ANOTHER significant missing video issue

[MVT]

I have 3 cameras.  Front door, side and back.  Vacation rental 400 miles away.

front door camera is at 90 degrees to entry, looks down walk and then sees driveway about 15-20 feet away and detects cars entering driveway.  I could clearly see occupants depart, all cars leave ~ 630 PM.  another recording from this camera at  755 PM that captured a car's headlights driving down the road causing shadows.  the next recording is of someone exiting the front door at 1030 PM and walking to toward a car in the driveway.  closer inspection notes there are TWO cars in the driveway.  So this camera missed 2 cars coming and at least 2 occupants entering the front door.  This is totally unacceptable for a device promoted for security.

What is even more infuriating, is that from 854 PM until 1017 PM the camera on the side recorded 9 times.  these videos ranged in time of around a minute, to a number at the MAX range or 5 minutes totaling nearly 30 minutes of recordings!  What did it record?  the activity of a spider web, it even noted this spider activity as a person one time.

I can only infer, that these long video captures caused problems with the base unit recording and uploading activity on another camera.  Why can a spider web get a 5 minute maximum video when earlier in the day, there were people present at another camera for over 5 minutes and all that was recorded was a few 15 SECOND snippets?  I've never seen a recording of people for anywhere near the maximum, yet Arlo is mesmerized by spider webs, rain coming over the gutter and mist events which give me long videos of these events.

Again, this performance is clearly unacceptable for a "security" device.  I don't think it is a camera hardware problem.  I believe it is a software issue where the AI ARLO is implementing isn't up to the task.  The other issue may be that the base is limited in it's communication capability with multiple cameras.  My front and back cameras have good signal strength and are within 15-20 feet of the base.  the side camera, which had extended recordings, has the worse signal strength of the 3.  All cameras have ARLO outdoor power cables and powered at 100% battery, there is not a power problem.  All cameras and the base station (VMB4540r2) have latest firmware.  There is not a internet problem as the location has HS cable internet and was unoccupied at the time, so no competition for the bandwidth.

Previously there were Arlo Pro cameras at the front and back, in the same location.  they did not suffer these problems. I supposedly now have a superior product, but it is delivering inferior results.  Being 400 miles away,  all I can do is hope I don't need to rely on these for actual security.  I've already deselected audio detection because that seems to improve missed motion detection.  Very disappointing.  I replaced the older cameras with  the Arlo Pro 3 because they could be powered by AC and I wouldn't have to worry about batteries.  In order to do this I spent  $700 for the 3 cameras, $150 for 3 AC power adapters, AND had to sing up for a PAID $10 web service.  So it is no wonder I am upset.

[JamesC]

MVT,

Without being at the location, it could be difficult to troubleshoot the issue. Have you tried increasing the sensitivity within modes/rules for the camera that isn't recorded motion as desired?

JamesC

[MVT]

why blame it on sensitivity when it seems to records every time EXCEPT at a time when there was significant recording traffic on another camera?  Whatever sensitivity setting used, the camera should not have missed two vehicles arriving, with multiple people walking towards the camera and across the face of the camera to enter the door. 

The camera in question recorded plenty of activity during the day.  What is troubling is that the missed recording happened at a time when another camera was recording.  All cameras are set to the default 80, this setting has been sensitive enough to pick up shadows and insects just fine - except an unacceptable missed period of time where multiple people and vehicles where in the frame of vision which also happens to coincide with extensive traffic on another camera on the system.  All 3 cameras connected to the hub are AC powered with an Arlo brand cable. 

Does the sensitivity determine when the camera stops recording or is it only a trigger setting?   If set to record until motion stops, why does a spider web get a 5 minute recording, yet people present will only get multiple recordings ranging from 15 seconds to a minute or two - I don't believe I've ever seen a max recoding even though people have been present long enough to potentially trigger a max recording event.  When a camera stops recording, then sees continued motion and restarts, there is period of time that is missed.   Is there a window where nothing records while the system is busy uploading previous data?  I realize that smaller snippets of video populate the library faster and could be advantageous.

The question becomes where is the system processing smart detection?  at the camera, at the hub or at the arlo server?  this instance leads me to believe that smart detection is done at the server, and if there is too much traffic locally detection can't be processed regardless of sensitivity setting.

