Arlo baby stops the video feed after 25 mins consistently

[Drkpassengr]

This is a warning to any parent out there.. After noticing that the Arlo baby stops the video feed after 25 mins consistently I called support and spoke with 3 different high level agents who kept telling me that this is by design! The camera is designed to only stream 30 mins of video and than it stops and you have to manually press play again to continue, this sounded like a bad joke but they insisted that this is how it’s designed even though couldn’t give me a reason or logic as to why it’s done this way on a baby monitor and advised me if I wanted continuous video feed I have to subscribe to some device that will cost me like $100 a year! How is this marketed as a baby monitor?? I have owned many different wifi monitors and they all let you watch the video feed as long as you want. Seems like a scam to make money on subscription...this camera cost me $350 and I can’t even watch my infant at night. Anyone considering this camera for a baby monitor should stay away, mine is going back to Best Buy.

[TomMac]

Sorry but the info isn't true....

Ive run my Arlo Baby for 6plus hours without issue.... Both iOS and android 

Many times the log out can be due to time out by the device. I leave my iPad plugged in and it just stays on

confirm you have the latest FW and app version

• https://community.netgear.com/t5/Firmware-Release-Notes/bd-p/arlo-release-notes

i suggest u send a pm to JamesC 

[Drkpassengr]

The info is unfortunately very accurate, I’m running the latest version of firmware as well as iOS and tested with my iPad Pro plugged into power and of course Arlo Baby is always plugged into power, I was hoping this isn’t true but 3 agents confirmed that this is by design and intentional, are you saying they are lying? I did send a private message to JamesC a few days ago and he never replied. I would be happy if this was not the case as it’s hard to believe a baby monitor designed to cut off video stream. I’ll be happy if there are any suggestions to troubleshoot before I return the unit to the store.

[TomMac]

Well, still not really true.... 

Do i think the reps are lying...not really, it's just they may be mistaken. It is true most of the battery operated Arlos do time out at 30 mins, not the Baby.

And not to brag, but i think i know prob more than most of  the techs having been with Arlo over 3 yrs and beta testing the original Baby. ( and the other Arlos cameras ; Arlo/Arlo Pro/Arlo Pro2 )

As to @JamesC , it is a weekend and i wouldn't expect an answer till the work week.

From the time of my last messg, I started the Arlo Baby on my Ipad... it's still running fine as I type.

Other than a couple of seconds of pixelation, the vid and audio is ok and there is no drop out.

Check on your info. My is;

Ipad G2/ os 9.3.5/ app is v2.4.5

Arlo baby is FW 1.8.3.6-15847 / hardware abc1000r6

I don't have an answer to your issue, just saying it's not how the Baby works... James will more than likely reach out to you mon, Tues ( monday is holiday ) and will be able to assist you more if you desire.

[Drkpassengr]

Well this gives me some hope, I even called their support back after your reply to say that other users claim their can run the stream without it stopping but again they keep claiming the same...spoke to a high level tech. My message to @JamesC was before the weekend but I’ll wait for his reply to see what he thinks. Seems like you are using an older iPad which runs an older iOS version maybe this is related? My iPad is the newest iPad Pro on iOS 11.2.2 as far as Arlo its the same firmware you have and for hardware it only shows “6” on mine.

[Drkpassengr]

Btw do you have a CVR subscription or are on you the basic subscription? Because that will explain why you can stream without stopping, they want people to pay for it.

[TomMac]

Yes it is possible the new OS/device is causing trouble... every new device is a bit different.

(my camera is R6 so same hw as your camera )

No, I am not running the CVR on the Baby ( thats prob the extra fee your taking about ) tho I do run an Elite level as I am currently running 13 assorted cams ( little bit of each )

The Elite service would not make a diff in streaming dropout issue like this... it just allows more cams and 60 days storage in library. ( it still would be an extra $ option for me )

[JamesC]

Drkpassengr,

Arlo Baby is not designed to time out during a live stream. As TomMac states above, you should be able to maintain a live stream without issue.

I see from your private message that this is occurring on two iOS devices. Do you have a PC you could test this on to further isolate the issue?

JamesC

[Drkpassengr]

@JamesC thanks for the reply, i am at a point where im ready to return this unit to the store however if you can please work with me i would love to get this unit working as it should, i just dont want to go past the 30 day return policy, i have about a week or so left. I do not understand why Netgear support both on chat and over the phone with 3-4 different high level techs keep telling me this is done by design and there is a limitaion to ONLY stream for 30 mins on Arlo baby, yet seems like here im told its not the case but in reality that is what im experiencing. Regarding a PC, yes i have already tried this from my iMAC at home and its the exact same issue, stream stops after 20 mins which has been the case with 3 iOS devices i have tried when actually meassing the time. if its better you can just reply to my private message and we can troubleshoot from there, to save time just let me know what info you need and ill reply ASAP.

