Why does my Essential spotlight loses connectivity to base station

[1scorpion]

Why does my Essential spotlight loses connectivity to base station . It usually works reliably until I am in Away mode then it fails to connect.

[jguerdat]

Does it record while away?

[1scorpion]

No it doesn’t record because it will not connect.
I actually contacted Arlo Tech Support yesterday and they think that I had too many cameras connected to the Base Station. I had six rather than the five maximum. I removed one and then also did a factory reset on the Essential Spotlight camera. I reinstalled it like a new camera and it’s working again. I will check it while it’s in Away mode later. That’s when I usually have the connection problem. Keeping my fingers crossed!

[1scorpion]

My two Arlo Essential Spotlight Cameras loses connectivity randomly and frequently since I have installed them. I thought the issue with my first one was resolved so I purchased a second one. I’m really regretting replacing my Arlo Pro 2 cameras with these. I liked the color night vision but not at the expense of unreliability. I fear that when my Essentials are offline, someone will commit a crime on my property and it won’t be captured on video. I feel the Essential Spotlight Cameras are a product failure and hope the there is a fix for them.

Just to be clear… Only my two Arlo Essential Spotlight Cameras have this connectivity failures not my Pro and Pro 2 cameras. They are all connected to the same base station and in the same environment.  I have contacted customer support but they fail to understand this.

[JamesC]

1scorpion,

What does the signal strength icon show for the essential cameras? How far from your base station/router are they?

JamesC

[1scorpion]

On both cameras, the signal strength is at full bars. One camera is about 20’ and the other 10’ from the base station (VMB4000r3).

[1scorpion]

In my troubleshooting process I swapped out the base station with the same model (VMB4000) to see if my original base station was beginning to fail. During the setup process I rebooted my router so I have a fresh install. Everything was working great for a day and I thought I resolved my issue.
Then this morning both my Essential Spotlight Cameras froze up again and then one by one, they went offline. Again I was deeply frustrated. I stared at my camera and started to look around then I noticed that my neighbors on both sides of me also have Arlo cameras.
Is it possible that I have a WiFi conflict with one or both of them?

[jguerdat]

Interference is certainly possible. The distance away from each system counts, of course. How are your neighbors' cameras connected - WiFi or to a hub? Use a WiFi analyzer app on your phone to find what channels are being used for all nearby routers/systems - that may provide a clue. You can try changing the router channel (which affects nearby Arlo base stations) or move the base away from your router to see how that affects anything.

[1scorpion]

jguerdat, thanks for your response! Could you recommend a good WiFi Analyzer for iOS that can provide what channels are in use. I have tried "Fing" and Network Analyzer (by Techet). Neither one displays channel usage.

Currently my base station is about 6' from my router. Could being that close cause interference?

[1scorpion]

Now I’m getting a red/orange circle with a white triangle, lightning bolt in the center. Only on both of my Essential Spotlight Cameras. My Pro 2’s are still operating flawlessly.