Arlo Go 2 LTE/Wi-Fi Security Camera Review

Whether you want to set up a security camera or monitor a vacation home remotely, the Arlo Go 2 LTE/Wi-Fi Security Camera ($249.99) can help. This expensive wireless camera offers both a Wi-Fi radio to connect to your local router, as well as a cellular radio for places where Wi-Fi isn’t an option. This, combined with support for voice commands, extensive third-party integrations, smart alerts, and flexible storage options, makes the Arlo Go 2 more versatile than most competitors and earns it our Editors’ Choice award for outdoor security cameras.

Excellent storage and connectivity options

At 3.3 x 2.5 x 4.7 inches (HWD), the Arlo Go 2 is larger than the Eufy 4G LTE Starlight Camera (2.4 x 2.4 x 4.5 inches) and Arlo Camera Pro 4 Spotlight (3.5 x 2.0 x 3.0 inches). It uses the same basic design as other Arlo cameras, which involves a glossy white outer casing with a glossy black camera module inside. The device carries an IP65 weatherproof rating, so it’s protected from dust and rain.

(Credit: Arlo)

The back of the camera housing features a screw mounting hole, while the bottom contains a magnetic charging port and a release button to remove the camera assembly from the outer case. The set has a battery compartment for the 1.7 x 1.6 x 2.8-inch rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which Arlo claims will provide up to eight months of power over Wi-Fi or about two and a half years. month on cell. To avoid fully charging the battery, you can purchase an optional Arlo Solar Panel for $59.99 and let the sun power it for you. The camera assembly also features a cellular SIM card slot, a microSD memory card slot to store recordings locally, and a sync button to pair the camera with your Wi-Fi network.

The camera module contains the lens, a projector, a microphone and speaker for two-way audio, a light sensor, a passive infrared (PIR) motion sensor, and a status LED. During the setup process, the LED flashes blue slowly when searching for Wi-Fi or quickly when establishing a Wi-Fi or cellular connection. A rapidly flashing amber LED means the camera was unable to establish a Wi-Fi or cellular connection. When setup is complete, the LED will turn solid blue for a period of time and then eventually turn off to save power.

During regular use, a rapidly flashing blue LED means the camera is charging, while a single orange flash every 60 seconds indicates a low battery level. A double amber flash means the battery level is critical.

Under the hood, the device has a built-in siren, 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio, 4G LTE cellular radio, and GPS radio for location tracking. The camera uses Wi-Fi by default and automatically switches to cellular if no Wi-Fi signal is available. If you plan to install the camera in an area where you know no Wi-Fi is present, disable Wi-Fi in the camera settings to save battery; otherwise, the camera is constantly searching for a Wi-Fi signal.

The Go 2 works with T-Mobile, UScellular, and Verizon cellular services and requires a data plan subscription for use on LTE. Plan prices vary with each carrier, but keep in mind that the camera uses between 700MB and 2GB of data per month, depending on the number of motion triggers and the length of the recordings.

The camera captures 1080p video when it detects motion or when you press the manual record button. It features 12X digital zoom, 130 degree field of view and uses infrared LEDs for black and white night vision. The Go 2 captures color video in low light conditions or when you activate the projector.

You get support for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands, as well as IFTTT. However, the Arlo Go 2 does not work with Apple’s HomeKit platform (unlike its sister, the Arlo Pro 4 Spotlight Camera).

You can configure the camera to save recordings to a microSD card (not included) or opt for cloud storage through an Arlo Secure plan. For $2.99 ​​per month for a single camera or $9.99 per month for unlimited cameras, the basic plan gives you 30 days of video history; detection of people, packages, vehicles and animals (with smart alerts); smoke and carbon monoxide alarm detection; activity areas; the Call a Friend function; and animated previews. The $14.99 per month Secure Plus plan supports unlimited cameras, unlocks 4K video (depending on camera), and adds emergency response (direct access to fire, police, etc.) or medical responders from the application).

