PTT not working with iOS, camera rejects firmware, cam keeps disconnecting, incorrect clip lengt

[Muadib]

I extensively researched cameras and finally decided on these even though they aren’t homekit compatible. I’m so disappointed and frustrated.

1. Push to talk with my iOS Arlo app doesn’t work. I was embrassed when I went to show my family how we could talk to people when I mount them outside tomorrow morning and found that the feature doesn’t work.
2. Of the six cameras I purchased I stopped working on these when I couldn’t get the 3rd to update the firmware. Repeatedly says the camera rejects it.
3. Camera 2 is plugged in inside upstairs and only has one bar of signal strength with the base station and it keeps disconnecting. I haven’t even tested a camera outside. I need the cameras further away than this one is and assume they won’t even connect at that distance.. I mistakenly thought since we invested in the best ORBI router and satellites (our WIFI is excellent and works well beyond our property) that wireless cameras would work. Seems that the camera to base station connection is the key and although we don’t have a huge house they won’t work reliably or at all for us.
4. When I go to look at clips that were recorded on the only camera out of 3 that works so far it shows that a clip recorded a few minutes ago is 50 minutes long. Obviously impossible and not the reliability I want from something we depend on for safety and security.

I’m only into the Arlo Pro 2 cameras a few hours now and am so frustrated and disappointed. With the mounts these six cameras cost $1,200 and unless I’m missing something I’m calling it a night and instead of installing the Arlo Pro 2 cameras in the morning I’m returning them to Best Buy. I’m truly open to solutions but I never imagined it would be this difficult to get the system to work.

[steve_t]

Unfortunately, the only way to get things to work is with time and understanding of how it's supposed to work.

2-way audio is a regular issue for iOS users as for some reason, the app doesn't have permission to access the phone mic. Check that first

Firmware update failures are often to do with your internet connection. Some people with very slow connections have taken their system to a relative's house or to work get get the updates and then taken the system home.

One bar of signal strength shows there is either large distance or something blocking the signal. Where people have building materials that block wifi signals eg mesh in the walls, they sometimes find a second base station closer to the camera works. The base obviously needs an ethernet connection and a power supply but there's no limit to the number of bases you have, just a limit on the cameras depending on your subscription level.

The display of ridiculously long clip lengths (that is incorrect) is a recent issue that Netgear are aware of. Hopefully they fix that soon. I think it only happens when the Pro2 are AC powered (though that's little consolation)

[RChobby]

Steve,
Your comment about more than one base surprises me. From what I’ve read, you can’t add more bases without a separate account. Then you would not be able to view all cams with one login. The Netgear solution is to move the base to an intermediate location between the furthest spaced cameras. Correct me if I am wrong!

[steve_t]

I have multiple bases on one account. You can see all the cameras from your login. When you set modes, you set them per base station.

Having a single base station in the most central location is a good start but not always optimal when there are great distances or building materials in the way

[jguerdat]

Early on, the number of bases and cameras counted against your free account. Later, the base limitation was removed - only cameras are now counted.

[Muadib]

Thank you for the responses. I’ve spent my weekend working on these cameras. I want them to work but I haven’t been successful.

1. Push to talk doesn’t work but is a known issue. My mic was enabled. So that wasn’t the issue.
2. Firmware update eventually worked. Issue wasn’t WIFI as I tested it when troubleshooting. We have a 250 Mbps plan and tested 260 Mbps over WIFI troubleshooting. Our ORBI router has become unstable requiring regular restarts and even setups when it forgets its information, in this case the internet and WIFI worked fine. After removing the battery from the ARLO 2 camera and repeatedly trying eventually got it to update and work.
3. The camera upstairs is around 100 feet from the base station. Still one bar signal strength with occasionally 2. There are 2 interior drywall walls and an uninsulated floor between the baseI and the camera. I can’t get motion detection to work in any way on this camera and am giving up today. I appreciate the suggestion about an additional base station. It would take me days to run an Ethernet cable to that area (which is why I was so excited about the potential of the Arlo Pro 2 cameras). I might as well pay someone to run Cat 5e/6 Ethernet cables and go with POE cameras if I go that route.
4. The issue with incorrect clip lengths is a known issue with no solution.

I have all 6 cameras up and running and feeding video but have run into more issues and some look to be deal breakers.

