Arlo Pro Geofencing & Android 8 Oreo Is Not Functioning Properly

[Kwenda]

Like many I was using Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow on my phone and the Geofencing worked brilliantly.

Now I upgraded to Android 8 Oreo, and the Geofencing now no longer works.

A quick web search shows that Android 8 has ‘upgraded’ location services to reduce battery consumption. Thus the location service only is active once per hour.

I am not a software engineer, but it appears that Netgear could alter their app to provide what is called a ‘Foreground Service’ to solve this problem.

The questions then become:-

Is there any indications that Netgear Arlo software dept are going to solve this problem of Geofencing.?

Will Android 9 Pie solve the issue anyway.?  From what I read there are less options in location service with Android Pie.

I can sit in the car outside the house, bring out the phone, set Arlo to disarm each time, but is there a better simpler way?   I am thinking here of a FOB like a garage door opener that I can quickly press to arm or disarm the Arlo system.  Perhaps working with IFTTT..?

Any pointers or assistance is appreciated.

Thanks

[TomMac]

The only option I can think of is to disable the battery saver on the gps function if possible ... and/or possible to run in the background a map app that will fire off the gps much more often.

As a PS, also leave on wifi as the geo uses form of assisted gps to determine location

[Kwenda]

Thanks for your advice, but still a total failure…..  Recent tests performed..

Unlocked the Android Oreo phone, went to ‘Settings’, opened ‘Security and location’, scroll down to Privacy, scroll down to ‘Location’, confirmed that it was ‘ON’ and set to ‘Mode, High accuracy’ – ‘ Use GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or Mobile networks to determine location’.

Test 1.   From the house I set the Arlo app to Geofencing and walked 100 yards outside of the medium range setting.  Waited for 15 minutes, and the Geofencing did NOT switch Arlo to Armed.

Logged out of the app, and logged in again.

Test 2.  Repeated test 1 and still Arlo would NOT switch to Armed.

Test 3.  While still away from the house I opened the Arlo app’s Geofencing set up, noted that the range was set at medium, and that my physical location was marked with a blue dot that was 100 yards outside the medium range setting of the Arlo Geofencing app.  Waited 15 minutes, but still the Arlo did NOT switch to Armed.

Test 4.  Back at home set the Arlo app to Geofencing, opened a mapping app that confirmed my exact position, and left it running in the back ground.  Walked over 100 yards outside the Medium Range setting of the Arlo Geofencing, waited 15 minutes.  Still the Arlo did NOT switch to Armed.

Test 5.  Set the Arlo app to Geofencing, opened another mapping app and set it to record a tracklog of my position at all times.  Interestingly this set the location sign visible in the notification tray at the top of the phone’s screen.  It also opened a notification advising that this app was utilizing significant battery power. Again walked over 100 yards outside the Medium Range setting of the Arlo Geofencing, waited 15 minutes.  Still the Arlo did NOT switch to Armed.

My previous phone was another Motorola, the G 3 model running Android 5.1.1 (Lollipop), which was upgraded to 6.0 (Marshmallow).  The Arlo Geofencing worked PERFECTLY..

Can anyone assist with getting Arlo Geofencing working on another Motorola phone running Android Oreo.??

 Thanks

[jguerdat]

Remember that the app has to rely on the phone's/OS's determination as to location. 100 yards may not be enough (or maybe it is) to cause the change. Try other location accuracy settings to see if that makes a difference.

[pc2k17 · Accepted solution]

I have a Samsung S8 with android Oreo and I gave up on geofencing long ago with Arlo and with SmartThings.

Since I have SmartThings and I also have Arlo integrated into SmartThings, the solution I came up with was to get a SmartThings Arrival sensor. The arrival sensor connects to the SmartThings base and knows in 30 seconds or less when it's near the base (home) or away from the base (away). I then have rules setup in SmartThings to turn the Arlo cameras on or off depending on if the arrival sensor is home or away. I also have Arlo pilot setup in SmartThings which automatically changes the Arlo mode depending on if I'm away or home using the arrival sensor. It works flawlessly. Never had an issue with this setup.

If your interested in smart home automation, look into smartthings and an arrival sensor. Works with Arlo great.