Camera will not reconnect if you loose the internet.

[Killhippie]

I have to say Arlo firmware or the apps seem to be getting worse, on the current Pro 4 firmware 1.080.16.2_16_7838050 not only does the percentage not change till the camera is fully charged, you can update it by pressing live view then the camera will update its percentage but wont until its fully charged otherwise, but when the internet goes down as it did today the camera just won't reconnect, you end up having to remove the battery and put it back in. Yes I've tried all the trouble shooting steps and I'm tired of doing this.

 Considering the price of these units I really don't expect these bugs. It feels like with each update its one step forwards 2 steps back. This reconnection issue needs to be resolved and as a disabled user I bought these cameras for security, not to waste my carers and my time reconnecting them when every other device reconnects just fine after the internet comes back up (Netgear RAX120 Firmware 1.2.2.24) Come on Arlo get this sorted along with the never ending battery percentage bugs (iOS 15.0.2 using a iPhone 13 Pro and a 3rd generationiPad Pro 1TB) and the latest app 3.4.6 as of typing this.

[JamesC]

New firmware is now available for Arlo Pro 4 and Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight cameras containing fixes that should help alleviate the issue being discussed here. Please make sure your cameras have automatically updated to the latest firmware and test again to see if the behavior has improved.

JamesC

[JamesC]

Killhippie,

I've not been able to replicate any issues with the camera reconnecting after an internet outage. Are you able to reproduce this issue consistently?

JamesC

[Killhippie]

Yes if PPP goes down the camera sits offline, it will not re-connect. I can turn the Wi-Fi off which isn't quite the same thing, if I were to pull the modem cable from the faceplate so the wireless stays on its like the camera gets a stale session and wont re connect it happens mostly when the net is down for a longer period of time, and its very frustrating.  its not the same as turning Wi-Fi off and on, that generally reconnects. Its probably a router camera issue but it used to work okay, the camera would reconnect but not any more. It might be because the RAX120 firmware has changed, as the battery info not updating unless you keep pressing live view is also new, unless iOS 15 is an issue as I'm also not getting notifications of events at this time on iOS 15.0.2 on the iPhone 13 Pro.

[cazbah1969]

I had the exact same issue JUST happen to me.... internet went out for the entire home.... restarted the router.... and the cameras WOULD NOT come back on line.... even with a battery pull and replace.... I had to completely remove my cameras from the system and re add them.... NOW I can't get the old activity zones to delete.... it shows them, but says they don't exist when i try to edit or delete them.

[Killhippie]

This happened to me again a few days ago, the internet went down for 20 minutes, routine maintenance by Zen (who provide backhaul to IDNet) and once again my Camera went off line. It stays connected to the router but not to the internet. Basically if there is a brief power cut in your area Pro 4 cameras are rendered useless if your router is not on a UPS and you can break in without fear of video capture, not great.

 I'm in a wheelchair so there is no command I can send to fix this issue, I have to waste my carers time removing the thing take the battery out and put it back in back in, may as well top it up while it's down hey, no don't do that, the batteries get muddled and takes 4 hours to charge from 97% to 100% and then looses 1% as soon as you test the cameras position. I had a new battery which cured this sent to my by support its been fully charged once this odd loss of 1% happens along with the drop of connectivity. Don't buy this junk, really its not fit for purpose and dont expect support help to understand your needs either.

 Talking to support is like banging your head against a wall for fun too. £300 for shiny plastic junk, well done Arlo outstanding security from cameras that cant reconnect to the internet but you know, you all my other devices can. These cameras are Utter garbage it seems sadly.

[murraylogging]

I have the same issue.  The internet went down, they were doing some maintenance and all our 4 cameras are off line and will not reconnect automatically.  As they are for security and placed in high places (access by extra long ladder), getting to them is not easy to pull out and replace the battery.  As well, the red light flashes and flattens the remaining battery power.  Now we have to fully recharge all cameras.  Really handy when we are working away for the week.  We dont have anybody to come in and reset all of them.  Also a camera will go offline randomly.  Mostly have to remove battery to reset.  Can anything be done to improve this glitch.  They work great when operational, BUT not much good when they go offline.  If we get robbed during that offline time, can I send Arlo the bill?

[Czcon12]

I've had this happen the last two nights. Utilities company have been doing work and when internet comes back on the cameras don't reconnect and the batteries go almost dead before I can reset them. Why don't they reconnect on there own? Why do I physically have to push the reset button?

