Will the remote access to SD card recordings via app be available for Arlo Pro 3 ?

[lynette63]

Would the remote access to SD card recordings via app (that is expected in 2nd half of 2019) be available for Arlo Pro 3 ?

The original announcement was for Arlo Ultra. So wondering if the same feature will be made available for Arlo Pro 3.

[ArloAlex]

Hi @bdf0506 - are you able to access the SmartHub library now? If not - are the cameras attached to the SmartHub streaming successfully?

As a last resort, please try to uninstall/reinstall the app. Though this should not be necessary, it may provide a clue to the underlying issue if the SmartHub library works after the reinstall.

[bdf0506]

No luck. I reinstalled the app and the same behavior happens. All cameras can successfully be streamed from the app. All cameras can successfully save clips to the cloud.

Still seeing same error when I attempt to select the base station from the drop down to view clips on base station. iOS device is on the same network as the base station. I’ve never seen any clips populate in the local library since enabling the feature.

[ArloAlex]

Hi @bdf0506 - we would like to better understand your issue. 

Using your PC or Mac, can you please create a support ticket at http://bit.ly/34aJHW5 and (per the instructions on that page) attach the log from your app? It will be crucial for you to indicate that your issue is with Direct Storage Access. Ideally, please recreate the error you are seeing first, then pull the app log.

Sorry for the inconvenience, but this should help to give us significantly more insight on this issue.

[bdf0506]

@ArloAlex  - I've tried many times to get you the log files using the link you provided, but every time I submit the support request it tells me "There was an error processing your request. Please contact with Arlo Support". Please provide another way to submit the log files to you so that you can look into this issue. Thanks.

[802Lounge]

I bought and installed the 3-camera system last week. Setup was flawless and it was up and running within minutes. As a precaution, I ran and tested it for nearly a week before updating to version 2.12.1.  I installed the update yesterday and I'm pleased to report that the local storage access feature has worked seamlessly and without even the slightest glitch.  I don't know why Arlo waited nearly a year--largely in silence--to make good on its promise.  I'm hopeful that (a) that never happens again and (b) they'll continue to support the local storage option in future updates.  The camera is super expensive, so the notion of paying a monthly fee on top of that is simply outrageous.  That said, I appreciate the system's quality and features and I'm satisfied with my purchase!  

[bdf0506]

@ArloAlex I was finally able to get the logs to you, but wasn't able to provide a text description of what the logs were from. Please see case id 41372934 and see if you can find anything interesting in the logs that will explain why this will not work for me.

[Van21]

I have the Arlo ultra camera system and have a microSD card inserted into the base station. When Arlo released the option for direct storage access on the Arlo App I was able to watch videos from the direct storage access with no problems, at least for a couple days. Now anytime I access direct storage and attempt to watch a locally recorded video I get a gray screen and no video. It’s that way for any randomly selected video. Is there something wrong with the software/app? My microSD is perfectly fine. I have 4 Arlo Ultra cameras connected to Base Station model VMB5000rs.

[Mavrrick]

I would just suggest you check that all of the connectivity stuff matches. You may also want to restart the hub and set the hub up with a DHCP reservation on your router so it's ip doesn't change. 

[bdf0506]

My issue is now fixed and I can now access local recordings. I had to do a restart of the base station from the Arlo app and this fixed it. While I don't need port forwarding, one thing I did was enable port forwarding in the app (but didn't mess with my router). When I enabled it from the app, it was showing the IP address of the base station as 0.0.0.0, which didn't seem correct. I then hit restart and all worked once it came back up.

Interestingly enough, I did a few hard resets by unplugging the power and nothing changed, but perhaps hitting restart in the app does a different type of restart.

[Mavrrick]

Arlo support has confirmed with me on a differnt issue that is a bug they are working on. It is a timing issue related to how the hub gets its ip on startup. I would still suggest you setup a DHCP reservation in your router so the basestation keeps the same ip after restarts.

[bdf0506]

Good to know, thanks for sharing. However, I already have a DHCP reservation for my base station.

[mogamb0]

This solution worked for me. Thank you!

[Van21]

For everyone that had replied to this issue. I have tried all of the suggestions and I still have the same problem. After sifting through a ton of videos from the direct/local storage it seems like 50% I am am able to view from the app and 50% just give me a gray screen with no video. I check the time stamps from the direct/local storage compared to the cloud and I can view the video(s) from the cloud but the same video(s) I cannot view from the direct/local storage through the app. I also have the most up to date Arlo app. See attached photo of what I see from the app when trying to view videos from the direct/local storage.

[Mavrrick]

Are the videos you are having problems with ild videos that were on the external storage before the feature was enabled in December. I believe i did have some issues opening older recordings thay occured prior to the feature was turned on by arlo.

[Van21]

No. I thought the same thing at first so I re-formatted the SD card therefore erasing all data from the card. Some videos are viewable and some are not. Seems to be almost a 50/50 split.

