VBM4000 local storage question

[MarkOwen]

Hi there.

I have the VBM 4000 base station with an old school Arlo Pro camera connected, (it’s worked fine for the last few years with no hiccups) it came with the base station and it was simple. Plug it all in, connect them together and to the internet, it captures motion and records to the base station. No subscription, brilliant. Have been using it for years with no issues.

I saw on Amazon the essentials XL on offer, so did abit of research about compatibility, and read all the FAQs and was told that it would connect to my base station with no worries and wouldn’t need any subscriptions etc so went ahead and bought 2. They arrived, I connected them to my base station and I’ve been running all 3 cameras with no issues for a few months now. I have now gone to check the app and only my original cameras footage is available to view and nothing from my new ones. Now been greeting with a message on MyArlo saying I have to subscribe!?!?

I have since attached an WD external HD to my base station with the hope that all 3 cameras when they detect motion, will record and the footage will be downloaded locally but I’m still only seeing footage from my original camera in the library? (I use the Arlo mobile app)

Am I doing something wrong? Is there any way to get all 3 camera saving captured footage locally without being robbed by a subscription? Any help will be appreciated.

[StephenB]

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@MarkOwen wrote:

I saw on Amazon the essentials XL on offer, so did abit of research about compatibility, and read all the FAQs and was told that it would connect to my base station with no worries and wouldn’t need any subscriptions etc so went ahead and bought 2.

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No idea where you looked, but you reached the wrong conclusion.  All the currently sold cameras need subscriptions for cloud storage - they don't come with the 7-day free cloud storage that your Pro cameras have.

That is not new - it began in 2018 when Arlo introduced the Ultra.

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@MarkOwen wrote:

I have since attached an WD external HD to my base station with the hope that all 3 cameras when they detect motion, will record and the footage will be downloaded locally but I’m still only seeing footage from my original camera in the library? (I use the Arlo mobile app)

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The VMB4000 base supports local recording, but not playback.  The only way to see the recordings is to eject the storage from the app, and then move the disk so a PC.  Then browse the disk from the PC.

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@MarkOwen wrote:

Am I doing something wrong? Is there any way to get all 3 camera saving captured footage locally without being robbed by a subscription? Any help will be appreciated.

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The simplest answer is to get the subscription.

The other option is to purchase a new smarthub (VMB4540 or VMB5000), and use the direct access to local storage feature.

• https://kb.arlo.com/000062337/What-is-Direct-Storage-Access-and-how-do-I-use-it

While there are many people who use this instead of a subscription, the user experience is not great.  Limitations include

• recordings are only available in the app (not your browser)
• recordings are only available from the primary account (not friend accounts)
• no ability to save manual recordings or take snapshots
• no thumbnails - videos need to be downloaded to your phone before you can see anything
• remote access requires router setting changes that many find difficult (and which don't work with some internet service providers)

Note that you'd also lose activity zones and smart notifications, as those are also features that require a subscription.