[Killhippie]

On the Pro 4 just pop the battery out and back in, the reason is lousy firmware and a major flaw in these cameras it appears as you don't even know they are offline and they should auto reconnect, if my blu-ray player can, a security product should be able to, I guess Arlo servers cannot deal with the most basic of tasks or the cameras have a fatal flaw. I hope it can be patched but something is very wrong with these units. I would get a refund.

[col1958]

I have a similar problem

Our internet often goes down for 3 hours or so, the cameras stay connected to the wifi but seems to run the battery down while trying to connect to the net. The end result is the battery goes flat 2%, and I have to manually disconnect the battery then reconnect the battery to get the devices to come back on line. Then recharge them. I have 2 cameras they both do exactly the same thing.

Starting to think these were a waste of money as our net regularly goes down.

[Killhippie]

If you can send them back, it appears Arlo have no intention of fixing this glaring security flaw!

[Jsteinberg]

Bought a 2 pack, set up was easy and I was excited about the picture image. Disappointment came quickly when I woke up and found the cameras offline. Restarted my router with no results. Popped batteries and put them back in which did the trick. 10 hours later. Same problem.

There has got to be an option for them to search to reconnect on their own without having to handle the hardware. Seems they just go dormant. Get on it Arlo. Not a heavy duty firmware fix. Could definition definitely be a cause for return. Unacceptable for people who travel and need to rely on the stability.

[kwkslvr]

Same issue here. Arlo we need a solution for the Pro 4 camera. Can't keep climbing a ladder to remove and reinstall battery. Comcast has regular unplanned outages.....cameras won't reconnect.

[JamesC]

The development team is currently investigating reports of this issue. I will provide an update once we have more information.

JamesC

[Killhippie]

That's great news. The thing is though this should have never gotten past engineering and to the launch of the Pro 4 in the first place and puts tens of thousands of homes at risk (I dont know how many have been sold it could be many more) using this and other Arlo products that do the same. Its like a stale session on a router, this should have never been released in this state and sadly gives a false sense of security to users, also not great for cameras that are high up, or for people like myself that are disabled.

 Arlo should patch this ASAP these cameras have enough bugs as it is but this just kills your camera, also I would like to see a toggle in the app so support cant just look at my history of my camera and its logs or possibly my videos, thats a back door which could be exploited. We should have the choice of allowing that for trouble shooting, and not having that option on when not. Having this available to people I dont know and no offence don't trust as they are just a name in another country feels like a breech of privacy. Whats the point of 2FA if Arlo techs can bypass that at will?

 If Arlo cannot fix this dropping offline when the ISP does maintenance will these be recalled or will we get replacements that don't have the issue as compensation?

[Kmarcum]

JamesC - Can you provide an update on this?  Or perhaps tell me what else I can do to find out more?

I bought 3 Pro 4 cameras a few weeks ago, along with a doorbell.  I have the same problem where they won't reconnect after an internet or power outage.  Today, one camera came back online, the other 2 will not.  I have them all set up for direct wifi (no hub).  I'm still trying to reset them by using the sync button and

then taking the battery out when that didn't work.

My 3 old original Arlo cameras came back online after I rebooted the base station for them.  The doorbell did come back online also.  

I bought the Pro 4's as I was tired of messing with the original Arlo cameras.  Now it appears the Pro 4's are worse.  In addition to not coming back online after an outage, I've had one disconnect for no known reason.  I have read all of the posts and documents, and done everything suggested.  All other wifi devices we have work fine and reconnect as expected.  As a retired IT guy, I can understand all of the variables and technicalities.  But this really is a problem that needs to be addressed.  Unless the people posting here with this problem really are the only ones having this problem, I would think this was a pretty widespread issue for other customers.  Thanks for your attention.  With the big exception of this connection issue, these cameras really are great.  But as expressed here, having no connection when you're away from home is a gigantic problem.

[matrox00612]

Same problem here Arlo Pro 4 to Netgear Rax120 router.  If Arlo need beta tester for firmware I’m available.

[SJUAE]

Exactly same issue on 6 Cameras all wont reconnect after service provider was down for 2 hours

[876565495ab]

Exact same issues. 4x Arlo Pro 4s, connected to wifi only at a remote cabin. We only visit every other month, but have occasional power/internet outages.

