Arlo Pro Base Station keeps resetting itself and going offline intermittently

[Sussexdude1]

Over the last two days my home station seems to change my time zone at midnight every day, this being a huge pain when scanning back over recordings. I have tried resetting on Arlo web site, iPad and iPhone but midnight strikes time zone changes again. HELP !

[pc2k17]

Just took my USB out. We'll see if it helps.......

[wellfleetion]

It won’t

[PNelson]

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@AlaskaFairie wrote:
Fixed! After three weeks of fighting this problem, #8 tech figured it out. The the others kept draggibg my down their same, scripted, troubleshooting flow chart. So annoying!
The fix... have my service provider put the router port for Arlo on channel 1, 6 & 11. All cameras and base station have stayed online for three days now!

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This does not make sense.  The arlo base station is connected to your router via an Ethernet cable, and the base station sellects its own channel as it cannot be set by the owner.  In my case, the base station sellected channel 3.  My wifi router likes channell 11.

[jiress]

The solutions to solve this problem are strange and doesn't make a sense but they work. In my case helped unplug the USB Drive. There are no more issues over 2 weeks.

[DSRamesh]

Does he mean they opened TCP Port 1,6, and 11 (Port triggering)?

- If you don't own the modem/router like most do with Comcast/Xfinity then you have to call them to open the ports.  Since I use my own routers and modems, I have opened ports to allow for home security using Port Triggering.  I can try opening these ports to see if the behavior changes.

[Dannybear]

The reference to channel 1, 6 or 11 refers to the wifi sharing standard and should not be confused with the TCP port numbers.

Just to clarify that the arlo base station’s closed wifi system will match the highest strength channel which is usually your wifi modem. If you have a smart device that sits closer such as a hub that also generates a wifi hotspot then the base will try matching to it instead of the home network wifi modem and so everything gets muddled.

Most wifi modems are auto set for the wifi channel and usually pick a quiet channel but you can force this to be fixed in the modem settings. Before you try this you should check the wifi spectrum and preferably use the shared channels mentioned above although if they too are busy then go for in between.
Also check the wifi spectrum levels at your camera positions incase there are wifi closer from next door.

The TCP ports used by the base are 443, 161 and 80. I find that blocking port 443 is the show stopper. If this is being blocked then nothing works.

[Dannybear]

Correction to my previous post:

“The TCP ports used by the base are 443, 123 and 80. I find that blocking port 443 is the show stopper. If this is being blocked then nothing works.

[PNelson]

Reply to Dannybear's comments on Wi-Fi Channels
I have two Wi-Fi access points set to auto channel, and for whatever reason they both pick channel 11. I have done speed tests and I have not noticed any problems, so I leave it alone and not force a channel. The Arlo base station has picked channel 3, even though my other Wi-Fi access point (across the room) is on channel 11. (There are neighbors using channel 1 & 6.)  So, the Arlo base station does not always pick the same channel as your Wi-Fi’s channel.

Reply to DannyBear Comments on Ports:
My research on ports says that 443, 123 and 80 are used for time sync, HTPP, and secure HTPP. I would expect most routers default settings would not block access to those ports. The key point is if your base station connects to the internet and you get the system to communicate, then you should not need to do any port triggering.  If the base station fails to connect to the internet at all times, then a port problem might be a cause. Thus, I doubt it is a port issue that is the cause of our systems randomly going off-line.

People should be careful about opening up ports if it is not needed. My understanding, and I don’t claim to be an expert, is that a router’s default security setting generally allows traffic through a port when the communication is initiated from inside. Traffic initiated from the outside is ignored. If you set up port triggering, then it will allow communication on that port to be initiated from the outside. That can be a security issue. To attempt to solve the problem of the Arlo going off-line, I set up port triggering on the above-mentioned ports to go to the Arlo base station. I also logged the triggering and the source of the triggers were from IP addresses in China, Russia, and Ukraine. Of course, this did not solve the problem, and I turned off port triggering.

[StephenB]

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@PNelson wrote:

If you set up port triggering, then it will allow communication on that port to be initiated from the outside. 

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I hesitate to add anything to a ridiculously long thread, but...

Port Triggering and Port Forwarding are two different things.  Port Forwarding fits your description better.  It allows you to direct unsolicited inbound traffic on a specific port to a specific device on your home network.

Port Triggering is more complicated to explain.  The trigger is an outbound packet (on a different port) - not an inbound packet.  When the trigger happens, unsolicited inbound traffic is allowed (like port forwarding).  After a period of no activity, the ports are closed again (port forwarding stops)

You are correct in saying that you need to be careful to about port forwarding (and triggering), and there are security risks. 

Perhaps more on point - Arlo is designed so it doesn't need you to forward ports to the base station if you use a normal home NAT router.  So just don't do that.  Also don't block the base station's internet access - Arlo is based on a cloud service, so blocking access is a bad idea.

If you use a firewall that blocks outbound traffic, then you might need to adjust it's rules. 

@Dannybear  wrote:

“The TCP ports used by the base are 443, 123 and 80. I find that blocking port 443 is the show stopper. If this is being blocked then nothing works.

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That's not surprising, as 443 (https) is almost certainly used for most of the communication with the cloud service. 

Blocking 123 (NTP time synchronization) will have more subtle consequences - over time the base station clock will drift from the correct time.

I don't know the consequences of blocking port 80 (http).

[NicheFarmer]

While my configurations (I have two with 4 cameras each) have been behaving well, there have been suspicions of them going offline and not recording. I have USB recording turned off but the drives are still plugged in.

However, yesterday I got hard evidence that the devices were not always working. My wife entered the house passing four cameras at very close range and it recorded nothing. When she went to turn one of the cameras off (with her phone), it reported all four offline. A few minutes later I tried to look at the cameras from the Windows desktop and they showed up but showed no recordings of my wifes activity (and no indications of detecting activity).

