Base Station Model 4540 not recording

[Arghghhhhh]

Our base station is not locally recording onto USB2.0. 

It is telling us:

Base Station Online, check

Auto Overwrite, check

Best Local Recording, check

USB20FD Ready, check

Yes, I reformatted. Yes, I realize I could buy a subscription. Yes, I have newest version of app on iphone. Yes, I tried plugging in to laptop where there is one empty folder called Arlo and 16 gb. (Our cameras are  Arlo Essential Spotlight Cameras.)

Thank you sincerely in advance for any ideas as to what the problem could be.

[StephenB]

How is the drive formatted?

[Arghghhhhh]

It says

FAT32

Healthy (Active, Primary Partition)

(formatted by Arlo hub/app)

[StephenB]

You might want to make sure there isn't a second partition - you can do that with Windows Disk Manager.

Some USB drives do have a small second partition that has some software to install, and in some cases which is encrypted in some way.  

If you do see that, then you should be able to remove all the partitions using the disk manager, and try again.

Do you have another drive you can test with (at least 16 GB)?

[Arghghhhhh]

I tried with another USB 2.0 and same result. It is not recording. Under "Feed"  where there used to be recordings (during 3 month trial period) it says "There are no events for this day" although cameras sense motion and send notifications. I have Port Forwarding Disabled, don't know if that is relevant.

[Arghghhhhh]

No second partitions on USB drives.

[StephenB]

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@Arghghhhhh wrote:

I tried with another USB 2.0 and same result. It is not recording. Under "Feed"  where there used to be recordings (during 3 month trial period) it says "There are no events for this day" although cameras sense motion and send notifications. I have Port Forwarding Disabled, don't know if that is relevant.

---

I didn't realize you were using "Feed".  You might be looking in the wrong place.

• https://kb.arlo.com/000062997

1. Tap Devices.
2. Tap ...
3. Tap the settings wheel for your SmartHub.
4. Tap Storage Settings.

[Arghghhhhh]

Thanks for your response. If you were directing me to the 8 steps under Direct Storage Access, all those boxes are ticked, it seems, correctly.  Do I need to enable Port Forwarding or something? On paper, it should be recording locally....

[StephenB]

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@Arghghhhhh wrote:

Thanks for your response. If you were directing me to the 8 steps under Direct Storage Access, all those boxes are ticked, it seems, correctly.  

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I was directing you to the section I quoted, on how to view the locally stored videos if you have the "Feed" interface.

If you can also connect the microSD card to a PC, you could also confirm whether you are getting recordings (or not).  That would focus the troubleshooting to either a failure to record, or the inability to view those recordings from the app.

[Arghghhhhh]

It seems to be a failure to record, as I have plugged in both USBs into a laptop and nothing has recorded. What next steps would you take?

[StephenB]

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@Arghghhhhh wrote:

It seems to be a failure to record, as I have plugged in both USBs into a laptop and nothing has recorded. What next steps would you take?

---

I think the next step (painful) would be to do factory reset of the base (removing cameras and the base from the account, and adding them back after the reset).  

• https://kb.arlo.com/1057976/How-can-I-reset-my-Arlo-SmartHub-or-base-station-to-the-default-values
• https://kb.arlo.com/000062438/How-do-I-factory-reset-and-re-sync-my-Arlo-camera

I don't think you need to reset the cameras, so I'd try adding one back w/o doing that, and then test the local recording featyre.

[Arghghhhhh]

Still not recording. I will return these cameras as I have followed all the steps and still not recording.

[ShayneS]

Please reach out to the Support Team to further investigate this issue you are experiencing. You can find several options for contacting support though the Arlo Mobile App by navigating to the Profile icon > Support Center > Select device > contact

[Dkaman1]

I have the precisely the same

issue!

[Dkaman1]

Please tell me the solution to this person’s problem because I have the identical problem with the denticle equipment

[Arghghhhhh]

Perhaps you will have better luck than me. I got a lot of "you say the oil's leaking? have you put gas in it?" style input. The combo platter of unhelpful and condescending.

[Arghghhhhh]

You say that, but I don't have a subscription so I can't talk to a person it seems.

[troopa138]

I am also having this same issue !!  After the trial period ended, my base hub will not record images. This flash drive worked in my old Arlo Pro 2. I have reformatted several times. I have uninstalled/re-installed, all with no success. This device might be going back to Costco..

[StephenB]

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@troopa138 wrote:

I am also having this same issue !!  After the trial period ended, my base hub will not record images.

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Do you have a VMB4540?  Or do you have a different model hub?

[Dkaman1]

I have 4540.  I may have solved the problem or may not.   I’m going

to wait a week and see

[Arghghhhhh]

It's too late for me, but how did you solve problem?