Arlo Pro 3 Bad Connection

[qcl]

Hi,

I bought a 1-camerra set of Arlo Pro 3 which contains a Arlo Pro 3 camera and a base station (VMB4500r2) few days ago and I set it up on the day before yesterday.Everything was all right until yesterday afternoon, the base station started amber blinking and the app shows that it cannot connect to the camera.

I tried to remove the camera and add it again, it works but I have to put the camera and base station very close (within about 15cm), otherwise it disconnected.

I tired to reset bot base station and camera to factory mode and add they back, but current situation is that once I move camera out of base station more than around 20cm, then it disconnected.

How could I resolve this? Could anyone guide me? Thanks!

[Edinburgh_lad1]

Your base station will follow the same WiFi channel as your router (not sure what the benefit of that is, especially that general advice is to avoid channel congestion, precisely contrary to what Arlo does). If you live in a network congested area, this can only add to problems. So, you could try the following:

- change your router's WiFi channel to one that is not or at least least frequently used by other WiFi networks in your area

- if you're able to, move the base station nearer the camera (for example, by means of using Powerline plugs) 

Personally, I think it's ridiculous that you'd have to do the above in order to improve things, but unfortunately, that's what it is.

Luckily, I don't live in a network congested area and so was able to experiment to choose different, less congested WiFi channels, and that improved the connection for me between the base station and my Arlo cameras.

Good luck!

[jguerdat]

Actually, choosing the same channel as a nearby device (router) REDUCES interference, as been described multiple times here before. However, having the base/hub too close to the router can cause issues which can be mitigated by moving the base/hub away from the router. I had to do this myself a while ago even though I had had them co-located right next to each other for years. 

Another possibility is that something else is interfering with the signal. Check for nearby wireless devices that also use the 2.4GHz band.

And finally, it's possible that there's just a fault with the system (either base or camera). Swapping at the store may be the fastest way to resolve this.

[StephenB]

---

@jguerdat wrote:

Actually, choosing the same channel as a nearby device (router) REDUCES interference

---

I think that is very debatable.  Normal guidance for Access Point deployment is to use non-overlapping channels in adjacent Access Points.

On the other hand, Arlo's current strategy goes back to when they were part of Netgear, so you'd think it would have been grounded in careful analysis.

FWIW, I would like to see the app include the ability to select the channel.

[Edinburgh_lad1]

Sorry, but at the time, maybe very few used WiFi. It's now 21st century and things have moved on, with nearly every electronic device now connecting using WiFi, putting further pressure. As we know, congestion on channels can cause issues. Therefore, what Netgear thought was ok in the last century may not be currently applicable now. As I said before, it's unacceptable these days that the user can't change WiFi channels on the base station, with every device that I know of being able to do that.

[StephenB]

---

@Edinburgh_lad1 wrote:
Therefore, what Netgear thought was ok in the last century may not be currently applicable now. 

---

Netgear launched the first Arlo branded camera/base in 2014 and divested Arlo in 2018.  So we are talking 3-7 years ago, not ancient history.

---

@Edinburgh_lad1 wrote:
As I said before, it's unacceptable these days that the user can't change WiFi channels on the base station, with every device that I know of being able to do that.

---

As I posted above, I fully agree that there should be a way to set the WiFi channel.

[dcfox1]

I was wondering also about his "last century" remark. 

[jguerdat]

Unless we're all WiFi experts, we're just guessing. It's been described as to why there's actually a reduction in interference which is over my head/experience so, once again, I'll believe the experts.

[Edinburgh_lad1]

>I was wondering also about >his "last century" remark.

OMG! Seriously?? My comment was meant in a sarcastic way. To put differently what I'd written: the system acts as if it was from the last century.

[StephenB]

FWIW, the explanation from 2015 was

@ChristineT  wrote:

I have consulted with our development team and found that the Arlo base station transmits on the same channel as the router by design. Primarily, due to the base station and router (access point) being installed in relatively close proximity. So essentially, if the base station is in close proximity to the router (which is most often the case) the base station and the router need to be on the same channel to get the best performance from both.

Otherwise, if you have the base station and router in close proximity but on different channels, the out-of-band RF signals for both devices will "cross-talk" with each other's channel greatly reducing the throughput of both.

If you absolutely need to have the base station and router on a different channel you can relocate one of the devices so the distance between the base station and router is greater than 20' (feet) or in a different room.

---

So definitely intentional, and it sounds like it is specific to the situation where the base and router are very close together. 

It is certaintly counterintuitive, and different guidance is given when setting up APs with multiple radios.  Though the AP case isn't quite the same, as they are using directional antennas.  

I guess you could attempt to test the underlying premise by putting an ordinary extender right next to the router, and play with the channel assignments.