How to ensure app automatically reconnects to Arlo Baby

[JordanIG]

Several nights I've noticed that the app, for whatever reason, will lose connection with the Arlo Baby.  It's extremely concerning that it doesn't seem to automatically reconnect.  It means that once the connection temporarily fails (let's say at night while we're sleeping), we will just sleep through the baby crying because we need to know the connection was lost and not recovered.

I realize that there's an issue with my wifi network, but the system has to be robust enough to reconnect automatically -- it's unrealistic to assume the home network is somehow perfect for an entire evening always.  Other monitors, after a period of time, will set off an alarm so at least you know there's an issue.  But even just ensuring it will keep trying to reconnect would be better than nothing, and other monitors will automatically reconnect if/when they can.

I've tried this both with using the background sound monitoring as well as keeping the app and video/audio feed on the screen.

What's the right way to make sure that if there's a temporary issue, it doesn't become a permanent issue of silence?

Thanks!

[pcjackson06]

I too am experiencing this issue.  We have an Arlo Baby, and are using an old Kindle Fire to connect.  It is connected to power.  The application seems to log us out... which is concerning.  We are returned to the login page after an unknown number of hours (we are asleep).  We have no issues with our wireless network.  I'll try an alternative device tonight.  Also, a feature request:  There should be an option to "blank" the screen after some period of time.  This would allow the audio to remain available while not having the display active throughout the evening.

[JamesC]

A new firmware version 1.8.0.27_12874 was released last night (May 21) that should help with the connectivity issues. The firmware should have already been uploaded onto your camera. Have you had a chance to use the camera today? If yes, are you still seeing the issue?

JamesC

[JordanIG]

I saw that problem this morning when I woke up to a dead app again.  This issue is at least partly a client-side issue.  The app needs to keep trying to resume the connection.  I'm sure a firmware update will help a little, but there has to be a client-side fix to address this concern.

[jguerdat]

You're not logging out of the app, right?  Be sure to just swipe it away or go home.

[JamesC]

JordanIG,

Which mobile app are you using? What model device and OS version?

Are you getting any error messages?

Have you been able to test to see if you're getting the same behavior after the firmware update posted above?

JamesC

[JordanIG]

Hi James,

I had to reboot the camera because it didn't update the other night, but it is now running the latest firmwarer as of yesterday afternoon.

There are no error messages.

I'm mostly using a Pixel C tablet with the latest everything.  It crapped out once early in the evening (revert from full-screen feed to the device list with live button ).  It was fine the rest of the night.

I also have it running on my iPhone 7 with latest everything, which for presumably unrelated reasons, has been having serious wifi issues where it drops the connection.  When that happens, Arlo also loses connection, but the connection does not recover when it reverts to cell.

So if I'm understanding what you are saying, the expected behavior if the phone loses wifi/internet temporarily is that either the app will keep trying to reconnect until successful, and/or throw an error that it had lost connection?  (Neither of which I've seen)

Thanks!

[JamesC]

JordanIG,

If the iPhone you're using is dropping WiFi, that will interrupt the stream (the app cannot automatically initiate the stream again after it has been dropped.)

That's sounds like a problem with your iOS device or possibly your WiFi network, without any relation to the Arlo mobile app. For the stream to be maintained the device needs to have a constant connection.

JamesC

[JordanIG]

HI James,

It is a problem with my device, but the complaint isn't about the device.  The app should automatically keep trying to reconnect if the connection is lost with the camera.  It sounds like it doesn't, and that's a serious problem because it's just not realistic to assume that people won't have any hiccups with their wifi.  Nobody expects it to magically maintain a connection when no wifi (or cell) connection exists, but when the connection returns to the internet or network, it does need to resume its connection to a live stream of the camera.

Can you confirm that there are no plans to automatically resume when a connection returns from the app?

[JamesC]

JordanIG,

Currently, this isn't a feature provided by the mobile app. However, it is a great enhancement suggestion and I will pass your feedback along for consideration.

JamesC

[tunguyen]

Hi @pcjackson06,

"Also, a feature request:  There should be an option to "blank" the screen after some period of time.  This would allow the audio to remain available while not having the display active throughout the evening."

Have you tried the "Always Listening" feature? There is an icon at the top left of the Arlo Baby camera view (above the night light icon). If you turn this on, and lock your device/put it to sleep, you should still hear the audio streaming through. 

Thanks,

Tu

[dc2]

Having this same exact problem even after the update on multiple devices.  I'm not so sure this is a "wifi" issue as netgear is claiming. There have been so many bugs with the baby arlo and dozens upon dozens are having a range of issues.  So to just assume it's "wifi" especially when you have no other issues with other "wifi" enabled apps, apple tv's, iPhones, ipads etc... you have to wonder where the real issue is?  The whole point of a baby monitor is to be able to "monitor" at all times. Especially at night and if netgear is saying it can't do that then that's a big problem for most and really defeats the whole purpose. It essentially makes this camera "unsafe" for parent's to use overnight when sleeping.  During the day when you can constantly check and monitor, re-login, is one thing, but the main reason people want/need these types of cameras is during the night.  And it's becoming more clear baby arlo can't really do that 100% of the time. All it takes is a few seconds for a baby to have an issue and if in the those few seconds the camera/app has logged you out (even worse when you are asleep) you could be looking at a very serious situation. No one is asking Baby Arlo to "babysit" our kids for us, but we are asking that the product to actually work as advertised (which it hasn't) and have some logical safety features i.e. logging you right back in or alerting you if the camera "feed" has been lost.  Very simple to do. But I guess netgear doesn't want to do it.      

