VMB4000 Base Station Cannot Connect to the Internet

[Steve333]

My Arlo VMB Base Station stopped working last week. When I fire it up now the lights from left to right are as follows:

* Power: Green

* Internal: Unlit

* Cameras: Orange

I had tried numerous factory resets and turning it on and off, but I can't get the internet light to turn green. I've also trawled through the posts on here an nothing seems to help.

I'm using a Three router and have no made any recent changes to the configuration. The unit is connected directly to my router with a network cable - I've tested the cable with a laptop and it's working fine.

Prior to the factory resets, the camera light was green, so I think it's just a connectivity/internet issue. It has not given me too much trouble in the past - it just required the occasional factory reset and that solved things. I'm totally stuck this time,

Can anyone help me to resolve this please? Any suggestions/advice gratefully received!

Thanks,

Steve.

[Steve333]

P.S. When I ping arlo.com I do get a reply back. I can also telnet successfully on ports 80 and 443. Are there any other troubleshoot steps people would recommend please?

[jguerdat]

The unlit Internet LED means there's no communication between the base and router. Nothing will work until it's green. Start by rebooting both the router and base, in that order. Check the Ethernet cable on both ends to ensure it's fully plugged in. Removing each end and reinserting may help as well as using a different cable and router port. It's also possible that the port on the base has just flat died but try all the other stuff first.

BTW, since you've reset the base, you also need to remove all devices in your account. Once the green Internet LED is shown, add the base normally and then sync your cameras.

[Steve333]

Hi - thanks for getting back to me. I've tried rebooting in that order (presumably it's to make sure the device gets a unique IP address) but still no luck. I've tried with two different cables, and I know both are working because I tested them with other devices.

I've already removed the base from my phone app, so I'm ready to go again once/assuming I can get the base to connect again.

Are there any next steps I can try to fix this please?

Thanks,

Steve.

[StephenB]

Does the base show up in your router's attached device list?

[Steve333]

Assuming the MAC number under the serial number on the specification label is the MAC address (it has the right number of characters but not the usual format), then no, it doesn't appear in the list of devices attached to my router unfortunately.

It's starting to look like a dodgy network terminal isn't it? ...unless anyone else has any suggestions?

[StephenB]

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@Steve333 wrote:

It's starting to look like a dodgy network terminal isn't it? ...unless anyone else has any suggestions?

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Unfortunately it does sound like the ethernet NIC in the base has failed.  

If you didn't test the LAN port in the router (connecting it to your laptop ethernet for example), then that would be the last thing I can think of to try.

[Steve333]

Yep, the cable and router ethernet socket have all been tested and all work, so definitely a fault with the base station.

Does factory-resetting the base station genuinely clear down IP addresses and the like from memory? Is there a more complex "super-duper-factory reset" I can try? How about a hardware diagnostic mode I can enable - it would be good to prove whether the device really is ready for the bin.

I've order a VMB4500-100NAS from the Amazon Renewed service as that appears to be compatible with my cameras. Hopefully Amazon will have made sure the device isn't hacked!

Is there an easy way to get my current base station fixed as back-up do you think? It was a lot of money at the time, and it's only five years old - I would have liked to have got more use out of it than I did.

Thanks,

Steve.

[StephenB]

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@Steve333 wrote:

Does factory-resetting the base station genuinely clear down IP addresses and the like from memory? 

The base only uses DHCP, so it should be requesting a new IP address every time it is started (and periodically refreshing the address).

The paper-reset should restore everything to factory settings.  You do need to remove the base (and any attached cameras) from the account when you do the reset.

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@Steve333 wrote:

Is there an easy way to get my current base station fixed as back-up do you think?

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It isn't intended to be user-repairable.  One user had an issue where the socket came completely out of the base, and said they were able to resolder it.  So perhaps possible, depending on what exactly has gone wrong and what skills you (or the repair shop) has.

I hope you don't use the siren on the base (the VMB4500, VMB4540, and VMB5000 don't have that feature).

[Steve333]

Nope, definitely no need for a siren - I have a traditional burglar alarm for that. I might have a little look inside to see if I can repair the base station, but it looks like it's for the bin.