Connection Issues With Arlo doorbell/Chime

[Jaff66]

Hi - I've recently purchased the Doorbell and Chime for my system. Unfortunately I've had nothing but trouble with my system since. The issues seems to be that once connected everything appears ok until at some point my base station will crash , meaning that the unit will no longer be connected to the internet. This results in all my battery cameras going offline and failing to function. The doorbell is no longer connected and the door chime. The issue is only resolved by re booting the base station. All is fine until this happens again either the same day or a few days later. Now my base station was connected to my home system via a Home plug. I then connected the base station directly to the router and tried again. A day later the same issue occurred. I removed the door bell and chime unit and tested the system over a two week period. Not once did the base station crash.I then reconnected the door bell and tested it over the next week. Iit did not crash. I then connected the chime unit and all was well for six days until today when my base station crashed again. I removed the doorbell and chime unit once more from the system. Now the question is , is there a problem with the Doorbell/chime or is the problem with the base station. To me all these problems started after I connected the doorbell/chime units. Has any else had similar problems with their systems? I'm based in the UK and have several battery cameras and Q cameras, with a second generation base station.

[jguerdat]

That's weird but obviously shouldn't be happening. Since you've been struggling with this and not having success, first, check your firmware versions and ensure they're all up to date. If so, it would be fastest to reset the system and start fresh, clearing out whatever weirdness is going on. Note any settings, modes, rules and schedule before resetting to speed the rebuild process.

[optilude]

@Jaff66 I am having the same issue. It only started after adding the doorbell, chime and a new camera. I also signed up to a Smart subscription for two of the cameras at the same time.

I am also in the U.K. All firmware is up to date.

Did you ever find an answer?

[Jaff66]

Hi - there has been a recent update to the app which supposedly fixed the issue. I have reconnected the doorbell and chime and am currently testing the units again. So far after 5 days I've suffered no crashes.
Make sure your app is up to date and give it another try. I'll report back if it crashes again.

[optilude]

@Jaff66 I was on the latest software already before the initial install, sadly.

[Npimperton]

Hi

I have been having trouble with my Pro 2 system ever since I installed the doorbell and 2 weeks later, the chime back in February. All was good for 8 months earlier, but now the system is very flakey. I have to manually re-sync the doorbell and add a camera and the chime every couple of days. The doorbell will the go out of sync and automatically come back online, but the assigned camera and chime are no longer linked, so I have to manually re-sync and add the camera and chime again. This is very frustrating and make the doorbell useless. Arlo support have been fumbling around now for 4 months with no sign of resolution. Even when it is working, the phone answering process is unstable and the doorbell doesn’t function with with either of my 2 echo dots.

I also have a Pro system installed at my property in Spain without a doorbell, and it never lets me down.

Anyone had any success since this topic was raised?

[optilude]

To be clear: the Arlo doorbell is a poorly designed product, poorly executed.

Here are some things I have noticed:

- The doorbell needs re-syncing each time my base station restarts (after a crash/power outage).
- The base station crashes each time one of my cameras or the doorbell runs out of battery.
- I used to get crashes every few days, but it got better after I removed all other users who had access granted to my devices. In particular, removing my wife’s account made it a lot more stable.
- I have a theory this was related to resetting the system and re-naming cameras (whilst her account was connected and without doing anything to her app setup).

But really: it’s a bad product and the whole Arlo system is full of bugs and brittle behaviour.

Arlo support are also not exactly helpful. I got “escalated” to second tier after complaining on Twitter. They left me a voicemail after calling whilst I was in a meeting. I emailed them back asking for a different time and since then I’ve heard not a peep.

[Npimperton]

It’s a shame that the Arlo system is marred by the performance of Arlo Doorbell. My system in Spain using 4 Pro cameras has been 100% stable since I installed it last November. Just as well being 1800 miles away. My Pro 2 system in the UK was the same until the long awaited Arlo doorbell arrived. That then all changed with doorbell requiring more attention than a new born baby.

Tech support is less than inspiring, and worse than the Netgear support which they used to be. I’m so bored with the technical vacuum, that I have initiated a return for the doorbell with Amazon, citing flawed system and Arlo case reference, as the normal returns window has long gone, and the same is sorted for Arlo chime, as that serves no purpose without Arlo doorbell. That the just leaves me with 2 holes drilled into my uPVC door frame. I’ll give it a few weeks and try again with another doorbell and chime, to see if the bugs have been sorted.

In the meantime I am very aggrieved, having spent a fortune on 10 cameras operated in 2 systems, not withstanding the purchase of 3 solar panels and several indoor and outdoor power supplies, that what was a great system, has been spoilt by the introduction of the long awaited UK doorbell.

Even connecting the base to one of my Orbi satellites, only 5m from the doorbell (3m from the assigned camera) giving 3 bars on the signal indicator, still failed to prevent the doorbell losing the camera and chime, but it did halve the number of time I had to set doorbell, camera and chime again.

[arlosg]

same issue here 😞

[Dupka]

Yep - me also.

Brand new doorbell and chime. Have had numerous cameras over the years all running off the VMB3000 with never once having a fault. Since introducing the doorbell and chime over the past weekend, have had to reboot the base unit twice.

Like everyone else, all firmware up-to date. The chime and doorbell are 1m from the base unit.

[JessicaP]

If you are experiencing problems where the Arlo Audio Doorbell and Arlo Chime are not working properly, contact the support team so they can assist you further: Arlo Support