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What is the recommended upload speed?

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improve58
Luminary
Luminary

Spoke with tech last night. I hadn't seen or heard this yet: Recommended I do an internet speed test for upload speed; says cameras each need 3mbps and base station needs 5mbps. So with my four cameras and base station I supposedly need 17mbps upload speed but Arlo recommends 30mbps to cover other devices. We only have a laptop additional to the base station. I have to say that 30mbps is a relatively very high AND COSTLY upload speed to require. Didn't say that on the package. Our upload speed varies from 14 to 18 in the two tests I did an hour apart. There are probably times when it goes down to 8 or up to 20. This system was engineered for such a high required upload speed?

 

I told him first thing I will do is switch off the AC power on one of the cameras and see if running on batteries solves the problem as most of the research on this site points to. Then I will try power-cycling the base station then do a re-set.

 

As has been oft-reported here, changing the wi-fi channel was also recommended. Optimum does provide that option, but then one has to wonder why the automatic function wouldn't choose the best channel to use at any given moment. Ours currently uses Channel 1, which is one of the three recommended by Arlo, others being 6 and 11.  There is some software available that would allow me to see in real time the wifi channels in use around my immediate vicinity, however why wouldn't the auto setting work for this?

 

I do see where Arlo recommends keeping base a good distance from cable telephone interference or multiple wi-fi routers.

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StephenB
Guru Guru
Guru

@improve58 wrote:

Spoke with tech last night. I hadn't seen or heard this yet: Recommended I do an internet speed test for upload speed; says cameras each need 3mbps and base station needs 5mbps.

Something is off here.

 

Per https://kb.arlo.com/000062043/What-are-the-minimum-requirements-for-installing-and-using-my-Arlo-sys...


A high-speed Internet connection to sustain the following average bandwidth use per camera:

  • Arlo Ultra cameras: 3 Mbps upload per camera
  • Arlo Pro 3 cameras: 2 Mbps upload per camera
  • All other Arlo cameras: 1 Mbps upload per camera

The kb article says nothing about the base itself requiring 5 Mbps of bandwidth, and I believe the tech was giving you incorrect information there.  If you have Pro 2 cameras, then your system should only require 4 Mbps of uplink bandwidth.

 

FWIW, the bandwidth for the Ultra is assuming 4K recording; the bandwidth for the Pro 3 is assuming 2K recording.

 

@JamesC , can you confirm?

improve58
Luminary
Luminary

@StephenB Thanks for the info. Tech support seems way off then. I'd also wonder what the Dell laptop uplink bandwith use would be, maybe another 3-4? Which would max my total upload draw around 7-8mbps, which makes more sense.

StephenB
Guru Guru
Guru

@improve58 wrote:

@StephenB Thanks for the info. Tech support seems way off then. 


I believe so, especially if you are using pro 2 cameras.  Though it'd be good for @JamesC to confirm.

 


@improve58 wrote:

 I'd also wonder what the Dell laptop uplink bandwith use would be, maybe another 3-4?


It depends on what you are doing with it.  Generally uplink bandwidth on PCs is small compared with downlink.  There are some exceptions (for instance, if you seed torrents). 

 

If you are wondering specifically about my.arlo.com, then the uplink bandwidth would be near zero.  The client will send some requests up to the Arlo cloud, but they are small compared with the video being streamed from the cloud to the client (when viewing the library).

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