Port Forwarding Netgear C7000

[Hicap239]

I just bought an Arlo Pro 3 system (VMB4540) & tried to connect it to my Netgear C7000 router. I followed the Arlo App instructions with no success. Notified Arlo Support and they went thro two resets on the base hub & still nothing. Support told me I need to do port forwarding on my Net gear C7000 to the following ports 443, 123, & 80. Got my friend (IT Guy) to remote login on my  computer. I had opened my Net gear C7000 Genie and was in it. Net gear shows the Arlo as active and allowed on my router. He confirmed my Arlo Hub Status (active & allowed on my network) & tried to ping it on my network, it did not ping. He told me it is not communicating with anything and is not sure why.  Still no connectivity through my Arlo App. The base is connected to the internet as the blue light is on. Turned off the Cellular Data on my iPhone and made sure it was on the network. Reset the Hub again, nothing. Tried removing the Arlo App and reinstalling it last night. No Bueno. My I.T. Guy advised against port forwarding on my router for security purposes. Any other suggestions? I am not buying a new router, I will return the Arlo before I do that, my router was not cheap & I am happy with it. 

[jguerdat · Accepted solution]

You don't need port forwarding from default router security settings for the base to access the servers. You can easily ping the hub from within your own network. I'm not clear as to how your IT guy attempted the ping but I just did it with no issues. 

I would start with rebooting the router (I see it's a modem/router) and hub, in that order. WOuld you or anyone else have made changes in the router that could be blocking access to arlo.com? On your phone (using an app) or computer (using a command prompt or app) can you ping arlo.com? If not, that's your basic problem.

[Hicap239]

I checked the router settings on my Net gear C7000 Nighthawk when I logged in to see if it was in fact showing on my network. The Arlo was in fact on the network along with all of the other various devices of mine and my families. The Arlo was in the same list, all devices were allowed and in green which indicates they are on the network. No settings were changed at any time. My I.T guy had Arlo's site opened but I am not sure if he tried to ping Arlo.com remotely from my machine. Thinking about it in detail, I do use a VPN on all my devices and I am wondering if that is where the issue lies. I know when I log into Amazon they now require me to verify by text/code that I am in fact the person associated with the Amazon account. This could possibly be why the Arlo may not be recognizing my device. I will turn the VPN on my phone tonight off and using the Arlo App, try this again. This might also explain why the Arlo didn't ping back as the VPN is also on that laptop we tried to ping it from. I am assuming of course that my I.T. guy tried to ping Arlo.com. Stay tuned. Thanks for your thoughts on this. If the VPN issue does not work I will do exactly what you told me to do in the order you told me to do it in.

[Hicap239]

After I got home I turned off the VPN App on my iphone, and just for good measure turned off the cellular data to make sure my phone was on the home network. Since the Arlo was left on overnight and the display light was blue I decided to go ahead and open the Arlo App on my phone and give it another go. Within 15 seconds the App on my iphone had connected to the Arlo Base station. Success! Finally. I went through the rest of the set up steps and set up all three of the Pro 3 2K Cameras in short order. When I contacted Arlo support they never asked me once if I was using a VPN. When the reset did not work they went straight to the port forwarding. So to all the existing community members and any new members to the Arlo community make sure you disconnect your VPN on whatever device you are using to set up the new Arlo system with, because if you don't the App absolutely will not connect to the smart hub. My best guess is because there must be an authentication protocol based on location information from the account you created. I live on the west coast of Florida and my VPN signs on from the east coast of Florida. I am thinking that is where the problem is. My I.T. guy said porting my router was asking for trouble, then proceeded to tell me why. He said there is or should be a work around without having to port my router. Fortunately I found out what it was with some help from the community. Thanks again guys! 

[jguerdat]

VPNs are still rather unique for home users so the question doesn't often get asked. I'm guilty of that myself. Glad you came up with the solution on your own.