When will 2nd gen Essnential cameras connect to SmartHub?

[esko79]

I just bought a new Arlo Base Station for my four Arlo Essential 1. gen cameras, and it works great! I have a fixed IP adress, did the port-forwarding and I can access the footage on my local storage away from home. Great!

But I have troubles connection my new Arlo Essential 2. gen camera to my Base Station. Again, I have four Arlo Essential (1. gen) connected to my Base Station, and they record all footage locally. When I connect my new 2. gen cam in the Arlo app, I don't get the option of using my Base Station as I do with 1. gen. I can see the Base Station in my Arlo app, and again, all other four Arlo Essential cameraes record to it, so the base station is probably not the problem.

We I get to choose a wifi network on the 2. gen, I only get TWO wifi-options although I have multiple wifi networks in my home. When I manually enter one of the wifi networks, that is not on the list, the 2. gen connects to this wifi without any problems. So I think this is the problem: the 2. gen can only detect two wifi-networks and the ARLO Base Station is not one of them.

I then tried manually to enter the wifi-name of the Arlo Base station (ARLO_VMB_21XXXX) but then I'm also asked to enter a password, and I don't know the password for the Arlo Base station (didn't have to use it with the other 1. gen cameras).

Have anyone had similiar problems? And can anyone help?

Esben

[jmlemay]

Right now, there is no way to connect 2nd gen Essential cameras (at least the wired ones) to a SmartHub.  They can only connect to wifi, which means they cannot record to local storage.

I saw a post on on one of the Arlo forums that there would be an update in 2024 allowing 2nd gen Essential cameras to connect to a SmartHub.  Any idea when that is coming?  It sucks that this wasn't made clear from the beginning.  I have 4 other cameras that connect to the SmartHub, so I never suspected that newer models would __lose__ functionality.

[jguerdat]

This isn't the first time that a new Arlo product was released with only WiFi connection possible (IIRC, the original Essential cameras also had this limitation). We don't know if 2024 will see the release of a hub-capable firmware update will be released but I would think that it's very likely. I'm waiting for that release, too.

[Streak2 · Accepted solution]

Essential Gen 2 are not compatible with any base stations right now. Apparently this could change with a future firmware update. If and when it does then you will be given the option to connect to your base or wifi during installation. While you may see the base's SSID it's not possible to connect it to it the usual way. This is why it does not appear in the list of possible wifi networks during installation.

You must select one of your regular wifi networks to connect the camera to.

[esko79]

Thanks for the answer. If I had known that in advance, I wouldn't have purchased the cam 😞

[Stones2510]

I am trying to pair my essential 2k cam with my smart hub but the hub does not discover it.

[StephenB]

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@Stones2510 wrote:

I am trying to pair my essential 2k cam with my smart hub but the hub does not discover it.

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The gen 2 cameras don't have that feature yet.  Arlo says they will add it, but they haven't said when.

[erson]

I bought a set of Arlo Essential outdoor 2k gen 2 from Costco hoping to also buy a hub to save recordings. It appears Essential gen 2 is not compatible with any hub (gen 1 is) which essentially makes them completely useless as a video security system. Arlo support confirmed it. Do I miss something? Why would anyone want a camera that is not able to record?

the set is going back to Costco.

[StephenB]

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@erson wrote:

Why would anyone want a camera that is not able to record?

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They do record to the Arlo cloud (requiring a subscription).

But if you want the local recording feature, then I agree the best option is to return them.  You could repurchase after Arlo adds that feature.

[GKCurtis]

I am in the same boat. I am a brand new Arlo owner. I bought the Ultra SmartHub and Essential Indoor camera to "dip my toe in the Arlo water" before purchasing additional outdoor and indoor cameras. When I purchased the Ultra SmartHub, I made sure to check the description to ensure compatibility and it clearly stated that it supported Essential Indoor CameraS.... they really need to use clearer verbage so that people don't make the same mistake as I did and only discover that they can't connect Gen 2 cameras to that hub after paying for and receiving the product and attempting to set it up. It is REALLY disingenuous and I am eagerly awaiting this rumored firmware update to rectify this situation. I wish Arlo felt it as important as I, and obviously other customers, do.