Arlo Go 2 app experience

The Go 2 uses the same Arlo Secure mobile app (available for Android and iOS) as other Arlo cameras and accessories. The camera sits in a panel on the device screen; here you see a still image of the last event capture, a play arrow, and a gear icon that takes you to a Settings screen. This section also displays small icons that indicate Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity, battery level, and the presence of a microSD card.

Four buttons are located at the very bottom of the screen. The Devices button takes you back to the Devices screen. The Library button opens a screen with thumbnails of event recordings. The Mode button allows you to switch between motion detection and audio functions. This section also lets you create detection schedules or toggle a geofence that turns detection on or off based on your phone’s location. Finally, the Settings button lets you enable smart notifications, set emergency response numbers and call a friend, enable package detection, and disable notifications.

(Credit: PCMag)

Tap the play arrow to view a live feed from the camera. When you’re done, several buttons briefly appear at the bottom of the video panel. They include a Speaker button, a Tap-to-Talk button, a Spotlight button, a Snapshot button, and a Manual Video Record button. In the upper right corner next to the full screen arrows, a red button activates the siren or automatically launches the Call a friend function in the event of an emergency.

The gear icon mentioned above (on the side panel of the app) allows you to turn the camera on and off, check the battery level, configure Wi-Fi settings and video, set up activity zones, format the microSD card and locate the camera using GPS coordinates.

Easy to install and use

Installing the Go 2 camera is quick and easy, but first you need to download the mobile app and create an account. I started by removing the camera assembly from the case, installing the battery, and inserting the T-Mobile SIM card provided by Arlo.

I reinstalled the whole thing and charged the battery for several hours before opening the mobile app and hitting add new device. I selected the Go 2 from the Camera menu, selected Wi-Fi Setup, confirmed that the LED was flashing blue, and entered my Wi-Fi ID. Then I held my phone up to the camera to scan the QR code that appeared on my screen and confirmed that I heard a chime. The camera paired within 20 seconds. After giving it a name and setting the time zone, the camera automatically showed up on my Alexa device list and in the Arlo app. I took the camera outside and attached the mount to a patio post in my backyard. To complete the setup, I attached the camera to the mount and adjusted the angle.

The Go 2 delivered crisp 1080p images in testing. Live video and recordings display good color quality with little distortion. Black and white night video appears clear at around 25 feet with good contrast. As we’ve seen with other cameras that offer color night vision, the Go 2’s color night video was a bit too dark; recordings seemed much brighter and crisper once we turned on the lights. The siren was loud enough to scare off a family of raccoons drinking from my pool without disturbing the entire neighborhood.

(Credit: PCMag)

Motion alerts arrived immediately and correctly identified people and animals in frame. I had no problem viewing video from the Go 2 on an Amazon Echo Show using Alexa voice commands. An Alexa routine I set up to turn on a Wyze Plug Outdoor when the camera detected motion worked without a hitch.

The first two times I tried to turn off the Wi-Fi to see if the Go 2 would switch to cellular, the camera completely disconnected and required a power cycle to restart (this requires removing and replacing battery). However, this may have only been a problem, as subsequent attempts worked as expected. After the initial power cycle, the camera automatically switched between Wi-Fi and cellular connections. When switched to a cellular connection, the camera continued to deliver smooth video.

Flexible connectivity wins

The Arlo Go 2 LTE/Wi-Fi camera is expensive, but its price is in line with other outdoor cellular cameras such as the Eufy 4G LTE Starlight Camera ($249.99) and the Eve Outdoor Cam ($249.95 ). With the Go 2, you can monitor campsites, vacation homes, construction sites, or just about anywhere where Wi-Fi and power aren’t an option. It works wirelessly, installs easily, and delivers crisp video quality with accurate motion alerts. But what really sets the Go 2 apart from other cellular cameras is its ability to automatically switch between a Wi-Fi and cellular connection depending on what’s available. This is one of the main reasons it deserves our Editors’ Choice award.