Record for a fixed length does not.

[Campcamp]

So i ran into the dreaded Non-functioning of the Record for a Fixed time.  I've set 5 of my cams to record for 120 seconds when triggered either through a routine or through detection of motion.  the result is a number of 2 second recordings. Bandwidth is not an issue. cameras are in close proximity to an outdoor access point. and most importantly, the entire setup worked perfectly until a few weeks ago. 

Customer support did not. I might be done throwing money into this eco system. anyone know if Tplink Tapo is a good alternative?

[Campcamp]

As I try to isolate the issue by removing single cameras from the routine, the issue is spreading! Now previously unaffected cameras are only recording for 2 Seconds even though the setting is for a fixed length of 120 seconds. Cameras are direct to wifi not using the base unit and within 50 feet of access point. Signal is not the issue.

[ShayneS]

Hi @Campcamp 

Thank you for the feedback. I was able to replicate this as you described. I  let the team know and I am waiting for additional feedback. 

[ShayneS]

@Campcamp 

While the team looks in to this can you try power cycling your router to see if this improves?

[Campcamp]

Router reset, router has fully updated firmware and is rebooted weekly. There is still weirdness occurring. Can you let me know why you think it might have been an issue with the router? The 5, (now 4 with the removal of the ultra) are tied to an Asus EBA63, fully updated access point. the EBA is rated for 3000Mbps. cameras are set for optimized battery usage, so that bandwidth should be more than sufficient.

I am continuing RCA by removing the only Ultra cam (and thus also the only base station) involved in the Routine. Notionally, it appears that the addition of the ultra and base station to which the single ultra, and only the single ultra are tied, coincides with the start of the weirdness. 

[chicane]

@ShayneS @BrookeN 
How many serious bugs affect the pro 5s cameras? you've got this one and the missed events issue.

[Campcamp]

Just tracking progress here for future folk. was advised by arlo that signal strength on some of the cams was sub optimal. I had at least two wifi signal strength indicators so i thought it was ok. In any event, I installed additional Access points and each cam now is less than 20 feet from an access point and has three wifi signal strength indicators. 

unfortunately. the problem is still occurring. There is a tech involved. let's see what they say. 

[chicane]

They'll blame your wifi even when there is sufficient strength. 

Anything to deflect away from taking responsibility for addressing serious faults in their product (camera or could storage platform. 

[jguerdat]

Conspiracy theories don't help. There's more to a good connection than  just strength.

[chicane]

@jguerdat allow me to rephrase it to "wifi experience" using Unifi vernacular. 

[GeneralMeow]

There seems to be lots of ignoring the facts in posts that users having trouble have went out of there way to put a Pro4 cam right next to the Pro5 and the Pro4 works fine all the time.  But lets keep sweeping that under the rug and blame the users WiFi.

[ShayneS]

The Arlo development team is currently investigating reports of this behavior. We will provide an update as soon as we have more information to share with the community.

[Campcamp]

Havent heard back from Arlo on this in a few weeks. It appears new firmware might have been pushed, and performance normalized for a week or two, so I appreciate the effort as the last seemed to have moved the needle in the correct direction with less occurences of non specified recording times.  However, over the last two days and as recently as 20 minutes ago, the erratic recording times have returned with a vengence. 

The problem is not yet solved.

For the community information: I recieved initial feedback from Arlo that, even with two wifi signal strength indicator bars, the signal to my cameras was below the threshold that would allow nominal function. To rectify this, I installed additional access points near the cameras and each access point is limited to serving four specific cameras.  All cameras now continually show three wifi strength indicator bars.  Yet  the problem still persists.  I do not believe it is a signal strength problem.

[StephenB]

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@Campcamp wrote:

For the community information: I recieved initial feedback from Arlo that, even with two wifi signal strength indicator bars, the signal to my cameras was below the threshold that would allow nominal function. 

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While the network can be the cause, it is easy to blame.

If your camera is connected to your home wifi (or if the hub is fairly close to the router), then I recommend measuring your wifi speed at the camera location using your phone.  Use the free Ookla speedtest app, and turn off mobile data during the test.  You are particularly interested in the upload speed and packet loss.  In the case of the Pro 5s, you want at least 2 mbits/second upload speed (ideally more).

Also, if you use a smarthub, you can get interference if the hub is too close to the router.  So move the hub as far away from the router as the cable will reach (5-6 feet).

[ShayneS]

@Campcamp 

Thanks for the update. The team is still looking in to this and I have asked for an update. I will continue to provide more info when received. 

[ShayneS]

@Campcamp 

Is it possible to try and set your router to channel 11 to see if this helps with the recordings. 

[ShayneS]

@Campcamp 

Were you able to test this WIFI channel? the team noticed the channels your device has been routing to is particularly noisy. 

[chicane]

suggesting using random wifi channel numbers without knowing the wifi spectrum usage is rather unhelpful.

[ShayneS]

@chicane I would like to ask if you can kindly follow the Arlo Community User Guidelines. I have attached a link to the articles content. Thank you for your understanding. Arlo Community Guidelines

1. Stay on topic. Arlo Community is here to help people use Arlo products and technologies more effectively.
2. Behave with civility and mutual respect. Flaming or name calling will not be tolerated. Similarly, any message containing the following will be removed at the discretion of either a Community moderator or administrator.
   • Off-Topic posting
   • Unhelpful/redundant content
   • Thread hi-jacking
   • Spamming
   • Cussing or other profanity
   • Ranting
   • Discussion or suggestions involving illegal activities
   • Linking or posting of pornographic material
   • Linking or posting of advertising, promotions, contest materials that are non-Arlo provided

[chicane]

@ShayneS what if that channel is congested? You'd have made the situation worse. You're better off leaving it on auto and allow it to change.

Or, do a site survey first. 

[chicane]

Fwiw I see this happen regularly and there is no wifi congestion. 

@ShayneS any insights into the Arlo cloud storage platform being at fault here?

[GeneralMeow]

@chicane  I wonder is it's the 5G band or 2.4G band congestion.

I've seen not very good recovery from the loss of the 5G band or channel change.

Reminds me of some CDMA radio programming to needlessly hang onto a weak signal than to just look at the PRL to at least be able to communicate at all.

[StephenB]

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@GeneralMeow wrote:

@chicane  I wonder is it's the 5G band or 2.4G band congestion.

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I'm wondering that too.

@chicane - does this typically happen when multiple cameras triggering at the same time? 

[Campcamp]

When the error occurs, it is typically (approx 80% of the time) during multiple cameras being triggered. but is also occurs when the malfunctioning camera is solely triggered. This is roughly the same percentage of how events are triggered so the data is not of use .  The  AP is an ASUS EBA63 AX3000.  I'll lock the channel to 11 to further troubleshoot, as previously requested. 

[ShayneS]

@Campcamp The development team is inquiring.