[JordanIG]

Yeah, I completely agree.

So let's just be clear, if we could get confirmation from the Arlo team:

If connection is lost for a minute and then resumes, the mobile app will not retry to connect until success, nor the background audio will retry to connect until successful?

If the app will not resume connection to either background audio or audio/video feed automatically, this product will simply not work for us as a baby monitor, and I will return it.  If this feature will be present in the production app as a bug fix in the next few weeks, then I will happily wait and return the other baby monitor we are testing when your app gets updated.

But let's be clear, if connection will not be automatically resumed, this is not a viable baby monitor no matter how many other bells and whistles there are.  Please confirm there will be no resume connection capability.  Thanks.

[tunguyen]

Hi @JordanIG,

Unfortunately this is currently not something we are actively working on. I had a discussion around your question with our Engineering team and we think it is doable. However, a lot of investigation will need to be done first, then with development and testing time, we cannot promise this will be available within the next few weeks. This is a great ask though, and we will definitely try our best to make it happen.

Thanks,

Tu

[WingsOfFury]

It's now 2017. If I can push a "Play" button on my browser and the stream resumes, you can make this work automatically to make it more robust. I think what people have been asking for on this thread is more than just reasonable: It's critical, and without this feature your entire system is fundamentally flawed and customers should simply return their product.

We purchased some of our cameras from Costco, and some from Amazon, and unless this is fixed by mid-august, we plan to return the entire system and switch to a more robust solution. We can not rely on this system the way it's designed right now, which is a shame. Hopefully you guys release a new version which fixes this flaw.

[tinamariekidink]

I am experiencing the same issue and also am not happy with this situation. For me, everytime this happens I cannot even just log back in to connect. It forces me to start all over again and install the camera as a new camera. I have to go through the whole setup process, scanning the QR code and all. Even then it still takes me multiple tries to get it back connected. Not only this is a pain, this defeats the whole purpose of having a camera. When this happens, the camera will also freeze up. I woke up this morning to the music sounding like a railroad crossing because it was stuck. I am not sure how the music freezing on the camera would be a result of my iphone. I am using an the iphone app as well as the computer to view the stream. Before the camera, I have always streamed music on my phone all night using the same wifi without any hiccups or interuptions.

If it is a device issue, does that mean the monitor that is coming out will never drop the stream?

Also, when my husband tries to view the stream from his phone it kicks me off and the computer as well. Can only one person view it at one time?

If this issue is not something that is going to be fixed, I too will be returning the system.

[JamesC]

tinamariekidink,

I apologize for the poor experience. I would like to offer assistance with the issues you are describing. I will reach out to you in a private message to gather more information.

JamesC

[thevillain9]

The plus is that Alro team takes feedback seriously and is actively looking to help its users! Must have a good PM team.

[WingsOfFury]

It's great that they respond but the product is broken by design. The Arlo baby monitor is absolutely useless, without a doubt, because the stream is not re-established automatically after a disruption.

We have an old style DECT based baby monitor. The resolution is not great, nowhere near the resolution with Arlo, and when there's some interference with the signal, audio & video are disrupted. However, this never lasts for more than 1~2 seconds. We have learned to rely on it as a result, and consider it a reliable product.

We're parents. We work long hours and when we come back home, we have some more work with the kids, and by the time they are all in bed we are exhausted and need our rest, and having a reliable baby monitor that you can trust is critical, otherwise you can't really relax in your down time.

Compared to our old baby monitor from 4+ years ago (which still works today), Arlo is absolutely useless in that respect. We plan to return the entire system in the middle of August. That's two base stations and 4 cameras (that's in a bit less than a month). We also plan to warn people against purchasing the system as a baby monitor, it's what any good samaritan would do. We don't want someone's baby to suffer or be harmed because their baby monitor didn't function.

It's a shame because the fix is extremely simple - The player needs to retry the connection automatically every 1~3 seconds after a disruption. Seriously guys, this is simple to implement and does not require a lot of "research". It just requires making concerned parents a priority, and adding a checkbox that says "[ √ ] Auto-reconnect on disconnect" in the player settings. If the player detects that the stream was stopped without the pause/stop button being clicked by the user, it should try automatically. There's truly no excuse for not implementing this.

[JamesC]

WingsOfFury,

Are you currently using Arlo Baby or a different Arlo product? From your mention of base stations it sounds like you may not be using Arlo Baby.

As tunguyen mentions above, while this isn't a feature we're currently working on, we'll try our best to implement in the future.

JamesC

[WingsOfFury]

The problem isn't in the camera, or in the base station. The problem I'm describing is in the player, on the arlo portal. That portal is the same regardless of the product you're using. The app on my iPhone or Android phone is also the same whether I'm using Arlo Baby or the other Arlo cameras.

This is a systemic issue that has to do with how your video player behaves when the connection is dropped. It's easy to fix, it's just a matter of making it a priority.

Unfortunately, this will not be made a priority until a baby dies, and the news article will blame it on Netgear. Then suddenly your PR and Management teams will pay a visit to the Arlo division and won't leave the Arlo offices until this is implemented, tested, and deployed to the public, so they can go back to the media and say it's been fixed.

I'm sorry to sound so harsh, but this is pretty much how serious this issue is. If you are not taking this issue seriously enough, it means you don't unerstand how your product is being used by your own customers.

[Riffken]

I am shocked this isn't something worth solving right away.

We are talking about babies who could be in danger and crying for help, and parents that won't know it because they are relying on an app that won't reconnect like a lot of other remote viewing apps offer.

Please take this issue seriously. Ask the team if they have an infant if they would use this app knowing it won't reconnect.