Arlo|Smart Home Security|Wireless HD Security Cameras

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Sco73
Guide
Guide

Where do I start with these cameras / system.

I'm in the UK, and purchased  a 4 camera system just a little over 6 weeks ago. I have not spoken to tech support about any issues yet, however extensive reading on these and other forums leads me to believe I am not alone.

 

My internet connection in my opinion is fine, I have great fiber upload and download speeds, with low latency.

 

My cameras are all powered from the mains chargers.

 

To see if it helps, I set my base station to reboot everyday with my home automation system.

 

My base station to camera signal is good

 

I have unpaired and re-paired the cameras numerous times along my tests.

 

Latest firmware on base.

 

1) I trialled the CVR for 1 camera. The timeline is out of sync, plus I get periods of small gaps in the timeline when nothing has been recorded. 

 

2) Motion detection is sometimes hit and miss. My cameras mostly do pickup movements, but sometimes I can drive past 1 camera and nothing happens. To drive past a camera, I firsly have to walk past one of them and this one triggers, again , most of the time, therefore proving something is working in the system.

 

3) My recording length is set to a fixed time, but this is not always adhered to. eg, sometime's my footage is only 20 seconds when my duration is set to 90 seconds.

 

4) CVR footage which shows as a blank, can sometimes be viewed if I start playing the video just before there is a blank in the timeline. Sometimes the blank timeline may be several mintutes in length , but only a few seconds may not be recorded. Simply the thumbnail is not there and I cant search ( play ) directly  on the blank timeline.

 

5) Vieod : Audio , footage without audio recorded at times, and vice versa ( still video ).

 

6) Motion detected recoreded video: When viewing the recorded footage, it starts playing and sometimes the frame just stops but the audio continues. Somepart through playback, video does resume but there are gaps from the stopped frame to the resumed part.

 

7) Impact when multiple triggers occur : When I pass my first camera, and turn the corner, I trigger my second camera. Its almost like the camera cant cope with too much going on. ( dont blame my internet connection )

 

😎 Choppy video playback on some recordings, like the framerate has dropped some frames.

 

9) Audio sometimes has choppy playback. Typical bad signal stutter.

 

10) Base station offline. All 3 LED's on the base are on, and the internet LED is blinking randomly as per normal. I have to reboot the base to bring it back up. Has occured 3 times since purchase, with my on eyes seeing it. May have occured at other times.

 

11) Timezone changing ( hopefully the latest firmware has resolved this )

 

I've probably missed a couple of other issues, however I dont understand how the product can be so flaky.

I know that I am not alone, and alough the list above looks like a big moan, some of these issues have appeared on this forum by others many months ago.

Now in the most sense, I quite like the system, but the above issues make the experience just plain bad.

The recent firmware upates, have not changed any of the above, apart from (11) so far.....

 

I would be interested to hear directly from Arlo as to what is going on.

18 REPLIES 18
ChinJing
Luminary
Luminary
Sco73. We and Many other people
Have the same problems. The lights on the base are green or the internet light will go out but the base acts like it’s offline causing battery drain of cameras - no recordings etc. the app will not always say offline it just has missing icons and mode will be getting information. This has bean going on since May firmware update. We haven’t heard anything back from arlo. Some tech say there is a base stations problem. You have to search through the community. Hundreds of people have posted about about. We have gone through 4 base stations 2 routers. And yet to get any info from arlo.
Sco73
Guide
Guide

As I have only had my system since the May update, I cant really comment before that.

 

What I experience at the moment is £800 spent, and in my opinion its flawed with bugs. When its working its great, but I can't trust it. Its definately not a security camera in its current state.

 

My main concern is the lack input on these boards from Arlo to try and address the issues. I would willing talk to support, but it seems there has already been a lot of unanswered questions with others going down that route.

 

I know my own end is fine, so the issue is not there. I've tested other wireless camera systems, and they have all functioned better than this one.

 

I just want Arlo to step up, take notice of their customers and keep everyone informed of what is occuring, then provide some urgent fixes.

Sco73
Guide
Guide

So , base station (VMB4000r3) updated to 1.12.2.3-2762

 

See what this does , or not !!

TC65
Initiate
Initiate

I have a PRO 2 base station with 4 cameras that has worked very well for 6 months.  Motion detecting/recording and notification all worked smoothly and I have a clear expectation of what the system detects/how it works. 

 

Suddenly a few weeks ago I stopped seeing hardly any motion detection/recording/notification on all cameras except 1.  I have changed batteries, reset the base station 3-4 times, gone through and reverified all settings.... all with no success.   Increasing the motion sensitivity from the settings that worked for 6 months made no difference.  I also tried changing from "record till motion is no longer detected" to various time based recoridng lengths and then back again, all with no impact.  I still see activity on one camera and hardly anything on the others.  

 

I suspect that some type of pushed firmware update to the base station from Arlo may have caused this.  Any other suggestions that I have not already tried (?).   

kida281
Tutor
Tutor
I hear you loud and clear! Same problems for over three weeks. I’ve reset/reload/reeverything you could imagine and nothing has fixed these problems.

I wasted a lot of money on this system in April (it worked for a couple of weeks). I’m dumping this system and telling everyone I know to stay away.
kida281
Tutor
Tutor
100% correct. I’ve read way to many similar complaints since the May update. I can’t believe Arlo’s lack of response to similar stories.

