topic Local Storage Status Requires Formatting, in Arlo Pro

Local Storage Status Requires Formatting,

nefertiti007 — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 06:44:52 GMT

Base VMB4000r3, 1x H4 and 3 x H8.

Cloud recording stopped, no notifications since Sunday. Bought an external 1TB HDD, formatted to fat32 still no joy

Error "Local Storage Status Requires Formatting,"

firmware have stopped. Is Arlo doing this deliberately so that we have to go on a subscription plan?

Re: Local Storage Status Requires Formatting,

DannyBearAgain — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 08:14:50 GMT

Not sure if arlo is doing anything dodgy.

You should have a working system at least until July 2023.

Have you checked the base operating mode is set to “Armed”?

Re: Local Storage Status Requires Formatting,

jguerdat — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 13:04:27 GMT

Lots of insinuations about nefarious Arlo but no proof.

For starters, use a computer to view the hard drive's partitioning. Many times a hard drive will have at least 2 with one small one used to store manufacturer's utilities, etc. Remove ALL partitions and try formatting again.

Btw, an inexpensive 32-64GB thumb drive stores an awful lot of videos and is easier to manage.

Re: Local Storage Status Requires Formatting,

nefertiti007 — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 22:47:30 GMT

hi all, i had to reset everything back to factory settings and set it all up again and has been working now. Thanks

Re: Local Storage Status Requires Formatting,

egjergji — Tue, 25 Apr 2023 04:17:03 GMT

I have two separate base stations (VBS 4500 and VBS4000) which have local storage and they have suspiciously both thrown a storage corruption problem. I am a subscriber to the cloud service but would like for this to work. I don’t want to factory reset as I have 12 cameras connected. What’s going on?

Re: Local Storage Status Requires Formatting,

StephenB — Tue, 25 Apr 2023 11:18:49 GMT

@egjergji wrote:

I have two separate base stations (VBS 4500 and VBS4000) which have local storage and they have suspiciously both thrown a storage corruption problem.

Not really sure what you mean by "storage corruption". What are you seeing when you connect the USB storage to a PC?

Re: Local Storage Status Requires Formatting,

jguerdat — Tue, 25 Apr 2023 12:11:34 GMT

If the corruption is noted as a file system error when connecting to a computer, be sure to use the Safely Eject button in the local storage settings to prevent this.

Re: Local Storage Status Requires Formatting,

snezy001 — Thu, 18 May 2023 02:47:18 GMT

I am also having this issue. It only started happening in April 23 after a couple years of reliable operation.

Hardware Version: VMB4540r2

Firmware Version: 1.21.0.1_1388_7841d8d

Randomly the Arlo Base Station starts reporting that the drive is corrupted and needs to be formatted.

The Arlo base station stops saving new files when it reports the storage is corrupted, which is very worrying.

I have ejected the USB drive and plugged it into a computer and I can read the files without a problem. The USB drive appears fine.
Just in case, I have replaced the USB drive 3 times now and there is no change in the base stations behavior. The unit continues to randomly report the storage is corrupted.

I believe this is a firmware problem and I cannot contact Arlo support as I have had the unit for more than 3 months.

A bandaid fix is to login to the Arlo online portal (not the app) then click to view the base stations settings, then go into storage settings and you can manually format the drive - from there it starts working again temporarily however this is not a permanent fix.

If this issue continues much longer, I will need to replace the whole system.
I have been looking to a Ubiquiti camera system to replace the Arlo system as I really need reliable recording (Its pretty pointless having cameras that dont actually record anything)

Re: Local Storage Status Requires Formatting,

jguerdat — Thu, 18 May 2023 12:08:12 GMT

While it takes time and can be a PITA, removing all devices connected to the hub as well as the hub may help clear out weirdnesses. Using the reset button may help, too - hold it until the LED starts flashing amber.

There have been a number of other reports about this but I don't know of a fix yet.