[JeremyCADUDE]

Hi, Are you able to view recordings when you are away from home? 

Do you still get notifications when motion detection is triggered?

Thanks!

- I ask because a reviewer says you can't access your clips when you are not home, this seems ridiculous and I think he's just too ignorant to set it up properly. Can anyone confirm the functionality of this feature?

[michaelkenward]

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@JeremyCADUDE wrote:

Hi, Are you able to view recordings when you are away from home? 

You can access your USB storage from afar, as long as you are prepared to allow port forwarding during the set up process – a crime against humanity according to some people . 

The view is not, though, the same as looking at cloud recordings. No thumbnail until you download the file on to your mobile device. To me that reduces the value of the process.

I want to see a thumbnail to get some idea of what might be there before I retrieve the file.

[JeremyCADUDE]

Ok thank you very much. So I must have access to my router to access it, that seems fair, lol!

Do you still get notifications of motion detection or new videos?

The thumbnail thing sucks. From looking online (and from what you say) it seems the thumbnail populates after you click the video. I find it weird the app can't take care of this somehow. Grr.

I also am confused by this statement 

"When you choose to store videos locally, your content remains totally yours and local on your own network at all times.  However, this also means that Arlo can’t process thumbnails at this time because that is normally accomplished via cloud assets that will no longer be receiving the clips.  We know this might be disappointing to some, but it is important we remain pure to the privacy expectations for Direct Storage Access.  Arlo is looking into alternative methods for producing thumbnails for a future version of this feature."

- Does this mean you are going to try and fix this is a future release? OR that on new  products this will be functionality?

I think knowing what Arlo's plan right now is important to me. 

Is it possible thumbnails will work in the future?

[michaelkenward]

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@JeremyCADUDE wrote:

Ok thank you very much. So I must have access to my router to access it, that seems fair, lol!

The USB device is in the hub. To access that, you clearly need a path of some sort. If you don't want to do that, then that is what the cloud is for.

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@JeremyCADUDE wrote:

Do you still get notifications of motion detection or new videos?

I have not tried using USB storage without having a cloud account. As it is the cloud account that currently sends out notifications, I cannot see how this would work without that link in the chain. But I am no expert in these things.

I can't see any reference to this here:

How do I view videos saved on a local storage USB device?

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@JeremyCADUDE wrote:

I think knowing what Arlo's plan right now is important to me. 

Is it possible thumbnails will work in the future?

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Reading the wording you quoted, it says to me that this feature may turn up. One day. But Arlo is careful not to be too specific about future features. It knows that people will only pester it for news of when, and will be mighty upset if it never happens.

There are many different features that people have asked for, including browser access to local recordings, the coders can't deliver everything at the same time.

[Mavrrick]

There is a good KB article that discusses what you get with each camer with and without a the Smart Plan. Notifications and live viewing is always avaliable based on thay article. It is just rich notifications like is it a dog or person that is impacted. Also depending on the cameras used you either get 7 days of rolling cloud or you meed to depend on the local storage on the hub.

In theory you could have 15 cameras on the newer hubs with local storage and not need a subscription if you dont mind loosing the rich notifications and cloud storage.

[Mavrrick]

https://kb.arlo.com/88/What-are-the-available-Arlo-subscription-plans-and-how-much-cloud-recording-i...

Review that article for the details of what you get with each camera on the basic plan.

It also appears you loose e911 which i forgot to mention in my previous post.

You don't have to be local to view the storage in the hub if you can setup a vpn on your router to your phone, or enable port forwarding. I have port forwarding enabled myself and review clips anywhere. The risk of port forwarding is fairly simple. Once you open a port to the internet you are dependent on how well the listening app is secured. So in the arlo hubs case, the question would be did arlo implement reasonable security in the software that creates the local recording access to require a legit arlo mobile device to access it. Ontop of that did they remove standard setup values to prevent easy access based on what the software package was found with.

The likely answer in todays world is they probably made an effort not great, but probably not a crappy one either. There is also a level of obfuscation as the port opened is not standard and is randomized.

I doubt it would be super easy to hack based on those things. It probably isn't impossible though given someone takes the time to do it. I tried a few things to hit the hub locally and was fairly flatly refused a connection to the port. So that gives me a little hope.

[kaminsr]

what about guest access?  i am told the guest cannot access local storage.  this is unacceptable!!!

[JeremyCADUDE]

Is this true?

Is there a list of the functionality that does NOT work with the local storage? I'm setup to but the 5 camera ultra buy 1k is a ton of money not to know what you are getting. Might be better to let this play out before purchasing,

[kaminsr]

The local storage is a mess.  To access outside of home you either need VPN or set up port forwarding which i a pain in the butt.  They want to force you to a monthly subscription.

[JeremyCADUDE]

I'm ok with setting up port forwarding but I'm not ok with another family member not being able to access, and I don't like the fact thumbnails don't work. I need to quickly assess whats outside. Frustrated.