Arlo Pro 3 FB1001AerlH4. Ser. #: A3530A77A115E

[nmcdc]

I recently purchased an Arlo Pro 3 totally unaware that it only works with a 2.4 G WiFi network.  I have xFinity internet service and WiFi comes from their modem which has both 2.4 and 5 G speeds the network accesses depending on which is available at the time.  So, my Arlo only works part of the time depending on whether it accesses the 2.4 or 5 G.  Is it possible to have a second 2.4 only network with my modem to which I can link the Arlo?  The Arlo is mostly worthless to me at present.  Thank you.

[StephenB]

@nmcdc wrote:

I recently purchased an Arlo Pro 3 totally unaware that it only works with a 2.4 G WiFi network.  I have xFinity internet service and WiFi comes from their modem which has both 2.4 and 5 G speeds the network accesses depending on which is available at the time.  So, my Arlo only works part of the time depending on whether it accesses the 2.4 or 5 G. 

I think there is some confusion here.  The cause of your problem isn't linked to the dual-band wifi from your Xfinity.  The Xfinity always has both the 2.4 ghz and the 5 ghz radios on.   And if the camera is connected to your home wifi, it will always use the 2.4 ghz band to reach it.  It won't ever try to use 5 ghz.

You are talking about a Pro3 floodlight correct? 

Are you using it with a base station, or is it directly connected to your home network?  

Do you have other cameras or just the floodlight?

Can you give us some more details on what is going wrong?

[nmcdc]

Thank you for your prompt reply!

Yes, it is the Arlo Pro 3 floodlight.

Yes, it is the only camera we have.

Yes, it is linked directly to my home WiFi.   It worked very well for nearly 3 months, then started giving me problems.

I am confused.  Page 19 of the Manual says, Your floodlight can only connect to a 2.4 GHz WiFi network. Many routers broadcast WiFi networks in both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, so your phone might connect to the 5 GHz WiFi
band. During setup, connect your phone to your 2.4 GHz WiFi network, then connect your Pro 3 Floodlight Camera to that same 2.4 GHz WiFi network.  So, does that mean it was connected to a 2.4 G for nearly 3 months?  Now it drops periodically and then restarts for a time.  Why do you suppose that is?  Do I need to remove the Arlo from my computer and my iPhone and do a complete restart?

[StephenB]

---

@nmcdc wrote:

Yes, it is linked directly to my home WiFi.   It worked very well for nearly 3 months, then started giving me problems.

---

One thing to keep an eye on is the subscription status.  The trial subscription lasts for 3 months.

---

@nmcdc wrote:

I am confused.  Page 19 of the Manual says, Your floodlight can only connect to a 2.4 GHz WiFi network. Many routers broadcast WiFi networks in both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, so your phone might connect to the 5 GHz WiFi band. During setup, connect your phone to your 2.4 GHz WiFi network, then connect your Pro 3 Floodlight Camera to that same 2.4 GHz WiFi network.  

---

I agree this is confusing.  One aspect is that the instruction can be safely ignored most of the time - the problem it is trying to prevent (inability to set up the camera when the phone is on a different network) can happen sometimes, but it generally won't happen with a modern dual-band router that uses the same network name for both bands.  And when your dual-band network is set up with the same network name, the instructions can't be followed - neither iOS nor Android phones have a way to turn off 5 Ghz wifi.  And routers are also starting to drop controls that let you turn off one of the radios.  I've commented on this before to Arlo, but for some reason they are stuck on providing guidance that IMO creates far more confusion than it does help. 

FWIW, I just ignore that advice when setting when setting up my own cameras, and I've never had the problem it is aiming to prevent.

---

@nmcdc wrote:

So, does that mean it was connected to a 2.4 G for nearly 3 months?  

---

It's always been connected to 2.4 ghz.  The floodlight doesn't have a 5 ghz radio, so it literally can't connect any other way.

One aspect here is that 5 ghz has a much shorter range than 2.4 ghz.  Although 5 ghz can offer higher speeds when you are close enough to the router,  arlo cameras usually aren't close enough to take advantage of those speeds.  The Ultra actually does have dual band support, but it turned out not to be useful in practice.

---

@nmcdc wrote:

Now it drops periodically and then restarts for a time.  

---

Are you getting errors with live streaming?  Or off-line indications from the app?

When you do see a problem, do you also try to use the web browser interface?  That would help you figure out if it's really the camera (or its cloud connection), or whether its a problem with the app (or phone connection).