Arlo Essential 1st Gen Won't Connect on Factory Reset

[Joneses322]

Recently I had the battery die on one of my Arlo Essential 1st gen devices (VMC2030AerH9), and after charging it it would not reconnect to the network. This device has been working well for over a year, but I figured it may have had a firmware update issue. So I removed it from my account and performed a factory reset, and now it will not connect to my account no matter what I do. I have 4 other Arlo cameras operating normally on my network without issue. I have a TP-Link Deco mesh network running a combination of X68 and M5 devices, all on the latest firmware, operating on WPA2.

When I try to connect the camera, the device will read the QR code and give off a chime. However when it moves to the next step, the blue light blinks for a few seconds (~10) and then turns off. This eventually results in no cameras found. If I follow the instructions to keep pressing the button to have the blue light keep blinking during the discovery process, it will get to a point where it continuously blinks blue until it starts rapidly flashing amber, and then no connection. On my network, I can see the camera connect so I know it is on the wifi, but it is not registering to Arlo services.

Things I have tried:

1. Setting it up normally to the network it was previously connected to (2.4 GHz & 5 GHz mixed band), Verizon Fios ISP, connecting with my phone - no connection.
2. Setting my network to be exclusively 2.4 GHz, connecting with my phone - no connection.
3. Creating a guest network exclusive to this device and my cell phone running exclusively 2.4 GHz - no connection.
4. Using another network (phone hotspot on T-Mobile, set to 2.4 GHz), connecting with my phone - no connection.
5. Setting my network to be exclusively 2.4 GHz, connecting with my pc using the my.arlo.com interface - no connection.
6. Changed my network to operate at WPA/WPA2 - still no connection.
7. Rebooted my device, PC, phone, and router multiple times.
8. Factory reset the device multiple times.

The most important thing is I can see the device connecting to my network. When I look in the network client list, it's right there as one of the only two devices on the guest network set up for this effort (the other being the phone trying to set up the camera). So it's not an issue of it not finding a 2.4 GHz network, or of the password being incorrect. The device is plugged in throughout this process, so it is not a low battery issue. I am not using a VPN, and since this is occurring on multiple different networks with different ISPs, it is not a firewall or network issue.

I have done the network scan using the Arlo support service, and the only consistent message I get is that it has trouble connecting to some Arlo services. Since I am not using a VPN and have used multiple networks which get the same result, I have a suspicion this is an issue where there is a service on the Arlo servers which is refusing the connection. Arlo is showing all green from a status perspective (https://status.arlo.com/) but it's the only thing I can think of. As I said before, I have 4 other Arlo cameras working perfectly right now, which were set up on this network (another Essential 1st gen, a wired doorbell, and 2 Arlo Pro H11s).

There is another post in this forum with identical issues, but no resolution, so this may be a common problem with these devices: https://community.arlo.com/t5/Arlo-Essential-Indoor-Camera/thEssential-Indoor-Camera-1st-gen-fails-t...

What else can I do here?

[Joneses322 · Accepted solution]

RESOLVED!

A redditor clued me in to the problem. It turns out I own an Essential Spotlight Camera, not an Essential Camera. I don't know how I didn't realize I have a Spotlight Camera - I've never used that feature once, and I guess in the ~2 years I've owned it I just forgot what I bought, but the flashlight is staring me right in the face now that I look at it. Once that was identified, it's clear I've been selecting the wrong device to be set up, so my Arlo account may find the Spotlight Camera waiting for setup, but it's LOOKING for an Essential Camera so it keeps saying "No cameras found."

I did another factory reset, went through the steps to add it as a Essential Spotlight Camera instead of Essential Camera, and there it is. It did need the extra factory reset (wouldn't work when trying it the first time - I guess attempting to set it up a few times messes with it). Once the reset was in, it was discovered, added to the account, firmware updates and all. From there I got it back on the correct network and working just as before.