A security cam that intelligently switches between Wi-Fi and cellular connections
I’ve been working with computers for ages, starting with a multi-year stint in purchasing for a major IBM reseller in New York City before eventually landing at PCMag (back when it was still in print as PC Magazine). I spent more than 14 years on staff, most recently as the director of operations for PC Labs, before hitting the freelance circuit as a contributing editor.
The battery-powered Arlo Go 2 outdoor camera's Wi-Fi and cellular radios enable you to keep a digital eye on your property from just about anywhere.
Whether you want to set up a trail cam or monitor a remote vacation house, the Arlo Go 2 LTE/Wi-Fi Security Camera ($249.99) can help. This pricey wireless camera offers both a Wi-Fi radio for connecting to your local router, as well as a cellular radio for locations where Wi-Fi isn't an option. This, combined with support for voice commands, numerous third-party integrations, intelligent alerts, and flexible storage options, make the Arlo Go 2 more versatile than much of the competition and earn it our Editors’ Choice award for outdoor security cameras.
At 3.3 by 2.5 by 4.7 inches (HWD), the Arlo Go 2 is bigger than both the Eufy 4G LTE Starlight Camera (2.4 by 2.4 by 4.5 inches) and the Arlo Pro 4 Spotlight Camera (3.5 by 2.0 by 3.0 inches). It uses the same basic design as other Arlo cameras, which entails a glossy white outer enclosure with a glossy black camera module tucked inside. The device carries an IP65 weather-resistance rating, so it's protected from blowing dust and rain.
The back of the camera enclosure has a screw-in mounting hole, while the bottom holds a magnetic charging port and a release button for removing the camera assembly from the outer casing. The assembly has a battery compartment for the 1.7-by-1.6-by-2.8-inch rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack, which Arlo says will provide up to eight months of power via Wi-Fi or around two-and-a-half months over cellular. To avoid recharging the battery altogether, you can purchase an optional Arlo Solar Panel for $59.99 and let the sun power it for you. The camera assembly also has a slot for the cellular SIM card, a slot for microSD memory cards for storing recordings locally, and a sync button for pairing the camera with your Wi-Fi network.
The camera module contains the lens, a spotlight, a microphone and speaker for two-way audio, a light sensor, a passive infrared (PIR) motion sensor, and a status LED. During the setup process, the LED blinks blue slowly when it is searching for Wi-Fi or rapidly when it is establishing a Wi-Fi or cellular connection. A rapidly blinking amber LED means the camera was unable to establish either a Wi-Fi or a cellular connection. Once the setup is complete, the LED turns solid blue for a time and then eventually off to conserve power.
During regular use, a rapidly blinking blue LED means the camera is charging, while a single amber blink every 60 seconds indicates that the battery level is low. A double amber blink means the battery level is critical.
Under the hood, the device features a built-in siren, a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio, a 4G LTE cellular radio, and a GPS radio for location tracking. The camera uses Wi-Fi by default and automatically switches to cellular if no Wi-Fi signal is available. If you plan to install the camera in an area where you know no Wi-Fi is present, turn off Wi-Fi in the camera settings to conserve battery life; otherwise, the camera constantly searches for a Wi-Fi signal.
The Go 2 works with T-Mobile, UScellular, and Verizon cellular services and requires a data plan subscription for use over LTE. Plan prices vary across each carrier, but keep in mind that the camera uses anywhere from 700MB to 2GB of data per month, depending on the number of motion triggers and the length of recordings.
The camera captures 1080p video when it detects motion or when you push the manual record button. It has 12X digital zoom, a 130-degree field of view, and uses infrared LEDs for black-and-white night vision. The Go 2 captures color video in low-light conditions or when you activate the spotlight.
You get support for both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands, as well as for IFTTT. However, the Arlo Go 2 does not work with Apple's HomeKit platform (unlike its sibling, the Arlo Pro 4 Spotlight Camera).
You can set up the camera to save recordings to a microSD card (not included) or opt for cloud storage via an Arlo Secure plan. For $2.99 per month for a single camera or $9.99 per month for an unlimited number of cameras, the Basic plan gives you 30 days' worth of video history; person, package, vehicle, and animal detection (with intelligent alerts); smoke and CO alarm detection; activity zones; the Call a Friend feature; and animated previews. The $14.99-per-month Secure Plus plan supports an unlimited number of cameras, unlocks 4K video (camera dependent), and adds an Emergency Response feature (one-touch access to fire, police, or medical responders from within the app).
