Using Arlo Hub and Pro 3 with TP Link DECO mesh wifi

[geejaysdee]

Hi

I have 4 Pro3 cameras, a doorbell and an Arlo hub.  I have a 4 bed detached house plus a single storey extension, but the wifi signal at the cameras was surprisingly weak.  I was advised to invest in mesh wifi to boost the signal, so I bought a TP Link DECO X50 with 3 units working in access point mode.  In the DECO app I can see that my Arlo hub is connected by ethernet cable to the main unit, but I can't see that any of the cameras are connected wirelessly as they don't show up as individual items on either of the two satellite DECOs.  Is there an easy way in the Arlo app to see which wifi access point each camera is connected to?

PS I've asked the same question of the DECO community in case the solution lies in the DECO app.

Thanks in advance!

[Edinburgh_lad1]

Not sure who advised you to get Deco to extend your cameras' WiFi strength if you're using a smart hub. If you're connecting your cameras directly to WiFi, then that should work - they would have appeared in your deco app. By the sounds of it, though, you have them connected to the SmartHub. So, to extend their range you should have got another SmartHub, not Deco. 

A solution: connect your cameras to WiFi, or if this isn't an option, return Deco and get another SmartHub. Before you do, if you're using local storage with your Pro 3s to record clips, you should check how storage is accessed/managed on a system consisting of 2 SmartHubs.

[geejaysdee]

@Edinburgh_lad1 Thanks for replying so swiftly. This is going to be an ‘idiot level’ question then I fear - do the cameras ‘talk’ directly to the hub, or do they talk via the WiFi network to the hub? I had thought the latter, but your answer makes me think the former. 

[Edinburgh_lad1 · Accepted solution]

When connected to the SmartHub, they 'talk' to it using the Smarthub's own WiFi signal. You can check that yourself by going to your phone's settings and noticing the SmartHub's own networks. 

[geejaysdee]

@Edinburgh_lad1  OK thanks again - very helpful advice.

[geejaysdee]

@Edinburgh_lad1 two more questions then please.

1. If I bought a second Arlo smart hub, would that need its own wired ethernet connection (to the router), or can it be sited anywhere there is power?  I fear you're going to say it needs its own ethernet, but just want to check.  

2.  I put the smart hub where I thought it would best work for the 2 back garden cameras, which means it's about 15-18m internally from the front door bell.  Is that too far to realistically wirelessly talk to the front doorbell and 2 front garden cameras?  It's plugged into an ethernet switch at the end of a 12m cable, which is connected to the main DECO unit (right by the ISP's modem/route, about 4m from the front door). 

Thanks again for your help.

[Edinburgh_lad1]

Do you have a subscription or use local storage? If the former, you can just connect both the cameras and the doorbell to the Deco. If the latter, things get more complicated: @StephenB has more experience in dealing with local storage on two SmartHubs.

1. Yes, it'll need an ethernet connection. I'm not familiar with deco units but if they have an ethernet port, then you could plug a new SmartHub into one of the deco units. However, as I said above: if you're using local storage, then things get more complicated with two smart hubs and hopefully @StephenB will be able to advise.

2. It depends: you just need to experiment as no set up is the same (impact of walls, other networks etc). What's the current situation in terms of range etc?

[geejaysdee]

@Edinburgh_lad1 

I do have an account, as I wanted to be able to store camera feeds and thought I could do it via Apple HomeKit - I then found out that wasn't possible, but by then I was committed.  

I'll experiment with moving the smart hub back to next to the ISP modem/router and main DECO (yes it has ethernet ports), as that is about central in the house.  I suspect that then all the cameras will have a weak signal, rather than just some of them, but fingers crossed.  

You wrote "Do you have a subscription or use local storage? If the former, you can just connect both the cameras and the doorbell to the Deco".  Do you mean I can connect the cameras and the doorbell to the DECO via the wired smart hub? 

[StephenB]

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@Edinburgh_lad1 wrote:

if you're using local storage, then things get more complicated with two smart hubs and hopefully @StephenB will be able to advise.

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@geejaysdee :

On things getting more complicated:  It is definitely easier/simpler to just get the subscription.  The subscription is not only easier to set up, it also offers a better user experience.  And unfortunately Arlo doesn't fix the local storage feature as aggressively as they should when it breaks.  At the moment, remote access via port forwarding is broken on iPhones, and that has been the case for over a month.

On multiple base stations:  With base stations using local storage, one challenge is getting remote access to work.  The two options are to set up a home VPN server, or alternatively to use port forwarding.  Since your Deco Mesh doesn't have a built-in VPN server, you'd need to set that up on an always-on PC on your home network and configure that server in the Deco Mesh.  So it would be much easier for you to use port forwarding.

You will need to forward one port to each base (the app will tell you which one).  You'll need to reserve an IP address for each base in the Deco (so each base will always get the same local IP address), and then add forwarding rules for that base.  This is the same procedure you need with one base, you just need to do it again with a different port.

As far as connectivity goes, as @Edinburgh_lad1 says, each base is connected with ethernet - they don't form their own mesh.  You'll need to explicitly add cameras to the second base (removing them from your account, and adding them back again).  You can connect a base to any Deco mesh element that has an ethernet port (or to any switch if you have them).

FWIW, I use a Netgear Orbi for my own mesh.  One base is connected to my Orbi router - which is located in the rear of the house.  The other is connected to an Orbi satellite in the front of the house.  Orbi routers have openVPN built in, and I use that instead of port forwarding.  I also do have a subscription, so the local storage is a "just in case" backup for me.

[geejaysdee]

@StephenB @Edinburgh_lad1 

Thanks both for your help - superstars.  I'll go and reconfigure my set up later today.  Fingers crossed!