Arlo

Arlo announces end-of-life policy, ends cloud storage and updates for some cameras in April

Ben Schoon | Jan 2 2023 - 1:05 pm PT

Nest competitor Arlo has just announced a new “End-of-Life” policy in an email to customers that will prevent some of the company’s older cameras from accessing some functionality.

An email going out to Arlo customers notifies users of a new “End-of-Life” policy that is effective as of January 1, 2023. The policy, available in full in a PDF file, explains that Arlo cameras are subject to end-of-life as soon as four years after the product’s debut, though the company’s two examples so far are considerably longer than that. Arlo notes that notice will be provided at least 90 days ahead of EOL dates.

To usher in this new policy, Arlo is announcing that two of its older cameras will reach end-of-life in April 2023, with several others being pulled in January 2024, as well as some software services also coming to an end.

When a camera hits its end-of-life, Arlo says that it will lose support for seven-day cloud storage, firmware updates, and email notifications. Arlo will also cease support for the product including spare parts, bug fixes, and security patches.

The two products being affected by this change first will be the Arlo VMC3030 Gen 3, which first launched in November 2014. The camera was discontinued and pulled from shelves in 2019, and will effectively stop working as it does today on April 1, 2023. The other camera being pulled is the Arlo VMC4030 Pro, which launched in October of 2016 and was discontinued in late 2018. It will reach end-of-life on the same April 1, 2023, date.

An email from Arlo reads in part (via Reddit):

Starting January 1, 2023, Arlo is implementing an EOL policy for its products and services, with the Generation 3 (VMC3030) and Pro (VMC4030) cameras being affected on April 1, 2023. These cameras were released in 2014 and 2016, respectively. The EOL of the Generation 3 (VMC3030) and Pro (VMC4030) cameras means that certain features of, and support for, these cameras will become unavailable, including 7-day cloud storage, firmware updates, and email notifications.

These cameras may continue to be operated after April 1, 2023 by all existing Arlo owners to live stream video, receive motion notifications, and store video clips locally with a compatible Arlo base station. 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.

From the looks of it, Arlo isn’t completely pulling the rug out from customers, but this is a big loss to the function of these cameras. The loss of continued software and security updates is especially concerning given the nature of the product. It’s also notable that much of the new functionality requires a subscription.

Meanwhile, Arlo will pull the plug on several cameras from 2015-2018 on January 1, 2024, including the Arlo Baby (ABC1000), Arlo Pro2 (VMC4030P), Arlo Q (VMC3040) and Q+ (VMC3040S), Arlo Lights (ALS1101), and the Arlo Audio Doorbell (AAD1001). Arlo does note that hardware devices are eligible for one year of continued hardware warranty support after the EOL date if the product is still covered by a “Limited Hardware Warranty,” and the company may offer affected customers “discounts and coupons” for newer Arlo products.

Looking at services, Arlo is pulling the plug on email notifications on April 1, 2023, as well as a E911 Emergency Calling. On January 1, 2024, Arlo will end Legacy Video Storage through AWS S3.