Worst customer support EVER!

[Melissa_B]

I have the Arlo Pro 2 base and cameras and the base went offline.  After all the troubleshooting steps I did a factory reset on it.  I was able to add the base to my account but when I went to sync the cameras it appears they are syncing but they are not added to my device list.  I have read the forum and followed the steps: made sure batteries were fully charged, reset the base, unplugged and let it sit and plugged it back in, tried syncing it from the PC and app.  I also turned off my VPN and verified my router broadcasts 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.  I have been at this for about 6 hours and cannot get the cameras to be added back.  The system is less then 2 years old and my other base that has 5 cameras I bought back in 2018 and its running great.  How can I get my cameras to sync to the base?  I have 3 cameras that I am trying to sync.  Thanks!

[StephenB]

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@Keith-Iaia wrote:

here is all I'm trying to do:

1.  Turn on all 3 cameras at sunset (or at ~7 pm)

2.  Turn off 2 of the 3 cameras at sunrise (or ~6am)

3.   Be able to easily switch to an "all on" mode 24/7, for when we go on vacation.

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Do you see "Library" in your app menu?  Or do you see "Feed" and "Dashboard" instead?

The available approaches depend on the answer.

[Keith-Iaia]

Feed and dashboard

[StephenB]

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@Keith-Iaia wrote:

Feed and dashboard

1.  Turn on all 3 cameras at sunset (or at ~7 pm)

2.  Turn off 2 of the 3 cameras at sunrise (or ~6am)

3.   Be able to easily switch to an "all on" mode 24/7, for when we go on vacation.

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Here's what I would do:

"Arm Away" and "Arm Home" should be set to arm all three cameras.  If you changed that, then you change them back. Modify "Standby" to arm the one camera you want armed during the day.  Note that if a camera does not have a rule in a mode, then it is automatically disarmed when you use that mode. 

This guide should help you get these modes configured:

• https://kb.arlo.com/000062777/About-Arlo-Routines-Modes-Rules-and-Automations

Next we need two schedule automations.  The first changes the mode to "Standby" at sunrise, the second changes the mode to "Arm Home" at sunset.

The first should look like this

The second should like this this:

These implement your normal schedule.

When you go away, you manually change the mode to "Arm Away".  The schedule automations are disabled in that mode, so the cameras will all remain armed until you change the mode back to either "Arm Home" or "Standby" when you return.

Note that if you want do disarm the camera that is active 24x7,  you can do that by turning the camera off in the video settings (turning it back on to re-arm the camera).  This is awkward - hopefully Arlo will roll out a better way to do that soon.

[RHTATER]

All 5 of our Pro2 cameras suddenly showed "Your Arlo device appears offline" several days ago with a notice to "Upgrade to continue" subscription service covering the Devices screen. After rebooting base, one camera was recognized without resyncing it. Now nothing. Will not allow to sync any camera back into the system. Nothing like this has ever happened before.

Has the non-subscription service been terminated?

[StephenB]

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@RHTATER wrote:

Has the non-subscription service been terminated?

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No.  Something else has gone wrong with your setup.

[RHTATER]

All 5 of our Pro2 cameras suddenly showed "Your Arlo device appears offline" several days ago with a notice to "Upgrade to continue" subscription service covering the Devices screen. After rebooting base, one camera was recognized without resyncing it. Now nothing. Will not allow to sync any camera back into the system. Nothing like this has ever happened before. Has the non-subscription service been terminated?

[Melissa_B]

No, the non-subscription service was not terminated.  There is a technical issue with Apple and the Arlo app. The only way I got mine back online and was able to control them is with my kids Chromebook. I had to download the arlo app on the Chromebook and I got them back working. I would try an android device. The windows PC log in wasn’t working for me either. 

[BrookeN]

@RHTATER This is currently being looked into by our development team. I will update you as soon as possible. 

[BrookeN]

I have passed this information onto our development team. I will reach out to the community as soon as possible. 

[Keith-Iaia]

Thank you for your input.  My screens don't look exactly like yours, but I am trying to implement your suggestions as best I can.  will test later today.

[Keith-Iaia]

I appreciate the responses.  So far, no luck....