[Drkpassengr]

@JamesC Hey James

So i have tried the live stream from my work PC and its been running for almost an hour and didnt stop the feed so thats the first time i was able to go past 20 mins, not sure where to go from here...it seems like there may be an issue with iOS or Apple devices in genral since all my devices at home are iOS or MacOS devices. I do not have any issues with my wifi or dropped signal with any of my smart home devices and the range has full bars on the Arlo baby device. as mentioned in previous reply please let me know what info you need so we can figure out whats the problem.

incase this helps, im using a high end ASUS RT-AC3100 router and tried the stream both on 2.4g and 5g networks with same results.

[JamesC]

Drkpassengr,

Most Arlo cameras do time out after a stream has been live for 30 minutes, Arlo Baby is an exception to this. This isn't expected behavior with the Arlo Baby camera.

What happens when the time out occurs? Do you receive any error messages?

Take a look at your iOS device settings for background app refresh. Make sure this is enabled and the Arlo app is toggled on. This will ensure that the Arlo app remains running.

JamesC

[Drkpassengr]

@JamesC

Thats one of the first things i have already confirmed on iOS devices, im very tech savvy specifically with iOS software and i made sure background refresh is enabled but it still doesnt work. any other suggestions to troubleshoot? Can this unit be deffective? although since its working from the web i can only assume its iOS related, maybe most recent iOS version causes an issue? 

[Drkpassengr]

@JamesC Sorry I noticed I didn’t reply to your first question, I am not getting any error on the screen, what happens is I simply get a black screen after 20 mins as the stream stops, the app is still active however the feed stopped and there’s no live video or audio but if I tap the screen I see the controls and if I press play button the feed resumes immediately for another 20 mins.

[JamesC]

Drkpassengr,

I've tested this now on two separate iOS devices, iPad 2 (OS 9.3.5) and iPad Pro (iOS 11.2.2) and was unable to reproduce the issue.

Have you tried rebooting your iOS devices and reinstalling the Arlo mobile app?

JamesC

[Drkpassengr]

@JamesC
I am using an iPad Mini (4th Gen) and iPhone X both on latest iOS 11.2.2
I have tired restarting with no help but I have not tried deleting the app and reinstalling...I will do that tonight and reply with results. Anything else you can recommend? Maybe resetting the camera itself? Also is there any difference in terms of streaming when using main account or guest? Both cases are causing the issue but just wondering.

[JamesC]

Drkpassengr,

I wouldn't expect to see a difference in streaming between guest and the main account. Both should be able to stream continuously. 

Resetting the camera is an option, though we would want to make this the last step. Remove the device from Settings > My Devices. It should factory reset on it's own. (no need to use a pin and manually factory reset, only do this if you have trouble reclaiming the device after it has been removed).

JamesC 

[Drkpassengr]

@JamesC

So i did a lot of troubleshooting last night including removing the camera from my profile in the app, deleteing the app on all devices, installing iOS app again and setting up the camera, tested on 4 different iOS devices after...my wife's iphone 6 and ipad mini 4th gen, my iphone X and ipad Pro all devices on iOS 11.2.2 and i thought it was finally working because it was streaming for 45 mins without stopping and i never got it past 25 mins before but, at 50 mins it stopped the feed and went black, i tried on all devices and was able to get 40-45 mins but this is so frustrating, it increased a little bit but still same problem, when i leave it after it stopped for 10 mins and unlock the ipad again i see it logs me out of the app and i need to log back in, so its now even more work to get the feed back. after this i tried Resetting the camera itself and that didnt work so im lost and not sure what else to do?? is this camera deffective?

[JamesC]

Drkpassengr,

I'm not sure why you are experiencing this behavior. I've ran more tests this morning and was able to stream beyond an hour without experiencing this issue.

I've escalated your open support case and included the t/s notes we've discussed in this thread on that case.

JamesC

[Drkpassengr]

@JamesC Thank you, im also not sure but i will have to return this unit to best buy by end of the week to make sure im within my 30 day return timeframe, if this issue could be prioritized and resolved by end of the week i will be happy to keep the unit. if there is some high level tech that can schedule a troubleshooting call over the phone i would like to try.