Arlo station vbm4000r3 cause ip conflict

[Sean7431]

My arlo base station every 3 months or so start causing an ip conflict in my home network that is run by Orbi. So mush so that some devices can't connect to wifi and one  of the wifi signals also stop working.  After many many months of analysis, it turned out that Arlo is the culprit.  So I have to factory reset my arlo to fix the problem only to come back some 2 or 3 months or so later.  Both arlo and orbi have latest firmware.  What is going on here?  I changed the router to other brands and same thing happens.  

[Dannybear]

Can I ask how you concluded that your getting an ip conflict?

[Sean7431]

Some devices can't connect to wifi even though dedicated ip has been assigned to them. Problem worsens as time goes by to the point that even wired devices wouldn't be able to connect to internet.  

[Sean7431]

Also I know it is arlo that's causing the problem because once I power down arlo base, everything starts working fine. However I can't just plug arlo back in without doing a factory reset to it  otherwise problem persists.  And factory resetting the arlo only fixes it for maybe 2 or 3 months before the whole home network starts acting up again.    

[StephenB]

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@Sean7431 wrote:

Some devices can't connect to wifi even though dedicated ip has been assigned to them. Problem worsens as time goes by to the point that even wired devices wouldn't be able to connect to internet.  

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That doesn't necessarily point to an IP address conflict.

The base station is using whatever IP address is being assigned to by your Orbi router.  (Note I use an Orbi also, and don't have this problem).

Have you tried reserving an IP address for the base station in the Orbi?

Also, are the assigned IP addresses outside the DHCP range in the router settings? Obviously they need to be in the subnet, but they should be outside the DHCP range.  For example, set the DHCP range to 100..254, and reserve addresses between 2..99

[Dannybear]

I would agree with @StephenB comments regarding the router setup configuration. I have done the same for my base and cabled devices to better manage potential ip conflicts.

I asked because I often get poor performance using the 2.4ghz wifi with the iPhone and had to switch on the 5ghz wifi to get reliably. The observations suggests that the base station hogs the wifi traffic.

Some further detail is that the base station will choose it’s 2.4ghz wifi channel to match your local router’s wifi channel if it is close by.

The arlo recommendation is to separate the units by >6ft which is the length of the Ethernet cable supplied, strangely they recommend >10ft between cameras.

There is no way to manually change the base wifi channel so your stuck with it meshing unless you totally separate the two but even then you have no control of what wifi channel the base will choose which prevents you being able to manage wifi interference.

I might try factory reset of the base station to see if it improves the 2.4ghz wifi conflict as you have pointed out but I need to pluck up the courage to be able to restore everything back to normal.

[Sean7431]

ip conflict or not, what is occurring is that some devices start having difficulty connecting to internet. They do connect to the wifi SSID but not to internet. I have already set up a dedicated ip address for Arlo in Orbi. And So are some of the main devices in the house such as TV's and what not. Also all the assigned ip's are within Orbi DHCP range of 2-250. Arlo base and Orbi Satellite#2 are within 6ft apart (the length of the provided ethernet cable)  .  

[Sean7431]

I dont think the arlo base is hogging up broadband. Some devices connect just fine to internet. Some just don't, hence ip conflict imo. The ORBI is set to automatically broadcast in both 2.4 and 5ghz. The Arlo base is wired in to ORBI satellite#2 at 6ft apart. Again, when arlo is powered down, everything goes back to normal and all devices can connect to wifi ssid and internet just fine. 

[Dannybear]

For me I just switched my phone to the 2.4ghz wifi to post this message.

What I generally get is a delay when navigating the forum site which can be up to several minutes where it just stops and thinks about it. Sometimes it times out and I have to back track and write the message again. This is what is observed at my end.

[StephenB]

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@Sean7431 wrote:

Also all the assigned ip's are within Orbi DHCP range of 2-250. Arlo base and Orbi Satellite#2 are within 6ft apart (the length of the provided ethernet cable)  .  

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I generally recommend narrowing the DHCP range in the Orbi, and reserving addresses outside the smaller range (but still in 2-250).  Although arguably not necessary,  it might eliminate some corner cases where the Orbi might assign a duplicate address.  Also, it would allow some devices to safely have genuine static addresses (configured on the device, and not the router).

But it doesn't sound like an IP conflict is your problem.  The base might be too close to the satellite - you might try moving the base as far away as the ethernet cable will reach.  But wifi interference doesn't sound quite right either, as that would not affect other wired devices - especially if they are not connected to the same satellite.

I guess a hardware issue with the base could create some network issues. Maybe one thing to try is swapping two of the satellites (so the base can remain in the current location, but would be connected to a different satellite).  That would rule out a hardware issue with the satellite ethernet port.

[Sean7431]

As I mentioned before, I solve the problem by factory resetting the arlo and it stays resolved for a good 2 to 3 months but only to have it come back. And it starts by some devices not being able to connect to internet and if I let it go, arlo itself ultimately won't connect to internet and goes off line.  I have separated assigned ip ( 2-99) from the DHCP ip ( 100-250) as well.  Also separated arlo base and orbi satellite a good 7ft from each other. Alro is wired into orbi so I can't separate them too far either.  It is one wierd problem.  And I had this issue almost right from the beginning I bought the arlo. It started occurring 3 months  or so after I purchased it. And it does have this problem with other brands of routers as well.  I have switched out the router and it's the same issue.