2 of 10 Arlo Pro 5 cameras not auto detecting motion

[GeorgeMerian]

Long story short trying to replace 10 Arlo Pro2 Cameras with 10 Arol Pro 5S 2K cameras.   After setting up 10 new Pro 5 cameras with my base station and firmware updated on each cameras,  two of the cameras will not auto-detect motion and record and send me a push notification.

I can turn on each camera live and watch video.  The motion detection test works as the light flickers amber during the test.  I moved motion detection sensitivity to 100% and no luck.

Everything seems to be working except for auto-motion detection.  Any ideas to check?  Another long story but I  am out of phone support warranty on the Pro 5 cameras.

Thanks,

George

[JamesC]

GeorgeMerian,

I took a look at the subscription plan that you have associated with your account and it appears you have a legacy Arlo Smart Premier plan. This plan supports up to 10 cameras. You have 12 cameras on the account ( 10 Pro 5 and 2 Pro VMC4030), two of the Pro 5 cameras are not associated with the Arlo Smart Premier plan which is likely why you're experiencing an issue.

I recommend changing your plan to an unlimited Arlo Secure plan to support all of the cameras on your account. For more information on how to change a plan, see here: https://kb.arlo.com/de/1215141/How-do-I-change-or-cancel-my-Arlo-subscription-plan

JamesC

[jguerdat]

Swapping cameras around and making sure your modes and rules for those cameras are the same may be useful. Also, are you setting motion sensitivity in your camera settings under Default Mode Settings (or in your modes and rules)? 

[GeorgeMerian]

 I have done the following:

- Remove the two cameras with issues and register them again with the base.  They should start working instantly once I have registered with the base and can see them from my app (all 10 Pro 2 cameras and 8 of the 10 Pro 5 cameras started to work instantly after I set them up with the base and app with default settings).

- Increase the default motion sensitivity from 80% to 100%.  Again, motion detection test will work (light flickers amber) went tested from the  'Default Mode Settings' option.

From the app I can turn on the camera in video mode, speaker works, light works. 

The one thing not working on these 8 out of 10 Pro 5 cameras is the auto detect motion which will start a recording and send me a push notification.   All other 8 Pro 5 cameras work fine.

[StephenB]

Have you checked that the problem cameras are in a subscription plan?

If they are, can you make a manual recording while livestreaming?

[GeorgeMerian]

1.  Yes. I can make a recording from the 2 bad cameras while live streaming.    Confirmed the recording was saved and I can play it back.

I see the 'bad' cameras from my app and my plan has 'unlimited' cameras.   How can I confirm these 2 bad cameras are in my subscription?    LIke I said, I have removed them and re-registered them 3 times now from the app just as I did with the other 8 Pro 5 cameras and no luck.

Thanks,

George

[StephenB]

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@GeorgeMerian wrote:

1.  Yes. I can make a recording from the 2 bad cameras while live streaming.    Confirmed the recording was saved and I can play it back.

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Ok, that confirms they are in a subscription plan.

Have you checked the system mode you are using (Armed Home, Armed Away, or Standby), to make sure the 2 cameras have rules listed in that mode?

[GeorgeMerian]

From the app, Dashboard page, I have it set to 'Arm Away' which I believe and have seen covers all cameras.

Are you saying you can set this mode by camera?  If so, how to I navigate to it as I can not find that option.

Also, just wanted to add, all batteries in all cameras are 100% charged.

Thanks,

George

[jguerdat]

Arm Away automatically gets any camera added to the account. The others do not so you have to manually edit those modes and add a rule for each.

https://kb.arlo.com/000062777/About-Arlo-Routines-Modes-Rules-and-Automations

[GeorgeMerian]

Well, then they should be set to Arm Away if done so automatically

[jguerdat]

What's your active mode?

[GeorgeMerian]

Arm Away I think is what you are asking.  That is set from 'Dashboard' page

[GeorgeMerian]

If 'Active mode' is a setting under a device, how do I navigate to it?

[jguerdat]

The Dashboard shows the active mode. You can change it from there. Did you read the link I posted above about how modes and rules are used and modified?

