VMB4540 with Pro 4 not recording, but will record with Pro

[Drewman88]

My old Arlo Pro cameras work great, record locally on VMB4540 base with USB drive plugged in.

I also added some newer Alro Pro 4 cameras.  VMB4540 base can detect it, control it, on a schedule, it detects motion, but does not record locally to VMB4540 base (and the USB drive).

From what I read, Pro 4 can record locally.  What am I not doing correctly on the Pro 4 setup?  It is ok to mix cameras?

[jguerdat]

ANy camera connected to your hub should record since the recording has to pass through the hub to get to the servers for cloud recordings. Any camera connected to WiFi cannot be recorded locally since the recordings don't pass through the hub. Is it possible that you have a filter set so the new camera is deselected for viewing?

[StephenB]

Also, are you sure that you are viewing local recordings with the Pro?  It has 7-day free cloud recording, so you might not be.

If you see thumbnails in the library, then you are looking at cloud recordings.

[Drewman88]

My free could recording period ended.  And I do not see thumbnails in the library.

[StephenB]

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@Drewman88 wrote:

My free could recording period ended.  And I do not see thumbnails in the library.

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I was asking about the Pro cameras (where you should still have cloud recording, as long as you have 5 or fewer unsubscribed cameras).  Are you getting recordings for those?  If so, do you see thumbnails or not?

[Drewman88]

The old Pro cameras are recording locally on my USB drive fine for years.  The newer Pro 4 cameras also connected to VMB4540 does not record. 

The Pro 4 did record to the cloud, when I first got them new out of the box.  It was connected directly to wi-fi.  Now that the free period is over, I wanted to connect them locally to VMB4540.  The Pro 4s cameras are connected to the base, not directly to wi-fi.

[Drewman88]

Here is an update and what I discovered.  

The Pro 4 camera does record, locally, on the USB drive.  I discovered this only after I plug the USB drive into a computer.  However....it does not show I have a recording in my Library.  So there is no way I would know there is a recording (waiting for me to see) on my phone, iPad, or any device.  

Does it record, locally?  Yes.  But it's kind of useless if I have to check my USB drive on a computer each time.  

My other Pro cameras record to the USB drive, and I see it in the Library.  That tells me there is a recording for me to review.  Why doesn't the Pro 4 also do that?

[jguerdat]

Any camera newer than the Pro 2, since 2018, requires a subscription for cloud recordings. You got a free trial sub for the Pro 4 but that apparently expired and you didn't purchase at least a single camera sub so no cloud recordings. The legacy cameras still have the free 7 day plan.

Since you opted for no sub and have an older base, your option is to eject the drive to view videos. Use of a SmartHub (VMB4540 or 5000) allows you to use the app to view the videos directly.

https://kb.arlo.com/1146850/How-do-I-view-videos-saved-on-local-storage

[StephenB]

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@jguerdat wrote:

Since you opted for no sub and have an older base, your option is to eject the drive to view videos. Use of a SmartHub (VMB4540 or 5000) allows you to use the app to view the videos directly.

https://kb.arlo.com/1146850/How-do-I-view-videos-saved-on-local-storage

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Actually @Drewman88 is using a VMB4540.

[Drewman88]

Yes, VMB4540 came with my Pro 4 cameras.  So the old Pro cameras work fine with my new base.  I would have still continued to use my old base VMB3XXX?  But when the Pro 4 recorded videos did not show up in my Library, I switched to the newer 4540 base, figure that may be the issue.  

Can I still buy the old Pro cameras?  Just kidding.  They are 5 years old and still work great, with my old base and new 4540.  I understand the newer cameras are "better" in that it can connect directly to wi-fi, etc.  That's advancement in technology.  Looks like some of us don't want that, or a subscription.  That's what attracted me to Arlo in the first place.  It's a security camera without a subscription.

I still like to believe it will work.  Perhaps Arlo made it ultra "difficult" so we continue to subscribe to use the features.  That's opportunity for revenue, no?

[StephenB]

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@Drewman88 wrote:

Yes, VMB4540 came with my Pro 4 cameras.  So the old Pro cameras work fine with my new base.  I would have still continued to use my old base VMB3XXX?  But when the Pro 4 recorded videos did not show up in my Library, I switched to the newer 4540 base, figure that may be the issue.  

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It shouldn't be.  

Are you seeing "Library" or "Feed" in your UI?