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Arlo Ultra 2 Spotlight Camera - Wireless Home Security Camera with Color Night Vision, Motion Sensor, 4K HDR & 2-Way Audio - White, Add-On (Camera Only, SmartHub Sold Separately), VMC5040-200NAS

3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 1,328 ratings

$229.99 with 23 percent savings
List Price: $299.99

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Purchase options and add-ons

Brand Arlo
Model Name Ultra 2 Spotlight Camera
Connectivity Technology Wireless
Special Feature Night Vision

About this item

  • Ultra 2 Spotlight Cam: This wireless home security camera boasts 4K HDR for superior video quality and an Integrated Spotlight to deter unwelcome visitors; Arlo SmartHub required, sold separately
  • Night Vision Clarity: Experience crystal clear Color Night Vision with our security camera system, allowing you to see what's going on day or night
  • Motion Alerts & Audio: With a premium Motion Sensor and 2-Way Audio, receive instant notifications and communicate directly through the home security camera
  • Wide-Angle Coverage: Our surveillance cameras offer an 180-Degree Field of View, capturing more with each frame for comprehensive home security coverage
  • Arlo Secure Plan Trial: Premium features like 30-Day Video Cloud Storage; People, Package, and Vehicle Detection; 24/7 Emergency Response; and more, require a paid subscription after trial

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Arlo Ultra 2 Spotlight Camera - Wireless Home Security Camera with Color Night Vision, Motion Sensor, 4K HDR & 2-Way Audio - White, Add-On (Camera Only, SmartHub Sold Separately), VMC5040-200NAS
Arlo Ultra 2 Spotlight Camera - Wireless Home Security Camera with Color Night Vision, Motion Sensor, 4K HDR & 2-Way Audio - White, Add-On (Camera Only, SmartHub Sold Separately), VMC5040-200NAS
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Price-23% $229.99
List:$299.99
-33% $99.99
List:$149.99
-30% $69.99
List:$99.99
-20% $199.99
List:$249.99
-16% $83.99
New Price:$99.99
-42% $69.99
List:$119.99
Delivery
Get it as soon as Thursday, Jul 25
Get it as soon as Saturday, Jul 27
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Get it as soon as Tuesday, Jul 30
Customer Ratings
Night vision
3.7
3.8
4.4
3.9
4.6
4.3
Motion detection
3.6
3.9
4.4
4.1
4.7
4.2
Picture quality
3.8
3.9
4.5
3.8
4.3
Tech Support
2.8
2.7
3.5
3.6
Sold By
Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com
HighlandRe
Amazon.com
power source
Battery Powered
Battery Powered
Battery Powered
Battery Powered
Air Powered
Corded Electric
video resolution
4k
2K
1080p
1080p
2K
2K
wireless tech
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
viewing angle
180 degrees
130 degrees
130 degrees
150 degrees
mounting type
Wall Mount
Wall Mount
Wall Mount
Wall Mount
Wall Mount
alert type
Motion Only
Audio and Motion
Motion, Live View
Audio and Motion
Motion/Person/Vehicle/Pet/Sound
number of channels
2
2
4
2

From the manufacturer

Ultra 2 Spotlight Camera

Ultra 2 Spotlight Camera
Ultra 2 Spotlight Camera
Ultra 2 Spotlight Camera

Shop All Arlo Cameras

Arlo Ultra 2 Camera, VMS5240

Ultra 2

Arlo Pro 4 Camera, VMC4050P

Pro 5S 2K

Arlo Essential Spotlight Camera, VMC2030

Essential Spotlight

Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight, FB1001

Pro 3 Floodlight

Arlo Essential Indoor, VMC2040

Essential Indoor

Customer Reviews
3.8 out of 5 stars
1,328
3.6 out of 5 stars
268
4.0 out of 5 stars
9,458
4.2 out of 5 stars
4,852
4.1 out of 5 stars
1,531
Price
$229.99 $119.99 $168.99
Maximum Camera Resolution
4K 2K 1080p 2K 1080p
Maximum Camera Field of View
180° 160° 130° 160° 130°
Night Vision Type
Color Color Color Color Black and White
Environmental Use
Indoor & Outdoor Indoor & Outdoor Indoor & Outdoor Indoor & Outdoor Indoor
Weather Resistant
Privacy Shutter
Connects Directly to Wi-Fi
Built-in Siren
Power Source
Rechargeable Battery Rechargeable Battery Rechargeable Battery Rechargeable Battery Plug-in, AC power
Motion Range Detection
Dual Motion Sensor Single Motion Sensor Single Motion Sensor Single Motion Sensor Single Motion Sensor
2-Way Noise Canceling Audio
Wind, Noise, & Echo Reduction Noise & Echo Cancellation Noise & Echo Cancellation Noise & Echo Cancellation Noise & Echo Cancellation
Lighting Type
Integrated Spotlight Integrated Spotlight Integrated Spotlight Floodlight None

