Arlo Pro 2 Offline - again

[dannyb2100]

So, back in March one of the cameras went offline for no reason and I had to get a roof ladder out to check it, only to remove the battery and put it back in (nothing was seemingly wrong with it) 

It has however gone offline again, none of the standard troubleshooting has sprung it back to life, so I guess I have to get the ladder out and repeat the previous steps. 

Has anyone else had this happen? Do you suspect something is wrong with the camera?

The previous topic for reference

[TomMac]

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@jetsticks wrote:

UPDATE:  I did move the base unit as far away as possible from my router and so far (24 hours or so) it hasn't gone offline.  Not really sure why this would work but if it is interfering with my router by sitting on top of it this should tell me.  I'll post here any additional information I get.

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As i said, with the arlo base very close to your normal wifi ap, ( sitting on top is extreme close ) it is prob coausing interference between the two systems...  yes, it can cause the arlo base to not have good connection to cameras and also go offline.

Move it away as far as the supplied cable is what I recommended.

Remember, the base and the router will sit on the same channel of 2.4ghz wifi ... even tho it is connected by ethernet issues can occur when very close.

good to hear it's working, hope it continues

[jetsticks]

Thanks TomMac.  I hope that is the only problem with it and so far so good.

[simpsonhomer]

I reiterate:

"Offline" is a disconnection between your Arlo base station and the Arlo backend servers.  It has nothing to do with the connection between the base station and your camera(s).

Here's a simple example: You can be online with zero cameras connected.

Good state (online):

Arlo servers <--wired--> base station <--wireless--> cameras

Bad state (offline):

Arlo servers ...(disconnected)... base station <--wireless--> cameras

Note where the disconnect happens—on the wired (Ethernet) end.  You can move your base station a hundred feet from an access point and that might remove interference with the cameras but that's not your problem!  Your problem is the connection between Arlo servers and the base station—and all you've done there is extend the wire which does nothing to alleviate the actual problem.

[jetsticks]

SimpsonHomer....so then the issue is more than likely with them or my base unit is bad?  I can only assume it's one of the two because every other wifi device I use works just fine (iPhone, iPad, etc).

[PNelson]

In my case, when I say going off-line I mean the internet light (middle light) goes out completely and it cannot connect to the Arlo server.   The other two lights are solid green.  (To recap, I have verified my internet is up and running.)  I do not appear to have a problem with the base station communicating with the cameras; the signal stregth shows two or three bars (out of three).  My base station is set up in a seperate room from the wi-fi router.  (Yes, I have tested the cat 5 cable with other devices and it has experienced no problems.)

The problem is periodic.  I notice it going off-line maybe every other day.  It is probably doing it more often when I am not attempting to access the system and cannot see it happen.  Eventually, the system appears to do a auto-reboot after about 30 min.   Since there is no accesable log, I cannot see what is going on.

Yesterday, I had a case that I recieved a notification of me going through the front door, but no recording occured to the cloud.  When I examined my local storage, there was a file, but it was corrupt and not viewable.  The system then failed to store locally nine more videos from my alley cam, but they were stored on the clould.  After I discovered the issue and tested it, of course it worked normally.   Later the system would not detect the usb thumb drive.  I rebooted the system to get it to work normally.

My conclusion is either my base station is defective, it is bad soft-ware/firmware, or Arlo's servers have problems.

[simpsonhomer]

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@jetsticks wrote:

SimpsonHomer....so then the issue is more than likely with them or my base unit is bad?  I can only assume it's one of the two because every other wifi device I use works just fine (iPhone, iPad, etc).

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My best guess is that Arlo has written very buggy software that randomly locks up the base station.  There really isn't anything that will go bad over time with these devices (other than battery degradation).  Mine worked well for the first several months but then it became a roller coaster ride of new bugs followed by bug fixes; since around April it's been all downhill.

The software can be fixed (it once worked well).  The question is...will Arlo actually fix the issues or will they simply rest on the laurels of their early reviews?

