Arlo Products Giving Multiple Notifications

[CandiLM]

Arlo service - what a disappointment it has been since the start in January 2021.

"James C" from Arlo, I presume, has just closed a forum topic (https://community.arlo.com/t5/Arlo-Pro-3-Floodlight/Arlo-app-giving-double-notifications/m-p/1818877...) and said the issue has been resolved ... Well, James C, the multiple notifications that I am getting for each alert on my Arlo app - this issue has NOT been resolved and what POOR SERVICE for closing a topic that has not been resolved and multiple responses prior to your topic THIS EVENING stated the issue has not been resolved.

My app is at the current app (4.2) and the issue is still happening as late as two hours ago - I am getting double notifications for each alert on the camera.

Very disappointing that Arlo is trying to skirt around the fact that they have not been competent enough to resolve the issue OR at least OWN UP TO IT and refund our monthly service fees until the issue is resolved since Arlo cannot provide the service it promised when we signed up for Arlo Smart.

It's certainly one thing to have a technical glitch that is being worked on .. it's entirely a different thing when Arlo refuses to fix it, or can't, but then claims they did ... and even closes the very topic that states it is not fixed!

Poor service, poor technical support - I have been spreading this word about Arlo and recommending other products to my friends who have asked about this product - DO THE RIGHT THING ARLO - fix the darn issue and until you do, stop closing topics to make it look like you have fixed it when you know darn well you have not and REFUND OUR MONEY!

[JamesC]

CandiLM,

This thread was closed because the primary cause for the double notification issue has been resolved. We requested a new thread to be opened for those who still experience the issue so that we could track any new issues or existing issues customers may have.

Could you provide a screenshot of the multiple notifications? Is the issue intermittent or does it occur for all notifications?

JamesC

[CandiLM]

No, James C, the root problem has NOT been resolved! I am still receiving double notifications for ALL camera alerts - same problem that was reported in the old thread. The 2nd notification is silent, but it's still giving double notifications. Arlo is completely incompetent at resolving the issue. And NO, I cannot provide a screen shot of the issue - Arlo has plenty of information in past threads on this ongoing issues. I will not recommend Arlo to anyone - as a matter of fact, until Arlo Tech Support can actually resolve the issue AND do the right thing in the meantime (refund our monthly service costs), I will be actively advocating publicly for folks to turn to any product other than Arlo! 

[JamesC]

CandiLM,

We've had many users confirm that after updating their Arlo mobile app to 3.2 they are no longer experiencing an issue. While I understand your frustration, we need to find out why you're still experiencing a problem. When a push notification comes in, are you viewing and closing it immediately? Are you able to provide any examples where the interface shows 2 identical push notifications for the same event?

JamesC

[MVT]

The problem is ARLO "Smart" isn't smart.

Arlo Smart misses recordings. 

Arlo Smart stops recording motion even when the max time is selected (unless it is a spiderweb which is the only thing that has gone to a full 3 minutes!)

Arlo Smart misclassifies recordings. particularly shadows and spiderwebs  problematic when you get a "person" notification late at night only to see a moth recorded....

There is terrible latency between the live camera and the app - so much that if you wanted to talk to someone who was delivering a package, they are already likely back in the truck and gone.  it is impossible to have a conversation with someone who is not there!  frankly this is a pretty useless "feature" in the current form

It is better to record night vision that with the spotlight on the Arlo Pro3 camera - terribly grainy quality.

Arlo Pro3 has a sound gain set too low.  sound 15' away is as loud as right under the camera.  even at full app volume with headphones it can be hard to understand.  recoding's are much louder on the older Arlo Pro

Arlo Support Gaslights you and tells you that it is your settings that are the problem. that it is your insufficient bandwidth that is the problem. that it is your camera positioning that is the problem. No the problem is the Smart Algorithm.

I purchased an original Arlo (2 cameras) before arlo smart - worked fine with the FREE 7 day window, battery life was an issue, but I set up short recording windows (15s) to maximize battery life.  This worked fine so I added an Arlo Pro  (2 cameras) to a second location (vacation rental 400 miles away).  similar issues with battery life, but it triggered and recorded events on the FREE 7 day window.  So far so good, so I invest another $750 on Arlo Pro 3  (3 cameras) as an "upgrade" because they can be powered 100% of the time with the outdoor cord.  Move the Arlo Pro (to home location) to replace the original Arlo.

I have had serious issues with an obviously missing recording.  People leaving that are never seen coming!  boxes delivered but no recording triggered while just minutes later a person walking on the sidewalk is recorded.  support is useless as all they suggest is rebooting, and reloading everything.  they ask for a speedtest of your internet.  A speed test is only going to ping my PC, it is not going to ping the arlo hub and tell us how fast that is connecting to the arlo server.

Clearly the system is working as it records, just not all the time.  The problem clearly is the Arlo "smart" algorithm decides what is relevant to record to the server.  And we know this is the issue because in order to provide a 3 second lookback, there has to be an internal buffer recording continuously - so the camera if it sends a recording and then another 5 minutes later, it wasn't the camera setting that missed the activity in between those two recordings, it was how Arlo "smart" interpreted the data it is continuously monitoring (which is why they ask for specific bandwidth per camera).  Honestly, I don't believe is it bad hardware, it is a terrible monitoring software package that is the problem.

Today Arlo is not available via iphone app or Browser on PC, but the web status says all systems go.  I keep getting motion alarms but the library is empty.

FIX ARLO SMART - this is a paid service -  get it right, and error on too much info rather than not enough!

Or just give us an Arlo dumb setting with a free 7 day window and let us sift thru what is relevant......

[CandiLM]

Completely agree - there's nothing "smart" about Arlo Smart so far.

[CandiLM]

Yes JamesC, I can read the old thread, just as you can. If you'll also note, there are still several other users where this issue has not been resolved who are on the current version of the Arlo app.

Yes, we sure do need ot find out why I'm experiencing the same issue - I'm paying for a product/service that is not operating as intended (therefore, I should not be paying for it until it does - get it??? Arlo needs to do the right thing in the mean time while they take their time to resolve the issue that started in February 2021).

When a push notification comes in .. sometimes I am viewing & closing immediately, sometimes I am not ... you know, reasonable "life" activities are sometimes going on. Regardless of which way I do it, it gives me TWO NOTIFICATIONS for each alert (only the 1st one sounds off) ... it does this if I look at it AND if I don't look at it .. it's does it either way. It has done it this way SINCE I REPORTED THIS ISSUE (yes, I'm yelling because the questions are stupid). The only thing that has changed in this who process since I submitted the initial case ticket is that the 2nd SOUND notification has stopped - nothing else has changed (except I have updated to the latest Arlo app and done all the things that were noted in that last thread). It also gives two "badges" on the app icon when there is only one true alert. I have no examples to provide - exactly, why would I have to provide examples anyway? I'm sure you have plenty of examples provided by the long list of pages of unhappy users on the other thread! Here's a description of what an example would be:

Motion Alert ... notification/beep + badge ... 3-5 seconds later, another notification + badge .. when I go into the app, there's only one alert (the only one that is a true alert).

https://community.arlo.com/t5/Arlo-Pro-3-Floodlight/Arlo-app-giving-double-notifications/m-p/1818877...

[JamesC]

I've passed this feedback along to the development team. I'll provide an update once I have more information to share on the issue.

JamesC

[BrettJH]

I 100% agree with all points mentioned above. 3.2 did not resolve the issue of double notifications. The 3 month free trial was fine when purchased in December( with some hiccups on the way), however ever since I purchased the subscription it’s been nothing but a nightmare and constant muting of notifications

- Still receiving double if not triple or quadruple notifications for the same “alert” but only one true event.
- Does not record the full length even when set to max record until event is done, stops half way or or quarter through.
- Missed recordings
- Can we address the lat lag? Unreal. Might as well not have the security cameras. Be there and gone before an alert or live view even comes in. Like watching paint dry.
- Cannot communicate with anyone without looking like an air head with the lag.

Arlo a credit is due for these subscriptions

No, internet is not an issue etc etc.

Fix it.

[MVT]

Earlier this week I had ~100 recordings to the web.  more than 1/3 were "misclassified" as either a Person, Animal or Vehicle.  they should have been "motion" as they were all either shadows or foliage blowing in the breeze.  another decent segment of the recordings noted as "motion" were actually people or animals.  Arlo "smart" is not very smart.  Smart notifications are the exclusive domain of the artificial intelligence algorithm on the server.  They have nothing to do with upload speed, camera location or camera settings.  More than 30% of the "smart" notifications being wrong means the system is barely better than guessing!  If it can't determine the type of motion, it should default to motion and not get the user concerned that there might be unknown people on their property!

I might be convinced to help the algorithm learn by sending correction feedback, but certainly not on a paid service plan!  I've given up on tinkering around with this system.  I just hope that if there is a real problem, it by chance actually records the incident to the server.