Optus Mobile Review ALDI Mobile Review Amaysim Mobile Review Belong Mobile Review Circles.Life Review Vodafone Mobile Review Woolworths Mobile Review Felix Mobile Review Best iPhone Plans Best Family Mobile Plans Best Budget Smartphones Best Prepaid Plans Best SIM-Only Plans Best Plans For Kids And Teens Best Cheap Mobile Plans Telstra vs Optus Mobile Optus NBN Review Belong NBN Review Vodafone NBN Review Superloop NBN Review Aussie BB NBN Review iiNet NBN Review MyRepublic NBN Review TPG NBN Review Best NBN Satellite Plans Best NBN Alternatives Best NBN Providers Best Home Wireless Plans What is a Good NBN Speed? Test NBN Speed How to speed up your internet Optus vs Telstra Broadband ExpressVPN Review CyberGhost VPN Review NordVPN Review PureVPN Review Norton Secure VPN Review IPVanish VPN Review Windscribe VPN Review Hotspot Shield VPN Review Best cheap VPN services Best VPN for streaming Best VPNs for gaming What is a VPN? VPNs for ad-blocking Some Australians have reliable enough WiFi (or at least 4G backup) that they can freely deck out their house with a whole manner of Internet-connected products. Things like smart speakers, smart bulbs and security systems all perform reliably, even if someone in the house is five games deep into Call of Duty, while another streams Hamilton on Disney Plus for the umpteenth time. But if your internet connection is less than ideal, you might not have that luxury. For many Australians, streaming a TV show or movie still means freeing up some bandwidth. The worst-case scenario is usually harmless, but when a more important connected device, like a baby monitor, suffers the consequences of congestion, it can lead to unnecessary panic. For all its flashy smart features, the Arlo Baby spits the dummy when it can’t find a stable WiFi connection. It’s an always-online device, and while that won’t be an issue for a lot of Australians, others will see the $250+ price tag as a bit of a rort when broadband isn’t on its best behaviour. Changing the Field of View (FOV) can also be done in the Arlo app, a pretty unique feature in a baby monitor. So if you’ve got some gremlins in your stream, try narrowing the field of view to reduce any night vision noise. You can set the FOV anywhere between 90 and 130-degrees. For a brief overview, the Arlo Baby offers motion and sound detection, auto-recorded video clips (as far back as seven days for free, phone and email notifications, air quality and temperature monitoring, night light features, audio playback, push-to-talk, and multi-camera support. Many of those features might feel a little unnecessary for a lot of people, and those same people might balk at the $250 price tag. All of these features can be managed and customised within the Arlo Baby app. The video feed is handled entirely by your smartphone or tablet (rather than a proprietary tablet), but the app also offers a massive range of customisation options. For example, the Arlo Baby app offers impressive flexibility when it comes to alerts and notifications. You can send alerts to your phone and email, and even tailor the amount/frequency of alerts you receive if ever you feel like the Arlo Baby’s giving you a little TMI. Thanks to the Arlo Baby’s air quality and temperature monitoring, you can also receive alerts when the room’s a little stuffy, or the air quality has taken a dip (at which point you might want to invest in an air purifier or humidifier). Lastly, the app lets you customise the brightness and colour of the night light. A night light feels unnecessary for a baby monitor, but it does help improve the quality of the camera’s night vision mode, so it’s a welcome addition. It also makes travelling painful. Your smartphone and the Arlo Baby need to be connected to the same WiFi environment to work, so it’s not like you can tether your phone to the Arlo Baby when you’re on the road. Thankfully, most of your trips will probably have a WiFi connection at the destination, but even switching to a new WiFi environment is a little painful and time-consuming. This can get annoying if you’re heading away for a short weekend to see relatives. If you’re having trouble with your keeping your Arlo Baby monitor connected, try running a speed test on your home WiFi. Arlo announced a dedicated touch screen monitor for the Baby camera but has since cancelled its release. The Arlo Baby otherwise rests on any flat surface, so it’s most likely to sit atop a tallboy or window sill in most homes. Still, many baby monitors come with much more practical alligator clip mounts that can be attached to the end of the crib. Arlo does sell a separate table and wall mount, but it just extends its reach (and it’s out of stock at the time of writing).
