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One of the best features of Arlo-branded cameras — among the best security camera solutions around — is the ability to schedule armed and disarmed times. And the ability to set those schedules to only run when you are or aren’t around. But that process isn’t necessarily the most intuitive. Even using Arlo’s dedicated app, the process can get convoluted. That’s if you don’t know the quickest way to the appropriate menus.
Well, that’s what this guide is here to help explain. So if you’d like more control over your Arlo cameras and their recording times, read on.
How to set up a Geofence for your Arlo cameras
Now, you’ll only be able to set up Geofencing or Schedule armed and disarmed times once you’ve got other aspects of your new Arlo smart camera setup completed. And, for the best features here, you’ll need an Arlo subscription as well. But once that’s completed and you have a subscription, the process is relatively straightforward.
First, you’ll need to open the Arlo app and sign in, if you haven’t already. Then, once the “Mode” tab appears in the bottom bar UI, select that tab. The tab won’t appear while your cameras are disarmed, so you’ll need to arm them first if they aren’t already. It can also take a few moments to appear, once armed.
Next, select the camera you’d like to create a schedule for. We’ve chosen the “Cat Room” in our sample images below.
The Arlo app will next present you with a range of modes. You can, of course, create your own modes on this screen. But we’re going to start by setting up Geofencing. It’s best to set this up first if you plan on having both a schedule and Geofencing for your Arlo camera.
Select the “Geofencing” and then choose the pencil-shaped icon next to “Geofencing.”
Now, make sure you have the proper address in the “Address” space, as shown in the images below. If not, select “Address” and enter the proper address.
The next step will be to set a name for that location. In this case, we’ve chosen “Home” because that’s where the camera will be. Select “Arlo Device Location” and then enter an appropriate name for the location. Then choose the “Done” button at the top right-hand side of the UI.
Next, select “Enabled Mobile Devices.”
You’ll need to make sure that any devices you carry with you when you leave the area are checked. Including any devices of others who you may want to include in the Geofencing feature. For example, others who are in the home. Once set, hit the back arrow to return to the previous menu once more.
In this step, you’ll select “Away Mode” to set what the camera does when the location data says you and others who are included aren’t home. If you choose to set up both Geofencing and a Schedule for your Arlo camera, you’ll want to select “Schedule.”
Otherwise, select either “Armed” or “Disarmed” to ensure you’re camera does one or the other when you leave the area. Then select “Done.”
Now, you’ll follow the same steps for “Home Mode.”
As the branding suggests, this mode is effectively what your camera does when you’re in range of the chosen address.
Now, you can select “Push Notifications” to set which devices will receive the notifications for Home and Away Modes. That’s via checkboxes, similar to the setting above for choosing which devices Home and Away mode react to. Then select “Done.”
The final big step is to scroll back to the top of the page, if needed, and select the “Radius” icon shown on the map. That will let you set an area range around your location for triggering Home and Away. You can select Small, Medium, or Large, for the radius.
Finally, select “Save” then select the back arrow, as shown below. That will take you back to the page needed for setting up a schedule.
How to set up a schedule for your Arlo camera
Once you’ve followed the steps above to reach the “Mode” page for your desired Arlo camera — whether you’ve set up Geofencing or not — the next steps are simple enough. First select “Schedule” from the Mode list for your camera. Then select the pencil-shaped icon next to the “Schedule” option.
Arlo will present you with a full-page calendar view, showing default scheduled “Armed” times for the feature. You can then select “Add” from the top right-hand side of the UI.
The Arlo app will present you with a setup page for scheduling. Select “Armed.”
For some cameras, more options will be available. But for our Arlo Essential Indoor camera, there was only an option for “Armed.”
Next, select the radial button icons to fill in the circles for the days of the week that you’d like your camera to run. You can add more than one timeframe. So don’t worry if you need to set up a split schedule. Select “Start Time.”
Arlo will present you with a time picker, in the form of a time and a clock UI. You can enter a time manually by selecting the keyboard icon at the bottom of the pop-out window. Or you can move the hands of the clock to select a time. You may also select either AM or PM next to the displayed time.
When you’ve selected a time to start your schedule, choose the “OK” option from the bottom of the pop-out window.
Repeat those steps for the “Stop Time,” As shown in the images below. This is the time your camera will stop running if you’ve set the schedule to “Armed.”
Finally, select the “Save” option from the top right-hand side of the UI. You’ll be taken back to the calendar overview page.
Finally, to adjust the default slots that Arlo already included, you can simply select any of those slots. As shown in our images below.
Now, if you’d like to use scheduling alongside Geofencing, return to the above steps for Geofencing. When setting which activity the camera will perform when you’re Home or Away, choose Schedule for your desired time to implement your new schedule.