How do I set up local storage backups on a USB device using my Arlo base station?

All wire-free cameras can record to local storage, even if your Internet goes down.

Set up local storage

To set up local backup storage on an Arlo base station:

  1. Plug the USB device into one of the two USB ports on the back of the Arlo base station.
  2. Launch the Arlo app or log in to your Arlo account at my.arlo.com.
  3. Tap or click Settings > My Devices.
  4. Tap or click the Arlo base station or SmartHub into which you inserted the USB device.
  5. If you see a green circle next to USB DISK and the status message Ready, skip to step 8.
    Note: If you already named your USB Device using a computer, the name displays instead of USB Device 1. If you insert a second unnamed USB device, it displays as USB Device 2.
    If you see the message “Requires Formatting” next to USB DISK or USB Device 2, the USB device is not in the correct format (FAT32). You must format the USB device before you can use it for local storage.
    Warning: Formatting the USB device erases all data from the device. If you want to keep any files that are on the USB device, copy those files to another location before you format the USB device. Do not use the Arlo base station to format storage devices with more than 2 TB of storage capacity. The formatting process reduces the capacity of larger storage devices to a maximum of 2 TB.
  6. To delete all files on your USB device and format it for local video storage:
    • Tap or click > next to the USB device that you want to format.
    • Tap or click Format USB Device.
    • Wait for USB Device Status to change from Formatting to Ready.
      Warning: Do not remove the USB device while it is formatting. The USB device might become permanently unusable.
  7. If you do not want old videos to be deleted when your USB device is low on storage space, tap or click the slider next to Automatic Overwrite to turn it off.
    If automatic overwrite is turned off, the Arlo app notifies you when storage gets low so that you can enable local storage backup on a different USB device. If storage is completely full and automatic overwrite is turned off, videos are only recorded to the cloud until you turn on automatic overwrite or enable a different USB device.

Note: If you want a second USB device for when your first USB device is full, you can follow the same steps to add a second USB device, but you can only enable one USB device at a time.

For more information about local storage on your Arlo Pro system, visit: