Arlo Pro from friend won't connect

[AmyBev77]

I was given an Arlo Pro camera from a friend after he upgraded his system to Ultra. It will not connect with my base (I have the original Arlo Cameras & base). Is there something that needs to be reset?

[brh]

@AmyBev77,

Most likely your friend did not remove the camera from his account before giving it to you. He needs to do that before it will work on your system.

Brian

[AmyBev77]

Hi @brh He had to deactivate it to add his new camera to stay under five & not have to sign up for a subscription. Could my base be the problem? It’s the original flat base.

[brh]

@AmyBev77,

No, it shouldn't make any difference which base you are using. Skip trying to use the app to add the camera and simply press briefly on the sync button on the base then briefly press the sync button on the camera then see if the camera shows up in the app. If not, let me know what the LED on the camera did.

Brian

[AmyBev77]

Hi Brian!  I tried that and it still will not connect.  The camera light blinks blue.  Could it be that the battery seems to not be powering the camera, but it gets power from the cord?

[brh]

@AmyBev77,

when everything works as it should, the installation process is very easy, but when it doesn't go as it should, there are a lot of troubleshooting steps to follow. Since I can not see your setup, I will have to ask a lot of questions and give some general comments.

Unless the battery is completely dead, I don't think that the battery and/or cable should make any difference, but since you mentioned it, have you tried syncing the camera with only the battery and have you tried syncing it with the battery removed? Have you tried removing the reinserting the battery? 

As for the LED in the camera, when the battery is fully charged, the LED should show solid blue. Are you seeing that after the camera is plugged in for a couple of hours? Are you using an original Arlo power adapter?

When trying to sync the LED on the camera will flash blue slowly for a few seconds indicating that it is trying to sync. After a few seconds, the LED should rapidly flash blue indicating that the sync process was successful. Are you seeing that?

Is the camera within several feet of the hub when you are trying to sync them?

Answer those questions for me and we will go from there if the sync process is still unsuccessful.

Brian

[AmyBev77]

1. He didn't give me a battery, so I purchased one brand new from Amazon. It is a Netgear battery with the cable. I inserted the battery and plugged it in and waited overnight for it to charge before attempting to sync.  When I took the cord off, the camera will not turn on, so I took the battery out a few times and put it back in, but still no power. When I plugged the cord back in, the blue light would flash for syncing and you can see the motion detect lights click red when you look directly at the camera.

2.The LED light flashes blue slowly until the base stops trying to sync and then it goes blank, no light.

3. The camera is within a foot of the base when I try to sync.

[brh]

@AmyBev77,

I don't know why he did not give you a battery as the Ultra battrey is not compatible. I am beginning to think that the camera is defective. Try syncing the camera using just the power adapter and cable without the battery inserted. 

Unfortunately, without another pro camera, it is nearly impossible to see what is going on. If possible take the camera, battery and adapter with cable to your friend's house and see if he can add it to his system. He should be able to verify if the battery is charging or not.

Also verify that the pins inside the battery compartment are not pushed down. Be sure to press the battery in very firmly when inserting it.

Brian

[AmyBev77]

I'll try that, thanks!

If the camera is defective, can they be repaired or would it be better/easier to just replace the unit?

I did check the camera and the pins are ok and I did press when inserting, without sucess.

[brh · Accepted solution]

@AmyBev77,

After trying to sync without the battery, if it still doesn't work, then if you need more cameras, right now Amazon has some pretty good prices on bot the add on cameras or the camera with Pro base station. Either way, you might be able to at least see what is happening with the camera and battery.

Brian