Arlo’s New Wire-Free Video Doorbell Is Easier to Install in Most Homes

Video doorbells are one of the best smart home devices you can buy. But many require connecting to your home’s doorbell wiring, which can be difficult if you even have working wiring at all. Arlo’s new $199.99 Essential Wire-Free Video Doorbell bypasses that problem in favor of batteries.

If you’re already familiar with the previous Arlo Video doorbell, this update should seem familiar. It sports the same 180-degree viewing angle and the same square 1:1 aspect ratio. You still get HDR recording, night vision, and the ability to talk with the person at your door through the Arlo app.

Like many doorbells, it comes with an angle mount, the ability to pre-record messages you can send when you don’t have time to talk, and it’s weather-resistant. You also won’t need a hub in the house, it connect directly to Wi-Fi.

The main difference between the new doorbell and the old doorbell is the rechargeable battery. Since you don’t need to wire it to your home, the install can be easier. And if you don’t have working doorbell wiring (or any wiring), the Wire-Free Doorbell is an option for you.

If you don’t want to deal with recharging a battery every few months, you can choose to wire the new doorbell to your home; it supports that too. Anyone who buys the doorbell gets three months of Arlo Smart for free. That’s a subscription that grants 30 days of rolling cloud recordings and smart object detection, which automatically detects packages, people, animals, and then sends alerts about them to your phone. After the first 30 days, the service starts at $2.99 a month.

You can preorder the Arlo Essential Wire-Free Doorbell through Best Buy later today, and it will release “this holiday season.”