Local USB recordings deleted after a week. There is loads os storage space left. Is this a feature?

[RobbieW]

All my recordings from both "Arlo Pro 2" cameras older than a week have been deleted. Neither camera is on a plan and the recordings are stored locally on a USB stick attached to the Pro2 base station. There is LOADS of storage space left on the USB memory stick, so no need to delete them. Is this a "feature"? I could understand if it was Arlo's cloud storage, but this is my own local storage. Although I downloaded some, I've lost some recordings that I really needed.

I've also noticed that several times I'm alerted to motion detected, but the video of the event never materialises.

I'm sure this didn't used to happen. It's so important to be able to rely on your CCTV 100% - and I have to say, I'm really losing faith in Arlo. It's not as if it's a cheap system!

[jguerdat]

First, Arlo isn't CCTV. As for USB recordings, there's nothing that would be able to delete videos on your drive. It's possible that the base has issues causing this but I would suspect the drive first. Have you run a file system check on the drive and/or reformatted it? The file system check should likely also include the option to check the entire drive rather than just the file system.

[RobbieW]

I wish you were right, but sadly Arlo is definitely deleting my recordings. See screen grabs from my phone attached showing the config and the deletions.

Yesterday (19th May) I had no recordings older than 13th May, but had several recordings on the 13th May itself.

Today (20th May) I have no recordings older than 14th May, and all the recordings on the 13th May have been deleted.

Tomorrow the recordings from the 14th will be gone - and so on.

This isn't some random glitch - each day, every day, the recordings from both Pro2 cameras are deleted from my library on a "T-7" basis. I only every have a weeks history - and that surely can't be how things are supposed to work.

[Dannybear]

The function of the USB is to support local storage of recordings. These recordings are only accessible by removing the USB device and viewing them on another device that can play them such as a computer.

The arlo app displays the arlo cloud recordings which are limited to the previous 7 days on the free subscription plan.

Hope this helps.

[RobbieW]

Ahh OK. That makes sense. Thanks. Just checked and the recording are there.

That's a really clunky way to access them though (ejecting the USB and using a PC). There should be a way to access local recordings via the App - even if that function is only available when at home and connected to the same LAN as the Base Station.

I really want to like Arlo . . . .  but each functional discovery I make just seems to be a little disappointing.

It's wireless . . .  but some of the best functionality (activity zones, recording 3 seconds before detection) are only available if you run a permanent fixed power cable to the camera.

It has a great App so you can look back day by day at alerts and recordings . . . . but only for 7 days unless you pay Arlo £15/month, and then only for 30 days.

Sad. Arlo is an OK system, but overall I think I'd have been better served buying a 4 camera PoE 4K 2TB CCTV system. The cost would be about the same, I'd still have motion detection and alerts and access via an App, but the recording quality and storage options are far superior.

[michaelkenward]

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@RobbieW wrote:

That's a really clunky way to access them though (ejecting the USB and using a PC). There should be a way to access local recordings via the App - even if that function is only available when at home and connected to the same LAN as the Base Station.

There is.

What is Direct Storage Access and how do I use it?

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@RobbieW wrote:

Sad. Arlo is an OK system, but overall I think I'd have been better served buying a 4 camera PoE 4K 2TB CCTV system. The cost would be about the same, I'd still have motion detection and alerts and access via an App, but the recording quality and storage options are far superior.

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Arlo does not claim to be a substitute for CCTV.

[RobbieW]

Thanks. Sadly the 4500 base station that came with my Pro2 bundle (that I only bought 2 month ago) doesn't support that feature.

I find it interesting that there seem to be lots of "Arlo isn't supposed to be CCTV" replies on this board. The "security camera" function of Arlo is the main reason most people buy it, and is the most heavily promoted function on all the Arlo websites and promotional materials. What else is Arlo if not a variant of CCTV? A system to store 7 days worth of detected events, but it might miss a few here and there, and some might be really grainy and much lower resolution than they're supposed to be . . . 

I'm not trying to be super-critical here. Arlo is great. But it has some really deep flaws if you are using it for security.