Essential Pan Tilt Indoor VMC3073 Incompatible with VMB4540 SmartHub – Local Storage Needed

[TechDad90]

I took advantage of today’s Black Friday sale at Lowe’s and purchased four VMC3073 Essential Pan Tilt Indoor cameras for my home. I was very disappointed to learn that these cameras are not compatible with my VMB4540 SmartHub, which I rely on for local storage.

Given the current state of the world and recent events, including the Cloudflare outage in Nov. 2025, I have no interest in storing my video data in any cloud service. Local storage is a core requirement for my home security setup.

I have been using Arlo products for many years, specifically because certain models support local recording via the SmartHub. My home already runs on a Ubiquiti network, and after discovering that Arlo is now releasing cameras that no longer support local storage, I’m genuinely reconsidering whether Arlo remains the right choice for my environment.

My question is:

Is Arlo willing to release a firmware update to enable compatibility between the VMC3073 Essential Pan Tilt Indoor camera and the VMB4540 SmartHub?

Local storage support is the deciding factor for whether I keep these new cameras — and whether I continue investing in Arlo products moving forward.

Thank you.

[jguerdat]

It's hard to say if/when Arlo will release new firmware will be released to allow connection to a hub. A long shot that worked for a different new camera is that you now have to press the camera sync button and continue to get to the page where networks are displayed along with hubs. I haven't tried this myself but it's worth a try. You may well need to onboard to WiFi first to get the latest firmware and then remove/reinstall the camera to get this to work.

[Laddhowe]

I am in the same predicament. I have all Arlo Pro 4 cams. (11) of them. I run on a meshed network and cannot disable my 5.0 & 6.0 Wi-Fi to connect the base free camera's. I can't even buy camera's to add to my system. I need at least 3 more camera's for a new building. I spent hours trying all of Arlo's tips and tricks to hook up 2 free high dollar camera with no luck. I tried to send them back but they would never give me address so they set here in a cabinet wasting away.

[StephenB]

---

@Laddhowe wrote:

I am in the same predicament. I have all Arlo Pro 4 cams. (11) of them. I run on a meshed network and cannot disable my 5.0 & 6.0 Wi-Fi to connect the base free camera's. 

---

Different cameras, so probably should be in its own thread.

What mesh system are you using?  I also cannot disable 5 and 6 ghz wifi with my Orbi mesh, but my Arlo cameras still connect.  You do need to allow WPA2 connections. 

If you can connect a PC with ethernet, then you might try using my.arlo.com from that PC.  

A workaround is to set up a hotspot on a phone that uses the same credentials as the mesh.  (Alternatively use a wifi extender or a different router).   Then install the cameras using a different phone (or tablet or laptop) connected to the hotspot.  Then remove the batteries from the camera, and bring to the real location.  It should join the mesh wifi.