[RHTATER]

Several days ago, all five of our Pro2 cameras suddenly showed "Your Arlo device appears offline", and included a notice to "Upgrade to continue" covering the Devices screen. After rebooting the Base, one camera was recognized without resyncing it. Now nothing. System will not sync to any camera.

Factory reset Base Station. Appears to sync with all lights flashing properly but none of the cameras work or appear in Devices.

Now it says after trying to sync either camera "Your Base Station could not be discovered." even though the Base Station shows up under Devices before and after attempting to sync cameras.

[RHTATER]

Also, I tried syncing using both Google Chrome and Edge. Same issue with both browsers.

[jguerdat]

When you reset the base did also remove all devices from your account, which is required? What are the base LED(s) showing on your base? Which base is it? Look at the bottom for a label that has VMBxxxx on it.

[RHTATER]

Yes, all 5 cameras were individually removed several days ago. Pretty sure, but not certain if all 5 were removed before factory reset of base. I've reset base about 8-10 times. I will reset the base again now.

The three base LED's show all solid green, except about every 3-10 seconds the center LED goes from solid green to 3-5 quick green flashes. When I press the sync button on the base the left LED flashes green. When I then press the sync button on any camera, the camera blue light flashes slowly about 17 times and then flashes blue quickly for about 10 seconds, while the base right LED continues to flash. Once the blue light on the camera stops flashing, the base right LED stops flashing. All of it appears to be syncing properly, but once it seems to finish the camera does not appear in the Devices window. The base is the only device that shows in the Device window.

The base model is VMB4000.

[RHTATER]

Correction to last post. When the base sync button is pressed, the right (not the left) LED flashes.

[RHTATER]

I reset the base station again. The left and center LED show green but now the right LED stays stuck on amber. I tried to sync a camera. All the lights on the base station and camera appear to flash properly but the camera does not appear on the Device window.

[RHTATER]

My entire system has been inoperative since December 2.

Are Pro2 cameras no longer operational?

[Melissa_B]

The only way I got mine back online and sync was downloading the Arlo app to my kids Chromebook.  The Arlo app has not been compatible with Apple. I would try an android or something other than Apple and see if it will work.

[RHTATER]

Thank you for your response.

I'm just using the same HP desktop running windows 10 that I've used with the system for years.

[jguerdat]

Solid amber on the Camera LED means either the base isn't claimed or that there's no cameras connected. To be sure, the base is now showing in your account and you can access/control it?

It's (painfully) obvious from the multiple threads here that something is up when using a VMB4000 base - some can't claim it after resetting as well as other problems. Sooner or later it will be solved, I'm sure, but right now...

[RHTATER]

I just went through the whole process again, several times.

1 - I factory reset the Base Station.

2 - The system recognizes the Base Station and then checks to update the software. Left and center Base Station LED remain solid green.

3 - When pressing the sync button on the base station the right LED flashes green.

4 - When pressing the sync button on the camera the blue light slowly flashes about 15 times then flashes quickly for about 5 seconds.

Everything shows a successful sync but neither the Base Station nor any camera appears in Devices.

[StephenB]

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@RHTATER wrote:

1 - I factory reset the Base Station.

2 - The system recognizes the Base Station and then checks to update the software. Left and center Base Station LED remain solid green.

Everything shows a successful sync but neither the Base Station nor any camera appears in Devices.

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If the base station doesn't show up in devices, how do you know what is happening in step 2?

Did you try using "add devices" to add the base station back to your account after the the reset?

[RHTATER]

I did not describe the steps concisely.

The system appears to recognize the Base Station when it searches for updates for the Base Station, but when I try to add the Base to Devices the response is "Your Base Station could not be discovered."

https://my.arlo.com/#/bsClaimFail

After resetting the Base Station a dozen times the right LED shows solide amber while the left and center LED show solid green.

Nothing shows in Devices, no matter what is tried.

Does the system no longer support the VMB4000 Base Station and Pro2 cameras?

[StephenB]

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@RHTATER wrote:

Does the system no longer support the VMB4000 Base Station and Pro2 cameras?

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Arlo still supports them, but you are not the first to have problems trying to add them back after you reset them and remove them from the app.

I'm tagging @JamesC in hopes he can provide an update on the status of that problem.