Providing home owners with more aspects other than peace of mind, a bunch of safety measures come in various forms, and nowadays, having a reliable home security system has become increasingly popular and in some areas even necessary. Not only does it help detect and deter burglars but can prevent accidents and/or document them. Moreover, with the introduction of Wi-Fi and new technologies, home security systems have been innovating their setups and offering a wide variety of solutions and options to suit every home need.
However, installations of these types often require a constant power source to feed the cameras and this, while it might not be a problem indoors, can be a deal breaker for homeowners who do not wish or cannot have a supplementary outdoor electric installation.
For this reason, systems like the Arlo vms3230 smart home security camera kit, which runs in pure battery power and can be installed anywhere around your property in a cinch, are regaled in high esteem and sought and bought like fresh baked bread. Being completely wire-free is the main of many other capabilities that this system includes and because of this, we will be reviewing it, to provide you with a sound roundup that will allow you to determine if this will be your next security system.
All the features.
A standard Arlo vms3230 smart home security camera kit comes with two cameras, its base station, a provided Ethernet cable to connect it and extra batteries for the camera units. It also includes four mounting sets that can be attached to any wall, to which the cameras attach in turn with the use of powerful magnets placed inside their casing, which can be also used on any flat metallic surface or even a refrigerator.
The compact sizing and IP65 waterproof rating allows for the cameras to be installed anywhere outside and can withstand temperatures ranging from 14 degrees to 122 degrees Fahrenheit, adding a great feature for houses affected by heavy weather or snow while keeping them secured.
The great quality of resolution the Arlo vms3230 smart home security camera kit has allowed for clear daytime and nighttime images, providing visuals with its 1280p and 130-degree field of view, together with twelve infrared LED lights that allow for a 25 feet range of night vision. The only possible downside to this great roundup is the lack of panning and zooming capabilities that is not included in favor of the battery life. Moreover, it does not have any audio capabilities either, but it compensates for this flaw with the addition of motion detection technology and the ability to send emails and alerts to your phone through push notifications from the provided app.
The home base station for the kit is standard in size and has a communication range of 300 feet from the cameras, but be aware that walls and obstacles might interfere with this range. It offers a clear disposition of buttons and additional ports to connect other devices to it and installation is done easily with the provided app.
Arlo offers a paid cloud storage service for your security footage that alternates from a basic free service, up to a premium service providing thirty days of cloud storage for your recordings and supports up to fifteen cameras in one set up. The service allows you to download, share or schedule your surveillance system from the app.
Provided application.
Speaking of the mobile application which lets you effectively control your setup, it is available for both iOS and android devices, as well as the option to use the web portal from a computer. Both the app and web portal are user friendly and dispose of the most basic options right away. The first thing you’ll see is each camera installed on the home assembly and the last captured image from each booth. The information for each camera will also be displayed and listed with the icons for each possible status and action that can be performed. Live mode can be triggered through the play button disposed on the app and this mode will run on until you close the app or if you move onto a different option or screen within the app.
There are several actions that can be performed on the list of recorded videos stored in your apps library. You may view any video or photo, favorite it, share it, download it, delete it and many other options.
The app also allows you to set motion detection schedules for those nights you want to look out for burglars when out of town or far from home, and the sensitivity to the motion trigger can be handled easily in the settings panel, along with many other functions for the cameras like the video quality, email or push notification permissions, edit your information, adjust the cameras and much more.
Setting it up.
To say the installation of the Arlo vms3230 smart home security camera kit is easy might be an understatement. With a few steps and press of a couple buttons, your home will be protected in less than 20 minutes. After deciding where to mount or locate your cameras, the first thing to do will be to set up the home base station and connect the camera units to it.
Follow along the provided instructions for the base station to connect to the internet and be accessible from the app. Second step will be syncing the cameras to the station and displaying them on their designated location. From here on, settings and preferences would be pretty much left to each homeowner’s disposition and specific needs.
Pros and cons.
All in all, and after having reviewed the similarities this particular kit holds against other comparable security bundles, we have concluded that the good points it shares: its total wirelesses and sharp video quality capabilities together with the ease of installation; accounts for more than its downsides that consist mainly on the lack of audio, dynamic panning, tilting or zooming capabilities.
The longer battery life will in turn compensate for the shortcomings present on the system, as well as the possibility to have the units outside of your house, build up to a considerable and functional surveillance system that is sure to deliver its investment.
