Arlo Video Doorbell (2nd Generation) Review

The second-generation Arlo Video Doorbell is a wireless doorbell with built-in Wi-Fi and a camera that offers clear HD or 2K video with a head-to-toe view of your doorstep. It installs in minutes, works with many third-party devices, and supports voice control, though you have to subscribe to an Arlo Secure plan to view event-triggered recordings and unlock features such as smart motion alerts and interactive notifications. Starting at $79.99, it’s one of the more affordable wireless video doorbells out there, and its excellent performance earns it our Editors’ Choice award.

Monitoring Options and Smart Features

Arlo offers the second-generation Video Doorbell in two different resolutions. The $79.99 HD version I tested for this review has a maximum resolution of 1,536 by 1,536 pixels, or you can upgrade to sharper 2K (1,944 by 1,944) for $129.99.

(Credit: John R. Delaney)

At 5.2 by 1.8 by 1.2 inches (HWD), the Arlo Video Doorbell is roughly the same size and shape as the Ecobee Smart Doorbell Camera (5.3 by 1.8 by 1.1 inches), a $159.99 wired alternative. The weather-resistant enclosure is white with a glossy black face that holds a backlit doorbell button, the camera lens, a microphone, a motion sensor, and an infrared LED for black-and-white night vision. It doesn’t support color night vision, a feature that is available on some more expensive competitors like the wireless Ring Battery Doorbell Plus ($179.99) and the wired Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 ($250).

There’s a speaker on the bottom edge, and a USB-C power port, a pairing button, and two optional wiring terminals on the back, behind the mounting plate. The doorbell can be hardwired to trickle-charge the battery using a standard 8-24 volt transformer, or you can manually recharge it using the included USB cable as needed. Under the hood, there’s a non-removable battery rated to last up to four months between charges, a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio for connecting the doorbell to your home network, and a siren that you can activate from within the app.

Regardless of your resolution choice, the camera has a 180-degree diagonal field of view that provides a head-to-toe look at visitors to your doorstep, and 12x digital zoom. It will record video when the doorbell button is pressed or when motion is detected. When someone presses the button, the doorbell will place a call to your phone which you can either accept or decline like a regular phone call. If you accept the call, the app will launch a live video screen with buttons for playing a recorded message, initiating two-way talk, and ending the call.

Local video storage is not an option. Instead, you have to subscribe to an Arlo Secure plan to view recorded events and to unlock certain features. For $4.99 per month for a single camera or $12.99 per month for an unlimited number of cameras, you get 30 days of rolling video storage, smart object detection (for animals, packages, people, and vehicles), and animated alerts so you can quickly see what caused the notification without opening the app. The $17.99 Secure Plus plan adds a 24/7 emergency response feature offering one-touch access to fire, police, or medical responders via the app.

In comparison, the $69.99 Toucan Wireless Video Doorbell charges $2.99 per month for seven days of video history or $9.99 per month for 90 days. It doesn’t support smart alerts that differentiate between packages, people, or other triggers.

The Arlo Video Doorbell is compatible with Amazon Alexa, Google Home, If This Then That (IFTTT), and Samsung SmartThings, but it doesn’t support Apple HomeKit or Matter. It offers more third-party integration options than the Toucan Wireless Video Doorbell, which supports Alexa and Google Assistant, but does not work with IFTTT or SmartThings.

(Credit: Arlo)

It uses the same Arlo Secure app (available for Android and iOS) as all other Arlo devices, and gets its own panel on both the Dashboard and Devices screens. The Dashboard screen contains buttons for the customizable Arm Away, Arm Home, and Standby modes, which let you quickly control the doorbell’s motion detection and recording functions.

Below the mode buttons is the doorbell panel, which shows the last saved image and a play arrow. Tapping the play arrow launches a live stream that you can view in landscape mode by tapping the two arrows in the upper-right corner. Other buttons here let you mute the speaker, take a snapshot, manually record video, and initiate two-way talk. The siren button opens a screen where you can activate the siren and use one-tap buttons to connect to local fire, police, and medical emergency services if you’ve subscribed to the Secure Plus plan.

Tap the three dots in the upper right corner of the Devices screen to access the settings menu, from which can turn the device on and off, check the battery level, and configure settings for Wi-Fi, power management, video, and audio. Here you can also set up activity zones, turn on a Voicemail feature that lets visitors leave a message, link the doorbell to a chime, and enable a Silent Mode that disables incoming calls and chimes.

DIY Install, Sharp Video, and Accurate Alerts

Installing the Arlo Video Doorbell is quick and easy. I already had the Arlo Secure app installed on my phone (if you’re new to the brand, you’ll have to download it and create an account to get started), so I tapped the plus-sign icon in the upper right corner of the Dashboard screen, then pressed Add a Device > Doorbells and Chimes. I selected Video Doorbell 2nd Generation, confirmed that my doorbell had the same shape as the one in the diagram, and removed the mounting plate. I used the release pin to press and hold the Pairing button for three seconds, at which point the status LED began blinking blue. I tapped Continue, selected my Wi-Fi SSID, entered my Wi-Fi password when prompted, and gave the doorbell a name. After a fairly quick firmware update, I took the doorbell outside, attached the mounting plate to the frame of my front door using the included screws, and attached the doorbell to the plate to complete the installation.

(Credit: Arlo)

The Arlo Video Doorbell is an all-around solid performer. Daytime video showed excellent detail with rich colors, and black-and-white night video was sharp out to around 25 feet. The wide-angle lens offered a full view of visitors to my door, and the microphone and speaker combo provided clear communications.

Motion alerts arrived instantly and were correctly identified. Alexa voice commands to stream video to an Amazon Echo Show 8 display worked perfectly, as did my Alexa routine to have a Nanoleaf BR30 bulb turn green when the doorbell button was pressed.

A Top Pick for Safeguarding Your Stoop

The second-gen Arlo Video Doorbell offers an easy and affordable way to see what’s going on outside without opening your door. It has a rechargeable battery, doesn’t require any wiring, and delivers sharp HD or 2K video. As with every Arlo camera, you need to pay extra to view recorded video, but that subscription also unlocks smart alerts and animated preview notifications. As an alternative, the Toucan Wireless Video Doorbell gives you free access to the past 24 hours of video history and comes with a remote chime, but it tops out at 1080p, lacks IFTTT and SmartThings integration, and doesn’t support smart alerts. Both models earn our Editors’ Choice award for affordable wireless video doorbells, so choosing between them comes down to your needs and preferences.