Cameras Stopped Recording

[ktm805]

About a week ago, our cameras stopped recording. We have 2 base stations: Base 1 has (5) Pro 2 cameras on it, and Base 2 has (1) Pro 2 camera and (3) Pro 4 cameras on it. Each base station has a 1TB USB drive attached to it.  We do not subscribe to cloud storage.

We removed all cameras from both bases and re-added\re-synchronized them. The Pro 2 cameras are now recording, but the recording count number stays at 0. We tap on the 0 and there are new recordings, but the number stays at 0 all the time.

The Pro 4 cameras are still not recording at all. However, the views do show a snapshot of a recent movement the camera should have recorded. There are no recordings at all from the last week. I thought we had a free week of cloud storage, but installed USB drives on the bases stations to see if that would fix the recording issue.  No luck.

We have tried uninstalling and reinstalling the app on our phones, and we have tried looking for recordings on the browser app at my.arlo, too. We have restarted the base stations and re-synchronized the cameras twice.

As part of our troubleshooting, we tried to do a manual recording on the Pro 4 cameras, but there is no record button available, even when taken off 4k resolution.

Any other advice?  Thanks much!

[dcfox1 · Accepted solution]

For the Pro4 Once the 3 month trial expires you need a subscription for cloud  recordings.  The Pro2 and older still have the 7 day storage. The recordings should still be recorded locally though if they are not. 

Have you pulled the USB out and inserted into a computer to see if they are there as your base will not allow you to view them on the app like the Smart Hubs. 

What options will I have when the Arlo Smart 3-month trial plan ends?

How do I set up local storage backups on a USB device using my Arlo base station?

[ktm805]

I see. I didn't realize we had to pull the external drive to view local recordings.  That is LAME.

So, I have 9 cameras total, 3 of which are Pro 4 and 6 are Pro 2.  I should only need one smart hub and 1 multi-camera subscription plan, correct?  The Pro 2 cameras are 7-days of free cloud recordings and the Pro 4 cameras are covered with the subscription?

[dcfox1]

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@ktm805 wrote:

I see. I didn't realize we had to pull the external drive to view local recordings.  That is LAME.

So, I have 9 cameras total, 3 of which are Pro 4 and 6 are Pro 2.  I should only need one smart hub and 1 multi-camera subscription plan, correct?  The Pro 2 cameras are 7-days of free cloud recordings and the Pro 4 cameras are covered with the subscription?

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Yes on Smart Hub or even your VMB4000 base will work with all cameras. You can get a Multi cam plan for up to 5 cams for the Pro4's or 3 single cam plans. If you get a multi plan  (not much more cost)  you can add 2 others for the 30 day storage and Smart features but that is up to you. You do need the sub for the Pro4 no matter what for cloud storage. You really do not need to upgrade to a smart hub unless you want to view Hub recordings in the app. Its not ideal and cloud storage is much simpler.

 Arlo subscription plans and cloud recording

[ktm805]

So, I bought a multi camera plan and added the (3) Pro 4 cameras and (2) of the (6) Pro 2 cameras. This leaves (4) Pro 2 cameras with no plan. I moved all cameras to a single hub, since I thought since I have a subscripion now, I wouldn't need a second hub. Perhaps this is wrong, because now one of my Pro 2 cameras will not activate because it's not covered by a plan. So, I bought a single cam plan for $1.49/month. This leaves (3) Pro 2 cameras on no plan. The app still won't activate one of those cameras. I don't get it. So, to see what would happen, I went to buy another single cam plan, but now it's $2.99/month.
What is the minimum subscription required to run my 9 cameras?

[dcfox1]

You do not need a subscription for the Pro2 cams just the Pro4. You can buy a sub for the pro2 if you want but you do not need to with free 7 day storage. Did you do this before my last reply I posted just a little bit ago? The multi cam plan is for up to 5 so you could have put 2 Pro2's in that plan which worked. Do you want all Pro2's on a Plan also? The 1.49 was right for single cam plans after you signed up for a multi cam plan so not sure why it went to full price the last time you tried. 

[ktm805]

The app is requiring a subscription plan for the Pro 2 cameras, too (see attached; I marked the camera models on each view). 

I added one single-cam plan because the app required a plan to activate one of the remaining Pro 2 cameras.   So, now I have a 5-cam plan with (3) Pro 4's added + (2) Pro 2's.  And a single-cam plan to cover one of the Pro 2's.   But, now it still says I need to activate one of the Pro 2's... 

[dcfox1]

Got it. I don't know why subscribing to a multi cam would cancel out the free 7 day storage or require a sub on a Pro2 or even why the last cam would have went to full price. So maybe a moderator can chime in. 

[JamesC]

You mention having (6) Pro 2 cameras. Free cloud recording is only available when you have 5 or less legacy devices (Pro 2 in this case). If you have more than 5 legacy devices, you will need a subscription plan for each legacy camera.

JamesC

[ktm805]

Yes, I have (6) Pro 2 cameras, but (2) of those are on the multi-cam subscription I bought to cover my (3) Pro 4 cameras.  So, I only have (4) Pro 2 cameras without a plan.

[JamesC]

ktm805,

The number of legacy cameras with a plan is irrelevant in this case. The total number of legacy cameras on your account is what matters. If you have more than 5 total legacy cameras, each will need a subscription plan. You can have a maximum of 5 legacy devices before needing the subscription.

JamesC

[ktm805]

Ok, so I can move those (4) Pro 2's to another hub, under another family member's account, and share them out to myself to keep them off a plan.  Understood.  Thank you.