glad you made some good reviews to help with some questions.

[@Keep_Freedom_Free]

I had nothing but problems with the arlo. It seemed to not matter what I did but it would completely drain my phone battery and the connectivity was very poor. I ended up returning and doing the exact Amcrest and baby monitor set up as you and couldn't be happier.

[@dadverb]

Thanks for sharing that insight Adam. I had decent connectivity, but my wife complained a bit about Arlo's boot time for the app which I failed to mention. Overall a great camera to test, but Amcrest is back up and running in our nursery.

[@thizzle7xu]

FYI, Arlo/Netgear cancelled the dedicated display: community.netgear.com/t5/Arlo-Baby/Arlo-Baby-and-Dedicate-Touch-Screen-Monitor/m-p/1525821#M1578

[@matthewrtrego]

I love that you have the Bibliotecha set, was the red book on the table the special edition of dont waste your life?

[@ReviewsAcrosstheBoard]

Really great video review. Kind of makes me want to have another baby

[@jillbills2592]

Thanks for the information. Does the Arlo baby offer continues sound and continuous video? If not which WIFI monitor Will?

[@bardothodol4472]

Cubo?

[@cherry9038]

Thanks for the review! Are you planning to do a review on the new Motorola Halo+? I'm looking for a baby monitor but can't decide between the two.

[@marianavengoechea9247]

Hi ! Love your videos - what are your thoughts on Arlo vs. Amazon cam?

[@OutUnderStars]

Mariana Vengoechea the Arlo Baby has terrible reviews on Amazon. I as shocked at how poorly the monitor reviewed.

[@joanengy106]

Very cute camera design. But how is it in practical use? Someone already bought? Do you have one camera?

[@dorinic]

I got the Arlo Baby because I wanted all-in-one features. Though the key seller was Alexa integration. I have a Fire TV and an Echo Show and use both to check-in on the Nursery. You can leave these on of course so you can get continuous monitoring pretty easily that way without a dedicated tablet. It is pretty cool to be able to quickly do so on the main television. I just found the night vision a bit spotty between the Alexa Skill and the Native app. It has been working better more recently though.

[@DarylChangs]

dorinic What’s the lag like on the Arlo baby?

[@dorinic]

Daryl Chang there is noticeable lag for me. Just roughly estimating I’d say between 2 and 5 seconds. Not sure how much is down to WiFi, Internet weather, or just down to the design. I plan to put a WiFi repeater nearer to the camera in the new year and I’ll see if that knocks out a second or two of lag.

[@DarylChangs]

dorinic Did you lower your resolution to 720p or lower and see if the lag reduced? Also, considering the lag your experiencing are you planning to keep the monitor or are you looking at other options?

[@dorinic]

[Edit: I did some more testing so updating this whole post] I ended up factory resetting the camera. I moved the camera to ~3 meters of my wifi router and the App finally showed good signal strength for the device. The latencies in this setup didn't appear to be impacted by resolution. The native Arlo app on an iPhone achieves ~2 second latency. This is good in my opinion since I suspect the communication is Camera->Arlo Servers->iPhone. With Alexa and a Fire TV I achieve 7 second latency in this setup (at one point I was getting something like 4.5 but it wasn't consistent). I suspect the setup here would be something like Camera->Arlo Servers->[Netgear|Alexa interface]->Amazon Servers->Fire TV. Overall I'm happy to keep this camera right now. I'm not looking for realtime but do plan to look into security cameras in 2018. Then I'll want something closer to 1-2 second lag at max. So will be looking for local video streaming rather than camera->cloud->device. So something like a local network video recorder (NVR) and VPN to my home network for mobile.

[@DarylChangs]

dorinic What was the lag like on your iPhone before you moved the camera closer to your router? Also, do you think this is a better option or the Nest Indoor cam (although it doesn’t have many baby features)

[@itschrishuerta]

Came here for the review. Leaving a comment to let you know I have the exact same hoodie lol Thanks for the awesome videos! Keep it up.

[@h03nan]

Hi! Thank´s for a great video. One question.... Is the motion detection any good on this? Would it react if the baby (or child) woke up in the night sitting?

[@dadverb]

The motion detection on this is beast. You'll definitely get alerts when the baby wakes up.

[@sdwsdwsdw]

Hello! Your channel has been great when trying to find baby products for our first. I know this video is a little old, but do baby monitors that have the ability to stream on an app AND come with a mini monitor? I like the idea of being able to watch my monitor from anywhere even when I’m not there and don’t have to worry about the WiFi with it’s own monitor? Thank you!

