Essential Outdoor Camera does not record to local storage via base station

[vim_fuego]

Three old Pro cameras connected to VMB 4000 base station; all detect motion and save recordings to local storage.  

Two new Essential Outdoor Camera VMC-3250-100NAR cameras are connected to base station (a complete reset of base station was required to connect the cameras); both cameras detect motion, but neither record to local storage attached to the base station.

The motion notifications from the Essential cameras do not register activity in the Feed.

Firmware for all devices is up to date.  

Per Arlo documentation, these cameras should support recording to local storage:

"No, the Arlo Essential 2K camera does not require a subscription to record to local storage. Most Arlo cameras, including wire-free models, can record to local storage when synced to an Arlo SmartHub or Base Station. This setup allows the camera to record to both the cloud and the local storage device, such as a USB drive or microD card, without needing a subscription. However, it's important to note that only automatically triggered recordings are saved locally;"

A notification is sent when motion is detected, but this does not register in the Feed activity, nor does it record the motion.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[StephenB]

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@vim_fuego wrote:

Three old Pro cameras connected to VMB 4000 base station; all detect motion and save recordings to local storage.  

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While the VMB4000 can record to local storage, it has no playback features.  The ONLY way to see the local recordings is to eject the storage using the app, and connect it to a PC.  All the recordings you see in the app and my.arlo.com are saved in the Arlo Cloud (so not local). 

Note the Pro cameras were sold with 7 day free cloud storage (limited to accounts with 5 or fewer unsubscribed cameras).  All of the currently sold cameras require a subscription to get cloud storage.

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@vim_fuego wrote:

"No, the Arlo Essential 2K camera does not require a subscription to record to local storage. Most Arlo cameras, including wire-free models, can record to local storage when synced to an Arlo SmartHub or Base Station.

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Technically correct, since when they are connected through the VMB4000, the local recordings will be on the USB storage.  But to see those recordings in the app you will need to upgrade the hub to a VMB4540 or VMB5000 smarthub.  Those have limited playback features.

Limitations include:

• recordings can only be seen in the app (not my.arlo.com)
• recordings can only be seen using the primary account credentials (cannot be shared to "friend" accounts).
• no thumbnails, so recordings need to be downloaded to your phone in order to see anything
• no ability to make manual recordings or take snapshots while livestreaming
• remote access requires router setting changes that some find difficult, and which do not work with some internet service providers

[vim_fuego]

Thanks @StephenB 

While the VMB4000 can record to local storage, it has no playback features.  The ONLY way to see the local recordings is to eject the storage using the app, and connect it to a PC.  All the recordings you see in the app and my.arlo.com are saved in the Arlo Cloud (so not local). 

So the viewable recordings in the app (from the old Pro cameras) are not saved locally, but to the cloud?  Would tracking down old Pro cameras (used, ebay, etc) be a possible solution here?

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Technically correct, since when they are connected through the VMB4000, the local recordings will be on the USB storage.  But to see those recordings in the app you will need to upgrade the hub to a VMB4540 or VMB5000 smarthub.  Those have limited playback features.

Limitations include:

• recordings can only be seen in the app (not my.arlo.com)
• recordings can only be seen using the primary account credentials (cannot be shared to "friend" accounts).
• no thumbnails, so recordings need to be downloaded to your phone in order to see anything
• no ability to make manual recordings or take snapshots while livestreaming
• remote access requires router setting changes that some find difficult, and which do not work with some internet service providers

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Upgrading to the VMB4540 or VMB5000 will allow playback within the app, but each recording will need to be downloaded prior to viewing? Presumably there is some icon to indicate a video was recorded and available for download?
And those smarthubs require extra configuration via the home router in order to access via the Arlo app?

Thanks again for your assistance.

[StephenB]

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@vim_fuego wrote:

So the viewable recordings in the app (from the old Pro cameras) are not saved locally, but to the cloud?  Would tracking down old Pro cameras (used, ebay, etc) be a possible solution here?

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Adding Pro or Pro 2 cameras is a possible solution.  There are a couple of caveats. 

• Sometimes the former owner failed to remove them from their account - which results in cameras you cannot install.
• Cameras with very old firmware might not install, even if they were removed (or never in) an old account.
• Support won't help with cameras not on the EoL list.

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@vim_fuego wrote:

Presumably there is some icon to indicate a video was recorded and available for download?

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Yes.  There is a placeholder icon in the feed.  That is replaced by a thumbnail after you download the recording.

@vim_fuego wrote:

And those smarthubs require extra configuration via the home router in order to access via the Arlo app?

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Yes.  There are two options:  

• Some routers (mine is one) support OpenVPN connections from your phone and PC.  If your router has that feature, you can enable the VPN on your phone when you want to see recordings.  
• In other cases, you can set up port forwarding.  The Arlo app will give you the port to forward, and you apply the port forwarding rule in your router.  (It's best to reserve an IP address for the smarthub, to make sure the router always assigns the same local IP address).

The caveats are

• Some ISPs use a technology called CGNAT.  As a result, they can't forward inbound connections to your router, so neither of the above approaches will work.  T-mobile broadband in the US and Telstra in Australia are two of several examples. This is not just about mobile broadband services.  There are some cable and fiber ISPs that also use CGNAT, and some mobile broadband providers do support port forwarding.  
• The port forwarding approach assumes that the router has an IPv4 WAN address, so it cannot be used if the ISP is IPv6 only.