My previous system was an arlo pro.  since these were only battery powered I had limited recording to only 15 seconds and turned them off at times to save battery since it might be 4-5 months before I could get back to tend to the batteries.  I upgraded to the pro 3 because the promise of AC power meant no battery worries - and no need to turn off to save batteries and lose visibility.  Currently I have the smart plan, I expect that I should be able to have all 3 cameras recording simultaneously for the maximum period of time without missing people and vehicles.  Missed recordings at a period of high traffic on one camera lead me to believe that this system is not up to that task.

[MVT]

again today - Back camera records a person at 1040A on the back patio for 22 seconds - recording stops while person is still moving.  Next recording from the camera is at 1045A  this one for 1:06 of the person who was on the doorstep now coming back up the stairs to the patio with another person who was likely inside the house.  what happened in those missing 4 minutes?  why wasn't anyone recorded leaving the house?  lighting is the same, no other cameras recording.  was the camera asleep?  no reason since they are AC powered.  Do I need to turn of smart detection to get all motion recorded?  if so what's the point of smart detection?

Tell me what is acceptable to Arlo.  Advertisements imply 100% detection!  certainly nowhere does Arlo say I may miss 4-5 minutes of activity.  MY expectation is that the camera records all motion! especially big objects. like people.  I expect some false alarms, but missed recording is unacceptable especially with a paid plan rather than a free plan.  If Arlo can't guarantee detection and recording, then we should not be paying a premium for "smart" detection. 

[JamesC]

If you're still experiencing an issue, I encourage you to open a support ticket to troubleshoot further. Please contact the Arlo Support Team to further investigate. You will find several options for contacting support in the provided link.

JamesC

[MVT]

It took a week plus for Arlo support to reply, and then after typing a lengthy reply to their request to reboot everything I pressed send to get a message the the support server was unavailable!  go figure........

[MVT]

@JamesC   I waited a week for a reply from TS and their suggestion is to reboot and reset everything to the factory condition and conduct a speed test.  Really?  As noted the system is 400 miles away.  this is not possible.  There is not a speed problem, and arlo specifies a very low 1 or 2 mbps upload speed per camera (some places say 1 others say 2).

The problem seems to be "arlo smart"  algorithm, not the hardware.

[ZachG]

Same issues here. 2 events in 2 days on 2 different arlo systems. One at my home, another at my business. Both recorded immediately before and after each event but missed the actual event, all while motion was clearly happening. Plus 3 weeks ago my vehicle was broken into causing $7k of damage. My arlo doorbell that looks at my car missed that too. So frustrating.

[DCSailors]

I agree. The one few times I wanted to check a video playback when I knew someone had come to take a package off my porch, nothing. Same with the other day it recorded someone coming into my house but not leaving. You can't blame it on the camera angle since at other times I get recording for the exact same spot. What kind of security is that? If it selectively decides to record a leaf blowing across the lawn, but not a person taking a package off my porch?

[StephenB]

The reliable detection range for the PIR sensors is 20-25 feet, so if the camera is further than that you need to move it. 

The camera is most sensitive to motion across the field of view, and more sensitive at the bottom of the field of view than the top.

You might also try increasing the motion sensitivity setting (try 100%, then back it down if you get too many false alarms).

[kduffy500]

Frankly, I have experienced these similar problems with 'gaps' with video motion.  

For optimal security, I decided to upgrade to hard wire security for my home and investment properties.  It's unfortunate as I spent a small fortune with ARLO, but reliable security is critical for me and my tenants. 

Net net, ARLO is good, but not reliable for all activity.  

[alchemist50]

Re: missing recordings.  Are you using activity zones?  If so, try deleting them.

I had a similar problem with three (Pro, Pro 2, Pro 3) of my six cameras.  At least one or two recordings were missing from the cloud every day.  I have local storage on the base station, so I could see that the cameras actually were triggering and recording to local storage in those cases, but not to the cloud. It then dawned on me that these three cameras had activity zones set up. I tried expanding the activity zones, even to the point of making the entire field of view one big activity zone, but some cloud recordings were still missing.  I finally deleted all activity zones, and have not missed a single cloud recording since.

And yes, the original activity zones that I had set up should have easily included the motion in the missing recordings.