How do I record 4K videos to a local storage device?

With Arlo Ultra or Ultra 2 and a compatible SmartHub or base station, you can save 4K videos directly to a microSD card or USB device. This provides a solution if you don’t want your Arlo video recordings to touch the Arlo cloud, or in the event that your Arlo SmartHub or base station disconnects from the Internet.

What you need

You need the following to record locally in 4K:

  • An Arlo Ultra or Ultra 2 camera
  • One of the following:
    • An Arlo Smart Elite plan
    • No Arlo Smart subscription
    • A 4K-compatible legacy Arlo Smart subscription

Note: Due to hardware limitations, Arlo Ultra cameras cannot stream to the cloud in 2K and simultaneously record locally in quality higher than 2K. However, Arlo Ultra can simultaneously stream to the cloud and locally in 4K.

  • A 4K-compatible Arlo SmartHub or base station
  • A compatible microSD card or USB device
    • VMB5000 accepts microSD cards, microSDHC, or microSDXC. We recommend that you use a microSD card with a minimum of 16 GB capacity, Speed Class 10, UHS1, V10. The Arlo SmartHub supports up to class 10 UHS-3 V90 class microSD cards.
    • VMB4540, VMB4500, and VMB4000 accept USB 2.0 compatible flash drives or external hard drives with a Type-A connector and at least 16GB of available space.

Record locally in 4K

To record 4K video to a local storage device, you must insert a microSD card or USB device into the slot on your Arlo SmartHub or base station.

To enable local storage recording:

  1. Launch the Arlo app or log in to your Arlo account at my.arlo.com.
  2. Tap or click Settings > My Devices.
  3. Select an Arlo SmartHub or base station.
  4. Tap or click Storage Settings.
  5. Tap or click the slider next to Record Locally.

To view videos saved on a local storage device:

  1. Launch the Arlo app or log in to your Arlo account at my.arlo.com.
  2. Tap or click Settings > My Devices.
  3. Select an Arlo SmartHub or base station.
  4. Tap or click Storage Settings > Safely Eject [storage device].
  5. Wait for the in-app unmounting message to close, then remove the local storage device from your SmartHub or base station.
    Warning: Do not interrupt power to the Arlo SmartHub or base station, and do not remove the local storage device while the in-app unmounting message is displayed.
  6. Insert the local storage device into the appropriate slot on your computer.
  7. Wait for the local storage device to appear in the available drives on your computer, then open the drive folder to view the files on your local storage device.
  8. Open the Arlo folder.
    Recorded videos are saved in the Arlo folder in MP4 format.
    Note: If you are unable to play MP4 files on your computer, update your media player software to the latest version and try again. You can also download a free universal multimedia player, such as VLC.

For more information about 4K with Arlo Ultra, visit: