Tips & Hacks: Does Arlo Work With Google Home?

Tips & Hacks: Does Arlo Work With Google Home?

As an Amazon Associate, I can earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more.

After Ring, Arlo is another standalone wireless security camera assembled herein the U.S. It’s even better at some points as customers with old devices can enjoy free cloud storage. But then, does Arlo work with Google Home for smart automation?

The other day, we saw you can use Blink and Ring on Amazon Alexa directly. However, Blink still doesn’t have native integration with Google Assistant and you’ll have to use a third-party service to sync it.

Meanwhile,  Arlo is one of the security cameras that work with Alexa, Google Assistant, SmartThings, and IFTTT. We also saw you can connect your Arlo Pro 4 or Ultra 2 with the Apple Homekit through a base station. Thus, making it possible to watch your footage on the Apple TV and receive alerts on your Apple watch.

Even so, not all Arlo devices are natively compatible with Google Home Assistant, as we shall see below.

Is Pairing My Arlo With Google Home Worth It?

From where we are right now, you’re either a technophile (someone who loves technology) or a Luddite (one who hates modern technology). But smart home automation systems keep on getting smarter, as with Google Home lately.

Many Android phones come with built-in Google Assistant nowadays. But the tech is more intelligent in Google Home, as you could even use gestures to control your devices. And that can be handy at the times you can’t initiate skills with voice commands- say you’re next to your sleeping baby or partner.

The said skills that you could enjoy when you pair your Arlo Security Camera with Google Home directly include:

  • Activate Your System:

You can easily arm & Disarm your Arlo video doorbell or security camera using simple voice commands or geofence

  • Live stream your cameras:

You can ask your Google Assistant-enabled device to pull up your CCTV real-time recordings on the smart Nest display or Chromecast-enabled TV. You just need to say something like “Show (camera name)” or “Show (camera name) on (Nest display name)” or “What’s on (camera name) or “Play (camera name) on (Chromecast device name)”.

  • Receive video doorbell announcements:

It’s also possible to set your Google Home Speaker or display to announce when there’s a visitor at your door. You just need to turn on “Visitor announcements” mode from your Google Home app

  • Check your camera health:

You can use the Google Home app or smart display to monitor things like battery level, WiFi connection quality, video bandwidth, and others.

  • Operate your other smart devices in tandem:

The best perk of investing in a Google Assistant device is to build your smart home ecosystem for easier management. Besides CCTV, you can add security lights, thermostats, locks, alarm systems, speakers, et cetera. Then you get to control all of them from the same station, and even set them to react in tandem. For instance, you can have the lights blink when the doorbell is pressed.

Important Note:

Google Home does allow you to view your security cameras right from the smartphone/ tablet app, something Amazon Alexa lacks. You should also know the virtual Assistant is always listening to its surrounding environment. But she does respect your privacy and won’t record any audio or video.

As a matter of fact, you’ll need to use any of the preprogrammed wake words to get your Google Home ready for a command. The most common wake phrase is usually “Hey, Google” or “Okay, Google”. You’ll notice the built-in lights above your device spin (or pulse) and you can say the command you’d want to be triggered.

After the response, the built-in microphone in a Google Home device usually stays hot for another 8 seconds. So, you can ask it follow-up questions at the time without saying the magic wake words.

Does Arlo Work With Google Home?

In this section, we’ll now answer the question you came here for: “does Arlo work with Google Home”. And the quickest answer is a YES, Arlo does work with Google Home voice assistant devices.

The various systems you can connect for automation include:

  • Arlo Pro family
  • Arlo Q camera family
  • Arlo Go camera family
  • Arlo Ultra camera family
  • Arlo Baby camera family
  • Arlo Security Light family
  • Arlo Essential camera & doorbell family

The 2018 Audio Doorbell is kind of the only old Arlo product that does not work with Google Home Assistant. It’s a bit more basic than the rest and only supports Alexa integration.

At CES 2022, Arlo introduced its latest Smart Home Security System kit, the first in the new category. But at this time, the system does not work with Google Home Assistant.

A Quick Guide on How to Get Arlo Work with Google Home

Overall, it’s so easy to get Arlo to work with Google Home speakers and the rest of Google Assistant-enabled devices. You just have to make sure you already have your security camera or video doorbell set up first.

Similar to any other automation service, you’ll need both Arlo and Google Home account for the two systems to sync. The Arlo service should be the first to set up since Google will ask you to authorize its access. Otherwise, the ecosystem won’t sync.

Once you now have the Arlo active on your smartphone (or tablet), you can get it to work with Google Home with ease:

  1. Launch the Google Home app and log in with your credentials (create an account if you don’t have one)
  2. On the home screen, tap the Plus “+” tab on the top left corner to reveal the hidden Add and Manage menu
  3. Tap on the “Set up device” option under the Add to home sub-menu
  4. The app will take you to a new window to Set up a Device. If you have not built your Google Home ecosystem yet, you would have to start by adding “New Device”. But in this case, I’m assuming you already have a working Google Home service. Thus clip on the “Works with Google” tab
  5. The app will now take you to the Home Control integration page, from where you can start adding your Arlo. And to do that, tap on the search bar on top and look for “Arlo” (without quotations).
  6. Next, select the first Arlo applet from the list. Google Home will ask you to verify you want to “Continue” to Link your account to control Arlo.
  7. If you choose to continue above, the app will redirect you to your Arlo account. You should see the (email) account that you’re using with your Arlo camera or video doorbell. If the shown account is not what you intended to use click on “change account “ and choose the intended email.
  8. Now, tap on the bold green “Agree And Link” button to authorize Google Home to sync with your Arlo. It will start linking and once done will take you back to the “Add and Manage” menu where you started (in Step 3).
  9. Finally, use the back arrow to return to the home screen.

You can confirm your Arlo camera is still linked to Google Home by tapping on the “Linked to you” tab at the bottom of the home page. Then you can proceed to try the trigger commands.

The Google Home App Delays to Show Live Stream

Whether it’s just for fun or to enjoy a seamless smart ecosystem, that’s how to get Arlo to work with Google Home devices. The security cameras and video doorbells from the local brand are natively compatible with the automation service. Hence, why it’s easier to set up than Blink camera, which only works with Google Assistant through IFTTT.

Thanks to the native compatibility, you’ll also be able to get the most out of Google Home here. You can arm/ disarm your Arlo systems, as well as initiate live streams and receive doorbell announcements.

However, there’s a slight delay in pulling your footage when live-streaming your Arlo cameras/ doorbell through the Google Home app. But this is a pretty common phenomenon will all Home automation services.

About the author

Cristina Williams

I am Cristina Williams an expert for home security system. I research the different market place and read customer reviews to make a perfect product guide. I believe that a good product review can help you take a good decision because every man tries to buy a perfect product for him. Getlockers.com one of the best for you.