How To View Arlo Cameras On A Computer

Recently I had picked up some Arlo Pro cameras to add to my arsenal of smart home gear. In doing so, I realized that I wanted to view the Arlo Pro cameras from my computer while I’m working. I generally like to run security cameras in a separate tab so that I can just click the tab for the app and take a peek at what’s going on around the property. I couldn’t find an Arlo Desktop App for the PC or Mac but if you go to the My Arlo Web page you will see the Arlo Sign in prompt. The you are logged in you can then view Arlo cameras on a pc or Mac.

In order to access your Arlo cameras on a PC or Mac, open a web browser and go to the Arlo login page URL https://my.arlo.com/ there you will see the Arlo Sign In page where you can log in and view your camera feed.

How Do Arlo Cameras Work?

Arlo cameras are wireless and powered by four CR123 lithium 3-volt photo batteries. Arlo cameras use infrared sensors to monitor any motion at night or in any dark areas of your home. A word of warning though, it does use up battery power compared to cameras using other forms of light for a source. 

The thing that I love about them is that you can place them just about anywhere on your property and they connect without worry.

Does Arlo have a desktop app for the PC?

Technically, no, it does not have a desktop app that you can use on a PC or Mac. If you would like to be able to use it like you do on your smartphone, then you will need to run an android emulator like Bluestacks on your computer.

Alternatively, you can just go to the My Arlo Login web page mentioned above and log in to https://my.arlo.com/. From there you can view your cameras on your computer.

Do All Arlo Cameras Work Together?

Because Arlo uses a wireless base station yes, Arlos all work together and are backward compatible. You will need a base station to connect the Arlo wireless and Arlo Pro wireless cameras. However, you don’t need a base station for the Arlo Q and Arlo Q Plus to connect.

How To Download Recordings From Arlo’s

The Arlo camera system automatically records video whenever motion is detected. You can view those recordings inside the Arlo app, either on your mobile device or PC. But you can also download recordings to your phone or computer so that you can play it back or view it whenever you want. 

I’m not a big fan of paying for subscriptions if I don’t have to, so I don’t pay for a subscription plan with Netgear. But the nice thing is that Netgear’s Arlo account will keep recordings for up to 7 days even without a paid subscription. However, if you require keeping a video for a longer term than that you can always download it.

Basically, once inside the Arlo app you can tap on your library section. Then search for the date that you want to focus on and find the video you want to download. Once you’ve found it you have two different options for downloading the video.

1. Open up the video you want to download and it will start playing. Then you just tap download at the bottom of the screen. (It may ask for permission to store on your mobile devices storage)
2. Go back to the library screen that you started on and tap on the ellipses next to the video that you want to download and tap on download. Here again, it may ask for permission to use your devices photo gallery.

How To Setup Arlo Cameras To Record Beyond 10 Seconds

This was one of the most frustrating parts of owning an Arlo Security Camera. They only record for 10 seconds, which in turn can kind of defeat the purpose of having a security camera for some people. For this, you will need to log into your Arlo account on a computer anyway. 

Once you are logged into your Arlo account dashboard where you can see your cameras you’ll want to follow these steps.

1. Click on mode at the top
2. Click the arrow next to armed to adjust the settings
3. Click edit next to the camera that you want to extend recording time on
4. Click on the arrow next to “record video”
5. Click on the dot next to “record until activity stops (up to 300 seconds).

Conclusion

Setting up Arlo cameras on a pc is much more user-friendly than the Blink XT cameras (or any others we’ve seen thus far). I still like the Blink XT cameras themselves better. In fact, I wrote an article a while ago on how to view Blink XT cameras on your pc as well. While you’re here maybe check out some of our other how-to articles or reviews on smart home devices.