topic Re: Recommended USB stick for base station VMB4000r3 in Arlo Pro 2

Recommended USB stick for base station VMB4000r3

PNelson — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 14:05:43 GMT

I use a sandisk Cruzer 32 GB USB stick to record videos on the base station VMB4000r3. The stick lasts about a year, then it goes into read only mode. Could this be something caused by the base station? I heard that these USB sticks might have a limited number of writes, then they go into read only mode.

Would a different brand USB or model stick work better?

Perhaps a USB drive, but I don't know if the power supply for the base station provides enough current.

Looking for a solution so I can record more reliable. I did not notice this problem until after the weeks amount of video stored on Arlo's cloud disappeared.

Thanks,

Paul

Re: Recommended USB stick for base station VMB4000r3

jguerdat — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 14:37:14 GMT

So far (knock on wood) my drives have lasted years with no issue. I'm not careful about what I use, just use what I have. You might wanna touch base with Sandisk about this.

Re: Recommended USB stick for base station VMB4000r3

StephenB — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 15:40:04 GMT

@PNelson wrote:

I use a sandisk Cruzer 32 GB USB stick to record videos on the base station VMB4000r3. The stick lasts about a year, then it goes into read only mode. Could this be something caused by the base station?

Yes, it could be. You need to be careful to eject the USB stick in the base before you remove it. Otherwise, it will go read-only. If you forget, then putting it into a PC (or I think Mac) will result in an offer to "repair". If you take the offer, then all is good.

But there is a similar case that doesn't involve removing the drive. That is a power failure (either main power failing, or puliing reinserting the plug). That can also result in the base thinking the drive is "dirty" - not properly ejected.

Re: Recommended USB stick for base station VMB4000r3

PNelson — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 14:31:36 GMT

I am careful to eject the USB stick when I need to access the files for some reason. The stick did not go into this read only mode right after a power failure. One day, I notice on the app a symbol telling me there is a problem with the storage. Attempts to perform a scan and repair in Windows 10 result in a message that the drive is read-only. My prior research on the issue is that if the USB drive detects a problem, it goes into read-only mode to protect the existing data. I think I can read all the files, I just cannot write to it anymore.

This is the third time this has happened, and in the two prior cases Sandisk replaced the USB drive.

I will replace it with a different brand or Sandisk model.