Arlo has been one of our favorite home security camera manufacturers for a long time. They make excellent outdoor cameras that are truly wireless. The challenge is finding a way to attach these to your home or business in an advantageous location. By that we’re talking about somewhere high enough to see the terrain and provides a secure attachment. Somewhere like a rain gutter or soffit.
It’s worth noting that the cameras we’re referencing in this article are the wireless outdoor types from Arlo. We’re talking about the Arlo Smart Home Camera, Arlo Pro, Arlo Ultra and Arlo Pro 2.
Advantages of Gutter or Soffit Arlo Placement
The gutter and soffit are great locations for an Arlo outdoor camera because these are the highest locations on most homes and offices. Being high has two advantages. First, the higher location allows you to get a more complete view of the property being monitored.
The second advantage is security of the Arlo camera. Let’s face realty. That magnetic mount that comes with an Arlo camera isn’t the most secure in the world. It’s extremely easy for someone to remove the camera and go home with it. If the camera is attached to a gutter or soffit, the only likely way to remove it is with a ladder.
Disadvantages of Gutter or Soffit Arlo Placement
The problem with any battery-powered camera is that it needs to be recharged or have the batteries replaced periodically. In the case of most Arlo wireless cameras, these batteries will last 4 – 6 months but it’s going to vary by usage. If you check in a lot or have a substantial amount of captured motion events, that battery life will be less.
Attaching an Arlo camera to a gutter or soffit is going to likely require a ladder so removing to charge the battery isn’t as simple as having it on ground level. You will periodically need to climb up the ladder, unscrew the camera, climb back down and charge the camera. After charging, repeat the climb.
The Arlo Pro shown in the photo that accompanies this article is attached to a gutter on top of a garage. It’s about ten feet above the ground. Removing the camera isn’t difficult, and setting up the ladder probably takes longer than removing the camera. However, if the gutter or soffit is 20 feet off the ground, this becomes a bit of a pain, especially in the winter in colder climate areas.
How to Attach an Arlo Camera to a Gutter
If you made it this far, you’re interested in how to attach the camera to a gutter. The Arlo Pro in the photo that accompanies this article is using the Wasserstein Weatherproof Gutter Mount Compatible with Arlo Pro, Arlo Pro 2, Arlo HD, Arlo Ultra. This mount allows attachment an Arlo camera to the lip of your rain gutter. There are two screw clamps which securely attach the mount to the front of the gutter. This is perfect for keeping a watch on your garage.
The Arlo camera models we have been discussing screw onto the gutter attachment using the tripod screw hole on the bottom of the camera. This screw hole is located just below the concave portion of the camera that attaches to that dome mount.
You may have to use the 180 degree flipping option in the app as had to be done with the camera in the photo, but it’s solid attachment and is ideal for catching the action from the start of the driveway all the way to the road.
How to Attach an Arlo Camera to a Soffit
For those unfamiliar with where a soffit is located, it’s the part the gutter attaches to. A camera would attach to the bottom of the soffit.
The magnetic dome that comes with the Arlo camera might work. It depends upon what needs to be monitored. If it’s a short area from the building, this might capture all that you need. The limitation is lack of an outward angle. The camera is limited in its ability to point outward when placed on the magnetic dome.
For a greater amount of flexibility, consider the Arkon Camera Wall Mount for Cameras. The metal mount measures 8 inches in length. There are adjustment points at the base, midpoint and tip. An Arlo camera will attach to this mount the same way as the gutter mount. Utilize the tripod screw hole located on the back of the camera. The advantage provided by this solution is that it can point outwards to capture a further distance.
All of these articles are written by someone (me) that figured out how to do this stuff the hard way. I have owned and tested dozens of cameras. Manufacturer support varies. There are a few good companies that provide timely answers when you have questions. There are several that sell you the camera and seem to have little interest in post sales support (which leads me to finding out stuff the hard way).