So they still go offline sporadically and come back by themselfs after some timeout period. Sinced they fixed the Flicker Adjustment and Time Zone reset problems a few months ago (i.e., they fixed the symtom not the problem), you don't notice that they are off unless you actually test them, but they still go off peridoically.

[Chaskamn]

Basestation was offline again yesterday.  I am trying the suggestion above- changing my WIFI channel to a clear band.  My router was on channel 9 and have changed to channel 6.  I have all 5 camera on-line with good strength and fresh batteries..... Time will tell.

[DSRamesh]

This morning, it recorded me leaving the house (Car getting out of the garage) but then after that it did not record the fact that mailman came in front of driveway (2 cameras capturing the driveway) and the front door where he dropped off the package and that there is a car parked in front of our driveway after the mailman left.  I got the motion alerts but no recordings - 6 in a row so far. Live feature works, so not an internet issue and only by live feed did I find out that there is a car parked.

This is supposed to be security camera?

Arlo support and developers, where are you on these serious issues?

We need to get CNN or some big channel to investiigate and broadcast these serious issues and maybe then Arlo will spring into action!

[PNelson]

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@StephenB wrote:

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@PNelson wrote:

If you set up port triggering, then it will allow communication on that port to be initiated from the outside. 

---

I hesitate to add anything to a ridiculously long thread, but...

Port Triggering and Port Forwarding are two different things.  Port Forwarding fits your description better.  It allows you to direct unsolicited inbound traffic on a specific port to a specific device on your home network.

Port Triggering is more complicated to explain.  The trigger is an outbound packet (on a different port) - not an inbound packet.  When the trigger happens, unsolicited inbound traffic is allowed (like port forwarding).  After a period of no activity, the ports are closed again (port forwarding stops)

You are correct in saying that you need to be careful to about port forwarding (and triggering), and there are security risks. 

Perhaps more on point - Arlo is designed so it doesn't need you to forward ports to the base station if you use a normal home NAT router.  So just don't do that.  Also don't block the base station's internet access - Arlo is based on a cloud service, so blocking access is a bad idea.

If you use a firewall that blocks outbound traffic, then you might need to adjust it's rules. 

Stephen,

Thank you for your kind clarification, as I said I do not profess to be an expert.  You did the best job of explaining the difference between "port forwarding" and "port triggering".   I find the explanations in the router documentation are not very helpful.    

Paul

[Anim]

I am also curious on how to get Arlo to get their techs to work to fix issues. How would we get news coverage?

[Retired_Member]

I have this exact same issue and support are not helping at all. What is the point in having a security system which once per day I have RESET (not reboot) the base to get it working again. Fix this problem it is obviously not just happening to me!

[ShayneS]

Hi @Retired_Member

Do you have a case number with customer support I can review?

[Retired_Member]

41069350 is the current case

but ive also had 41052742 and 41032328

Its mental, I understand that trouble shooting steps need to take place, but the fact that other users are having this exact same problem suggests to me more issues are occuring than it being my home network. 

[comlab]

Hi all
I'm an Arlo customer since the first hour, started with original Arlo and upgrade to Arlo Pro 2 last December with 5 Cameras. I had no issues with the System until some month ago, where this strange Base Station (VMB400r3, 1.14.0.2_2776) offline disconnect started. The Internet connection led changes from solid green to blinking and sometimes it stays off for some hours. Needless to say, that my Internet connection is stable and up during all the time. I have multiple Home automation system and if my internet connection would go down I would definitively see that. Well sometimes the Base station recovers the connection automatically after some minutes, sometimes I have to power cycle it to make it work again. I don't know exactly when this started, but I would say around May or June this year. Something changed on the Arlo side, as this unstable internet connection I have never seen before. First, I thought it may something at my Home but since I see that the Forums are flooded with these offline posts and this thread here have already 42 pages, I think it's clear it must be on Arlo side.  I had a USB device attached for recording, now I have removed it, let's see if that helps.  I'm right that there is no solution at all? Or is it worth to go to support and spent hours doing basic troubleshooting steps? Does a replacement of the Base station fix the issues?

[Patuba]

I have had much better luck with my basestation no going offline after I removed the USB drive I had attached to it. It is much more stable and actually seems to be faster on loading the videos in the app.

[RB321]

Nothing seems to work!

The problem is also not limited to Pro 2 bases, I have an ultra base that also has issues. If I go and stand in front of the camera, the "running man" goes orange, suggesting it has picked up movement, and is recording to the cloud, but no recording ever turns up. Turning the base station off and on again resumes services. I have now resorted to purchasing a couple of cheap electronic timers that turn off for a minute each day, then back on, effectively resetting my base stations, because Arlo cant or wont find a fix.

[PrincipalCJ]

Hello. No a replacement base station does not fix the issue. Unplugging the USB backup hard drive does. Hopefully Arlo will fix this soon, but that’s hopeful wishing.

[dfjkl]

Sadly looks like I'm going.to need to resort to garbage like this too. Just found.my unit has been non-reponsive pretty much all day today. Missed package drops, wife leaving and coming back, literally everything from today. Beyond tired of this crap.

[hirorir123]

Just got off phone with support. Sounds like they pushed a buggy update that broke every VMB4000 that was updated. Unfortunate.

[ride1058]

Same problem with Arlo Ultra base station. It disconnects every few min and then connects again. I'm so frustrated with this system. I don't even bother to open a support case because I already have very bad experience with them.

I just hope this issue will be resolved soon

[vizsla4084]

My two Arlo 2 Base stations and (6) cameras updated yesterday. Fingers crossed that this actually helps with the issues.

HW Version - VMB4000r3
Firmware - 1.14.1.1_2913_78b189a