Arlo Pro 2 USB stored video files no audio

[BillNutz]

So after 6 weeks of usage, I decided to review the footage stored on a 128gb flash drive that I'm using for local storage.

Somewhere around week 3, the video files no longer have audio. I'm able to listen to audio when watching live view and through the cloud stored library, but not the files on the USB drive.

The earlier footage were fine, until around mid-April that's when it stopsped recording videos with audio.

Please advise.

[Dannybear]

Yeah, get that with the VMB4000 base, ever since the last camera firmware update. You can get it working again for a few hours by restarting the base station via the App but it just goes bad again. Arlo can’t be helped.

[BillNutz]

Thank you for replying... here’s to hoping that it gets resolved on the next firmware update.

[Dannybear]

My three months of fee support has ended so can’t raise anymore fault cases or get further action on existing ones.
If you want to try and get this fixed then get onto their support. It will likely take a few months for them to believe you, and that’s only if you provide them with evidence they can’t refute. After that they will want your credit card to continue the support.

[jguerdat]

Not at all true, as we've discussed before. There is no 90 day free support for Arlo - folks with years-old equipment are utilizing support with no cost. Just be sure you're using the real Arlo support:

https://www.arlo.com/en-us/support/contact.aspx

[crocker]

I have the same issue with no audio being recorded to the USB back-up. The problem started 4/22/19.

A worse problem that also started on 4/22/19 is that the fixed time for recording motion sometimes varies from the set time. I have all my cameras set for a fixed 40 seconds to record motion. Sometimes the camera's now will only record for 12 or 20 or whatever seconds. If the recording in the library is short of the fixed time, so are the recordings on the USB. 

I have posted about this problem previously and have been advised to contact support. I have not yet done so hoping that Arlo will fix these issues soon?? I have contacted support in the past and it was quite a chore... 

[Dannybear]

@jguerdat
I take it all back, support sent me an email after I posted here in this thread after a month of silence and asked me to perform the same test from months ago.

As to the missing audio, I have logged the following behaviour over the last week.

I have been using the base restart in the App to monitor the behaviour of the USB recordings. The audio returns immediately after the restart and subsequently disappears again shortly after.
E.g. first restart gets 45min, then next restart gets 90min, then next restart gets 300mins, next restart gets you 18hrs but you just can’t get to 24hrs.
I was also lucky to catch the failure mid recording, not that it was significant.

As to recording durations not fixed, this is typical of the firmware as well as a number of other issues I have observed.

I am coming to the conclusion that arlo are just ignoring this until the warranty runs out. I suspect that the real issue is beyond their control and ability to mitigate the damage caused.

[crocker]

Thanks for your reply!

Any advice at all for dealing with the fixed time issue? Would it be better to set to (record until activity stops)?

The system is only 18 months old but now has become totally unreliable!

Thank you!

[Dannybear]

I could go into depth about the likely reasons for the truncated recordings but there is no maintainable workaround I have found that works.
I have given up on these and just rely on the arlo default setting of recording until motion stops and just take pot luck that it gets what you need.
E.g. I entered my home recently with the system still armed, the indoor camera set off the siren but nothing was recorded to the cloud. The USB recording shows me entering but stops when the siren is about to sound. The outdoor camera captures the whole event to cloud and USB.

[crocker]

I guess it may be time for me to look at another system.

Pot luck and a security system to me, equal a security system that is a POS!

Thank you again for your reply and help! 

[fractalchic]

We’ve also had this same issue since some time in April. If it’s related to a firmware upgrade, is there a way to revert the upgrade and get the sound working again?

It’s unacceptable to us that there’s no audio in the recordings saved to the local storage as that almost the whole reason we have the system installed.

I’ve also tried to find an email address or web form to contact Arlo directly about this issue but their support pages seem to be very circular and not provide this information (almost like they want to make it difficult for you to contact them re: issues)...

[Dannybear]

The only workaround I have found is to restart the base from the App but you need to do this hourly. You give up after a while.
The best approach to getting support is to contact them by phone, all other methods such as chat or email are a dead loss.
The link below points to a support page that has a drop down for phone numbers.
Be prepared to stand on your head when they ask but make sure you get a case number.
Then wait a few weeks for the case worker to review your case and send you an email update.
The whole experience will likely extend into months as they ablib. Good luck.

https://www.arlo.com/en-us/support/contact.aspx

[Metoo2019]

Well, this post doesn't reassure me any. I just started using USB drives to record and I have had no sound on the 2 drives I had installed. In my case-its imperative I hear sound on the recordings.

[Dannybear]

There is some good news if you can call it good.
The audio issue has now extended intermittently to the cloud library recordings so everyone will eventually suffer the issue.

[crocker]

The truncated video file issue also seems to be getting worse!

Along with the problem of no sound being recorded to the USB backup files,  is causing me to seriously consider scrapping the Arlo system.

[fractalchic]

I chatted with Arlo tech support last week and after going through what seemed like almost the whole trouble-shooting list the very last thing they asked me to try was restarting the base station using the on/off switch on the base station itself. This appears to have worked and all the subsequent videos recorded to the USB stick all have audio!

However, the base station appears to have automatically updated sometime yesterday and we now have an Arlo Smart subscription and associated settings available in the app and we’ve subsequently stopped receiving notifications and videos are not appearing in the library (even though they’re being recorded to the USB stick WITH AUDIO).

Get it right already guys! Or better yet, don’t automatically install updates and let us choose if we want something to go wrong with the cameras or base station!

[Dannybear]

I checked my USB files and can confirm that the audio is now being recorded to my USB.
This occurred post the latest firmware update but as the problem would normally return post a base reset I would wait a few days before saying it is fixed.
The only problem is that the latest firmware update is stuffing up the time zones so it won’t be long before it’s recalled like last time and we will be back to no audio on the USB again. 😔