My system has been going offline every two days.  It was literally just offline again 10 minutes ago.  I have to physically power it off and back on and it starts working again.  That tells me it's probably not a hardware issue but rather something in the software that causes everything to hang.  It's a major problem that they introduced but can't seem to remove.  It's pretty sad to see how many people have WiFi power switches hooked up so they can remotely restart the Arlo base station (and that these cheap $15 outlets are clearly more reliable than anything from Arlo).  Others restart their base stations every night.  These things shouldn't happen with a product that costs so much.

Whenever there's a problem, telling customers to remove and bring down their cameras to the base station and reconfigure everything from scratch is a sure sign that they are doomed—especially when we all know it's not a solution but only a way to distract the customer.

I've long stopped recommending Arlo cameras.  In fact, I now tell folks to avoid the brand entirely and look for more up-to-date reviews on other camera products.  With huge several-hour gaps in my surveillance, I simply can't rely on my Arlo cameras and I have lost faith in the company.

[Capss22]

After 2 weeks being off line came back for a couple days. Now it is off line again.

[Arlo4dahale]

I've had mine set up for 3 days now and it keeps going offline. I'm ready to return this system.

[MikeInMelbourne]

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@TomMac wrote:

But if your base is to close to one of your home wifi routers/repeaters, it could cause interference ( which could poss make the base go offline ).

Move your base as far as possible from your router ( max cable length ) and see if that helps

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Like others on this thread, I have been having issues with my (external) cameras going offline from the basestation recently. Previously they had been stable for quite some time, and had only a gradual battery decrease over a period of several weeks. However two weeks ago, just before going on vacation, the latest firmware updates self-installed (1.14.0.2_2776 and 1.125.13.0_31717) at around the same time as I charged and swapped over the batteries. Since then the cameras have gone online soon after resyncing, and then lose their battery charge overnight. (Presumably exhausted while trying to link to the base.)

I have read and re-read the article "https://kb.arlo.com/1133448/My-Arlo-wire-free-camera-is-offline-how-can-I-troubleshoot-it" and the only possible issue seems to be the relative location of my (wifi) router and the Arlo basestation. Since they are to be connected by a supplied 1m ethernet cable, they can't be too far apart. Despite that I bought a 2.5m ethernet to see if that helps, and tried various relative placements in the room but it doesn't ever seem to make much difference.

So my question is: what PRACTICAL steps should be taken to stop any interference between the cameras, basestation and my wifi router?

My base station is currently about 1.5m higher than the router, on top of a cupboard above it:
* Is 1.5m vertical separation between base and router sufficient, in Netgear's view?
* If not, how else can I stop them interfering?
* Should I put a steel plate between base and router to block any cross interference?
* Or should I somehow try to put a block the between the cameras and router instead?

It's really hard to diagnose and fix the issue when it's so unclear under what circumstances any interference problem arises.

For information, the external cameras are 2m apart from each other and about 4-5m from the base, although not direct line of sight (due to a window or brick wall). Until recently that seemed fine for a reliable connection, and they have *always* shown 3 bars of signal on the status.

My cameras were online when I went on vacation but a day later went offline with exhausted battery. A security system like that is useless and I will sell it if it cannot be fixed.

[Dannybear]

Will power cycling the base station daily make it work better?

[MikeInMelbourne]

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@Dannybear wrote:
Will power cycling the base station daily make it work better?

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I'm a bit confused about which posting this a possible reply to? Mine was about relative placement of wifi router, base station and camera ... presumably not that.

PS Daily powercycling of any piece of electronic equipments seems like a fairly extreme kind of workaround, rather than a solution, or am I misinterpreting it?

[Dannybear]

Sorry if confused, the comment was intended as a suggestion to identify if your experiencing the Base station firmware offline issue rather than a local wifi interference problem.

[MikeInMelbourne]

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@Dannybear wrote:
Sorry if confused, the comment was intended as a suggestion to identify if your experiencing the Base station firmware offline issue rather than a local wifi interference problem.