What's in the box

  • Camera Body, Battery Pack
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    Arlo Ultra 2 Spotlight Camera - Wireless Home Security Camera with Color Night Vision, Motion Sensor, 4K HDR & 2-Way Audio - White, Add-On (Camera Only, SmartHub Sold Separately), VMC5040-200NAS


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    Product Description

    Elevate your home security with the cutting-edge Arlo Ultra 2 Spotlight Camera and SmartHub, core components of your security camera system. Designed with precision and user experience in mind, this home security camera captures every detail in stunning 4K HDR clarity. Its advanced surveillance capabilities are further enhanced by an Ultra-Wide Field of View, ensuring that every corner is under watchful eyes. This powerful hub securely connects a range of Arlo cameras and video doorbells to the internet via your home router, ensuring a reliable link. With Extended Range and Improved Battery Life, your cameras stay connected to monitor for longer periods of time, providing peace of mind that your property is under vigilant watch.

    At the heart of the Ultra 2's prowess is its exceptional Color Night Vision. This is night-time surveillance redefined, offering peace of mind around the clock. Whether it's an unexpected visitor or a curious animal, the camera's precision Motion Sensors promptly trigger alerts, keeping you informed instantly. This wire-free spotlight camera ensures that your security system is up and running in no time. The Rechargeable Battery reduces maintenance, while the premium 2-Way Audio allows you to communicate with visitors or potential intruders with noise-canceling clarity.

    Arlo builds trusted, lifelong customer relationships by creating innovative, smart security solutions that deliver an exceptional user experience. The Arlo Secure App offers an intuitive way to control your home security with industry-leading features that help you take quick action.

    Our elegant design meets inspired engineering to create products that work as brilliantly as they look. And our industry-leading cybersecurity solutions ensure your data stays secure and accessible only by you. We adhere to a set of ethics and principles that shape how we design, produce, and deliver our products to you, so you can count on us.

    Customer reviews

    3.8 out of 5 stars
    3.8 out of 5
    1,328 global ratings

    Customers say

    Customers like the ease of setup of the security camera. For example, they mention it's easy to mount and use, and the app is relatively simple. That said, some complain about the wireless range, battery life, and value. Opinions are mixed on quality, performance, motion detection, and video quality.

    AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

    71 customers mention "Ease of setup"59 positive12 negative

    Customers find the setup of the security camera easy. They mention that the cameras are easy to integrate into HomeKit, mount, and use. The app is relatively simple and easy to connect and look up clips. Some say that the system practically sets itself up.

    "...And the best part? It's super easy to set up and control, even for tech-challenged folks like me...." Read more

    "...Very impressed so far by camera quality and connectivity. Camera setup, image quality, motion detection, and connection range are all excellent...." Read more

    "...With the Arlo system, everything was straightforward, worked exactly as stated...." Read more

    "...A few positive things to note -- Easy set up- Clean user interface- Crisp daytime 4k video-..." Read more

    154 customers mention "Video quality"107 positive47 negative

    Customers are mixed about the video quality of the security camera. Some mention that the video is very good and the 4K video is noticeably better than the 2K. They also say that the picture quality is comparable to the amcrest 1080p cameras they had before. However, others say that image processing but the image is definitely not 4K quality and not any better than Arlo. Some customers also say the system never recorded in 4K as advertised, and the entire image is completely distorted.

    "...This camera has become the star of my life. Not only does it capture crystal-clear video, but it also has a hidden talent for catching unexpected '..." Read more

    "...The daytime video is quite good. Nighttime video can be dark and blurry (even if I switch to black and white mode)...." Read more

    "...Very impressed so far by camera quality and connectivity. Camera setup, image quality, motion detection, and connection range are all excellent...." Read more

    "...This also means you can't share videos with others unless they buy the codec as well.-..." Read more

    138 customers mention "Quality"49 positive89 negative

    Customers are mixed about the quality of the security camera. Some mention that the quality is pretty good, while others say that event recording suffers to begin with. The hardware is ok, but the software can be buggy. The cameras look nice, but they fear the amazon batches are filled with.

