topic Re: Shared Access Not Working in Arlo

Shared Access Not Working

spatrizi — Wed, 07 Feb 2024 21:49:35 GMT

I've seen this posted a bunch of times but never see a satisfactory resolution. Here's the issue:

1. My Uncle has 2 Arlo cameras installed

2. He has granted access to both of those cameras to me and my sister. We have both accepted those invitations (I can see the confirmation of that in his account) and he has granted access to both cameras (I can see the green check marks in his account)

3. We both get notifications that there's movement for each of the cameras, but when we click the notifications, it takes us to the page that says "add some devices." There is nowhere, in either the mobile app nor the desktop app, where we can see anything that suggests we're connected to his account, nor can we see the cameras or what they're seeing

Can anyone from the Arlo community help us?

Thanks

Re: Shared Access Not Working

DannyBearAgain — Wed, 07 Feb 2024 23:25:11 GMT

Arlo has created a new user interface that is not compatible with the older interface.

Check the user interface by observing if you have a library page (old) or a feed page(new).

Re: Shared Access Not Working

Edinburgh_lad1 — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 09:12:08 GMT

Your uncle needs to go to 'settings', 'people'/'users' to ensure that the cameras he wants to share are ticked.

Re: Shared Access Not Working

spatrizi — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 12:14:13 GMT

*sigh*

Yes yes yes, as I mentioned in my original post, those are checked. I would share a screenshot but this forum tool throws an error every time I try to upload, so here's a link with the screenshot instead: https://imgur.com/a/w0gGzNR

Re: Shared Access Not Working

spatrizi — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 12:17:22 GMT

So is this part of the "End of Life" messaging they have on the site now? Does this basically mean his model is no longer supported? Interesting b/c he's using the old iOS app, I'm using the new one.

But I'm not sure how that would explain the web interface i.e. he can still access the cameras, he can still share them with me (and check the boxes to make sure they're shared), but neither me nor my sister can see any of that when we log in (and yes, we've quadruple checked that we're logging in using the same account he shared to).

Re: Shared Access Not Working

DannyBearAgain — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 13:43:05 GMT

https://kb.arlo.com/000062798/How-do-I-upgrade-my-Arlo-Secure-App-4-0-to-the-new-experience

I do not recommend upgrading to the new app.

Re: Shared Access Not Working

Edinburgh_lad1 — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 14:49:40 GMT

I don't think the upgrade is optional, is it? In my case, it just happened, without giving me an opportunity to back out of it. Could someone confirm?

Re: Shared Access Not Working

jguerdat — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 14:49:30 GMT

*Sigh*

It's NOT a new app. It's a new user interface. The current apps support two user interfaces. And if you want certain things to work, such as sharing, there's no choice.

OP, the issue is that Arlo is s-l-o-w-l-y moving to the new UI due to new hardware (the security system was the product that really forced it). There are issues when migrating from the old UI (Library for viewing recordings) to the new UI (Feed) such as the inability for custom modes to transfer. It has nothing to do with EOL devices which have their own issues that will pop up over time.

https://kb.arlo.com/000062797/What-is-new-in-the-Arlo-Secure-App-4-0

If sharing is needed, all users must user the same UI. That can be to old or new one but new users automatically get the new one and can't change. Since you and your sister have the old UI, the only choice is for both to migrate to the new UI. You can do this by choosing to install the Pro 5, security system or any of the 2nd gen. Essential cameras, even though you have none. The first step is to migrate your account after which you can just back out of the bogus install.

While this solves the sharing issue, the new UI is very different in layout and operation. Probably the biggest issue is that custom modes are not supported, as noted above. This is due to the security system only supporting 3 choices so the app gives you 3 modes to work with - Armed Away (analogous to Armed), Armed Home (like a single custom mode) and Standby (Disarmed). Regardless of the names, you can populate them as you choose and use them for what you need. If you have a more complex current setup, this can be limiting. I was able to move my setup which involved custom modes to the 3 default modes with some thought and experimentation. It was more how the UI worked, what went where as well as how to manage the modes and automations (schedule and geofencing) that took time and experimentation. There are FAQs here to help but some of this stuff you just have to work through. The following are just some of the FAQs available here that can help the process:

https://kb.arlo.com/000062777/About-Arlo-Routines-Modes-Rules-and-Automations

https://kb.arlo.com/000062942/How-do-I-add-a-Schedule-Automation-to-my-Arlo-system

https://kb.arlo.com/000062822/What-are-Arrive-Leave-Automations-and-how-do-I-set-it-up-for-my-Arlo-system

Re: Shared Access Not Working

spatrizi — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 14:59:05 GMT

Ah, that's really helpful @jguerdat ! It's actually a reverse situation: my sister and I have the *new* UI, and my uncle is on the old one. Sounds like I need him to update to the new one in order to make all of this work. Crazy that Arlo doesn't make that more obvious, and instead we need to go digging into the forums.

Re: Shared Access Not Working

jguerdat — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 15:03:57 GMT

Yer right - it is the reverse situation. Hopefully your experience with the new UI will make it easier for him to learn to navigate once migrated.