5. As I changed positions of the cameras I unplugged and switched the plug in power cords between cameras. This resulted in an alert on the camera feed that activity zones were no longer enabled. After clicking on the alert and acknowledging it, the alert remained. No matter how many times I tried this it wouldn’t clear. Now when I click on it it doesn’t even give me the text. They are distracting and I want these alerts cleared.
6. On the camera with the low signal to the base station I can’t get a single activity detection on the busy street day or night. I’ve gone through the troubleshooting steps and watched the video and I can’t reposition the camera any better. It is perpendicular to foot and vehicle traffic. Detection sensitivity is 100%. It simply doesn’t detect anything.
7. Another camera doesn’t detect most activity. It faces another street. There is no rhyme or reason as to why it will detect one car and not another moving across the same field of view. It also stops recording too early when people cross the camera and are in the middle. There is obviously movement but it doesn’t detect it and I lose a lot of the activity. If I enable audio detection then the sound of the vehicle or the person walking will trigger it. The microphones are excellent.; however, the video detection works poorly. We had a windstorm and I was hoping that all of the trees and bushes would trigger something but it very rarely happened. I don’t get how a concern with these cameras could ever be too much detection. At 100% sensitivity they are very unreliable and miss almost everything. Since these only record when motion is detected I can’t see how these would be valuable in any way. So many pixels are moving and changing yet no activity is detected. I don’t get it.
8. I don’t understand how these are 1080p quality video. I took my iPhone and shot video next to my Arlo Pro 2 camera in 1080p mode in our driveway. The driveway camera is plugged into power and has full signal strength to the base station. I downloaded the clip taken at the same time with the Arlo and the detail when zooming in is substantially less. I don’t think I am getting true 1080p video. If I am, I probably need to consider 4K cameras instead as I wouldn’t be able to identify a person in video unless they were extremely close. If I’m missing something. Here just let me know.

After spending my weekend trying to make these cameras perform I’m thinking that I either doing something very wrong or I need another system for our needs. Thanks again for the replies.

[jguerdat]

I'm only going to hit high points here.

2) Your Internet connection is fine for Arlo usage but it's not just the download speed that's of interest. For firmware updates, download is king but upload is needed for video streamin. Unless you have a very unusual connection, you upload speed should be fine based on the download speed.

3) 100 feet inside a house is pushing it. It's normal for that distance to have 1-2 bars. You may only have a couple of drywalled walls inbetween but don't forget what's inside those walls, too, such as wiring and ductwork. A bit of repositiong of either the base and/or camera could make a noticeable difference. 

As for a second base, there's no need to run a cable. Connecting it to your Orbi satellite or a WiFi or powerline extender is all that's usually needed.

5) Some folks have said reinstalling the app clears this. I ahven't tried it.

6) While signal strength could be the issue, is the camera indoors looking through a window? The glass will block the needed IR for motion detection. Also, unless you have some relatively unusual situation, using these for street traffic usually isn't recommended - position it to detect people in the yard.

7) Cars are detected at great range mainly due to reflected sun IR (and being a big target). People detection is only about 25 feet due to lack of reflection so it's from the torso. 

It also sounds like you're using the "record until motion stops" setting. Since you have an issue with people detection for whatever reason, that's likely the cause. Use the fixed time setting - in many cases I find it's more satisfactory.

😎 Compare the sizes of your phone video to the same length/subject from the camera. The camera uses a good amount of compression to reduce file size and, hence, upload speed requirements. Not everyone is blessed with your speed so a lowest common denominator is used. I would love to see a setting that allows me to vary the compression but that's not known to be in the offing.

[Muadib]

Thanks for the help. After a lot of deliberation and frustration I decided to return the Arlo Pro 2 to the store. I didn’t want to purchase another base station and the silience on Homekit support was the deciding factor.
Couple of things that I learned that is helpful ...
- The camera having the most problem detection was pointing out a window so problem identified. I mistakenly thought these used pixel detection versus infrared. Bummer if you want to move a camera to monitor out a window or your car but great info to have. Thanks.
- If you have a Netgear Orbi it is possible to connect the Arlo base station. to it if you are willing to co-locate the Orbi satellite and the Arlo base within the range of the Ethernet cable. Thanks for the tip.
- If you need to catch activity at a distance or get license plate numbers or descriptions at a distance (eg from my home to the end of our driveway/street then 1080p along with WiFi and compression may not be adequate as in our case.
- If you plan on spacing cameras in the 100 ft range plus or minus from the base you should plan on a second base depending on your home.

Still a good system just not for us. Thanks for the help on here. Hope some of this helps someone.