[@DomesticArtsyVeteran]

This looks really cool but how does it compare to the "Raybaby" monitor or Cocoon Cam Baby Monitor?

[@AngryBuddha7982]

Great video. Gave us a lot to think about. Due date still 3 months away

[@dadverb]

You've got time. How is the pregnancy going? Is it going smoothly for her?

[@AngryBuddha7982]

DadVerb actually yes. No morning sickness or nausea. Doctor says it's going smoothly. She's a chef so she's on her feet all day, so back is a bit tender right now

[@ajgilly3]

Oscar Vazquez good luck! I just had our second baby on Thursday and am desperate to find a baby monitor that is Wi-Fi but also has a monitor I can use when not using an app.

[@bean32hi]

Thanks for the video I still can’t decide on the a monitor. We are not due for a few more months. Still got time to over think this process...haha

[@dadverb]

I know, it can definitely be daunting. I think the main question you can try answering is if you'd like to have the camera simply be a camera or if you want it to do more. If you think the light and sounds from the Arlo are all you'd need to fill your nursery then it might be a great option. Lollipop is a great alternate to save some money in my opinion. Also, is the option for cloud recording for you important? Some people simply don't care about what happened in the past and only need a live feed view. If cloud access isn't a need, then you may be able to skip Arlo or Nest.

[@bean32hi]

DadVerb Thanks for the info we end up going with the lollipop. The wife really liked the portability of it...love the channel and keep the great content coming.

[@tealjohnson2523]

Just FYI, I just returned a nest 3 pack because you can’t stream multiple cameras at once while hearing audio. That’s a big deal if you have multiple kids you want to keep an eye on. Supposedly Arlo allows multiple streams with audio simultaneously.

[@1stsgtkarasik367]

Andrew, amazing review! I got my Arlo Baby a few weeks ago and its just great. It does have a few cons though; the internal battery doesn't last longer than about an hour when on and about 3 hours when turned off (unplugged), I really don't like not being able to physically turn it off (aside from the in app "off" toggle). Some people are experiencing feed drops and connectivity issues, the main reason for that is their slow connection or router compatibility to their home network, I have the netgear orbi and my Arlo Baby runs smooth. Again, thank you for making this review!

[@DarylChangs]

Alex Karasik What’s the lag like when watching live between when the motion occurs to when you see it on your display? Also, how long does it take for you to get a notification once the motion occurs

[@1stsgtkarasik367]

The lag depends on the quality setting you have the camera set for. Example: if its set to 1080P, the lag is like 4-6 seconds but if you have it set to 380p-720p, the lag is 1 or 2 seconds. As far as notifications, I actually turned them off because my phone just got overwhelmed with so many notifications I was receiving, but you do get the notification right away. My notification is my baby crying and hearing her on the monitor. BTW, you can turn motion and noise detection off but you cannot turn off battery notification or air quality so you still get notified about those. please let me know if that answered your question, I will be more than happy to answer any other questions you have.

[@DarylChangs]

Alex Karasik Thank you for responding and for being so detailed. Do you get a notification the moment your baby starts crying or is the audio always on and you can hear it on your monitoring device immediately? Also in your opinion is this the best option for a baby monitor or is there any other you think I should look at or consider?

[@1stsgtkarasik367]

You can set notifications for both audio and movement and you will get the notification immediately on your iPhone or android device. You can also set your arlo app to constant audio (even if you hit the sleep button on your phone), you will be able to hear your baby if they cry but, just like the video, there is a few seconds of lag, meaning if your baby cries loud enough in another room, you will hear the baby (naturally) and a second later your phone will sound... the reason for the lag is because its on a wifi network and that lag will happen on any wifi camera or baby monitor. I believe that this is the best monitor due to the fact that the company that produces them is netgear and they are a wireless router giant which is now getting into security cameras (you will get software updates constantly to improve the functionality). They are also coming out with a stand alone monitor for the arlo baby, which I'm super excited about. If you go with the arlo baby, just make sure that you read the manual, there are so many terrible reviews on amazon for the arlo baby, primarily because people put it on a slow network and boost up the video quality to 1080p, giving them a lot of lag. When you get it, just play around with the app and see what works for you. Even if you put it on 320p, the video quality isn't bad at all. Have a good one, and Merry Christmas.