The Go 2 uses the same Arlo Secure mobile app (available for Android and iOS) as other Arlo cameras and accessories. The camera sits in a panel on the Device screen; here, you see a still image of the last event capture, a play arrow, and a gear icon that takes you to a Settings screen. This section also shows small icons that indicate Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity, battery level, and the presence of a microSD card.
Four buttons sit at the very bottom of the screen. The Devices button takes you back to the Devices screen. The Library button opens a screen with thumbnails of event recordings. The Mode button lets you toggle the motion and audio detection features. This section also lets you create detection schedules or toggle a geofence that turns detection on or off based on your phone’s location. Finally, the Settings button allows you to enable smart notifications, set emergency response and Call a Friend numbers, enable package detection, and mute notifications.
Tap the play arrow to view a live stream from the camera. Once you do, multiple buttons appear briefly along the bottom of the video panel. They include a Speaker button, a Tap-to-Talk button, a Spotlight button, a Snapshot button, and a Manual Video record button. In the upper right corner next to the full-screen arrows, a red button activates the siren or automatically initiates the Call a Friend function in the event of an emergency.
The above-mentioned gear icon (from the app's side panel) lets you turn the camera on and off, check the battery level, configure Wi-Fi and video settings, set up activity zones, format the microSD card, and locate the camera using GPS coordinates.
Installing the Go 2 camera is fast and easy, but you have to download the mobile app and create an account first. I started by removing the camera assembly from the enclosure, installing the battery pack, and inserting the T-Mobile SIM card Arlo provided.
I reinstalled the assembly and charged the battery for several hours before opening the mobile app and tapping Add New Device. I selected the Go 2 from the Camera menu, selected Setup Wi-Fi, confirmed that the LED was blinking blue, and entered my Wi-Fi login. Next, I held my phone up to the camera to scan the QR code that appeared on my screen and confirmed that I heard a chime. The camera paired within 20 seconds. After I gave it a name and set the time zone, the camera automatically showed up on my Alexa device list and in the Arlo app. I took the camera outside and attached the mounting bracket to a deck post in my backyard. To complete the setup, I attached the camera to the bracket and adjusted the angle.
The Go 2 provided sharp 1080p imagery in testing. Both live video and recordings show good color quality with little distortion. The black-and-white night video appears clear out to around 25 feet with good contrast. As we’ve seen with other cameras that boast color night vision, the Go 2’s color night video was a bit too dark; recordings looked much brighter and sharper once we turned on the spotlight. The siren was loud enough to scare away a family of raccoons that were drinking from my pool without disturbing the entire neighborhood.
Motion alerts arrived immediately and correctly identified people and animals in the frame. I had no trouble viewing video from the Go 2 on an Amazon Echo Show using Alexa voice commands. An Alexa routine I set up to turn on a Wyze Plug Outdoor when the camera detected motion worked without a hitch.
The first couple of times that I tried disabling Wi-Fi to see if the Go 2 would switch over to cellular, the camera went completely offline and required a power cycle to restart (this requires removing and replacing the battery). However, this may have just been a glitch, as subsequent attempts worked as intended. After the initial power cycle, the camera automatically switched between Wi-Fi and cellular connections. Once switched to a cellular connection, the camera continued to provide smooth video.
The Arlo Go 2 LTE/Wi-Fi Camera is expensive, but its price is in line with other outdoor cellular cameras such as the Eufy 4G LTE Starlight Camera ($249.99) and the Eve Outdoor Cam ($249.95). With the Go 2, you can monitor campsites, vacation homes, construction sites, or just about any location where Wi-Fi and power aren't an option. It operates without wires, installs easily, and delivers sharp video quality with accurate motion alerts. But what really sets the Go 2 apart from other cellular cameras is its ability to automatically switch between a Wi-Fi and cellular connection depending on what is available. That's a major reason why it earns our Editors’ Choice award.
The battery-powered Arlo Go 2 outdoor camera's Wi-Fi and cellular radios enable you to keep a digital eye on your property from just about anywhere.
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I’ve been working with computers for ages, starting with a multi-year stint in purchasing for a major IBM reseller in New York City before eventually landing at PCMag (back when it was still in print as PC Magazine). I spent more than 14 years on staff, most recently as the director of operations for PC Labs, before hitting the freelance circuit as a contributing editor.
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