Lost connection to all 4 Arlo Pro 2 Cameras! Tried resetting and worked for a few mins.

[YDITC]

Problem started May 9, 2020:

A couple of the cams had low battery, so I replaced the battery. Usually it takes a few seconds for them to sync in the App. But the app stopped recognizing the 2 cams completely. Since this has happened before 😤, I removed all the cameras and the base station, reset the base station, connected to the base without any issues, but the base couldn't recognize a single cam! All batteries were full.

May 10, 2020: After multiple resets I was able to sync the cams manually by pressing the sync button on the base itself, not through the app, then after all cams were synced, I added the base to the App and all the cams showed up.

This worked for a few minutes, but later the connection to all cameras was lost again, and the third LED on the base was off.

According to the app, the base and cams have the latest firmware. The base's firmware is 1.16.1.3_3394_1a608c1. I can't check the cams' firmware since I lost the connection. I haven't changed anything on my physical placement or bought a new router or anything that might cause this issue.

So besides from removing all cams and resetting the base AGAIN, does anyone have any more ideas? 

💡 I'm not sure how the Arlo app connects to the devices? Directly over my WiFi or does the connection have to go through an Arlo server first? If that's the case, then it could be a server failure.

[TomMac]

You should plug in the base to ethernet first and power up... Once you claim the base ( see it in app/web ) then add the cameras.

Yes they do not have to be sync'ed via the app/web but can be done directly. Make sure it's only a push on the base sync button , not hold.. then the camera.

The app connects via the cloud then to your base , there is no real connection directly to the base itself.

[YDITC]

Hi TomMac, thanks for your reply. I've already done what you described since I've experienced this issue before, and all the cams were online for a very short period of time, only to go back offline again. But the issue still persists this time and the connection to the cameras is only temporary, which is why I was wondering if there was something wrong with the Arlo servers, since I was able to connect the cameras manually but not through the app or website.

[jguerdat]

With the exception of the newer cameras (Ultra and newer) I never use the app or web to sync - I just push buttons. 

As for cameras that seem to always disconnect, there are various possibilities. First, I experience "offline" messages occasionally but a quick log out/in or force close and reopening of the app usually clears the display. Next, if offline, what are the LEDs on the base showing? That's valuable info. Finally, it's possible that signal strength and/or quality between the base and cameras is the issue. This can be caused by 2.4GHz devices (not just WiFi) interfering with the signal, house construction (stucco is a real problem) or placement of the base relative to metallic objects between the straight line path between the base and cameras.

Try bringing a camera closer to the base for testing and see if it still goes offline. 

[YDITC]

Hi jguerdat, thanks for the reply,

that's the problem: NOTHING has changed physically. Everything is still in the same place, no new devices, just the issue with the cameras all of a sudden.

Offline Sync: I did this, and it usually goes fine, but only for a short while. Also the third LED for sync with the cameras sometimes goes off. When I reboot the station, it's on again, and I can see all 4 Arlo Pro 2 cams, but when I try to see a live feed from one of them, nothing happens, when I log off an on again, the app shows no connection on all or some of the cams (nothing constant here) and this also goes for the sync LED on the base station.

Arlo Support wrote me today and told me the usual stuff about resetting the base. I tried it again following the steps in the email just to be sure, the app immediately finds the base, the cameras sync and show in the app only for a few minutes then go offline, and before you ask, the batteries are full. Also, once any of the cameras got connected, I immediately checked for new firmware but the cams and base have the latest (1.125.14.0_34_1189 for the cams and 1.16.1.3_3394_1a608c1 for the base).

[jguerdat]

I'd guess it's a bad base. Keep conversing with support to see if they'll replace it.

[YDITC]

I was literally about to hit send on a long message telling you that everything's working fine, but low and behold, I just had an inkling that I should check on the cameras again and they were all offline and the sync LED on the base was off!!!

But here's an interesting hint: When I tried to reply to the support email, I saw a message that dev.arlo.com was unreachable! (ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED).

Is this really the base station or is something wrong on Arlo's side?

I told support what @jguerdat recommended and they requested my number address to replace the base station. I'll keep you posted.