Arlo Pro Base Station VMB4000r3 fails formatting USB Drives after firmware update to 1.12.2.1_2798

[Retired_Member]

Just noticed that apparently my Arlo Pro Base Station can no longer format USB Drives. I have been using these SanDisk 64GB drives for local storage for few months now and all was working just fine up till today when I tried to re-format.

Here is what happens:

1. Running Format takes unusually short time (less than 5 seconds) and after "completion" USB Device Status is shown as "Ready" and Available Storage is shown as "0 of 0"
2. Removing and re-inserting USB Drive into Base Stations reverts display of Available Storage numbers back to the values shown before the format was attempted.
3. Reading Drive on PC shows all files are still there and the drive in fact was not formatted at all.
4. Formatting USB Drive on Windows 10 PC to xFAT and trying to format that USB Drive in Arlo Base Station no longer converts File Sysytem to FAT32. USB Device Status remains "Requires Formatting" no matter how many formatting attempts have been made.

Based on these observations I'm reaching a conclusion that Base Station can no longer execute Format correctly. No changes have been made to my setup except for resent firmware update for Base Station to 1.12.2.1_2798

Could someone please try formatting USB Drive on VMB4000 to check if it still works for you?

[Retired_Member]

Could not agree more.

[Retired_Member]

Agreed. I had luck having a friend let me use her MacBook to format my 1 terabyte drives.

[softice]

On windows I found out that MiniTool Partition works to format the drive 

Here is the link where you can download it.

There is a free version which works ok

https://www.partitionwizard.com/

[FlSax]

All:

We have found some creative ways to work around the ARLO format shortfalls, but the real issue is ARLO /Netgear wake up and fix your problem!!  Do a patch update for firmware so we can format in NTFS or provide an external link that will work for format since your base station option is not a fix.

While you are at it, fix the Flash player needed, if not your competition will be getting a lot more business.

FlSax

[Retired_Member]

Agreed we home techs will always find work-arounds, (reminds me of my BlackBerry days) and agreed nothing is fixed. I have to believe Netgear is working on something, but their lack of communication is ridiculous.

[mamarcac]

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@FlSax wrote:

All:

We have found some creative ways to work around the ARLO format shortfalls, but the real issue is ARLO /Netgear wake up and fix your problem!!  Do a patch update for firmware so we can format in NTFS or provide an external link that will work for format since your base station option is not a fix.

While you are at it, fix the Flash player needed, if not your competition will be getting a lot more business.

FlSax

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Yeah totally agree. I will say, for a free and non-intrusive solution (no additional programs need to be installed in Windows) I posted a while back about booting to Ubuntu or Debian Live CD (or usb) - if you don't already run a Linux machine at home. It won't touch your computer and lets you use GParted to format properly. I've never liked Windows Trialware personally so I try to steer people clear of it.

The Flash Player is just Arlo digging in their heels and refusing to get with the times.

[morgoth58]

I found that Minitool will format/create partition to allow the Arlo to use the USB storage, however the latest firmware has introduced an inconsistent base unit reload issue.

[JamesC · Accepted solution]

This issue is now resolved in the latest firmware release for VMB4000. Please take a look at the firmware release notes and check to make sure your base station is up to date with the latest firmware version:

Arlo Base Station VMB4000 - 1.14.1.0_2909_bfcf6c2 - 30th August 2019

JamesC