Cameras don't reconnect after internet goes down.

Huge safety issue and will be throwing them out if they don't have a fix asap.

[876565495ab]

Update?

[Retired_Member]

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@Killhippie wrote:

I have to say Arlo firmware or the apps seem to be getting worse, on the current Pro 4 firmware 1.080.16.2_16_7838050 not only does the percentage not change till the camera is fully charged, you can update it by pressing live view then the camera will update its percentage but wont until its fully charged otherwise...

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This specific behavior is probably by design.  Communicating battery status is itself an operation that consumes battery power.  The camera has to transmit to do that, and transmitting is one of the more power hungry jobs the camera has to do.  The reason it updates when you live stream is the camera is probably sending battery status info along with video data.  When fully charged it presumably pings the app to say 'done'.  Live streaming is itself an operation that drains battery, so checking battery status that way leads to charging taking longer to complete.

The reason it goes from 100% battery to 99% when you do the positioning test is because 100% means literally 100%.  Anything much less that fully charged reads as 99% or lower.  The camera can only estimate charge, I believe by detecting the voltage produced by the battery.

Re. the issue with cams going offline - yeah.  The hub was part of the original camera design for a reason.  They could have made cameras that connected directly to a 3rd party access points or routers from day 1, but how could you possibly release that as a stable, complete product without testing a huge number of routers and access points for rock solid compatibility with your cameras in all possible usage scenarios?  Vastly easier (and more profitable) to provide the access point with the cameras.  Arlo don't have the resources of a Google (Nest) or an Amazon (Ring) to do enough testing before release or to fix the inevitable problems quickly.  By all appearances they don't even have the resources right now to make their own cameras work perfectly well with their own SmartHubs within a year of putting a camera on the market.  How does that even happen?

All they had to do was make the SmartHub useful enough to make the Arlo product competitive with Nest and Ring based on features.  'Arlo needs a base station, but WOW what a useful thing that is!' should have been the strategy.   Sell a few more cameras guys before you take on Google.  Make the Pro4 work spectacularly well with the SmartHub, give it some more features (I have a long list of suggestions), and offer a very heavy discount on a SmartHub to all Pro4 customers who were sold a product which will never perfectly work in their specific circumstances because you'll never get it fixed before you have to work on your next product release.

[Killhippie]

First problem was that the percentage used to go up as it charged on previous firmwares, and it used to stay on 100% before 1.080.16.2_16_7838050 so its not by design. The Pro 4  as we know like the Essential camera does not use a base station so you make sure your poduct does the most basic things before release and all Wi-Fi stacks should follow a way of behaving so these issues don't occur because no company can test every router, and reconnecting to their own servers should be easy, other models do it which they freely admit. If you pull the power lead off the camera itself as soon as it hits 100% it stays at 100% even if you use it for positioning etc but not if you let it stay attached to the charger and pull the charger out of the wall socket first. Once again these issues was not present in older firmwares. Although Arlo seem to have issues with charging percentages as the Essential range had problems for a while with that too. Connecting to any router is not that hard, smaller companies products reconnect to the servers just fine, the pro 4 reconnects but does not connect to the Arlo server via your ISP rather like some routers dont is its been down a long time, its called a stale session but it should not happen in a few minutes and if the camera is turned off from the app and you disconnect from the router and modem to simulate the issue the camera will connect just fine when you turn it back on via the app. Sadly we don't know in advance when glitches happen, so we can turn the cameras off via the app. 

 I highly doubt Google tests every router on the market either that's impossible but a Wi-Fi connection should behave the same across the board that's why there are certain standards to follow from the Wi-Fi alliance because Wi-Fi connections tend to reconnect just fine for most devies which the Pro 4 should this feels like a bug and they should be able to sort that out, I mean if the Arlo Essential can reconnect why not the Pro 4?

 Arlo are using Wi-Fi 4 on the Arlo Pro 4, thats been around for years so this really is not rocket science for Arlo, after all the tech they use used to be Netgears, and its didn't go overnight to Arlo firmware suddenly when they moved away for Netgear, so I think the technology in the cameras is based on sound knowledge from a bigger company anyway. As I said its probably a firmware glitch or an issue at their end. I had an essential XL myself alas it suffered water ingress but that reconnected just fine so why cant the Pro 4?