[GeorgeMerian]

I read the link and it did not help me.  From Dashboard I can select from the 3 modes, Arm Away, Arm Home and Standby, that is it so it impacts all cameras.

[GeorgeMerian]

and like I said, 8 of the Pro 5 cameras are working fine, 2 are not

[GeorgeMerian]

Also, more details that I did not want to have to add until we got to this point.

I bought and setup  these 10 Pro 5 cameras back in Feb of this year as I got a discount to move off the Pro 2 cameras as they are about end of life.   At that time all 10 Pro 5 cameras worked fine.   As you know there is a 30 day trial on the new cameras and I could not see from the app how to upgrade my existing subscription for the Pro 2 cameras and could not get any help.  My subscription expires in August so I took down the Pro 5 cameras and put the Pro 2 cameras thinking that in August when my subscription renews this will straighten out.   Well, I updated my plan yesterday to the new Secure plan as you see I am trying to setup the Pro 5 cameras again.  I had taken the batteries out of the Pro 5 cameras and removed them from my app after a few weeks in Feb.   The only difference I see is when I added the Pro 5 cameras yesterday for the first time it had to update the firmware on each camera so this may by a firmware issue as I am 100% sure these 10 Pro 5 cameras worked for around 3 weeks back in Feb.

[StephenB]

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@GeorgeMerian wrote:

I read the link and it did not help me.  From Dashboard I can select from the 3 modes, Arm Away, Arm Home and Standby, that is it so it impacts all cameras.

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1. Launch the Arlo Secure App.
2. Tap Routines.
3. Tap Arm Away

You should see the two problem cameras in the list.  If you don't, you need to create new rules (one for each).

If they are in the list, make sure the camera rule is telling them to record when motion is detected.

[GeorgeMerian]

Thank you very much for the detailed instructions, I appreciate it.  I did navigate to Routines then Arm Away and I do see the two cameras listed that I am having issues with and when I look at the settings of each one I do see that 'Motion Detected' is enabled and the action of 'Record a Video' is enabled and 'Send Notification'  has 'Notify Everyone' enabled.

To me it looks like both cameras are setup correctly.   Anything else I can do?

Thanks,

George

[StephenB]

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@GeorgeMerian wrote:

To me it looks like both cameras are setup correctly. 

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Me too.

@GeorgeMerian wrote:

Anything else I can do?

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You could try removing the battery and reinserting it on one of the cameras, and see if that helps.

Also if you use activity zones, try removing them from the problem cameras and see if they record properly w/o them.

[GeorgeMerian]

I have tried swapping batteries, and confirmed that all batteries are showing at least 94% charged.

I have tried to remove the cameras from the app and add them back.

I have tested the 'Motion Detection' test feature and it works so the cameras are picking up motion, they are just not acting on it.   

Is there anyway I can do a reset on these cameras and have the firmware reloaded?

[GeorgeMerian]

Forgot to mention, I have never used "Activity Zones".

[StephenB]

Are you using activity zones?

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@GeorgeMerian wrote:

Is there anyway I can do a reset on these cameras and have the firmware reloaded?

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Yes. 

• https://kb.arlo.com/000062880/How-do-I-factory-reset-and-re-sync-my-Arlo-camera-Arlo-Secure-4-0

Use the "if your camera is offline" procedure - removing the camera from the account, then holding down the sync button until you see a couple of amber flashes from the LED.

[GeorgeMerian]

Tried that, it did reset to factory defaults and I had to add the camera back as a device but it did not prompt me that firmware needed to be updated so the factory reset does not put the firmware back to the original version or previous version.

[StephenB]

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@GeorgeMerian wrote:

so the factory reset does not put the firmware back to the original version or previous version.

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Correct, Arlo doesn't support rolling back the firmware.

You might need to try support.  I guess another option would be to exchange the two cameras with the seller (if that is still possible).

[GeorgeMerian]

I thought this was support.    Do you know off the top of your head how long is the warranty on these cameras?  I bought them directly from Arlo on January 25th 2023, order number 

10444566.   As I mentioned earlier there is a reason I am just now setting them up again due to issue with updating my old plan with my Arlo Pro 2 cameras.

If they are under warranty who can I call?