topic Re: Arlo Essential Spotlight camera will not connect in Arlo Pro 4

4 Pro cameras won't link

jghere — Thu, 26 May 2022 21:18:42 GMT

I knew I was about to enter a nightmare when I upgraded my home network to a mesh system. And of course it was. Attempting to reconnect my three Arlo 4 Pro cameras to the network. I've been through the process many dozens of times since I bought these horrible things and they still refuse to connect. After failed attempts, I usually need to remove the camera from the system and start again with 'add new device'. I enter the network data, finally get the chime from the QR code read (but not always), then endless waiting until it times out trying to connect. I am just a few feet from the wireless hub. After 20 times I was somehow able to connect ONE unit. Going thru the exact process does not work on the others. I put in fully charged batteries. The blue light flashes (though sometimes it's amber, who knows why?), and then a really long wait holding the camera over the QR code on my phone. Often that times out, too. Then it's remove and replace battery, remove the device from the list and again add it as new device. I've been at it for 2.5 hours and only have one camera connected. What a colossal pain. How could a company market ?? I just can't take it any longer. . I've wasted many hundreds of dollars.

Re: 4 Pro cameras won't link

StephenB — Tue, 24 May 2022 11:08:21 GMT

Have you tried using a PC to re-add the cameras?

If some of the cameras are still in your account, you could try changing the WiFi name and password of the mesh to match your old router.

Re: 4 Pro cameras won't link

jghere — Tue, 24 May 2022 17:22:05 GMT

Thanks Steven,

I use a Mac and I find the app on my iPhone always works better for setup. You're digging deep if you think I'll change the mesh network name to suit this camera! Other devices are using it as well.

So I tried again this morning. I assign the proper network creds, I get the chime, and one of the following happens:

1. Nothing. Searching for something it never finds. Game over.

2. It actually finds the network, and then takes forever to check for updates.

3. Same as #2 above, but it finally asks for the camera name. I think I might be there, but then it endlessly searches for a connection and there is never video on the app window. This is most unbelievable since I am right in the room with the wireless modem. This will go on forever, but after a lot of time, I finally press continue in disgusted frustration, and it says 'no connection'.. Game over.

How can this device NOT connect when it is literally three feet from the wireless router?

Re: 4 Pro cameras won't link

StephenB — Tue, 24 May 2022 17:29:23 GMT

What mesh system are you using?

Re: 4 Pro cameras won't link

jghere — Tue, 24 May 2022 17:49:31 GMT

Netgear nighthawk. It has both 2.4 and 5 GHz networks. I actually have two Arlo cameras now working through it but the one I’m trying to get on just refuses. I have one more to try.

Re: 4 Pro cameras won't link

jghere — Tue, 24 May 2022 20:24:07 GMT

I tried the next Pro 4 camera. New battery. I get past the chime from the code reader, but the camera never connects to the network. Repeatedly. New day, same bull**bleep**. These Arlo cameras are crap.

Re: 4 Pro cameras won't link

ShayneS — Thu, 26 May 2022 21:20:06 GMT

Please reach out to the Support Team to further investigate this issue you are experiencing. You can find several options for contacting support though the Arlo Mobile App by navigating to Settings/System/Support.

Arlo Essential Spotlight camera will not connect

johnnypar91 — Sun, 29 May 2022 20:26:02 GMT

I purchased a three pack of the Arlo Essential Spotlight cameras. I was able to connect one camera to my Wi-Fi, but I am unable to connect the other two. Camera 1 connected just fine after following the directions. After connecting camera 1, I decided to have my Wi-Fi router replaced so I did not connect cameras 2 & 3 at this time. After replacing the router, connecting my phone to the new router, I entered the new password for camera 1 and the camera reconnected without any issues. Cameras 2 and 3 will not connect though. I have tried several times using the app and also the website. This is what happens when trying to connect cameras 2 & 3. Before the last attempt, I performed a factory reset by holding down the sync button for several seconds until the amber light flashed.

Opened the app and selected "Add New Device"
Selected "Cameras"
Select "Essential"
Select "Essential Spotlight Camera & Essential XL Spotlight Camera"
Select "Continue" after confirming my phone is connected to the same Wi-Fi
Enter Wi-Fi password and confirm it is correct
Push and hold sync button until blue light flashes
Select Continue
Scan QR code until camera chimes
App says it is looking for the camera
Blue light stops flashing after 10-15 seconds
App continues to look for camera for about one minute and then times out.

