Rule Design, Geofence and Offline Devices

[Retired_Member]

Hi there, 

I'm a new Arlo user with a Pro Smart Hub (VMB4540r2, firmware 1.16.2.5_603_62dfaa0) and Pro 3 Floodlight Camera (H4, firmware 1.070.18.12_1034_c8bcad7). The hub is wired to my Ubiquiti Edgerouter X, wireless is Ubiquiti AP-Lite. We primarily access the camera through our phones, an iPhone 10 XR and iPhone 10 XS.

We're currently using geofence to arm when we're away, schedule when we're home (disarmed between 05:30 - 23:30, armed 23:30-05:30). 

We're running into a few things and hoping for some assistance:

1. When armed and motion is detected, the light only stays on for the time motion is detected and video is recorded, plus about 30 seconds. The duration is set to 10 minutes (Devices / My Flodlight Name /  Light Settings). The video recording can stop if there's no motion, but I'd like the light to stay on longer. How can I get the light to stay on longer?
2.  Is it possible to have the floodlight turn on without recording video during specific hours? For example:
   1. arm outside of geofence, schedule inside of geofence
      1. 00:00 - 05:30 arm (detect motion/audio, record video, enable light)
      2. 05:30 - 23:30 "light arm" (detect motion, enable light, do not record video or send notifications) 
      3. 23:30 - 00:00 arm
3. My wife's phone does not move outside of the geofence even when it's with her and 6+ miles away. I can locate her device through iCloud and verify that it's outside the fence, but it doesn't seem to be updating Arlo. Location is set to "always allow" in the iOS Settings / Arlo permissions. We were both away from the home yesterday but the system wouldn't automatically arm. Any suggestions to resolve the location / geofence issue? 
4. A bit unrelated, but more times than not the camera and hub appear offline when opening the app. I'll still get notifications when leaving the geofence, but unsure if the camera is actually online and monitoring for motion. Anyway to verify the camera is actually active and armed? 

I know there are separate issues in here but unsure if it's better to keep it in one discussion or start different ones for each topic.

One way to find out 😉

[JamesC]

1. When motion is detected, the light will remain on for the duration of the motion. The duration you're selecting on the camera widget is for manual activation. For more information, take a look here: How do I trigger the floodlight on my Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight Camera?

2. This can be done by creating custom modes for your Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight. After you have the desired custom modes created for each behavior you want, input each custom mode in the desired schedule time frame.

3. For Geofencing to work correctly, both devices need to be logged in to the Arlo mobile app. One phone should be the primary device and the other should use it's own account with the Grant Access feature: How do I add friends to my Arlo account?

4. If you sign out and sign back into the app, do you still experience the same behavior?

JamesC

[Retired_Member]

Hi @JamesC ,

Thanks for the response! Two parts feedback/feature request, one mea culpa, one question...

1. Feedback/request: It'd be great to be able to have the manual light activation either a) stay on until I shut it off or b) have a longer duration option. I know it'll drain the battery, but that darn light is really helpful. 
2. Feedback/request: It doesn't seem like the rule allows me to either a) have the light stay on for a longer period (eg, working in the yard, go around the corner out of range, light goes off on me) or b) the option to disable notifications. I have to set either a push notification or email. I'm sending this rule to a specific email to get filtered, but it'd be nice to say no notifications. 
3. Sorry! Geofence issue was our fault. iOS asked about the location permission and she selected the wrong one. It's fixed, but if you know a way to permanently set this so iOS doesn't ask her every few days...
4. Question: If the hub is hard wired and the floodlight is using the hub, does it matter if our phones are on the 2.4 network? I'll try signing in and out of the app, too. 

Thanks again; I really appreciate you taking the time to give some good support ✌️