topic Re: Wireless camera won't sync; lifespan of cameras in Arlo

Wireless camera won't sync. Tried to resync and replace batteries. Had camera for 3-4 years old.

FatherGoose — Mon, 13 Apr 2020 19:48:27 GMT

My Arlo wireless camera dropped off the grid. All of my other cameras are still linked, but this one won't. I had this issue before with a different camera about a year ago, but I don't really know how I got it back. I do remember some of the steps. This is what I've done so far: rebooted the base station, replaced the batteries in the camera (twice), tried to resync (pushing the sync on the base station, then the sync button on the camera), and from what I remember from last time, removed the device and tried to add it. Now I just keep getting a slow blue blink off the camera. I had the cover open for a day to make sure everything was drained in the camera before trying this again.

No warranty, system is probably three or four years old now. What is the lifespan of the cameras? Is this really a sign that the camera has now failed?

Re: Wireless camera won't sync; lifespan of cameras

jguerdat — Mon, 13 Apr 2020 12:22:06 GMT

Sounds like you've done what you can. Make sure when you press the base sync button you only briefly press it - don't hold it for 2 seconds.

Like all electronic equipment, failure can happen at any time. Mine have lasted years, others have had premature death. The failure rate seems low but that kind of data will never be announced to the public. YMMV.

Re: Wireless camera won't sync; lifespan of cameras

J_Boy — Tue, 14 Apr 2020 14:42:31 GMT

I have the same issue. Two of my Arlo Wireless just fell off the grid and now I am unable to re-sync them. Changed batteries and got a flashing blue LED from both of them, but they are not detected by the base station. Also have two Arlo Pro's connected to the same base station and they work fine. Tried Everything; removing/re-adding them from profile, changing batteries, restarting base station etc, but no luck. Any ideas?

Re: Wireless camera won't sync; lifespan of cameras

JessicaP — Wed, 15 Apr 2020 14:45:03 GMT

Hey J_Boy,

Have you tried what jguerdat suggested with just pressing the sync button instead of holding it to see if that helps?

Re: Wireless camera won't sync; lifespan of cameras

FatherGoose — Wed, 15 Apr 2020 15:00:44 GMT

I've done all this. Swapped batteries multiple times, tapped sync button on base station and tapped sync button on camera multiple times, reset base station (meaning I have to reconnect all of my other cameras), repeated everything, and still nothing. I'm not even getting the fast flashing amber lights. Is there any way to test to see if the wireless on the camera is still functioning?

Re: Wireless camera won't sync. Tried to resync and replace batteries. Had camera for 3-4 years old.

Smygen — Wed, 15 Apr 2020 18:21:56 GMT

I have the same problem and I tried all yesterday and after an our I could connect the camera after deleting it. But today the system had lost the camera again. This system is more and more **bleep**ty. Spend so much time with my arlo the last month and bought new batteries. Batteries drain out for two days. I beleave I throw it the carbige soon.

Re: Wireless camera won't sync; lifespan of cameras

JessicaP — Wed, 15 Apr 2020 19:43:01 GMT

Hey FatherGoose and Smygen,

I would suggest contacting the Support Team to further investigate the issue you're experiencing. You will find several options for contacting support in the provided link.

Re: Wireless camera won't sync; lifespan of cameras

J_Boy — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 06:26:48 GMT

Contacted Support and they solved the problem! Appearently a base station firmware issue that only can be fixed remote by contacting Support. Hope that it stays stable now.

Re: Wireless camera won't sync; lifespan of cameras

Thilland — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 14:51:14 GMT

Did you phone or email support? I emailed in on the 11th and haven't received any response.

Re: Wireless camera won't sync; lifespan of cameras

J_Boy — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 16:14:09 GMT

I used the Live chat:

https://www.arlo.com/en-us/support/contact.aspx

Re: Wireless camera won't sync; lifespan of cameras

Thilland — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 03:16:23 GMT

I am now 6 hours into the chat with the online tech support. They are convinced that my 80Mbps down and 8Mbps up is not enough to handle 4 cameras.

Re: Wireless camera won't sync; lifespan of cameras

J_Boy — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 07:09:07 GMT

Sounds like a poor excuse. I have 100/10 and 5 cameras and never had any issues with bandwidth.

Re: Wireless camera won't sync; lifespan of cameras

StephenB — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 12:37:48 GMT

@Thilland wrote:
I am now 6 hours into the chat with the online tech support. They are convinced that my 80Mbps down and 8Mbps up is not enough to handle 4 cameras.

https://kb.arlo.com/000062043/What-are-the-minimum-requirements-for-installing-and-using-my-Arlo-system

8 mbps up would be a problem for 4K, and marginal for 2K. But it should be fine for 1080p even if all cameras trigger at once.

You might want to run speedtest and confirm your upload speed. It might be lower than usual, given the number of people using video at home.