Arlo Announces 'End of Life' Policy for Two Cameras, Revokes Cloud Storage and Other Updates

Inno Flores, Tech Times 03 January 2023, 02:01 am

Arlo just announced a new policy that will prevent older cameras from accessing features that became their biggest selling point. The 'End of Life' Policy eliminates cloud storage functionality, such as email alerts, push notifications, and other features.

(Photo : Arlo Smart Home UK YouTube Channel)

'End of Life' Policy

An email was sent by Arlo to its customers announcing the 'End of Life' Policy, effective as of January 1, 2023. Based on a report from 9to5Google, this policy revokes the functionality of older cameras to some of its best-selling point features.

After four years of the product's debut, the policy dictates that it is subject to the end of life. Ninety days will be provided ahead of the EOL dates. Cameras will be losing support for seven-day cloud storage, firmware updates, and email notifications.

Aside from these, the support for the product like spare parts, bug fixes, and security patches will also be discontinued. Users can still live stream videos, receive motion notifications, and store video clips locally compatible with Arlo base stations.

While the cameras may still be usable, the removal of certain features is a big loss to the devices, especially security has been the top priority of the camera. In addition, it added that the new functionality requires a subscription.

As per the statement, "these cameras also can utilize Arlo's new cloud storage, which is available with the Arlo Secure subscription service, though the EOL'd cameras themselves may lose some functionality over time, as they will not be provided with further firmware upgrades."

Android Police reported that some security cameras were made for long-term use, which contradicts Arlo's policy as cameras will be nonfunctional six to years from now. Basically, the company is making customers switch to newer models despite their older cameras still working.

Affected Products

The Verge reported that two older cameras will be affected in April this year because of the new policy, including Arlo VMC3030 Generation 3 and Arlo VMC4030 Pro. Both cameras were released in November 2014 and October 2016 separately.

While Gen3 and Pro were discontinued and pulled out from the market in 2018 & 2019, the camera still works as brand new before the release of the EOL policy.

This will also affect Arlo Baby ABC1000, Arlo Pro 2 VMC4030P, Arlo Q VMC3040 and Q+ VMC3040S, Arlo Lights ALS1101, and the Arlo Audio Doorbell AAD1001 by January 1, 2024.

CNET reported that the company has been manufacturing wireless home security systems since 2014.

Also Read: Arlo Follows Nest and Ring, Requires Two-Step Verification in Effect This Year

However, Arlo did not confirm on their statement if these devices are still eligible for one year of continued hardware warranty support after the new policy date is still covered by a "Limited Hardware Warranty."

There is also a possibility that the company may also offer customers who were affected by this new policy several discounts and coupons to purchase newer products.