One camera of four not recording

[improve58]

Just noticed that one of our cameras has not been recording for awhile. Turned device on and off, no effect. Do I have to reboot and if so how? Camera is H5.

[improve58]

PS I also cannot get a live shot; when I try on desktop it says 'request timed out'. When I try on cell phone I just get the turning gear wheel trying to connect. I will be at this relative's house this weekend, but hopefully it can be fixed before that. (this is inside someone's apartment.)

[Dannybear]

You have the ability to remotely soft reset the base station from within the app, this may wake up the problem camera.

If not and the problem camera is Ac powered, then power cycling the charger for a few mins will generally restore operation. This is what I do to get mine functioning again. I have smart plugs attached to them so I can remotely power cycle them including the base stations.

If the problem camera is battery only then you will need to remove the battery for 10sec to reset it.

[improve58]

Thanks @Dannybear. So is the soft re-set to 'remove device' in the app? just turning it off and on has no effect.  Also I should mention that the unit--which is powered--does seem to be connected to the home base by its internal wireless. Just doesn't function. So I can remote soft-reset (via remove then re-install device?) but how can I remotely power cycle that camera?

[StephenB]

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@improve58 wrote:

Thanks @Dannybear. So is the soft re-set to 'remove device' in the app? just turning it off and on has no effect.  

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No, he's suggesting that you use the restart control in the base station settings.

Removing the base would require that you re-add all the cameras after the base.

[improve58]

Ok thanks @StephenB. Found the base station restart link in the app, but no effect. So re-start would seem to be the alternate name for 'power cycle'. Which is different than soft reset or are they one and the same? At any rate it would seem I have to go there in person, which luckily I'll be doing this weekend. Unit is 2.5 years in service, probably should last at least five years, eh? If the camera died, I guess I can see if I can find another H5? on Ebay.

[StephenB]

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@improve58 wrote:

 So re-start would seem to be the alternate name for 'power cycle'. 

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Not quite.  "power cycle" means to actually turn the base off/on (or remove the plug and reinsert it).  Restart just reboots the base.  Some folks have added a wifi smart switch, so they can  power cycle the base remotely.  That can be useful if the base goes offline for some reason.

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@improve58 wrote:

 Which is different than soft reset or are they one and the same? 

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"soft reset" is a term that @Dannybear chose - it's not one that Arlo uses.  AFAICT the restart is what he meant.

[Dannybear]

Stephen & Improve,

What Stephen says is correct, fell into old habits. A “soft reset” is a past term to define the method of equipment reset. It refers to using the software to cause a restart such as with computers. A “hard reset” refers to a button that causes the equipment hardware to restart. (Not to be confused with factory reset that wipes the settings) Same as the reset button on a computer and “power cycle” refers to removal and replacement of power to the equipment same as powering off/on the computer.

I generally find that the arlo “restart” of the base is not effective as a solution, and “power cycling” is what is required to resolve most issues.

Regards the camera, arlo does not provide a “restart” feature so you have to attend site and pull the battery to restart it.

All four of my pro2 cameras suffer the same issue hence why I have smart plugs attached to their chargers which removes the need to attend site.

As a suggestion If you don’t wish to do the same then unplug the Ac power from the camera and rely on battery only to prevent it recurring.

[improve58]

Thanks @Dannybear. Yes our cameras are plugged in, but not by smart plugs. My mother reported that the red light on the home base has been blinking for hours. I recall this also happened and the only cure was to power cycle; if that doesn't work we'll do a full reset. The red blinking as I recall usually means a firmware update but not for 8 hours.  But at least the system is working with three out of four cameras.

[StephenB]

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@improve58 wrote:

The red blinking as I recall usually means a firmware update but not for 8 hours.  

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It often looks red, but Arlo says it is amber.  It means The camera connection can’t be found, is out of range, or some other connection error has occurred.

https://kb.arlo.com/000039100/What-do-the-LEDs-on-my-Arlo-SmartHub-or-Base-Station-mean

[improve58]

So when I go to the site Saturday my order of action would be: (?)

