Pro3 Camera and VMB4540 Base Station

[DHOCKEY]

I've got several Pro 3 cameras with the 4540 base station.  My trial subscription has expired and therefore the free cloud access for recorded clips.

I followed the directions for using a USB flash drive to locally record video.  

I continue to get an error stating "videos stored on base station are not available.  Please check your connection settings".

I have rebooted the base station.  Did a full power reset, including removal and reinstall of flash drive.

I also deleted the ARLO app and reinstalled it on my iphone.

None of these resolved the issue.  My understanding is that the 4540 base station is compatible with the Pro 3 cameras in terms of locally recording video on a flash drive.

Can someone help here?

Thanks.

Dave

[jguerdat]

Is the drive at least 16GB? Have you formatted it in the hub? If formatting on a computer, you may need an extra utility to format to the required FAT32. Also, try a different drive.

[DHOCKEY]

Flash drive is only 3GB. And my bad, the camera is a Pro4, not Pro3. 

i did format the flash drive through the base station. 

[jguerdat]

Arlo's requirement for local recording devices is a minimum of 16GB. I was under the impression the app would tell you this but I guess not. Use a bigger drive to see if that works ok.

[DHOCKEY]

That didn’t work.  Exact same result. 

is there a specific order I should be following.  ie:

unplugged base station

plug in flash drive 

power up base station 

format flash drive

etc

i find it extremely odd that it says you can record to a base station from a Pro4 camera. Yet it’s still not working. 

[StephenB]

No need to power down the base.  Note the Pro 4 has to be connected through the base, not to your home wifi.

The first step is to insert the flash drive, and perhaps format it from the storage settings in the app.  Enable direct access to local storage.  I suggest troubleshooting local access first (with the phone on your home wifi) before looking at remote access.  So leave port forwarding off initially.

There are three possibilities if you can't access the recordings

1. the base might not be storing them
2. the app might not be able to retrieve them
3. you might be looking for them in the wrong place.

Start with the first possibility.

1. Look at the modes, and make sure the cameras are set to record.  They might have been adjusted to not record when the trial expired.
2. Walk in front of the camera, and confirm that you get a notification.  When you do, try ejecting the USB storage (using the control the app).  Connect the storage to your PC, and see if you can find the recording.

[jguerdat]

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@DHOCKEY wrote:

That didn’t work.  Exact same result. 

is there a specific order I should be following.  ie:

unplugged base station

plug in flash drive 

power up base station 

format flash drive

etc

i find it extremely odd that it says you can record to a base station from a Pro4 camera. Yet it’s still not working. 

---

But did you try a larger (16GB+) drive as I suggested?

[DHOCKEY]

I did. Bought a 64GB drive, formatted it through the base station and still did not record to the flash drive. 

keep getting the same error I noted in the original thread of this discussion 

[DHOCKEY]

Ok. So I did that and then ejected the flash drive.  Plugged it into my laptop and yes it’s recording the files. There are multiple MP4 files there from the last couple of days.  So I think we’re getting closer to a solution.  

however, your comments about linking/connecting the cameras to the base station got me to wondering whether they are directly tied to my WiFi instead.  How do I confirm that?  Or do I need to wipe one of the cameras and try starting all over with it to connect to the base station?

[jguerdat]

The Pro 4 can connect to a hub or WiFi. You can verify which camera(s) are recording to your drive by looking at the filenames on a computer - they're named according to serial number. You can see how they happen to be connected (hub or WiFi) by looking in each camera's settings and look for Connected To.

[StephenB]

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@DHOCKEY wrote:

Ok. So I did that and then ejected the flash drive.  Plugged it into my laptop and yes it’s recording the files. There are multiple MP4 files there from the last couple of days.  So I think we’re getting closer to a solution.  

however, your comments about linking/connecting the cameras to the base station got me to wondering whether they are directly tied to my WiFi instead.  How do I confirm that?  

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If you are seeing recordings on the drive, then the cameras are connected to the smarthub.

I would next go into the app settings and make sure that the app is allowed to use your wifi connection.  Then disable mobile data, and try to access recordings when the phone is connected only to your wifi.

Is the base directly connected to one of your router LAN ports?

[DHOCKEY]

Yes. The app is accessing through WiFi from my phone. 

Yes.  Base station is directly connected to the router. Does it need to be directly connected to the modem (I have two separate devices for these)?

[DHOCKEY]

Confirmed they are connected to the base station. I can see this in the app when I look at each individual camera. 

[BrookeN]

@DHOCKEY are you still needing assistance, or are you able to access the video files now?

[DHOCKEY]

Still need assistance. None of the suggestions have resolved the problem

[BrookeN]

Alright, please reach out to support for further assistance:

To access the Support Center:

1. Launch the Arlo Secure app.
2. Tap Settings > Support.

[DHOCKEY]

I have attempted to do so but I don’t have access to phone support or a live person. All I can access is your automated chat. 

This is absolutely ridiculous.  I paid $300 for the cameras and base station and you’re essentially forcing me to pay for a monthly subscription if I want to be able to store and retrieve videos.  

would it be too much to ask to be able to speak with a live person?  If that is too much to ask I’ll abandon Arlo and go to another product. 

[BrookeN]

Can you try this:

 Turn ON Local Network in the Arlo Secure under Settings(iOS).

And then do these steps:

Enable Direct Storage Access in the app To enable Direct Storage Access:
 

1. Launch the Arlo Secure App.
2. Tap Settings > My Devices.
3. Select a SmartHub.
4. Tap Storage Settings.
5. Tap the switch next to Record Locally.
6. Local storage is now activated on your Arlo device.
7. Tap the switch next to Direct Storage Access.

If this does not work or you have an android device let me know. Also if you can verify your IP address. Make sure that your phone is connected to the local wifi network, turn off mobile/cellular data.

[DHOCKEY]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!   It finally worked.   After three weeks of support in this forum someone finally gives me the entire process. 

No one had told me I needed to flip the record locally within iOS settings. 

One final question. I can now see the records but can someone else I grant access to the cameras see the clips as well?  They just tried looking and can’t see anything.  

thanks again for your very helpful guidance. 

[StephenB]

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@DHOCKEY wrote:

One final question. I can now see the records but can someone else I grant access to the cameras see the clips as well?  

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Unfortunately, no.  That is one of several limitations built into the feature.

• recordings only available from the app (not my.arlo.com)
• recordings only available using the primary account (not friend account)
• no ability to make manual recordings or take snapshots
• no thumbnails - videos need to be downloaded to the phone before viewing.
• remote access requires router setting changes that many find difficult (and which don't work with some internet service providers).