topic Does a repeater matter? in Arlo Essential Wire-Free Cameras

Does a repeater matter?

ThePhotoGuy — Sun, 27 Aug 2023 18:18:30 GMT

Would adding a repeater to my yard help or does it only matter where the hub is located?

We're using the A-Hub and it's on the top floor of a home that has cameras on all levels, inside and outside the structure. I bought a repeater and set it up and then I thought, wait a minute, I don't connect these cameras to a Wi-Fi signal, I connect them to the hub. And I don't connect the hub to a Wi-Fi signal either, that's wired in to the switch. Should I return this Wi-Fi repeater? And how do I get the cameras outside to work better? At times it's hard to connect to them or they show a pixelated view.

Re: Does a repeater matter?

StephenB — Sun, 27 Aug 2023 18:37:19 GMT

@ThePhotoGuy wrote:

Would adding a repeater to my yard help or does it only matter where the hub is located?

A repeater won't help if you are using a hub, so you should return it.

Note an essential camera can also be connected directly to your home wifi. In that scenario, a wifi extender could help.

@ThePhotoGuy wrote:

And how do I get the cameras outside to work better? At times it's hard to connect to them or they show a pixelated view.

If your hub is near your router, you can get a good idea of the signal quality by using the Ookla speedtest app (free) on your phone near the camera locations. Turn off your phone's mobile data before running this, and see what upload and download speed you get (and if it seems stable). Upload speed is more critical (since that is used by the camera when sending the video).

With a hub, there's not much you can do, apart from deploying other hubs closer to the cameras.

Re: Does a repeater matter?

ThePhotoGuy — Sun, 27 Aug 2023 18:55:09 GMT

@StephenB wrote:
@ThePhotoGuy wrote:
Would adding a repeater to my yard help or does it only matter where the hub is located?

A repeater won't help if you are using a hub, so you should return it.

Note an essential camera can also be connected directly to your home wifi. In that scenario, a wifi extender could help.

But without the hub, I wouldn't be able to save videos, correct?

@ThePhotoGuy wrote:
And how do I get the cameras outside to work better? At times it's hard to connect to them or they show a pixelated view.

If your hub is near your router, you can get a good idea of the signal quality by using the Ookla speedtest app (free) on your phone near the camera locations. Turn off your phone's mobile data before running this, and see what upload and download speed you get (and if it seems stable). Upload speed is more critical (since that is used by the camera when sending the video).

With a hub, there's not much you can do, apart from deploying other hubs closer to the cameras.

Re: Does a repeater matter?

StephenB — Sun, 27 Aug 2023 18:57:28 GMT

@ThePhotoGuy wrote:

But without the hub, I wouldn't be able to save videos, correct?

No local recordings. But with a subscription they are still stored in the cloud, and anything interesting can be downloaded from there.

What hub model do you have?

Re: Does a repeater matter?

ThePhotoGuy — Sun, 27 Aug 2023 19:13:17 GMT

VMB4540r3

Re: Does a repeater matter?

StephenB — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 12:00:43 GMT

@ThePhotoGuy wrote:

VMB4540r3

This does support the direct access to local storage feature, and some use that instead of a subscription.

That feature has a number of limitations, so perhaps not what you want anyway:

recordings are only accessible in the app, not the browser
recordings only available in the primary account, not friend accounts
no ability to make manual recordings or snapshots
no thumbnails. All recordings need to be downloaded to the phone to view
remote access requires router setting changes that some find difficult, and which won't work with some internet service providers.

IMO, the feature is ok for backup of the recordings, but not a great experience.

In any event, if you want local recording you would need to use the smarthub.

Re: Does a repeater matter?

ThePhotoGuy — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 12:19:57 GMT

Yeah. I have a drive on my current smarthub. Guess I'll need to get another for better connectivity.