[@DarylChangs]

Alex Karasik Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I’m aware of the monitor that Arlo is coming out with but I have no idea when it will be available since it was supposed to launch this year. I was thinking of using an amazon fire tablet as the monitoring device (far cheaper option as well) I was looking at the Samsung babyview 3057w as my other option. So mainly trying to pick between these two. I checked the Samsung one in store and it didn’t seem to have much lag but that streams at 720p. However I am not sure how good it is when it comes to streaming remotely or using the app. All in all do you think the Arlo baby is a good baby monitor considering the few seconds lag or do you feel it is an issue and we should invest in an audio monitor as well since those are around $20?

[@jadet2082]

I love these reviews!

[@johannadesouza903]

Just read on Arlo's community page that they are no longer planning on releasing a stand alone tablet :( I saw your review on the Nanit and after seeing this review and knowing that it also has continuous audio monitoring, is Arlo your favorite? Incidentally, the Arlo is $199 vs the Nanit Plus' $280 on Amazon - still deciding!!!

[@TheYomdi]

Great Job, thanks for the review.

[@meliann51996]

Could you review that Cocoon Cam?? I’ve been debating whether I’ve wanted that monitor for months now, but I would love an in depth review on it!

[@dadverb]

I'm at a baby product conference at the moment. I'll try finding their booth and snagging a cam to review.

[@nathanrotich417]

The Baby Monitor Center listed Arlo Baby as compatible to google home. Is it the green old arlo baby or the new grey arlo baby?

[@reneegarcia4472]

Hi Dad Verb!!! Thanks for your videos, they are helping me tremendously with trying to select a new monitor for my kids. I’m expecting #2 soon and now need a good WiFi monitor that has dual audio capabilities so i can monitor two rooms at once with a toggle feature. I currently use a nest camera but found if i add another camera there is no way for me to monitor both rooms at once. Do you know if there is a good WiFi camera with this feature that exists!??? I’ve done so much research and it seems none of the good quality cameras on the market have this feature!

[@dadverb]

Hey Renee I’m surprised that Nest isn’t doing that for you. With most security systems, you can add multiple cameras and toggle between them. That includes Arlo and Amcrest. Visually you should be able to have access to both feeds. Which Nest cams are you using?

[@reneegarcia4472]

Dad Verb I have a Dropcam Pro. You can definitely add more cameras and manually check each one but i don’t think there’s a way to set them up so that through the night it automatically switches back & forth between rooms like a standard dual audio baby monitor would. Does that make sense? Unfortunately standard baby monitors don’t work in my house or i would prob just use one to have this quality even though the picture quality is typically horrible.

[@melodygoad9146]

I love the fact that Arlo is coming out with a constant streaming screen but it's an extra $99.99 which adds to the already expensive monitor. I love this video, thank you so much!

[@dadverb]

I know, that really is a big downside to Arlo. That pricing is a little crazy.

[@williamgorham7339]

what is the name of the screen i want to purchase it

[@DarylChangs]

DadVerb What is the lag like on the lollipop and the arlo baby as in how many seconds? Also are these better options or would you go with the Samsung Babyview SEW-3057W? Thanks in advance!

[@warrenmitchellg1]

When is this screen coming out?

[@AmbersTrendyThoughts]

I contacted Arlo and they are no longer releasing the 7" monitor

[@christiandacosta]

Have you looked at the new Amazon Echo Spot? Wondering if two of these could work as a good baby monitor.

[@RichardBronosky]

Have you reviewed any wifi camera that you would trust to wake a sleep deprived patent? I'm sending a security camera back because the app failed me. The streaming rarely video freezes, but when it does, you have to close and reopen the feed. You can't do that when you are asleep. The push notification for sound or motion detection is not going to wake you. If it's doesn't allow you to sleep, it's not a baby monitor.

[@MichaelStanton]

I should put my request here lol. Can you do a review on the Nest Cam IQ. It has an Apple TV app and makes me think it'd be great for those with TVs in their room.

[@carmenramirez1032]

My daughter suffers from seizures and I'm looking for a great camera that records so i document them. I don't really need a camera that play music, so with that said would you recommend the Amcrest or the Arlo?

[@AceGannon]

Hey great review...I just purchased the Arlo Baby and while I love the top notch video quality, the live feed stops every 25 mins constantly! I’m having to keep pressing the play button to resume streaming otherwise screen is just black and monitoring doesn’t work. Were you able to steam longer than 30 mins? This makes the camera pointless as I need to watch my infant at night and I have owned many different wifi baby cameras before and ALL of them obviously let you watch constant feed until you decide to close the app.

