Arlo Pro 2 cameras failed to connect to basestation after replace battery

[arlofailure]

Base station: VMB4000r3

Cameras: Arlo Pro2 x 3

They have been working well. This year they failed to connect to the base station one after another when i replace the battery. I tried to follow the KB repeatedly but still cannot reestablish the connection.  Is it because Arlo End of Life Arlo Pro 2 device since Jan 1 2025?

[StephenB]

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@arlofailure wrote:

The support refused to answer my question about the base station for long and keep saying camera EOL. After my insist, he then suggested me to reset the base station and add it back.

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The cameras are EOL, which means no support for the cameras.  Although the base is not EOL, Arlo doesn't offer repair services, so there is no way to repair the base.  Plus the base is almost certainly out-of-warranty (generally one year from date of purchase, although 2 years for some folks in Europe).

What are you seeing on the base station LEDs? 

• Is the Power LED lit?  (If not, you could have a power problem, so post back if that is your situation).
• Is the Internet LED (center) lit?

Is the base showing up as on-line in your account (with only the cameras off-line)?

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@arlofailure wrote:

Given DannyBearAgain posted that "If you have the new app UI experience don’t remove the camera or base from the account else you will not be able to import them again."

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It's true several customers have had trouble re-adding old devices to their accounts.

But if the base is on-line, but not generating any WiFi then you really don't have much choice.  The only things you can try to get the base WiFi back are to

1. power-cycle the base and see if the wifi comes back
2. reset the base and see if the wifi comes back.

So try (1) first if you haven't already.  If you get to (2), then you will have to remove the cameras (and base) from the account and re-add them - either using this base, or using a new one. 

[arlofailure]

Additional information: it looks the base station no longer broadcast it's wifi. Arlo base station broadcasts wifi using SSID like NTGR_VMB_**. I cannot find an SSID looks like this at my home even when the base station is in connection mode.  

Is it by design Arlo Pro 2 base stations stop broadcasting wifi after Jan 1st 2025?

[DannyBearAgain]

Did the cameras go offline on January 1st 2025 or have you upgraded the arlo app to the new UI experience before the battery change? The old UI has the library page and the new one has a feed page instead.

The factory reset process for the pro2 Cameras is to remove the battery for ten seconds and reinsert.

Syncing is done by momentarily pressing the base top sync button then same for the camera to resync.

If you have the new app UI experience don’t remove the camera or base from the account else you will not be able to import them again.

[StephenB]

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@arlofailure wrote:

Is it by design Arlo Pro 2 base stations stop broadcasting wifi after Jan 1st 2025?

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No.  Note that VMB4xxxx models are compatible with much newer cameras.

• https://kb.arlo.com/000062284/Arlo-SmartHub-and-Base-Station-Compatibility

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@arlofailure wrote:

Arlo base station broadcasts wifi using SSID like NTGR_VMB_**. I cannot find an SSID looks like this at my home even when the base station is in connection mode.  

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Mine show ARLO_VMB_*, though I am using smarthubs.

If you aren't seeing a SSID that matches one of these patterns, then the base might have failed.  

[arlofailure]

The cameras went offline gradually after Jan 1st 2025. Every time i replace the battery for a camera, it could lost the connection. I repeat the remove battery for 10 second again and again trying to reconnect. I had three cameras. Now none of them can connect.

I don't know what's the new app UI. I followed the KB removing one of the camera as a step trying to reestablish the connection. It seems i should not do it. 

[arlofailure]

Thank you Stephen for sharing the information! I appreciate. 

It seems the problem is in the base station side. There's nothing ARLO_VMB_*** too. Nothing looks like an base station wifi hotspot. 

[arlofailure]

Arlo, are you helping your customers?

I tried to seek help from Arlo support to trouble shoot why base station stop broadcasting Wi-Fi as it should be. The support refused to answer my question about the base station for long and keep saying camera EOL. After my insist, he then suggested me to reset the base station and add it back. Given DannyBearAgain posted that "If you have the new app UI experience don’t remove the camera or base from the account else you will not be able to import them again." I cannot follow what the support told me to.

Is it legitimate for Arlo to treat their customers like this?

[StephenB]

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@arlofailure wrote:

The support refused to answer my question about the base station for long and keep saying camera EOL. After my insist, he then suggested me to reset the base station and add it back.

---

The cameras are EOL, which means no support for the cameras.  Although the base is not EOL, Arlo doesn't offer repair services, so there is no way to repair the base.  Plus the base is almost certainly out-of-warranty (generally one year from date of purchase, although 2 years for some folks in Europe).

What are you seeing on the base station LEDs? 

• Is the Power LED lit?  (If not, you could have a power problem, so post back if that is your situation).
• Is the Internet LED (center) lit?

Is the base showing up as on-line in your account (with only the cameras off-line)?

---

@arlofailure wrote:

Given DannyBearAgain posted that "If you have the new app UI experience don’t remove the camera or base from the account else you will not be able to import them again."

---

It's true several customers have had trouble re-adding old devices to their accounts.

But if the base is on-line, but not generating any WiFi then you really don't have much choice.  The only things you can try to get the base WiFi back are to

1. power-cycle the base and see if the wifi comes back
2. reset the base and see if the wifi comes back.

So try (1) first if you haven't already.  If you get to (2), then you will have to remove the cameras (and base) from the account and re-add them - either using this base, or using a new one. 

[arlofailure]

Power led and internet led lights no problem. The sync led blinks after I push the sync button. I can see the home base in app.

i have done 1) but won’t do 2). It’s not ha hardware issue. Arlo should know it.

I just gave up Arlo and buy an alternative solution from another vendor. It doesn’t worth my time to figure out what Arlo does.

I will never try Arlo again doesn’t worth.

[DannyBearAgain]

@arlofailure ,

One issue the arlo Base stations have is that they need to be located at least 10ft away from the local network router wifi device.

The way the arlo Base wifi works is to piggyback onto the strongest local wifi channel to minimise interference. If the local router wifi is near the base station it can also cause unwanted desensitisation effectively muting the base wifi performance.

It would be a good idea to reboot the local router wifi device to start with and relocate the base if too close and reboot it again.

[StephenB]

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@DannyBearAgain wrote:

One issue the arlo Base stations have is that they need to be located at least 10ft away from the local network router wifi device.

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FWIW, it doesn't need to be that far away.  I recommend as far as the supplied ethernet cable will stretch (which is about 5 feet).   The distance isn't related to the wifi channel selection, it is to ensure that the the router wifi signal doesn't overload the base's receiver circuitry (and also ensure that the base wifi signal doesn't overload the router's receiver circuitry).  The signal strength drops with the square of the distance, so signal strength at 5 feet away is only 4% of the signal at 1 foot away.

But @arlofailure isn't seeing the Arlo WiFi SSID created by the base.  Moving the base won't resolve that.  A factory reset might (and there is nothing to lose if you are planning to trash the equipment anyway).