Arlo Essential Indoor cam not discovered using Wifi

[Sjef57]

My new Arlo Essential Indoor cam is not discovered by the Arlo app using Wifi.

Connecting to Wifi directly (instead of the base station) is not possible. I see the QR code and the Arlo Essential cam rings but the next step (searching for device when the blue LED  is blinking for 60 sec.) does not work.

Tried to reset, but still the same.  Couple of months ago the same issue with the Arlo Video Doorbell, which was returned for a refund. I think I have to return the Arlo Essential Indoor cam as well.

[TomMac]

Did you do a full factory reset ?

I had to do this and then attempt a normal sync to get it to find the camera. With the sync it's just a quick press on the sync button.

Also if able, you can also attempt to sync on the browser at   my.arlo.com

[Sjef57]

How can I do a full facory reset ? There is no small hole in the device to plug in a paperclip for 10 sec. like the Video Doorbell.

[jguerdat]

https://kb.arlo.com/000062560/How-do-I-factory-reset-my-Arlo-Essential-Indoor-Camera

[JamesC]

Sjef57,

Were you able to connect the camera after following the reset instructions given in the link above? Please let us know if you're still experiencing an issue.

JamesC

[Sjef57]

No, I did the full factory reset by pressing the sync button on the cam for 30 seconds. Then tried the connect procedure again, but still no connection to Wifi. 

[JamesC]

Sjef57,

Given the steps you've already taken, it seems more in-depth troubleshooting will be needed to resolve the issue. Please contact the Arlo Support Team to further investigate this issue. You will find several options for contacting support in the provided link.

JamesC

[Sjef57 · Accepted solution]

Finally solved the problem ! 

My dualband modem router is equipped with "band steering" which means that devices that support 5GHz Wi-Fi are automatically connected via 5GHz as soon as the 5GHz signal is strong enough.

The SSID of 2.4GHz and 5GHz is the same. This means that a device that goes outside the range of 5GHz will automatically switch to 2.4GHz that has a greater range. When the device comes back within range of the 5GHz band, it automatically switches back to 5GHz. I had to change the SSID of 5GHz in the router settings to keep it separated from the 2.4GHz.

[jguerdat]

Glad you figured it out. This is just another reason I prefer to keep my SSIDs separate so there's no confusion. It adds a little complexity to the network but I just default to using 5GHz where I can and those other devices can populate the 2.4GHz band because they have to.

[BradKnowles]

That page covers the essential cameras with batteries integrated. It doesn’t help you with the essential indoor camera.

Tried that process more times than I can count, still no factory reset.

[BradKnowles]

I’ve got band steering turned off.

So far, the only time I’ve been able to get the camera to sync with the wireless network was when I changed my guest network to be just “Guest” with no spaces, numbers, or other non-alphabetical characters, and set the password to “nonenone”. Obviously, that is not scalable.

Has anyone gotten this camera working with a 2.4Ghz network with spaces in the name, or with more complex passwords?

I’m about at the end of my rope.

[TomMac]

I run an Orbi system with satellites...

Similar issue is that both 2.4 and 5ghz are the same name. 

To solve my first setup, I had to lower the power output of the 5ghz side so the 2.4 would be the preferred camera connection to the router.  Once logged in never had an issue to restart with both sides at full power

[StephenB]

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@TomMac wrote:

I run an Orbi system with satellites...

Similar issue is that both 2.4 and 5ghz are the same name. 

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FWIW, my essential indoor camera paired with my Orbi w/o needing to change any settings in the router.

I did have a bit of trouble getting the camera to the correct distance from the QR code, but no problem at all connecting to the right network.  If you have an ethernet connected PC, you can try adding the camera from that (via my.arlo.com).  

[BradKnowles]

I’m using Amplifi alien mesh routers, but I don’t think that should make a difference. I have separate 2.4ghz and 5ghz network SSIDs, and I’ve turned off all steering. Except for the network name and the password, I don’t think I can dumb this system down any further.

I am able to get the camera to “ping”, indicating that it has logged onto the network, but the Arlo control center is never able to find the camera and connect it to my system.

Still stumped. And I don’t understand what a desktop or laptop computer connected to the website should be able to do that I can’t do from the app on my iPhone or iPad.

[StephenB]

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@BradKnowles wrote:

And I don’t understand what a desktop or laptop computer connected to the website should be able to do that I can’t do from the app on my iPhone or iPad.

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A PC connected with ethernet takes one variable out of the equation (which is the wifi and possibly mobile data connection from the phone). I have sometimes been able to add devices from my PC when I was having difficulty using the app.  Though my preference generally is to use the PC / web browser when making configuration changes.

Anyway, if you have such a PC it's an easy thing to try.

[BradKnowles]

Today, I tried using a laptop and the website. Firefox didn’t work at all, and Chrome barely worked. Every time I reloaded the page, I was forced to log in again, and go through the “we don’t recognize this device” , and their push notifications to my iPhone never worked, so I had to have them keep sending SMS messages.

Not once did I ever get closer with having the web page cause my device to be recognized than when I was using the app on my iPhone or my iPad.

I’m about ready to take this as a sign that I need to trash all 25+ Arlo cameras I have, plus the Enterprise level account, and go with something that is local-only like Shinobi or Zoneminder.

[BradKnowles]

So, today I figured I might try Firefox on my iPad to upgrade my account. That actually worked!

So, to be clear, for some reason, they actually only support Chrome on laptop and desktop computers. If you report a problem with the website and you’re using any browser other than Chrome, the first thing they will tell you is to try Chrome and provide a screenshot showing that this is broken on Chrome. Only then will they try to actually help you solve the problem.

I also ended up solving the problem of the Arlo Essential Indoor Camera not being able to get on my WiFi — you can’t have any space characters in your Wi-Fi network name. Even though the Camera will chime and apparently be able to get onto the network, the Arlo system won’t be able to find it, unless you have removed all space characters from the Wi-Fi network name.

So, to recap:

1. The process of starting the network pairing process on the Arlo Essential Indoor camera does not match the official description. They need to either fix the firmware to match the description, or they need to give us an accurate description for this camera.

2. If you’re having problems with the app or Safari on iOS devices, try Firefox on iOS.

3. Make sure you don’t have any space characters in any of your Wi-Fi network names that you want to use with Arlo.