Manual Firmware Update and/or notification of firmware with rollback

[ArloJohn]

It would be nice to have the ability to upgrade firmware manually, as opposed to automatically. This used to be an option, but it was removed and set to automatic upgrades only. The firmware lately has caused many problems, including random cameras going offline and randomly not recording at all.  Being on stable firmware and not upgrading is more preferable to me and probably to others.

Notifications for device issues - it would be nice to have notifications, either push or email/text, when the system doesn't appear to be working correctly, or cameras are offline. In the last several weeks, my system has randomly stopped recording and if I didn't login to the app to take a look, I wouldn't have known there was an issue.

[Les145]

I recently had problems after a firmware update.  I would like to be able to control firmware updates so they don't happen while I'm away for extended periods of time.  It leaves me defenseless.

[rlds]

Please add a setting to require my approval before updating the base or camera firmware.  

The last firware update for my system happened on the night of Nov. 23rd or the morning of Nov. 24th.  This was the start Thanksgiving weekend, the day we left town for a few days and really needed to have the cameras working.  

The base station went offline when the firware update happened, and then locked up and never came back online.  When we returned I found that it had all green status lights as expected, but was locked up and only came back online after a power cycle.  

Furthermore, while the base was offline for a couple of days while we were away the battery level in all 4 cameras dropped dramatically, presumably becasuse they were searching for the base.  

If there was an option to approve the firmware update I would have done so only while at home, and it would have solved both problems, the system being down the whole time we were away, as well as 4 nearly dead batteries.  

Thanks,

Russell

[JamesC]

The Arlo development team routinely reviews posts in the Arlo Idea Exchange to assess which features the community would like to see implemented. We greatly appreciate the communities contribution and will keep the status of this idea updated as we get new information on it's potential implementation. Thank you for posting your idea!

Thank you,

JamesC

[Chillmiester]

I would like to add several request for things to be added to upcoming firmware. There are many but for now I would like to request several.

Firmware Update Auto, Manual:

I've seen many horror stories where people have had there hardware bricked due to bugs on there hardware versions from updates. We can read how updates worked for others and decide to update. It would save the company possibly millions from returns if a bad update came down & halt a lot of dissapointed customers.

Siren Base Volume:

It would be sweet to have a volume adjustment for the base siren. If the base also could sync with the camera detection when we are in bed we could take further action to call the police to catch them in action and/or turn up the siren. Having the base sync with the camera and still have the option on turning off the siren on the camera. My dog sleeps close to the base and it's not good for her hearing.

Range:

It woul be nice to have a slide bar for range. I'm getting 80+ yards motion detection and picking up too much traffic. That way we could adjust accordingly and have more of a view.

Audio Sensitivity:

From 5 to 1 doesn't cut it. On windy days 1 isn't low enough. Possibly 10 to 1 ? My camera gets busy on windy days and drains my battery too fast. At times it's hard too keep up with when windy days are coming. I have to turn mine off.

[JamesC]

Chillmaster,

Thank you for posting your ideas.

Siren volume is adjustable. Within the rules for your camera, after you check the siren option you can choose loud, very loud or extremely loud.

JamesC

[jpm83]

I've experienced and seen in the forums a large number of issues arising from firmware updates, here are a few simple and obvious solutions.

• Firmware updates made optional - not mandatory as they currently are, which prevents use of the system.
• Firmware updates can be applied manually - much like netgear routers, whereby the user manually downloads the firmware file from Netgear and then installs it to the base station/camera manually using a file browser system. This is especially easy on the Pro Base station that has USB ports. This would also serve as an alternative option to those people (e.g. me) who have experienced difficulty in updating the equipment (1x Arlo base station, 2x Arlo cams, 1x Arlo Pro base station, 1x Arlo Pro cam).

This could be done using the web interface alone, to keep things simple and the app clutter free.

[JamesC]

The Arlo development team routinely reviews posts in the Arlo Idea Exchange to assess which features the community would like to see implemented. We greatly appreciate the community’s contribution and will keep the status of this idea updated as we get new information on its potential implementation. Thank you for posting your idea!

[mhnatt]

Being the nature of security cameras primary use when we are “away”, I’m asking that Netgear consider please allowing the user the option of whether or not to allow a firmware update to be pushed to “our” security system.

The community message board has plenty of examples where a new firmware update (automaticallly sent to base stations and cameras without our consent), cripple the system with bugs or problems, which require the user to be present to manually “remove and put back in batteries” or “press the reset button on the base station” or “resync the cameras”.

Many times these updates occur when I’m out of town, thousands of miles away and after all, this is my security system that goes down because of it.

It is a standard practice to allow the user to decide when to download updates because of this. How many Netgear engineers allow their Windows PC or iPhone to automatically run an update just as they are leaving out of town? Or how many businesses download updates/upgrades immediately after they are released? Very few. 

Security systems and forced/unmonitored updates don’t mix. Thank you!

[bljp]

 this is a really important option you mention here.  I also hope Netgear implements this asap

[jult]

Exactly, I had this happen to me twice already. Away from home, they suddenly push an update to my cams. They all went down and only came back online when I returned home weeks later and manually synced them all. Meanwhile they also wasted 12 batteries that I put in full new, because apparently they'd been constantly trying to make contact to the base failing to properly update their firmware or something. What a **bleep**e way to work. This at the very least needs to be done at the user's and owner's request and chosen time. Like when we're close to the cameras.