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.

[dsiu2902]

If you want to support this idea, please leave a like. Thank you.

[MikeBravo]

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@dsiu2902 wrote:

This new firmware 1.12.2.1_2798 is creating a lot of issues for us, like blurry video and herky-jerky motion during live streaming and video recording, it has been 10 days now, please roll back to previous firmware 1.12.01_27940 while your company can continue to investigate the problems.

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I agree whole heartedly. 

On my Android Pixel 2 smartphone I can roll back. On my Dell computer I can rollback. I can roll back my Windows 10 version and my Linux Mint. 

I don't care about automatic updates as long as I can roll back to the latest stable one. 

The only new feature I care about is better motion detection.

[teedup]

I agree also, this has rendered my cameras totally useless. 

[Mjbeuke]

I agree that automatic updates should be removed and the end users should be given the choice if and when to update. Especially considering every update Arlo is implementing appears to be some cost saving measure to benefit their company - like the massive reduction in video quality to either save bandwidth or storage space on their data farms...... there is absolutely no other reason they would reduce a 1080P camera system so far down than to save their own bacon. Makes me nervous if the long-term stability of the company with all of these complaints and upset customers.... at a certain point it’s a self-reinforcing cycle and I think we are there!

Arlo was a bad choice for me. Should have read  more reviews before pulling the trigger 2 months ago..... I can return the $599 camera bundle to Costco - but 4 lights, doorbell, chime, outdoor mounts, and 4x long outdoor power cables and charges I am stuck with....

I will say this... I have resolved all other issues to date with my doorbell and chime finally..... but I’m not holding my breath on a permanent fix bringing the video quality back to where it was before... Arlo is obviously trying to save their bacon and costs with the quality reduction - and I’m willing to bet that if there is any “fix” at all it will be a watered down fix where they give us half of the quality back but not back to full so it’s “fixed” and they still save money. I smell desperation - and desperation, my friends, is a stinky cologne!

[mgbnet]

Arlo, please implement this! Since the failed attempt to roll out the most recent firmware my security system has been severely compromised.

Allowing the users the choice of receiving new firmware updates is a fairly industry standard thing across critical appliances such as servers, routers and firewalls. This includes giving much detailed release notes about essential security fixes and functionality improvements in the firmware updates.

Please give users the choice as to when and how to install firmware updates!

[dsiu2902]

Arlo, as you know, we purchased the entire system from your distributor.
We own the system, they are not a rental equipment.
You are not authorized to enter our equipment without our/consumer consent. 
You are breaking in someone's property.
You have violated the law of breaking and entering law / tresspassing. 

Roll the firmware back to 1.12.0.1_27940 and stay away from my property or the equipment.

[dsiu2902]

Adding an option for us to choose firmware updates.

We need this option, because all of us are having a horrible experience with your unexpected firmware updates.
The only thing your unexpected updates continue to do is lowering our resolution to unacceptable standards and shutting down our system for a least a few weeks without security.

[Esthetician44]

I completely agree! 

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@dsiu2902 wrote:

Adding an option for us to choose firmware updates.

We need this option, because all of us are having a horrible experience with your unexpected firmware updates.
The only thing your unexpected updates continue to do is lowering our resolution to unacceptable standards and shutting down our system for a least a few weeks without security.

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[AncientGeek]

I suggested this back in 2016 after an Arlo “pushed” firmware update knocked half of my 10 cameras off-line while I was on the first day of a 10 day trip, 4,000 miles from home and using the cameras to monitor the construction of my new home.  When I contacted Customer Service and described my exact situation, I was told to bring my cameras to within 3-5 feet of the base station and re-sync them.  Really?  Can you read?  I am 4,000 miles away from my cameras!

Now with three additional years of experience with the Arlo system, I still feel customer approval for updates is essential, but I believe the approval would need to encompass the entire portfolio of system components and may be difficult to implement with shared components like the web user interface and cloud servers.  I am sure Arlo has to coordinate camera firmware, base station firmware (for wireless cameras), application updates, web site updates and updates to their cloud server software (which we never see directly) to ensure all the parts of the system work well together.  Clearly the compatibility matrix could be complicated...which versions of each critical component of the system work with what versions of the other components.  As a developer, this would be a royal pain to manage.  So making this happen would be a huge undertaking and would require a significant change in how components are designed and updated.  Each shared component (cloud/web) would need to work with multiple versions of the local components (Camera, Base Station, App).  Perhaps this is already true.  It is no wonder comprehensive testing is such a large issue.

I would at least like to see Arlo provide a good log of update history for each component.  We should be able to see when the current and past several versions of software and firmware were installed.  This should be in a log that is accessible to us through settings.  It should include the version number, date and time for each update (including roll-backs) that has been installed for at leastcurrent and the past three versions.  We should also be able to click on the version and see notes regarding what the update (or roll-back) was meant to address.

I submit this a separate, but related request/idea.

[Aharlo]

Another vote. Having the service unexpectedly blocked by a forced firmware update without warning is a really innane policy for a remote security-focused system. You should at least have emailed users ahead of time that an update was forthcoming.