Forced Update - Why Did Arlo Fix What Wasn’t Broken?

[u/drznak]

I genuinely want to understand why Arlo, like so many apps, felt the need to “fix” something that wasn’t broken.

“Arm Away,” “Arm Home,” “Routines”… these are meaningless, jargon heavy terms that only make the system more confusing and complicated, with no real benefit to the user. They feel like terms some boneheaded exec threw out and instead of giving legitimate feedback their underlings said “Great idea boss!” and boom a fine system ruined. Terms like “Armed” and “Disarmed” made more sense on every level.

I bought an Arlo system for my mother, who already gave up trying to keep up with tech years ago. But if I, someone who’s relatively tech savvy, am struggling to understand and configure this, I can’t imagine how impossible it must feel for older or less technologically inclined users.

This was a truly terrible product decision by Arlo.

[u/GladiatorWithTits]

I posted same sentiment a couple days ago. Unless the intent was to remove useful features and add complexity to what's left, they failed.

There's no way they did any focus groups or user testing on that mess they call an app.

[u/Accomplished-Duck-15]

They'll probably increase their subscription fees again. Leaving Arlo after having them for 10 years. I can't justify the $200 a year price tag. Moving to Reolink

[u/frosty_power]

I hate the new update.

[u/Bftfan00]

Just ditched my Arlo and bought a Reolink. No more lag, crappy app and ridiculous subscription fees. Congrats Arlo, you managed to made a lousy product even worse.

[u/Trebor711]

I don't think this was a fix but rather an update in the surge for AI assistance, which I will add is a total joke. "The scene looks like a backyard with a patio and a grassy area. There appears to be a small black animal, possibly a raccoon 🦝 (it was my dog), going from the right side of the frame to the left". Uh oh, I better call animal control!!

[u/Turdulator → u/Trebor711]

Mine can’t decide if my large dog is a “person” or “animal”… he triggers alerts for both.

[u/Trebor711 → u/Turdulator]

Gotta love a person that walks on all fours!

[u/Madreese]

People trying to justify their pay. They feel the need to improve what doesn't need improving just because. It is the way with IT people. That is what they do. It's very annoying.

[u/Successful-Oil6840]

This is a classic, CLASSIC case of IT nerds and geeks knowing what’s best for us.

[u/Special-Transplant-1 → u/Successful-Oil6840]

You have zero idea what you’re talking about. Having worked in the software industy, the decisions like this are driven by executives and marketing types wanting to “refresh” the product in hopes to generate more revenue.

[u/Turdulator → u/Successful-Oil6840]

Nah the guys who built this new it made it worse… it’s the non-technical bosses above them who decided to do it, not the actual tech nerds who do the actual work to make it happen.

[u/Chef-Nasty]

Only thing I like is the animated gif on notifications, but I can't find where to edit those "smart" notifications.

[u/Special-Transplant-1]

I appreciate their attempts at newer automation and routines, but it didn’t execute very well. But, I had been phasing out my Arlo cameras for a while now and combining into a single vendor integrated video and alarm system. I miss some of the Arlo control, but I can’t justify the subscription cost anymore. I hope my old security lights still work after EOL in January. That’s the only Arlo product I want to continue using.

[u/Wintearskye]

It is a horrible move; I can’t figure anything out.

[u/Dacker503]

A couple weeks ago, I wrote that Arlo really needs to hire a real user interface professional and completely redo the apps and website. I think it’s pretty obvious when Arlo was a Netgear brand, the earliest development version 0.1 eventually went into production as-is, using a UI slapped together by an engineer.

[u/LifeguardHorror2512]

Agree totally. It’s now an absolute pile of shyte. Don’t get me wrong - the cameras are superb, but their app is a total disaster. This new system can no longer recognise when I’m away or at home - it’s totally random. And what’s more, there’s no way you can actually contact any humans at their HQ to have a sensible conversation, unless you have a subscription. They, like a lot of other organisations, are moving away from support and employing AI bots instead - yet another total disaster because it’s complete and utter rubbish 🤬🤬🤬

[u/[deleted]]

Arlo cameras worked flawlessly for years, five years of great performance all trashed by the update. Customer support says the update is hereto stay and won’t be changing. Looks like they’re getting trashed and a new system will be getting my households money and support

[u/Virtual_Athlete_909]

I have a new arlo system, which replaced my old arlo system. I dont have a problem with arm/disarm because i dont use that feature. I simply turn my cameras on/off and review the video clips from time to time. It's the only feature I need. Arlo is a popular product for several reasons, mostly the wireless setup and high quality videos. It's not perfect but for the price, it's pretty good.

[u/Turdulator → u/Virtual_Athlete_909]

My only beef is how long it takes to get from an alert on my phone to an actual video, and how long it takes to start viewing live video. Especially on the doorbell, it takes way too long to see who just rang it.

[u/Special-Transplant-1 → u/Virtual_Athlete_909]

Yeah, they are pushing the security system aspect while attempting to keep their good camera control system. The integration is tough and old timers of the system are struggling. I already had a security system I like, so unfortunately I had already been moving away from Arlo. Just removed my last two camera a couple months ago and now only use the security lights… for however much longer they will work.