During previous attempts, when the blue light stopped flashing, I pushed the sync button again until the blue light started flashing again. This didn't seem to help as the app would continue looking and then time out. This is the same sequence that happened when trying to connect to the website and this happens with both cameras.

Re: Arlo Essential Spotlight camera will not connect

johnnypar91 — Mon, 30 May 2022 07:39:31 GMT

I would also like to add that I have an Essential Wire-free Video Doorbell that I was able to connect to the new Wi-Fi without any issues at all. I made a couple more attempts to connect cameras 2&3 with no success.

Re: Arlo Essential Spotlight camera will not connect

StephenB — Mon, 30 May 2022 10:07:49 GMT

I suggest also trying on a PC (browsing to my.arlo.com).

Re: Arlo Essential Spotlight camera will not connect

johnnypar91 — Tue, 31 May 2022 01:49:08 GMT

I've tried using a browser before. I just tried again using both Chrome and Edge. Same results as described above.

Re: Arlo Essential Spotlight camera will not connect

johnnypar91 — Tue, 31 May 2022 04:08:45 GMT

I chatted with Arlo Support tonight which did not yield any results. They said they would have to consult their tech team.

Re: Arlo Essential Spotlight camera will not connect

WiFiWorries — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 15:41:50 GMT

seems to be issues with Netgear Nighthawk mesh systems and preventing WiFi to connecting to internet. Having the same issues intermittently. Connection just goes away and does not automatically recover.

Re: Arlo Essential Spotlight camera will not connect

18blackhawk — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 19:45:16 GMT

Precisely this...same with the doorbell...had that up and running in 10 minutes...these cameras simply don't work...incredibly disappointing and getting close to returning the cameras, selling the doorbell on eBay and going another brand entirely.

Re: Arlo Essential Spotlight camera will not connect

ShayneS — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 21:43:09 GMT

@18blackhawk

Are you still experiencing an issue with onboarding your doorbell?

Re: Arlo Essential Spotlight camera will not connect

18blackhawk — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 23:25:37 GMT

I'm sorry, I wasn't clear in my verbage...I meant ditto as in the other poster's experience: the doorbell was working literally 15 minutes after I opened the box and has performed flawlessly since.

Today I tried the camera again, with the web portal, and the camera, connected, checked for a firmware update, showed up on the app....and I thought I was good, and 10 seconds later it disconnected and hasn't worked since.

Re: Arlo Essential Spotlight camera will not connect

ShayneS — Thu, 22 Sep 2022 20:31:11 GMT

@18blackhawk

May I ask which troubleshooting steps you have performed so far? I don't want to suggest anything you have previously performed.

Re: 4 Pro cameras won't link

jghere — Thu, 22 Sep 2022 20:36:10 GMT

As the OP here, I thought you all might like to know that I finally got my 4 cameras operating. It required numerous repeated efforts to connect each one. Some days a no go. Finally one by one they ultimately went online. The process was grueling and should not be necessary. Because of the difficult setup, I still don't recommend any of this Arlo stuff to anyone.

Re: Arlo Essential Spotlight camera will not connect

18blackhawk — Fri, 23 Sep 2022 12:46:11 GMT

Hello, Shayne,

I have ensured that I am using the 2.4 GHz WiFi band.

I have ensured the password is correct.

The camera is charged.

Nothing on the router is blocked.

The router is a Netgear Nighthawk R7000.

The mobile device (Google Pixel 6) I used is on the same network as the camera. After literally at least 25 tries (I really would like this to work,) it connected very briefly one time, and then lost connection during the firmware check. I hard reset the camera several times during this process.

I tried using my Surface Pro and the Arlo web portal, and it connected, checked for firmware and found the firmware to be up to date, and then promptly disconnected and would not reconnect even though the device manager app for the Nighthawk had saved it. I tried the process again with no luck, a couple of hard resets, and I'm back to square one.

Another thing I noticed during every time I've gone through the process (phone or Surface Pro) is that the blinking blue LED indicating the camera is ready to be discovered goes out almost immediately after scanning the QR code and hearing the chime; I always have to press the button again for 1-2 seconds to get the blue LED blinking again.

Re: Arlo Essential Spotlight camera will not connect

ShayneS — Fri, 23 Sep 2022 16:25:46 GMT

Hi @18blackhawk

Thanks for the detailed info. It looks like your doorbell is connected and online. if you experience this issue again I would suggest to reach out to Arlo customer support to see if they can isolate the issue or issue an RMA.

If it occurs again, Please reach out to the Support Team. You can find several options for contacting support though the Arlo Mobile App by navigating to Settings/System/Support.