How do I get better picture quality from my Arlo camera?

You can improve the picture quality of your Arlo cameras by adjusting power management or video settings in the Arlo app, and by maintaining the minimum requirements to use your Arlo system. For more information, visit What are the minimum requirements for installing my Arlo system?.

Arlo wire-free cameras

The following cameras are wire-free: Arlo Ultra, Ultra 2, Pro 4, Pro 3, Pro 3 Floodlight, Pro 2, Pro, Essential wire-free, and the original Arlo Wire-Free camera.

To improve picture quality on your Arlo wire-free cameras:

  1. Ensure that your cameras are within range of the base station.
    For more information, visit How far can I place my Arlo wire-free cameras from the base station?.
  2. Ensure that your upload speed meets the following minimum requirements:
    • Arlo Ultra and Ultra 2: 3 Mbps upload per camera
    • Arlo Pro 4, Pro 3, Pro 3 Floodlight, and Video Doorbell: 2 Mbps upload per camera
    • All other Arlo cameras: 1 Mbps upload per camera
  3. Minimize the number of networks, WiFi devices, and transmitted frequencies near your base station, SmartHub, and cameras.
  4. Change the Power Management setting to Best Video.
    For more information about video settings, visit How do I change my Arlo Wire-Free or Arlo Pro Wire-Free camera's power management settings?.
    Note: If bandwidth is limited on your WiFi network, selecting Best Video does not necessarily improve video quality. Choosing Best Video also reduces battery life for wire-free cameras.
    Even if you have at least 1Mpbs upload speed, simultaneous uploads might degrade the quality of your Arlo video stream. To improve your connection, avoid uploading other data while you are streaming video. This includes uploading torrent files as well as uploading videos or pictures to remote web sites such as Flickr or YouTube or remote backup sites and cloud drives such as Dropbox or iCloud.
  5. If your router supports Quality of Service (QoS) or traffic shaping, make sure that your router settings are optimized for streaming video.
  6. Ensure that your camera maximizes bitrate usage.
    Your Arlo Wire-Free, Pro, and Pro 2 camera’s bitrate is reduced if you do not have an Arlo Smart plan. To increase the bitrate on these camera models, you must add the cameras to an Arlo Smart plan.

Arlo wired cameras

The following cameras require a direct connection to power: Arlo Q, Q Plus, and Baby.

To improve picture quality on your Arlo wired cameras:

  1. Change the Video Quality setting to your preferred resolution. For more information, visit How do I change video resolution on my Arlo Q, Q Plus, or Arlo Baby to reduce bandwidth use?.
  2. Ensure that your camera maximizes bitrate usage.
    Your Arlo Q and Q Plus camera’s bitrate is reduced if you do not have an Arlo Smart plan. To increase the bitrate on these camera models, you must add the cameras to an Arlo Smart plan.