    "...able to read license plate numbers, and the "color" in nighttime recordings is very marginal." Read more

    "...With its spotlights and advanced features, it's like having a mini Hollywood set in my backyard. And the best part?..." Read more

    "...This camera system with all its abilities is not for the weak-hearted when it comes to installation and customer support and many of the upgrades..." Read more

    "...The video CODEC used to record and store videos is proprietary, which is completely unnecessary given the widely available, open source, and free..." Read more

    97 customers mention "Performance"46 positive51 negative

    Customers are mixed about the performance of the security camera. Some mention that it works great and produces amazing results, while others say that it doesn't work consistently during live viewing and it slows down.

    "...my experience with Arlo's wired doorbell and chime, the Ultra 2 cameras work fabulously. The batteries do not last the advertised length of time...." Read more

    "...Be forewarned that this does not work with all browsers due to the video encoding used by Arlo. I had the best luck with Microsoft Edge...." Read more

    "...but compared to other brands I've tried, these are significantly better across the board...." Read more

    "...separately for Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome, and it doesn't even work with Mozilla Firefox...." Read more

    33 customers mention "Motion detection"15 positive18 negative

    Customers are mixed about the motion detection of the security camera. Some mention that it's good, and the siren adds safety. They say that the motion sensors are great and it triggers perfectly based on motion. However, others say that it starts acting up by either not detecting motion or the spotlight stays on all the time. They also say that they have been having problems with motion decisions with their device for awhile now.

    "...where they came from or where they went because the camera only recorded the motion trigger and about 30 seconds after the fact...." Read more

    "...Camera setup, image quality, motion detection, and connection range are all excellent...." Read more

    "...the camera is placed in an area with periodic movement, the camera can drain the battery in a matter of days...." Read more

    "...Motion detection is good, but more problematic, the video often cuts short of activity actually occurring..." Read more

    54 customers mention "Battery life"10 positive44 negative

    Customers are dissatisfied with the battery life of the security camera. They mention that it has a poor battery life, and completely drains the battery. Some say that the camera expires after 24 hours and that it's a power-hungry camera.

    "...The batteries do not last the advertised length of time. Knowing that I ordered two extras and the charger...." Read more

    "...Charging the batteries was a problem. I used the separate external charger provided with the Pro 4 series to initially charge all batteries...." Read more

    "...Stock battery life is pretty terrible...." Read more

    "...I just expected great, not good.3. Battery definitely does NOT last 6 months as advertised! Both cameras were down to about 50% in one week...." Read more

    47 customers mention "Value"8 positive39 negative

    Customers are dissatisfied with the value of the security camera. They say it's not worth the hefty price tag, expensive subscriptions, and useless cameras. They also say the cameras don't work well and keep raising the monthly subscription price. Customers also mention that the software is trash and the membership is a waste of money.

    "...The bad:1. Quite expensive compared to alternatives.2. Although video quality is good, I can't believe it's 4k...." Read more

    "...In summary, the product itself is not really worth it unless you just want to be able to check in on the live feed and get motion alerts for things..." Read more

    "...I was once a fan, now I'm not. First and foremost, the upfront cost seems really high, which is tolerable if it works as-is for years...." Read more

    "...cloud service, then immediately want you to start paying expensive subscriptions!! Okay, by now I’ve spent $2,000 on Arlo cameras...." Read more

    33 customers mention "Wireless range"5 positive28 negative

    Customers are dissatisfied with the wireless range of the security camera. They mention that the Smart Hub and cameras have poor connectivity, and the product never connects to WiFi. The app and web app also fail to connect to the SmartHub, and some customers report issues with the door chime not connecting through WiFi.

    "...I got poor connections to cameras (probable WiFi interference again) before I relocated the base station away from my access point...." Read more

    "...When syncing the base station to the cameras, it relates the connection is poor even when 3 feet away – doesn’t seem to matter as they did sync and..." Read more

    "...The wireless connection is still WiFi protocol and susceptible to basic WiFi jamming and interference...." Read more

    "...month and eight replies to-from Arlo support, video doorbell still cannot connect to Arlo Base Station...." Read more

    Defective camera lens Ultra 2
    3 out of 5 stars
    Defective camera lens Ultra 2
    The cameras are mounted outside under the roof of the house on the Pacific Ocean beach front.Arlo does not want to stand up to there products.Letter to Arlo. The case with the camera is not finished. I was looking at the other two cameras. I see on the Beach Balcony camera there looks to be a small blemish on that lens too. I have attached a photo of the Front Camera lens. The lens will need to be replaced. They appear to be deuterating do to the weather and poor quality of materials used. The four Arlo cameras that I own have never been dropped or abused. They hang underneath the roof of the house. Two are mounted in your security housing and the other in the normal mounted housing. I do not use the magnetic mount because we do not want it to fall or get moved by the winds. I have attached a photo of the camera for you to view. The camera would be much better for your viewing in person. Remember to look at the videos of the blurry section about in the middle. It would be nice to find out what is going on with the defect in the cameras. I hope this is an isolated incident at your factory. I need to order more cameras but now I Am afraid of the defectiveness. Have you been having any new issues with the Ultra 2 cameras?
    Thank you for your feedback
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    Top reviews from the United States

    Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2023
    Color: BlackStyle: 2 CamerasVerified Purchase
    Where do I even begin with the Arlo Ultra 2 Spotlight Camera? Let's just say it's my new favorite reality show. Move over, Kardashians! This camera has become the star of my life. Not only does it capture crystal-clear video, but it also has a hidden talent for catching unexpected 'performances' in my neighborhood.

    I've had a long-standing suspicion about my Karen-of-a-neighbor's misdeeds, and boy, was I right! Thanks to the Arlo Ultra 2, I finally have the proof I needed. It not only caught her dogs doing their business on my lawn but also exposed her doing something I can't unsee. Let's just say she was mooning the world with her pants down.

    The image quality is so good that I could practically count the daisies on her underwear. It's like watching an episode of 'America's Funniest Home Videos,' except my yard is the stage. I've never laughed so hard and simultaneously cringed in my life.

    But hey, it's not all about my neighbor's embarrassing escapades. The Arlo Ultra 2 is a top-notch security camera too! With its spotlights and advanced features, it's like having a mini Hollywood set in my backyard. And the best part? It's super easy to set up and control, even for tech-challenged folks like me.

    So, if you're tired of boring security cameras and want some entertainment with a side of surveillance, the Arlo Ultra 2 Spotlight Camera is the way to go. Trust me, you'll never look at your neighborhood the same way again!"
    L
    13 people found this helpful
    Report
    Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2021
    Color: WhiteStyle: 2 CamerasVerified Purchase
    Unlike my experience with Arlo's wired doorbell and chime, the Ultra 2 cameras work fabulously. The batteries do not last the advertised length of time. Knowing that I ordered two extras and the charger. The main camera battery had to be exchanged every two days and the secondary camera in our carport every five days. I installed a third-party 3 watt solar panel designed for the Arlo for each camera. The solar panels keep both batteries charged at 100 percent. I think it will be a pain to review the recordings on the base station's mini SD card, so there is no question in my mind that customers purchasing the cameras will also need to purchase Arlo's cloud storage service once the free trial period is over. Customers need to have reasonable expectations. I have my camera's set at the best quality settings, but still, don't expect to be able to read license plate numbers, and the "color" in nighttime recordings is very marginal.
    Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2023
    Color: WhiteStyle: 2 CamerasVerified Purchase
    TLDR: Setup and configuration is a real pain. iOS app is clunky and confusing to use. Arlo support is egregiously poor. Cameras work well with some limitations once you get past the installation issues.

    I purchased both an Arlo Ultra 2 two camera set and an Arlo Pro 4 three camera set. Both camera sets connect via the Arlo base station (VMB5000) that came with the Ultra 2 set rather than using the Pro 4 option to connect direct to my house WiFi. This is a combined review for the two sets.

    You should keep in mind as you read this review that I am a computer programmer with 50 years experience and extremely well versed in dealing with complicated technical issues. The Arlo cameras are among the most frustrating gear I have ever set up. I think a non-technical person would have given up long ago.

    The good news is that once I got the cameras set up properly they did a reasonable job of fulfilling their intended purpose of showing me videos from around my property. The daytime video is quite good. Nighttime video can be dark and blurry (even if I switch to black and white mode). I am wary of what will happen when the three month trial of Arlo's web based services runs out. I am trusting that my cameras will continue to work locally without problems when the trial period is up.

    Pairing the cameras to the base station was very difficult - they simply refused to pair despite multiple tries. I finally tracked that down to a probable Wi-Fi conflict with my existing house Wi-Fi. Since there is no way to modify the Wi-Fi channel that the Arlo uses it was necessary to change the Wi-Fi channel in my house provided by my network access point. I had to imagine this as a possibility and then check it with a WiFi diagnostic program on a laptop. Arlo does not document what WiFi channels are used or give you any control over channels.

    Also regarding WiFi, you should plan on some physical separation between your house WiFi access point and the Arlo base station. I got poor connections to cameras (probable WiFi interference again) before I relocated the base station away from my access point.

    The Ultra 2 camera set was shipped with one only one wall mounting bracket in the box instead of the promised two on the outside of the box. The camera is useless without a wall mounting bracket. Amazon was kind enough to issue me a gift certificate to purchase a second wall mount. The wall mount provided with the Ultra 2 is greatly inferior to that which comes with the Pro 4 camera. With the wall mount from the Ultra 2 camera, it is fairly easy to steal the camera. The wall mounts from the Pro 4 camera provide better theft protection. I would advise using better mounts for the Ultra 2 (which require a special tool to disconnect the camera). This is the good mount:

    https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B086WPRYBY?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

    The cameras must be installed with an app on your cell phone. I used an iPhone. Don't know what someone would do if they don't have a cell phone. The cell phone app is clunky and confusing to use. The menu structure of the iOS app is very arcane, and important settings are randomly strewn throughout the app and are difficult to find. Finding the setting to reduce audio sensitivity was critical because wind noise triggered constant audio alerts at the default setting. Even after lowering the audio sensitivity there were too many alerts and I had to shut them off. It took me a long time to find the setting to shut off the blue LED on the camera, which lights when the battery is fully charged. I looked for days for the setting for smart animal detection before I found it with the help of the Arlo forum.

    The app tries to automatically detect people, animals, and cars. Particularly in the case of a car or a fast moving cat, the detected object is mostly gone from view before the camera starts recording.

    All of the internal settings on the base station are locked down and cannot be changed. Unlike most Internet of Things controllers there is no way to access an internal base station webpage to view or change any settings. Such a settings page would have been quite useful when setting up the cameras. The base station responds to pings, but that seems to be it. Because one has no access to the base station settings, one cannot view or change the WiFi password thus eliminating the possibility of setting up a WiFi extender to help cameras stay in range of the base station. This means that Arlo gets to sell you a second base station if you have WiFi range issues. Also, be aware that since the internal base station settings can't be accessed, you MUST have a working DHCP server in your network.

    I am able to view the camera's feed on my computer with a standard browser pointed at my.arlo.com. Be forewarned that this does not work with all browsers due to the video encoding used by Arlo. I had the best luck with Microsoft Edge. I am trying to get it to work with Firefox (my preferred browser) via an extension that allows opening the video in VLC Media Player, but so far haven't been able to get that to work. I am concerned whether the capability to view videos on the web will disappear when the trial period is up. That would be a loss.

    Battery life could be a problem. On first installation, one of the batteries ran down after one day. The other batteries seem better, but I doubt they will last the advertised length of 3-6 months.

    Charging the batteries was a problem. I used the separate external charger provided with the Pro 4 series to initially charge all batteries. That worked fine. But it was difficult to get the batteries to charge when the batteries are installed in a camera in the mounting housing using the supplied charging cable and power adapter. I purchased long cables to plug the cameras into wall sockets and solar panels to charge the cameras that aren't near wall sockets so that the camera batteries can be charged without removing them from where they are mounted. But the batteries would not charge in the housings. A kind soul on the Arlo forum solved this issue for me. It is necessary to grip the camera with both hands and press quite hard with both thumbs on the camera to the side of the lens to lock the camera into place so the charging contacts make sufficient contact. The cameras are now charging nicely, plugged into either the wall or a solar charger.

    I tried to install a memory card in the VMB5000 base station that came with the Ultra 2 set. I stupidly put the card in backwards and it got jammed in there. Cost me $40 at a camera shop to get it extracted. Don't make this mistake! Once I reinstalled the memory card correctly, the base station recognized it but would not format it. I was only able to format the memory card by using the Arlo website (my.arlo.com) instead of the local iOS app. After formatting the card, I went through all of the steps to enable local recording. I spent over an hour on chat with Arlo trying to determine if videos were actually saved locally. Chat informed me that to view local videos one selects Feed in the Arlo app. When I selected Feed I still saw all of the cloud videos from the last several days. There is no indication in Feed about whether one is viewing a cloud video or a local video. This is a serious User interface omission. The only indication that I may be recording locally is that the base station settings tell me that some of the space on the memory card has been used. But I don't know if Feed is showing me videos from local storage or from the cloud. I want to know this before my trial period with Arlo is over and cloud storage disappears. Chat was unable to help me on this. Numerous contacts with Arlo support on this issue have been useless, failing even to get me a consistent (but wrong) answer. I am thoroughly fed up with Arlo support. If you are the kind of customer who will need a lot of support, Arlo is not for you.

    Update 2/25/23: Regarding viewing videos in Firefox, I was never able to get this work. But I did find a neat Firefox add-on called Open in MS-Edge. When taken by a link to a video in Firefox, one click on the add-on button opens the video in MS Edge where it works fine. Neat solution!

    Update 4/19/23: After months of back and forth with Arlo tech support, there is still no resolution to being able to view locally stored recordings. Arlo tech support continues to be the worst I have ever encountered. Downgrading to one star.
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    Douglas D
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