[SJUAE]

Update to my 6xPro4 Cams

My internet connection was lost around 5:30pm last night and did not return for a couple of hours.

The 6 Cams never managed to reconnect, however at around 8am the following morning 2 Cams did manage to auto reconnect. Battery had drained overnight from 100% to 24%. Note all my Cams are on solar charger.

I left the system alone till noon hoping with the sun rising and charging in full swing as the 2 working cams had risen from 24% to over 50% charge  perhaps the non connected 4 cams may reconnect now.

Alas not and even with a router restart only the 2 cams stayed connected

Around 4pm I decided to remove and reinsert the battery on the 4 non connected cams, all reconnected immediately and despite the 2 other cams being at over 50% charge the 4 now functioning cams were at just over 20% charge and with just a few hours of sunlight left only went up a few % for the normal night time cycle

It's quite clear that the cams are revving their nuts off in neutral trying to reconnect hence the massive battery drain

The fault is not consistent as 2 out of 6 cams did manage to re-connect and they were not the closest to the router but did receive 1st light on recharging, but I do not think that's relevant

The batteries were very warm given they are depleting trying to connect and being charged at the same time, doubt that this is good for battery longevity

Very frustrated as like others these are mounted on my holiday home and must be able to auto reconnect after the router or internet goes down

[Retired_Member]

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@Killhippie wrote:

First problem was that the percentage used to go up as it charged on previous firmwares, and it used to stay on 100% before 1.080.16.2_16_7838050 so its not by design.

 This actually suggests it was done intentionally.  It's a power saving feature by the looks of it.

Re. the rest when it comes to WiFi devices - Arlo cameras both are and are not standard WiFi devices.  There are a lot of things you can do on a device which has a direct interface (keyboard, app, web interface or whatever) that you can't do with a WiFi security camera without introducing an attack surface, a means to hack the camera directly.  The simplest example of this is the enable/disable WiFi icon on a SmartPhone.  Tap that twice if you have WiFi problems and you're completely resetting all WiFi functions on the phone and establishing a fresh 'session' with the router - refreshed DHCP reservation, fresh WiFi encryption key etc.

There is no equivalent of that WiFi enable/disable icon on an Arlo camera - no direct interface and no way for the WiFi connection to be reset from the cloud side if connection is lost.  The camera has to be able to detect WiFi problems and do that automatically while at the same time preserving battery power.  This is very tricky to do perfectly when preserving every iota of battery charge is critical to the success of your product.  Arlo messed up somewhere.  Google might well have messed it up in exactly the same manner, no question, but they have the resources to identify, diagnose and fix that problem within days to weeks.  Arlo don't.

Re. changes from older cameras - AES encryption is an example of something that has big implications for how the camera firmware works, compared to the TKIP encryption used in the older camera models.  A WiFi security camera connecting to 3rd party routers and using rotating AES WiFi encryption keys is a very different prospect to a camera connecting to your own access point using TKIP, where the encryption key is unchanging during a 'session'.  This is tricky stuff.  All evidence suggests Arlo weren't up to the challenge.  I have a ticket open about a flaw that allows me to hack Arlo cameras with a flashlight and a stopwatch (no joke - literally a real thing) - in that context the Pro 4 was an ambitious endeavor, to say the least.

[Retired_Member]

Edit to post above - correct term in this context is DHCP lease, not reservation.

Also - this issue doesn't seem to me to be due to simple loss of internet service, but by how some router models behave when the service is reset.  Something on the router is perhaps being reset when this happens which is knocking the cameras offline.  My first thought was the ARP table on the router, though that can't be it as presumably the camera is communicating with the router and the router would add a fresh ARP table entry when that happens, enabling 2-way communication.  There's something some router models are resetting when they get their WAN connection back and something about the Pro 4 firmware that makes it different to most WiFi devices in that it does not tolerate that reset (presumably because the camera is asleep when that happens, saving battery power). Just a guess - that camera would never have gotten past Arlo's QA team if it was a simple as loss of internet connectivity.

[StephenB]

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@Retired_Member wrote:

My first thought was the ARP table on the router, though that can't be it as presumably the camera is communicating with the router and the router would add a fresh ARP table entry when that happens, enabling 2-way communication. 

It makes me wonder about the possibility of a duplicate IP address?   The router reassigns some other device the Pro 4's IP after it comes back up from a power outage?    

If so, reserving the camera's IP address might be something worth trying.