Arlo|Smart Home Security|Wireless HD Security Cameras
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Be able to modify the wireless channels of a base station in order to increase service reliability.

This is piggybacking an older Arlo Idea request with more than 140 votes, that was closed. 

 

Summary of the idea:

Allow users to adjust the Wi-Fi Radios settings of the base station, in order to be able to change the channel in which the base station transmit (in both 5 GHz or 2.4 GHz band).

 

Introduction:

With a lot of smart things in our home and the use of automation, a "good and reliable" wi-fi network is mission critical for our daily lives,  understanding that home security is super important as well.  In addition, we really love the hassle free approach that Arlo offers. 

 

Issue:

Arlo does not offer the option to modify the Wi-Fi radio settings of the base station,  most of the time the station use the same Wi-Fi channels of the existing home router/wireless infrastructure. This create a situation that channel contention occurs and creates co-channel interference, providing a poor user experience and downgrading the reliability aspect of both (security cameras and home network)

 

In the following image, the Arlo Base station is in the same channel of my home Wi-Fi router (Arlo uses 20 MHz channel width, my home router use 40 MHz width). So if you have 2 or 3 Netflix or youtube streams in your home network and the Arlo station is in the same channel, you will likely create a scenario that cameras would struggle to send data to the base stations or provide live feeds. 

 

Arlo Issue.png

 

 

 

 

Proposed Idea or Solution

 

Simple Option:

  • Create an option to tell the Arlo Base station to not use the existing channels of the wi-fi network. A menu could be created that Arlo prompts the owner which SSID is the home network, so the Arlo base is aware to not transmit and use the same channel of the home network. 

Advanced Option:

  • Create an option to allow some channels to be disabled in the 5 GHz and 2.4GHz. (and not allow a fixed channel to be selected that might be congested in the future and tentative disrupting the security cameras).

 

Conclusion and closing thoughts:

 

Any of these options would provide flexibility to the Arlo base station to select the best channel, without creating co-channel interference (or increasing channel contention) with the existing wi-fi router/wireless infrastructure, will not downgrade the hassle free approach of ARLO and will provide a reliable user experience to both security and wireless use cases.

 

P.D: A nice to have option is to be able to change the SSID name of the Arlo Base Station (but, baby steps first)

 

I hope that Arlo community support in this idea and Arlo engineering team understands that this is not about power users being picky, this is about increasing reliability to both Arlo and home wireless services.

 

Be safe.

 

mixtape.

 

 

Comments
JaggedJackal
Novice

This causes so many issues for my 2.4 devices. Luckily I have good 5 coverage for most things but there are plenty of times I have multiple devices drop out. I can see it matching up to my access points trying to change their channel to avoid co-channel interference, then within a day the Arlo changes itself to match. It is effectively a seek and destroy jammer.

 

What angers me the most is how so many posts from Arlo reps state that it will automatically use the same channel as the access point it connected to and then phrased it as if this is a good thing. That complete lack of understanding Wi-Fi from a company like Netgear just hits a pet peeve I didn't even know existed. Not only was it developed to do this but has stayed like this for so many years.

 

I would be happy if the hub could just auto use a channel that ISN'T already in use. That is how every other auto channel switching AP works. Having a manual option would be great because then I can set and forget instead of rely on some channel logic that I have zero confidence in already.

Xga
Aspirant
Aspirant

I have a Netgear router and Netgear range extender (Arlo cabled to the range extender). I cannot use anymore the range extender to extend the WiFi since Arlo use the same WiFi channel cousing a lot of interference. Shooting down the range extender, all Arlo cameras works great, if I let broadcast the WiFi to the range extender I have a lot of disconnection and interference.

curtnorval
Fledgling

I think wifi speed will be the deciding factor. Your router may be affecting bandwidth quality. Try checking your bandwidth quality with the larga brasil banda application.

DanDanDanDan
Novice

Bad design makes the arlo hub chase the wifi router channel causing conflicts to you wireless ecosystem. Arlo hub should not do that or at least give the user the option to fix it in a channel different from the wireless router.

gjertsen
Novice

This should be fixed to allow adjustment of channel on 2.4 Ghz.

I have to use an old router with different fixed channel that sits right next to the unit to avoid competing with my real router channel, which is really silly.

With the advent of wireless mesh solutions to improve wifi signal over the whole house, this problem is even worse with the base unit chasing the strongest channel signal.

 

Honestly, I would be happy if the arlo receivers pigged backed off of a wifi mesh system instead

of having base unit generate its own wifi signal, so that you'd have better overall coverage with the cameras. Obviously a major shift from the current self-contained model with arlo.

Piscenois
Onlooker

Hi !

 

When I have to sync a camera I need to :

 - change the access point channel to the one I need for the base station (ex: 12)

 - reboot the base station (it chooses surprizingly this channel ... e.g. 12)

 - change back the access point channel

 - sync the camera

 

It would be a really good idea to give us a hand on the configuration of the wifi channel.

 

My hardware : base station VMB4500r2 (1 led), cameras Arlo Pro 2

niel72
Novice

The manual change option for the wifi channel of the arlo base is not only nice to have. Every time I change manually the channel for my dsl router, some hours later the arlo base choose the same channel. And it is independent if there are other wlan networks at this channel.

When the arlo base checks the wlan and choose a channel with less traffic, this funktions don't works. Because the base chooose the channel with the hingest other signal in the same area.

Pherhaps it is possible to integrate a funktion to fix the actual channel, when it isn't possitble to select manual a wlan channel.

Pherhaps you can have a look at the sonos app. There is a pretty easy way to select the wlan channel manual, without much technical effort, and without the possibilty to destroy other conifigurations or setting.

Tetherless86
Fledgling

As someone that designs and deploys wireless networks for a living I do kinda understand locking this down from normal users, but allowing for some control would be nice and give more advanced users a way to bump up performance. 

 

Some good features to consider:

 

-static setting of channels (this has drawbacks of not being flexible or dynamic to avoid other wireless networks)

-set allowed channels, you should have done this from your side, set the allowed channels to only use non-overlapping channels, in the US on 2.4 GHz this is only 1, 6, and 11.  though others will be used, these three channels are the most commonly used, i hate finding my base station on channel 3!

-can the SSID be hidden after the cameras connect, maybe put a connect new devices mode and otherwise the SSID would not broadcast.

-some explanation of the security on the base station, how does it secure communication with cameras, is the data encrypted with say WPA2 AES or are you just doing a OUI mac filter, is the traffic tunneled out to the internet, if I fire up wireshark am I going to be able to sniff the video out of the air?

Rumbler
Initiate

My basestation keeps changing to my router's channel and killing my wifi.  This happens on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.  If I change my router channel to a low/no interference channel, everything else in my house works great.  If the basestation resets, it will match my router's wifi channel and all my other computers and peripherals slow or go offline.  I have Cox Gigablast and its performance has been verified as meeting the expected 35 MBs upload and 1000 MBs download bandwidth.  Arlo has no impact on my hardline connections, only my wifi connections.  The basestation interferes with my router's wifi no matter how many/few cameras are connected.

 

Arlo, the basestation needs to stop matching the router wifi channel, instead survey the spectrum then pick a clear channel.  Or give me the option as the user to assign the basestation's channels.

pjama
Luminary

Ha, yes, been there, suggested that but was totally ignored. I think the best option in the absence of this being fixed is to move the Arlo base station as far away from your wireless router as possible.