If they don’t fix soon - I’m done with them and telling every single person I know to stay away from Arlo.
Bartley
Luminary
Luminary

We are at the mercy of Arlo to fix this and I don't see that happening anytime soon. If we are lucky come fall they might acknowledge they have a firmware issue. Then of course we will have to wait for them to investigate it. Then possibly figure out a fix for it without causing any other issues.  This is a joke. Mine worked great from initial purchase Dec 2 2018. Then the May firmware update and now I own a bunch of junk. Week 4 of being offline more then it works. 

Sco73
Guide
Guide

Same here. Purchased the kit end of April and think I have been on buggy firmware since.

 

I havent had a day where I can trust this system. I find myself playing maintenance man to keep the system afloat.

 

Simply in my opinion it does not "currently" live up to their statement on the website

 


"Smart Home Security Like Never Before
Peace of Mind. Anytime. Anywhere.
With brilliant HD video quality, two-way audio, live streaming, included 7-day cloud recording, instant alerts, and other smart features, the Arlo family of smart security cameras lets you watch over what you love from every angle, indoors and out, day and night."

Mike1500
Aspirant
Aspirant

I have experienced the same. I added an Arlo Pro 2 camera to my system,. it promted for a Firmware update and after reading support, it's supposed to update overnight.. I was able to push the firmware update on the camera manually after the 2nd day.

 

However, my base then notified me it needed a firmware update. I was able to push that through and now my camera's motion detection is crap. One recording, Jeep in the driveway, next recording, Jeep is gone. How does it not see motion from something as large as a vehicle in clear view of the camera?  Turn up my sensitivity you say? I"m at 95% already!

 

I've tried asking for support a year ago with other cameras in my system, where the behavior changed after a firmware update and as I've read on this forum, support from Arlo is minimal.

ShayneS
Arlo Moderator
Arlo Moderator

@Mike1500

 

What troubleshooting steps have you tried so far? I do not want to suggest anything you may have previously performed.

Mike1500
Aspirant
Aspirant
Power cycled the base
Climbed up my ladder and replaced the batteries in all cameras which essentially is a power cycle.
Turned the camera off and back on with iOS app
Reset all zoom zones to max.
Power cycled my wireless router
Removed hard wire from base to router, power cycled the base then plugged the lan cable back in
Base is literally in line and 20 feet max to cameras one exterior wall separating them.
Moved one outdoor camera indoors for a day to see if motion trigger recording, pretty much worked as it should. Put it back outside, aimed it at a vehicle with the zoom zone maxed wide open (no zoom in effect).
jsturess
Luminary
Luminary
When will a fix be released?????
________________________________________
RBK53| Orbi Router + 3 Satellites
Arlo Pro 2| 5 cameras
Arlo Ultra| 3 base stations and 6 cameras
anitavick
Aspirant
Aspirant

Our arlo pro 2 will not recognize internet. We have talked to better several times. They sent us two more base stations which would not hook up either  they said they would call but did not. I am so frustrated at Netgear just sending us elsewhere. 

ShayneS
Arlo Moderator
Arlo Moderator

Hi @anitavick

 

Do you have a case number I can review regarding this call back/issue?

jsturess
Luminary
Luminary

@jsturess wrote:
When will a fix be released?????

I think I have solved my problem for this, it has worked now for two days. It started to work when i removed my USB to save recordings. Proberbly wrong with the usb memory or the function for saving it localy. Ive tried to format the memory but it only worked for some minutes of recordings and the problem was there again.

________________________________________
RBK53| Orbi Router + 3 Satellites
Arlo Pro 2| 5 cameras
Arlo Ultra| 3 base stations and 6 cameras
jsturess
Luminary
Luminary

@jsturess wrote:

@jsturess wrote:
When will a fix be released?????

I think I have solved my problem for this, it has worked now for two days. It started to work when i removed my USB to save recordings. Proberbly wrong with the usb memory or the function for saving it localy. Ive tried to format the memory but it only worked for some minutes of recordings and the problem was there again.


This was not an 100 solution, still missing some motions

________________________________________
RBK53| Orbi Router + 3 Satellites
Arlo Pro 2| 5 cameras
Arlo Ultra| 3 base stations and 6 cameras
erasmus
Aspirant
Aspirant

Hi Sco73,

I would really like to thank you for the issues you and others have raised regarding the Arlo Pro 2. I too am in the UK and I recently bought a Pro 2 two camera kit.

My fibre broadband delivers a reliable 56Mbps download and 10 up with low latency and I live in a modest 3 bed semi. I got the latest firmware, set up the Arlo router and the 2 fully charged cameras in the same room to test the kit before installation.

I spent about 8 hours basically trying to get the system to work reliably and deliver a performance  akin to Arlo's marketing material.

Frankly, it failed miserably. I then contacted this site and realised my product was faulty with the same issues you and other describe. I therefore considered this product was not of satisfactory quality for use with my wifi service, so unfit for purpose as described.

I related my concerns to the Customer Services of my retailer and requested a refund under the Consumer Rights Act. I repacked and returned the kit. The retailer notified me when it was received and I got a full refund without delay. I feel so sorry for all here who are stuck with such an unsatifactory product. I think it's a disgrace.  

Paul1971
Initiate
Initiate
I'm having all the same issues. After spending countless hours with tech support I finally sent the pro 2 back and replaced with the pro. Problems solved. Not sure why arlo won't admit there are multiple issues with pro 2. Would never buy this system again or recommend to anyone.
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