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Thanks for clarifying. As mentioned, my issue is with the cameras (not the basestation) going offline increasingly regularly. The query about the apparent wifi interference was to help me try and diagnose the issue, as previous postings are all very vague about that potential cause of the cameras going offline.

I guess all of this shows just how buggy the Arlo software is, and how some firmware updates seem sometimes make several matters worse, rather than better. That all suggests it is probably not worth me spending on more on this system (eg for external power or further cameras) and instead biting the bullet and investing in a decent PoE CCTV system. Pity really, as it had such promise at the beginning.

Thanks anyway.

[Dannybear]

The Base station offline and camera offline issues are related.

The base station looses communication to the arlo server and can result in the camera’s needing to be resynced. This issue can happen daily or more often.

Some have removed their USB backup devices from the Base station and some have just power cycle the base when they see it has occurred.

I get the issue twice daily so I have a smart switch scheduled to power cycle the base station twice daily around the time it happens.

[edawson23]

To add to you saga, my wifi router and bas station have been in the same location for years (I have an original system) and the problems didn't start until this last firmware push. We need some support Arlo.

[CarrieH2]

I recently purchased 3 also pro 2 cameras and I can't believe what a pain they are. The cameras keep going offline after several hours. I've done everything imaginable including: removing the batteries, resyncing the cameras, resetting the base station, resetting the wifi, changing the wifi channel. I can get the cameras back online if I resync the base station, but what's the point in a system that goes offline every single night. (No it is not on a schedule and the cameras aren't far from the base station at all). I've submitted tickets and talked to multiple agents and this is going no where. How does a company charge this much for a security system that doesn't work??? Any suggestions would be appreciated or I might just have to bring this product back in. I was incredibly excited about it, but at this rate I'm going to steer everyone away from the potential nightmare of a product.

[jguerdat]

App or browser? FOr the app, try force closing it and then open it again. Does that work?

[CarrieH2]

Ya, I've done that multiple times. Doesn't help

[MikeInMelbourne]

What seemed to help me most in the end was a complete factory reset of the basestation (15secs with the paperclip). I was concerned initially that would lose all my settings, but after resyncing the cameras it seems to be fairly stable ... even through the recent basestation firmware debacle. Touch wood that will survive the next battery changeover too.

M

[K_manuel02]

My cameras go offline every day for at least half the day and come back on by themselves. Any idea why that happens?

[michaelkenward]

Not without more information .

Do you have rules running to a schedule?

What do you see when they are off line? What do the hubs LED show?

[publicjgc]

I have 2 base stations and 5 Cameras. On camera seems to always work, one most of the time and the other three fail at dusk and come back at dawn. For the camera that always works, there is a porch light. When i turn off the porch light, it immediately fails. Turn the light on and it comes back. Sometimes rebooting the base station fixes this but for a very short time. Replaced 1 of the base stations with no success. Cameras flash 2 red LEDs which I think means they are trying to synch.
This happens every night.

[StephenB]

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@publicjgc wrote:
Cameras flash 2 red LEDs which I think means they are trying to synch.

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Mine flash a blue LED when syncing.  None of the LEDs are Red - they use Amber and Blue.

Are you seeing something that matches one of these states: https://kb.arlo.com/642/What-do-the-different-LED-behaviors-on-my-Arlo-camera-mean

[publicjgc]

None of the descriptions match. Also no math to LED description in the Pro2 manual. Support was not interested when I told them this. They suggested replacing the base station which did nothing to change the behavior. This is a night time problem. BTW: i have changed the wifi channel to 6 to get away from my neighbors who use 2,4,11. No-one close is on 6.

[StephenB]

It's possible the red leds are actually the IR lights, especially if you are seeing them at dusk or at night.

On the one near the porch light - does it work normally during the day?  If you turn the light on and off during the day, does that effect the camera?  Also, is this camera battery powered, or powered by AC?

Just to double-check - the cameras are failing with an off-line indication in the app and the web interface?  It's not about motion detection, missed recordings, or night vision not engaging when it should?