Adding Smart Hub (VMB4540) with VMB3010 possible

[TerryTak]

Is it possible to add Pro Smart Hub (with Arlo Pro 4 cameras) to my account that already has the original Base station (VMB3010r2)?  

I've been using 5 Original Arlo Cameras with my VMB3010 base for year and am considering adding a few Arlo Pro along with the Smart Hub Pro.  Is it possible to add the Pro Smart Hub (with Pro 4 cameras) along side my original set up?

[StephenB]

---

@TerryTak wrote:

I've been using 5 Original Arlo Cameras with my VMB3010 base for year and am considering adding a few Arlo Pro along with the Smart Hub Pro.  Is it possible to add the Pro Smart Hub (with Pro 4 cameras) along side my original set up?

---

Yes.  But the 7-day free cloud recording you have now is limited to 5 unsubscribed camera per account. 

If you want to keep that, you'll need to set up a second acocunt for the Pro 4 cameras, and use the friend account feature to share the cameras across the two accounts.

The other option is to get a subscription.

[TerryTak]

Wow. . .thank you so much.  I didn't consider the issue with my free 7 day cloud storage.  Nor did I consider granting a friend access feature.

If I granted a friend access to my new set up with the Pro 4 and the Smart Hub, would I need to set up the new account on another phone?  

[StephenB]

---

@TerryTak wrote:

If I granted a friend access to my new set up with the Pro 4 and the Smart Hub, would I need to set up the new account on another phone?  

---

You can set it up on a PC (my.arlo.com), using a different login.

It is also possible to create a new account on the phone, though managing the two credentials might be a bit harder.

[TerryTak]

OK. . .let me see if I understand.

1) Establish a new account via my PC

2) Go to a phone with the Arlo app installed already to add the new devices

3) Grant access to my "friend"

Is that all there is to it?

[StephenB]

---

@TerryTak wrote:

1) Establish a new account via my PC

2) Go to a phone with the Arlo app installed already to add the new devices

3) Grant access to my "friend"

---

Not quite.

1. Establish a new account via my PC
2. Make sure email verification is available on both accounts
3. Grant access to the legacy cameras (from the old account) to the new one.
4. Switch to the new account on the phone, and confirm that the friend feature is working.
5. Add the smarthub and pro 4 cameras to the new account.

Note that you can only see locally stored recordings on the new cameras from the primary account (the account where they were onboarded).  So you need to use the new account on the phone (because you will be able to see the cloud recordings from either account, but cannot see the local recordings on your current account).

Some camera management on the old cameras will still require you to access the old account, but you should be able to do that on web interface.

FWIW, there are restrictions to local storage

1. recordings only accessible from the app, not the browser
2. recordings only accessible from the primary account (as noted above)
3. no ability to take snapshots or manual recordings
4. no thumbnails, and all recordings need to be downloaded to view.
5. remote access requires router setting changes that some find difficult (and which won't work with some internet service providers).

So the user experience won't be ideal, unless you get a subscription - in which case you can just add the cameras to your existing account.

[TerryTak]

Thank you so much.  I understand the install process now.

I think I understand how the viewing works.  So once it is set up, I will be using the new account (the one that was used to onboard the new devices) and from that account I can see the cloud storage for the old account but only local storage for the new devices?  Is that correct?

How about viewing a live feed on the new cameras outside of my local network?  

Can I open up the Smart Hub outside my home network by allowing access via my home router?

[StephenB]

---

@TerryTak wrote:

I think I understand how the viewing works.  So once it is set up, I will be using the new account (the one that was used to onboard the new devices) and from that account I can see the cloud storage for the old account but only local storage for the new devices?  Is that correct?

Yes.

---

@TerryTak wrote:

How about viewing a live feed on the new cameras outside of my local network?  

No problem there, that will work both locally and remotely.

---

@TerryTak wrote:

Can I open up the Smart Hub outside my home network by allowing access via my home router?

---

You can set up port forwarding (assuming you have an external ipv4 address, and that your ISP doesn't use some form of carrier-grade NAT).   If your router has a VPN (for example openVPN) built in, you can also use that.

Mobile broadband services (t-mobile, etc) won't work, as they do use carrier grade NAT.  Some newer landline ISPs do also, since ipv4 addresses are now depleted.