[@dadverb]

I never tried streaming that long since the wifi monitors I test usually kill my battery too fast while streaming. I usually use camera monitors as a "brief check-in" tool and find that audio monitors work really well for my nights. That issue could also be an intentional move by Arlo to push their new screen that pairs with the camera for monitoring for long time intervals www.arlo.com/en-us/products/arlo-baby/display-monitor.aspx

[@AceGannon]

DadVerb Thanks for the reply man, ya I suspect the same due to the upcoming monitor but also the subscription model for cvr which is a shame because this is a must for my wife to have the ability to keep the video up all night which all my previous wifi cameras did. I’ll probably return this one and go with the Amcrest, do you know if the Amcrest you have has a similar streaming limitation or can I expect it to keep the video feed as long as I wish?

[@dadverb]

Amcrest can push the stream all night, you just need to make sure your device doesn't fall asleep and that your device is connected to a power source. I haven't tested it with the Nest, but I would hope it functions similarly.

[@MBilal-nc6kx]

Hi. Have you tested the I baby m6S? Thoughts on that vs the amcrest 2k?

[@Dboy0920]

Wouldnt it be better to just buy the arlo security camera set and use that as a baby monitor? They have night mode and movement detection also. The whole set is like 3 cameras for around 250 to 300 dollars. I have arlo and am thinking of just doing that when our baby is born

[@dadverb]

In my opinion, I agree with you and think that may be a better route to go. It has all the needed features and I can repurpose it in a different room after the nursery.

[@davehacuna]

Great review thanks, i like the Arlo in all honestly and i am almost set on this camera, but there is one thing that troubles me and it is the dedicated screen. Will i feel comfortable with just the opening the fee or will i feel better with a dedicated monitor that does not depend on internet?? does this thing have wifi direct?

[@dadverb]

That's the golden question man. I wish I could say more about that 7" touchscreen but Arlo is being so hush-hush about it. I can't wait to get my hands on it, but as of now their site just says "Coming Soon". My speculation is that it probably still needs a Wifi connection to link to the camera, but I can't say for sure just yet.

[@artwithmsgram]

They ditched the dedicated screen idea. :( community.netgear.com/t5/Arlo-Baby/Arlo-Baby-dedicated-display-monitor-announcement/td-p/1525833

[@salinajuarez6397]

Does the amcrest give you the option to connect multiple monitors on the app like how Arlo does? I’m really considering the amcrest but I have two baby rooms I want to keep an eye on so I would have two amcrest one for each room. Would I be able to connect both cameras to the same app?

[@kylezeis4415]

Have you used the RayBaby monitor. I have been looking at it but and it seems like a good choice but I have not seen any real use reviews

[@dadverb]

I've seen it at trade shows but have yet to actually test it in full. Seems to fall in line with Cocoon's features which I dig a lot.

[@texasitalian84]

Hey just joined ur channel . Me and my fiance are expecting around August. And wondered if you have done any reviews on strollers for men and where are you guys from . We live in S.A.

[@dadverb]

I need to start more stroller reviews. I've only reviewed the Bumbleride Speed jogger. I'm going be doing one on our Uppababy Vista in the coming weeks.

[@terjes64]

Unlucky for me that they never did make the touchscreen

[@jamesalyssahall8687]

Like your videos!

[@forwardmom583]

returning mine! lots of promises that aren't backed with quality. horrible to connect to, drops connection when you finally get on, then there was the music feature that went rogue, going on and off randomly and waking baby (not cool) this thing is terrible, unsafe and the company support was non existent. then they wanted my credit card info (again), oh and did I mention they constantly spam you on the app and email to buy more of their stuff? I literally never leave a bad review for anything, but this is a major safety issue for baby!

[@summera4077]

I don't want a monitor that I need to use my phone with. Have you done a video comparing just the ones that have their own handheld monitors? Or could you?

[@dadverb]

I would say that the Infant Optics DXR-8 is possibly your best bet. amzn.to/2RRNbI6 Another growing brand called Eufy is about to release a non-connected camera called the SpaceView Baby Monitor toward the end of the year. Not sure when you're looking to buy, but those are two options for you.

[@walkmyshoes]

Just a quick question. Is one-way audio available or is it always two-way if audio is on? Thank you so much in advance!

[@dadverb]

You can toggle the mic and speaker to be one-way or two-way whenever you'd like.

[@elukeman]

Agh! Now I’m more confused! We need 2 cameras and love The constant streaming we have on our summer infant monitor but they’ve discontinued it and we can’t get a second cam! Too many options!!

