Arlo Pro 5S - (missing events, taking snapshots). Pro 4 in same location works fine.

[chicane]

I've had ongoing headaches with my Pro 5S cameras not detecting events or taking snapshots instead.

Today I did a side by side test with a Pro 4 camera in the same location. Both devices are on 2.4GHz and connected to an outdoor Ubiquiti AP (great signal strength for both). I did try the device on 5GHz and found it to be similarly flaky so reverted to a hopefully more stable 2.4GHz connection. Unfortunately not.

Since I have done this side by side test, the Pro 4 is detecting every event (and recording a video). 

The pro 5 recorded video once, completely missed one event and recorded a snapshot instead for the third event. With the video was choppy and audio partially missing at the start, while the Pro4 was smooth and had audio for the full clip.

Both devices are active under my subscription, set identical under the routine (to record video), and smart notifications set the same.

I've had this replaced with a new sealed unit by support for the second time with the same outcome.

Are these devices inherently faulty? anyone else experiencing similar?

[BrookeN]

The firmware has started rolling out. It should be completed within the next week. As soon as that is fully rolled out the behavior you are seeing will be resolved. 

[BrookeN]

I have this escalated to the engineering team. I will update the community as soon as possible. 

[roundball]

 

I was just posting to let it be known the 5s problems continue as they have for over a year regardless of everything we attempt to make them work like Pro2 / Pro3 / Pro4 sets have worked in the exact same environment.

FWIW, conditions were excellent…

Trash truck recorded fine, big school bus going by did not.

Delivery trucks pull into the driveway…usually they record but sometimes they don’t.

Current 5s cams are untrustworthy.

[StephenB]

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@roundball wrote:

FWIW, conditions were excellent…

Trash truck recorded fine, big school bus going by did not.

Delivery trucks pull into the driveway…usually they record but sometimes they don’t.

Current 5s cams are untrustworthy.

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It's not clear why the older cameras worked as well as they did.

The street traffic is well beyond the spec'd detection range for the cameras (25 ft, 7.5m).

• https://kb.arlo.com/000062617/How-far-away-can-Arlo-Cameras-and-Arlo-Video-Doorbells-detect-motion

Another aspect is that the motion detection works best across the field of view (side to side), and is more sensitive at the top of the field of view than it is at the bottom. 

While the street traffic is side-to-side, it is out-of-range and at the top. 

Delivery trucks entering the driveway might be out of range when they park (no way to tell from your screenshot), but even if they are in range they are in the most difficult detection area (straight toward the camera at the top of the field of view).

I get that you want better performance, but the screen shot suggests that your Pro 5 camera is meeting its spec.

You could try inverting the camera (and applying the 180 degree rotation setting).  That would improve motion sensitivity at the top of your image (but give you lower sensitivity at the bottom).

[roundball]

You may have missed my comment about my years of using sets of Pro2 / then Pro3 / then Pro4 cams…they  didn’t have the 5s problems…like many of us have posted for over a year.

In fact, the Pro2/Pro3/Pro4 sets recorded everything on the street so annoyingly that I always had to set ‘activity zones’ to avoid street coverage…yet your reference to distance also shows only 25 feet for all those models too.

Bottom line is the 5s cams have not been as good as the Pro2/Pro3/Pro4 sets ever since they were introduced…this and many other threads have been exposing there poor performance ever since they became available.

[GeneralMeow]

Have to agree with @roundball here.

I have had the same mount-points on my property for Arlo cams since the Pro's-Pro4's for years, and all of them have performed about the same.  I upgrade to the Pro5's on the same mount-points; both of the Pro5's I bought to start upgrading the 5-6 cams outside - miss things, garbled recordings and live streams, etc.  I even tested with a Pro(2,3,4) right next to the Pro5 mount-point and the older cameras performed better than the Pro5.

The broom needs to stop coming out for the Pro5's and sweeping this under the rug.

[roundball]

@GeneralMeow 

“…..The broom needs to stop coming out for the Pro5's and sweeping this under the rug..…”

👌

[StephenB]

---

@roundball wrote:

You may have missed my comment about my years of using sets of Pro2 / then Pro3 / then Pro4 cams…they  didn’t have the 5s problems…like many of us have posted for over a year.

---

I didn't say that your older cameras weren't triggering on the street traffic.  All I said was that the motion detection you are getting with your Pro 5s camera appears to be compliant with its spec'd motion detection range of 25 ft (7.5m).

Are you currently seeing cases where it is missing motion events that are within 25 feet of the camera?

[Edinburgh_lad1]

I'd like to know if having a subscription, as opposed to local storage, improves a detection rate and duration of the recording - can anyone who didn't have the subscription but has it now please confirm that their Pro 5s are working better with it? 

(When I had my subscription back in 2024, detection rates etc. were very good on my Ultra. Now they're not with events being missed or partly recorded. So, it's either the lack of the subscription or firmware/software and nothing to do, in my case, with how far the camera is installed.)

[roundball]

@Edinburgh_lad1 @BrookeN 

IMO, There’s no telling what the problem is…cam hardware, cam firmware, host software, cloud software, UI software, etc, etc, etc…can’t help but wonder if there isn’t any thorough coordinated testing by all different support activities as a package prior to any change.

Reason I say that is back on September 19, 2024, new Field Trial Firmware was installed during the night on my 5s cams, and for the first time they all started working fantastic.  (Field Trial Firmware # 1.050.33.6_71_393f539 )

Fast, clear, catching all motions, all distances, immediate notifications, posting to Feed quickly, etc…just like the sets of Pro2 / Pro3 / Pro4 cams I previously had in the exact same locations / environment.

