Arlo|Smart Home Security|Wireless HD Security Cameras
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DocCJC
Apprentice
Apprentice

I decided to replace my old Arlo Pro cameras with Arlo Pro 4 cameras. I synched the new cameras to my Wi-Fi router and mounted them in the same location as my old cameras. All cameras have a strong Wi-Fi signal and are within 8 meters of the router. The cameras are constantly losing connection for an extended period (8 hours or more) and showing "Your Arlo device appears offline" in the App. They eventually come back online, but these these drop outs are unacceptable. This morning, two of the cameras are offline. Yesterday, another was offline (different from the ones offline today). And the day before that another was offline. I was avoiding having to buy a Smart Hub, but it seems like I will have to do this now. My old Arlo Pro cameras were on a Base Station and had no connectivity issues. Has anyone else had this problem with Arlo Pro cameras?

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DocCJC
Apprentice
Apprentice

It's been over two weeks since I connected the Arlo Pro 4 cameras to a Smart Hub. I've had no issues with cameras going offline. So it looks like connecting the cameras directly to the router is not reliable.

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Retired_Member
Not applicable

The SmartHub probably won't solve the problem completely unfortunately, at least not at this time.  If you buy the hub it will exclude your WiFi router as a potential cause of the problem and, in time, Arlo will almost certainly fix the problem when a Pro 4 is connected to a SmartHub.  If this person's experience is any indication (see linked thread) they're not quite there yet.  Bear in mind that the Pro 4 has been on the market for a year and the problem hasn't been fixed yet.

 

If you gain a good understanding of WiFi channels you may be able to put your existing router on a channel that greatly reduces how often the problem occurs.  This unfortunately may depend to a large extent on how your neighbors are using their WiFi devices and what channels their routers/access points are on.  In my own case with Essential Spotlight cameras, which have the same problem when connected to a SmartHub, I was able to improve this issue but I had to do a lot of analysis and testing and talk to some of my neighbors to do it.  Some of my neighbors were uncooperative.

I've been advised by Arlo support that new firmware updates for my cameras (and two recent updates for my SmartHubs) may have solved the problem.  As I haven't had a camera go offline recently that might be true.  It happens to me around once per month per camera and as I talked to my neighbors in the meantime and got a few of them to make WiFi changes, I don't know if the problem is fixed or not or whether the same update and been applied to Pro4 firmware.

 

If you decide to hold off on buying a hub, reply to this thread in a month or so and I'll report on whether the firmware updates to cameras and hubs solved the problem for me.  If my problem with Essential Spotlights is solved, I think it likely that the fix would also apply to Pro 4s connected to a SmartHub.

 

https://community.arlo.com/t5/Arlo-Ultra-2/Ultra-2-Poor-Range/m-p/1844002#M2276

jguerdat
Guru Guru
Guru

An advantage of using a base or hub is that it aids in exact placement while moving your router may be an issue. Do you still have you old base? If so, add it back and connect one camera to it to see if there's a difference.

StephenB
Guru Guru
Guru

@jguerdat wrote:

Do you still have you old base? If so, add it back and connect one camera to it to see if there's a difference.


@DocCJC : This is worth a try if the base is a VMB4000.  The VMB3xxx bases aren't compatible with the Pro 4.

 

@Retired_Member's suggestion to change wifi channels in the router also is worth pursuing.  The base also tends to follow the router's wifi channel, so it is useful even if you are using a base.  There are several free apps for Android that will show you the wifi spectrum use, and some will identify a channel.  If you have a Windows laptop, there are a couple of free downloads that will also do the job.  Netspot is one.

 

Unfortunately, there aren't any apps I know of for iOS.  So if you are using an iPhone or iPad, you might need to just experiment a bit.  Start with channels 1, 6, and 11, and see if any of those give better results.  Then maybe try 3 and 9.  

 

If the camera is near a neighbor, then coordinating can help.  Close channels overlap, but 1, 6, and 11  are completely independent.  So coordinating can completely eliminate interference with the neighbors on either side.   

 

 

Retired_Member
Not applicable

@StephenB wrote:

Unfortunately, there aren't any apps I know of for iOS.  So if you are using an iPhone or iPad, you might need to just experiment a bit.  Start with channels 1, 6, and 11, and see if any of those give better results.  Then maybe try 3 and 9.  

With the Pro 4, Essential Spotlight and (I suspect) the Ultra 2 there is probably no point in trying channels 3 or 9 if channels 1, 6 and 11 yield bad results.  If all three non-overlapping channels are so busy that you see problems, then all channels in between will be hammered by adjacent-channel signal interference.  These camera models do not appear to handle distorted signalling very well, at least not as well as the Pro 3s (in my experience at least).

StephenB
Guru Guru
Guru

@Retired_Member wrote:

@StephenB wrote:

Unfortunately, there aren't any apps I know of for iOS.  So if you are using an iPhone or iPad, you might need to just experiment a bit.  Start with channels 1, 6, and 11, and see if any of those give better results.  Then maybe try 3 and 9.  

With the Pro 4, Essential Spotlight and (I suspect) the Ultra 2 there is probably no point in trying channels 3 or 9 if channels 1, 6 and 11 yield bad results.  


That could be (and why I put them last with the "maybe").  Though it doesn't hurt to try (other than taking some time).

 

DocCJC
Apprentice
Apprentice

Thanks everyone for all of the suggestions. I've synched my cameras now with a Smart Hub, and will see if this makes any difference to the camera drop outs. I've also analyzed my Wi-Fi environment and noticed that my router tends to always lock onto channel 1, which happens to be congested with neighboring Wi-Fi networks. Channels 6 and 11 seem relatively free, so if using the Smart Hub doesn't solve the problem, I'll set the router's channel to 6 and see what that does.

Retired_Member
Not applicable

@DocCJC wrote:

I've also analyzed my Wi-Fi environment and noticed that my router tends to always lock onto channel 1, which happens to be congested with neighboring Wi-Fi networks. Channels 6 and 11 seem relatively free, so if using the Smart Hub doesn't solve the problem, I'll set the router's channel to 6 and see what that does.


Router channel selection algorithms tend to be very simplistic and they base their 'decisions' on signal strength at the router, not on the strength of signals that your devices are exposed to.  This is especially relevant to outdoor cameras.  The SmartHub will either match the channel of the strongest signal it detects or choose a 'clear channel', which is diabolically bad.  It's one tiny step away from the algorithm a half-assed WiFi jammer would use.  If it does not follow your router channel it will choose the second-worst channel available almost every time if there are lots of nearby networks.  I would suggest checking which channel your hub is using and whether that channel is the same as your router.  If it is, I would suggest moving your router to the least-busy non-overlapping channel.  That's almost always channel 11 as automatic channel selection on routers from most (competent) ISPs tend to go 1, then 6, then 11.  Restart the hub and it should match the channel on the router.  This should work for you in almost all circumstances.

DocCJC
Apprentice
Apprentice

It's been over two weeks since I connected the Arlo Pro 4 cameras to a Smart Hub. I've had no issues with cameras going offline. So it looks like connecting the cameras directly to the router is not reliable.

Amusjh
Aspirant
Aspirant

This is good to know.  Except, the smarthub has been out of stock for at least 2 months.  My cameras are unconnected more than connected.  Is there something else I could purchase instead of giving Arlo another $100 when they finally come back in stock?

jguerdat
Guru Guru
Guru

Since you're using your home WiFi to connect WiFi extender(s) may help so each camera has a better signal.

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