[@dadverb]

I know, there are so many options out there. Sorry for the confusion. If you're a fan of that constant stream, I gotta say the Infant Optics DXR-8 really is a solid pickup as well.

[@automoglow]

Does this manually move up down left right or can I control it in the app?

[@bford1187]

What about using the Arlo Q and pairing with a Fire tablet rather than the Arlo baby?

[@dadverb]

I hadn't considered that, but it's not a bad idea. Another good one would be to keep it all Amazon and go with their Cloud Cam paired with a Fire Tablet and/or Echo Show. amzn.to/2BFv97c

[@45eno]

YES this works great bford1187!! I remembered I had an old Kindle Fire 5th gen from 2015 that wasn't being used. I charged it up last night, loaded the Amcrest View Pro app on it and have been testing it today. It's been running on the lowest brightness setting for over 4hrs now and battery is now at 77%. PERFECT COMBO to an IP camera. Can't believe how much better this hardware is handling streaming vs my iPhone. I won't need to bring a micro usb charger around with it like I thought I was going to have to do.

[@mELONHEAD1899]

My name is Arlo. I should get this for free. Good review!

[@bensonhon]

If I have an old iPad used as for constant streaming, wouldn't it be the same?

[@dadverb]

Yup, Arlo's app works on an iPad as well 👍

[@mdjukes]

Heard the Amcrest 2k has Alexa integration... anyone got any experience with that? Is there a model with temp monitoring as liked that on Arlo but $200 for a web cam seems a lot.. bunny ears or not :-)

[@nguyenmichell]

Does anyone have the link to the monitor? Trying to find it in Australia.... :/

[@aleksejloki6547]

Nothing about battery consumption!

[@fillefilander]

Motorola has had monitors with constant feed for years.

[@dadverb]

My issue with Motorola monitors has always been the quality. The feed is seemingly at 10fps and I lose things in the blacks making it difficult to see certain details depending on the nursery setup. That paired with the pixelation from the sub 480p resolution has always frustrated me.

[@fillefilander]

@@dadverb I know. But it's about watching if your kid is sleaping, not watching a movie on it.

[@dadverb]

For many, it's not about sleeping, but about breathing. A lot of parents like to zoom in on chests and stomachs to observe pixels moving and gauge breathing patterns. When testing Motorola and Samsung cams, the compression artifacting is so bad, I sometimes have a difficult time seeing what position the baby is in - so checking for breathing is out of the question. (Again, this is dependent on our nursery and cam setup.) You make a good point and it's up to preference, but it's 2019 and we deserve better. I'm glad Miku, Eufy, Nanit, Owlet, etc. are stepping it up.

[@fillefilander]

@@dadverb Dad Verb for breating there is way better things, like an Angel Care breating monitor. I would like to se you sit and watch any monitor for every breath. An infant sometimes breathe so small you wouldn't even see it live. You can't watch a baby like that all time. So an Angel Care is pretty much the only way to go. The monitor is just to check on the cute thing.

[@dadverb]

Lol, we just detracted and I’m not sure what’s happening anymore.

[@jamesgiallorenzo5237]

In theory yes - in actuality no. Arlo has had a series of failures with their app over the past few months, which have rendered this seemingly all star device USELESS. Serious pixilation of images (wasn't resolved for months), app closing down middle of the night and most recently they released an app update that killed all sound - the single most important feature of a baby monitor. DO NOT BUY

[@Westopher]

I spy Bibliotheca :)

[@dadverb]

Good spot my dude, haha. I try and get it in almost every video I make.

[@scroogemcfyuck8110]

0/10 started ranting about some pikman 3ds or whatever with captain olimar

[@rawaalsager9545]

Im a father, dont buy this product - its the most important product I have in my house and it does not function. the worst thing ever! WATCH OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@ruskan7633]

Whats wrong with it?

[@rawaalsager9545]

Darkgen it shuts down every day. It has been behaving like this ever since we bought it. We have to run up to second floor to re-start everything again, to have it possibly functioning again, and while you do that, it either might that the kid has already awakened because of us getting in or the other problem is that he starts crying but the Arlo is down and it doesn’t notify us, we are notified by hearing him screaming so loud.

[@ruskan7633]

@@rawaalsager9545 cheers thanks for that, im going through ths process of finding a baby monitor. Also did Arlo aupport help you out?

[@rawaalsager9545]

Darkgen i live in dubai, and I’d need to call a Us number every time- spending more on my phone bill to call customer service than on the product.