I posted here & to @BrookeN after a week of solid performance on 09.29.24.  I suggested to BrookeN she tell arlo I’d be glad to work with them, that they should pause everything and record / document all aspects of their 5s operations to put a stake in the ground…but never heard anything from arlo.

I continued to post excellent 5s performance here about every week until mid-October when arlo changed the firmware again, and all 5s cams immediately turned back to crappy performance again the next day.

Those few weeks were surely the kind of 5s cam performance arlo wanted with 5s but they kept changing things month after month and my 5s cams have never worked properly again since.

[roundball]

@BrookeN  and all.....Just some FYI:

Didn’t see a way to upload a video so I took a few snapshots from my Driveway cam5s video.

It Detected & recorded me all the way up the driveway to the street perfectly…shut off when I turned to the mailbox.

I came right back down the driveway the exact same way and it never detected / recorded a thing.

 

[roundball]

@BrookeN  and all:

This time,  the 5s driveway cam a couple hours later:

Trash cart scheduled for picked up first thing Tuesday mornings.

I just walked the trash cart up the driveway to the street.

5s cam detected & recorded me walking all the way up to the street.

Then

5s cam detected & recorded me walking all the way back to the house.

[a102768]

I am actually really impressed that your camera does pick up movement so far away! I wouldn't have expected it to work over that distance at all.

This is the view my old Pro 5 had and wasn't capturing anything on the street, just pedestrians on the near side pavement:

After reading the documentation I realised the it is most sensitive in the bottom two thirds of the view so moved it up 10 degrees or so to this view instead and now it captures dozens of car movements a day:

[roundball]

@a102768 @BrookeN 

More terrible 5s performance.

Going out to check the mail.

Front Porch 5s cam DOES NOT detect or record my departure off the porch and using the sidewalk over to the driveway.

Walk up the driveway and Driveway  5s cam DOES NOT detect or record me walking up the driveway to the street mailbox.

Walk back down the driveway and Driveway 5s cam detects and records me.

Walk across the sidewalk to the front porch and the Front Porch 5s cam detects and records me.

So 50% of simple basic activities in beautiful clear sunny weather worked…and 50% did not !

It’s been said that Arlo was going to give us new replacement 5s cams for what we’ve got.

We’re now into our 4th week of waiting…but still no deliveries, no status, no contact.

[Edinburgh_lad1]

@roundball the quality of your screenshots is terrible - that's not 2k but more like 720, if at all - the colours are all washed out, there's a lack of sharpness etc. etc. 

No, there is no testing involved, though when I complained to Arlo Care Team a few months back, I was assured that all software was tested before released. 

Yes, software is tested, but its different versions aren't.

That's how it works. 

[roundball]

@Edinburgh_lad1 

FWIW.....they weren't direct arlo system snapshots of a still camera view.

They were just a few periodic manual snapshots I took of an in-motion recorded video while replaying the video through my iPhone, because I didn't see a way to upload an actual video.

[GW1a]

Replacement camera has arrived (identical model version to the last, even the same serial number!!!) and positioned in the exact same position as the previous camera, but so far no improvements in performance have been noticed. I will continue to monitor and will provide an update again soon.

[roundball]

@GW1a 

😳

Same serial # ????????

Was it New…or a used / returned / declared good unit ???????

Did it have the latest firmware ???

[Edinburgh_lad1]

Same serial number? Wow. Looks like a custom made camera, especially for you. 🤨😂

If it doesn't perform better, then it shows to me that the product is not fit fit purpose in general.

It puzzles me how one firmware was better at one point and why Arlo is not fixing current firmware. Do you have a subscription? Is there something in the firmware code that enables subscribers to have an improved detection ability? My Ultra didn't used to miss events when I had a subscription but now does. So, either new firmware is less effective in getting cameras to detect and record, or that detection is also dependent on whether one has a subscription or not. I know the former verges on a conspiracy theory but it wouldn't surprise me if Arlo had introduced some further punitive measures for non-subscribers (we already know that tee quality of footage is reduced if you're a non-subscriber, at least for Arlo HD or Arlo Pro/Pro 2 users). The question would be how would a user know to subscribe to improve a detection rate.

I noticed that there is a power mode on these next gen cameras like Pro 5. Did you try to fiddle with the setting for it to see if it makes a difference (I'm sure you had, but just out of curiosity)?

[a102768]

It does seem odd and unlikely that it has the same serial number. Maybe you accidentally put the old camera back up? 🙂

My replacement camera had different firmware, hardware ID and serial number, so nothing in common at all.

[GW1a]

@Edinburgh_lad1 yes I have a subscription, and have been through all the settings and set them the same as per the previous camera to ensure I'm comparing like for like.

[GW1a]

@a102768 I had to transfer the battery from the old camera into the new so I definitely have the new camera up. I took photos of the inside of both cameras as I swapped the battery, they both definitely show the same model and serial numbers.

[GW1a]

Sorry, ignore me, they do have different serial numbers, it's been a long week 🙈

[Edinburgh_lad1]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

This is how rumours start, you know.

[roundball]

@a102768 

Just wondering, did you check to see if it would download any other firmware?

[roundball]

@GW1a 

No sweat, thanks for clariifying

[Edinburgh_lad1]

The issue is clearly widespread and doesn't just affect the Pro 5. I've just been to water the garden and my Ultra camera is located on the wall, 1m above my head - when I was in the middle of putting the hose away, it just stopped recording half-way through. And yes @StephenB , I was in the bottom 2/3 of the recording area and moving sideways, though, to be honest, I find fulfilling such conditions utterly ridiculous; this is a confirmation that this product is a toy, not a serious product.