1. Power cycle home base.

2. Then if necessary, power cycle camera (need to turn device off first in app?)

3. Then if necessary, remove camera from power, remove battery and re-install;

4. If all that fails do a hard reset by pushing in button in back of home base.

Though we've had home base issues that were resolved before by power cycling or resets, in those cases home base was not functioning. Current system is functional for three cameras, so this feels like a strictly one camera issue.

[StephenB]

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@improve58 wrote:

2. Then if necessary, power cycle camera (need to turn device off first in app?)

3. Then if necessary, remove camera from power, remove battery and re-install;

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These two steps are the same. 

[improve58]

Ok, so the mystery deepens. I was out there today. First powercycled base station (by removing small connector from unit--can't reach wall connecdtion easily.) That didn't have any affect, but it recycled quickly, showing blue light.

Took battery of the faulty camera in, and put back. It works now. But then another camera notified it was not connected to internet. Took battery out, put back in, works. I didn't test all cameras for motion test, but each one read fine in devices, no error signals. I get home and happen to look in the library and notice now only one camera has actually recorded anything since that time.  Can't figure this out.

So now I'll ask my mother to push in the hard reset hole, then set it up again remotely.

[improve58]

PS I checked 'Devices' and pressed for the live feed which was successful. Then I noticed another camera started recording again. For whatever reason it may have needed the 'jump start' of requesting the live feed. So by tomorrow morning once there is motion again for all the cameras, I have a feeling it may start recording again. But I'm getting the feeling that the base may be faulty or else Arlo is having trouble at their headquarters.

[Dannybear]

If the cameras can be live feed then you should be good to go.
Just check the operating mode selected by the base station contains a rule for each camera to trigger, record and notify as required.

[improve58]

Thanks, yes that seems to be the way it's working out, though it seems odd I had to show the live feed for cameras to record--never had to do that before. The mode setting shows the base is activated by 'Schedule' and each camera says connected to Base. Though I don't see a control on each camera that specifies trigger, record etc. Just now I checked one zone that was not recording. I made sure I selected live feed and we'll see if we have any more problems. This system is 2.5 years old.

[StephenB]

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@improve58 wrote:

The mode setting shows the base is activated by 'Schedule' and each camera says connected to Base. Though I don't see a control on each camera that specifies trigger, record etc. 

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"Schedule" is a special mode that schedules other modes on a timetable.

Each of the scheduled modes for the base includes rules for the cameras - those rules are the controls that specific trigger, record, etc.  If mode doesn't include a camera, then that camera is disarmed whenever that mode is engaged.

https://kb.arlo.com/42/What-are-modes-and-rules-and-how-does-Arlo-use-them

[Dannybear · Accepted solution]

@improve58,

“Thanks, yes that seems to be the way it's working out, though it seems odd I had to show the live feed for cameras to record--never had to do that before. ”

There should not be a need to live feed the camera to get it to record, it should just work as advertised.

Using live feed can be used as a confidence check of the camera to identify issues since the arlo system does not alert when the arlo equipment fails. E.g. you could go the entire life time with all cameras faulty and not know it as you have since found.

The four cameras I have exhibits this issue since purchase and continue to even after arlo gave up trying to fix it. I believe they have worked around the problem by resetting the camera encoder when external power is removed and reapplied.

[improve58]

Agreed @Dannybear. My schedule page clearly shows 'armed' and another page shows all four cameras as 'paired devices' so it is clearly set for proper operation.  Bottom line is all four cameras are detecting and recording motion now. (Even though on my version I could not find individual settings for each camera as Stephen had indicated.)

[StephenB]

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@improve58 wrote:

 (Even though on my version I could not find individual settings for each camera as Stephen had indicated.)

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If you are using the armed mode, then go into the "mode" section, and edit it.  Then you'll see the rules that have the motion sensitivity settings, notifications, recording times, etc.