Smarthub Capabilities

[patrone84]

I have three Arlo Pro 4 cameras and a wired doorbell in various locations around my house. These cameras are all connected by an Eero mesh network and have solid connections. I'm considering purchasing a SmartHub for local recording and I have a few questions. 

1) Do the cameras need to connect to the Smarthub directly? Or can I connect the Smarthub to the mesh network and allow the cameras to connect to the Smarthub via the Eero mesh network? My concern is with the 300ft range of the Smarthub. I'm not sure all cameras will be able to directly connect to the Smarthub.

2) Are recordings stored locally accessible on the app? Are there any restrictions on viewing those recordings - ie. can't view from outside the local network/away from the house? Any work arounds for this? 

Thanks for the help! 

[StephenB]

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@patrone84 wrote:

1) Do the cameras need to connect to the Smarthub directly?

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Local recording requires the camera to be connected to the smarthub directly.  IMO it'd be nice if that were changed, but I don't see much chance that Arlo will do that.

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@patrone84 wrote:

2) Are recordings stored locally accessible on the app? Are there any restrictions on viewing those recordings - ie. can't view from outside the local network/away from the house? Any work arounds for this? 

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Restrictions on direct access to local recordings include:

• Access is not possible via browser (only the app).
• Access is only possible with the primary account (not friend accounts)
• You can not make manual recordings or take snapshots unless you have a subscription.
• There are no thumbnails.  All recordings (including alerts) need to be downloaded to the phone to see anything
• Remote access requires either port forwarding or a VPN connection to your home router.  VPN is reported not to work with Android (I use an iPhone so can't test that).  Remote access is not possible with some ISPs (including mobile broadband services, and some other landline services that use carrier-grade NAT).  Some find the needed settings changes in the router to be difficult.

Note that if you are planning to keep your subscription, then the cameras will continue to work as they are now - so these constraints won't be as burdensome.  In that scenario the local recordings serve as a backup.

[jguerdat]

1) To utilize the hub, all cameras will have to be removed from your account and then connected to the hub (after claiming the hub first, of course). The hub has effectively the same range as your WiFi since it also uses its own dedicated WiFi for the cameras. There could be some differences due to different designs and location but essentially the same. If some cameras are connected to satellites then there could well be a distance issue which may mean that certain cameras will need to remain connected to your WiFi.

2) Local recordings are accessed directly via the app as long as you use a VMB4540 (my choice) or a VMB5000. The lesser/older VMB4xxx bases can store locally but you have to eject the drive for viewing on a computer. You can view local recordings away from home if you set up a VPN connection to your router or use port forwarding. Either way gets you a connection into your network which allows access to your hub. Note that the Android app has issues with OpenVPN (used on at least Netgear routers - no idea what Eero may use) so you have to use port forwarding. The app helps step you through that but the details are relative to your router. It may help to assign a static IP address to the hub in your router's DHCP settings so port forwarding doesn't fail with a reboot.