Arlo Pro Base Offline After Firmware Update 8/30/2019

[JimCav]

My Arlo Pro Base Station (VMB4000) will not boot up! I have tried pulling the power plug, left it unplugged for up to 5 minutes. pulled the internet connection for the base station and the router and reconnected both. Power on the base, all green lights come on then go off the power light then turns amber and stays that way, the other 2 light NEVER come on. I also have tried changing what port the Arlo is connected to in the router, no luck. And yes all ports on the router are working fine. This started a couple days ago and I have trying to get it working ever since. Just bought it in December 2018! System is down and not working at all. Anyone who knows what they are talking about, I would really appreciate your HELP.

[StevenL]

I opened a case with tech support since my system is useless.  After a 20 minute long phone call, they advised they are aware of this issue and their engineers are working on it.  They would email me with a status on the fix at some point.  I also asked for a credit on the subscription service I pay for, and was advised they would put in a request with billing.  They have no idea when this is supposed to be fixed.  In the meantime I have no system.  It'll be interesting to see how they send out the "fix" to me since I have no internet connection with the base station, and no camera connection with the base station either.  And the factory reset button doesn't work at all (holding it in for 10 seconds) the multiple times I've tried to use it.

[jguerdat]

Try rebooting both your router and base, in that order.

[jguerdat]

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@StevenL wrote:

I decided to re-boot the base unit by unplugging it for two minutes then plug it back in.  As it is rebooting, all three lights will turn green for about 3 seconds, then the only light that stays lit is the power light and it is amber.

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You nailed the problem right there. Either the power supply or the base is faulty. It's unlikely the update did this but is just an unforunate coincidence. Use your one year warranty by contacting support:

https://www.arlo.com/en-us/support/contact.aspx

[JG2547]

Thank you for the reply. I tried your suggestion two times. The base does go through the entire boot up process. The three lights go through the different stages until I get 3 green lights. Immediately the green lights go out and I get a solid amber in the left position. 

[JimCav]

Im not used Comcast, we are on a local cable company. But still have the same problem. They are suppose to send me a new base, have not received it yet and its been a week today since Arlo confirmed the replacement. Have not received anything from Arlo since, they did not even advise me the shipping method. And no I did not get a shipping notification either. These people have some serious communication problems.

[StevenL]

I deleted my base station.  Rebooted my router, then the Arlo base station.  Did the same thing:  cycled then went to an amber power light.  Tried adding the base station again, still nothing.  Tried holding the reset button for 30 seconds, still didn't work.  Arlo needs to hurry up with this apparent widespread issue.  It would be nice if tech support which monitors this forum posted a possible timeline for a fix.  At this point is it one day?  One month?  Who knows.  NOT GOOD for customer service at all.

[doug725sa]

Neither the configuration of ports nor following the procedure suggested as a solution.
The mac address is still 00:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF.
..Power light still amber
.. Camaras poll base intermittently.
.. base polls router to connect
..
The procedure that was NOT a solution is :

steven_conn

1. Make sure that your home router is giving internet connection down to the through ethernet cable. So please connect a PC via ethernet cable to your router then check if you can go online.
2. Log in to your arlo app. Go
1. Make sure that your home router is giving internet connection down to the through ethernet cable. So please connect a PC via ethernet cable to your router then check if you can go online.
2. Log in to your arlo app. Go to settings>my devices>select the base station>remove device
3. Unplug the base station from the power outlet then unplug your router from the power outlet. Wait for 1 minute. Plug in the router first then wait until it reboots then plug in the base station wait for 3 to 5 minutes until you see green lights on the base station
3. If the green lights will appear, go to DEVICES on your app and tap Add Device then select the base station. If the base station is not there alone then select Arlo Wirefree. Follow the installation process
4. If the base station did not lit green, or the others lit green but the internet light is not green, press and hold the reset button for exactly 30 seconds. Wait for 4-6 minutes. If you can 2 green lights from left turns green then go to ADD DEVICE, select the base station then follow the installation process.

[doug725sa]

I also checked the LOG on my Netgear Orbi router.  The log indicates that the Arlo has permission. However the Arlo base is not working...

Sunday, September 01, 2019 19:19:51
[Access Control] Device VMB4000 with MAC address 00:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF is allowed to access the, Sunday, September 01, 2019 19:18:07
[DHCP IP: 10.0.0.12] to MAC address 00:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff,

All other devices connected to router work.  

[target]

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@Tingyunliu wrote:

Exactly sam issue here with solid amber light and MAC address 00-FF-FF...  Since so many people have the same issue recently, it has to be Arlo's issue.  Does anyone get any updates from Arlo?  Please help provide updates if any.  Thanks.

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After I spoke with Tech Support they sent me an email with a link to RMA the unit. Posted it back to them (they received it Thursday) and a certified refurb arrived Monday (so 4 days including the weekend).

Added it to my account, deleted the old base unit and I'm currently syncing the cameras to the new base. One hint: make sure that the cameras are on charge while you do this. 

I had assumed that I could just resync them since they were pretty much fully charged when the base failed.  However, they had dropped to 2 - 4% charge (presumably because they had wasted a lot of juice trying to poll to connect to a non-existent base station)

[jguerdat]

Again, it's possible that the update could cause this but the end result is that you have faulty hardware that complaining here will never solve. Use the link above to invoke your warranty.

[JBug80]

James, no one has reached out about this issue and I opened a case on 8/30/19 and no one has contacted me about this support case. This is very frustrating that a firmware update is the reason I cannot use my cameras that I paid a lot of money for.

[StevenL]

Complaining?  I'm reporting a problem that is being experienced by multiple owners, and the steps I have taken to try to resolve it.  Since my unit is well past the warranty period, I guess I don't have the option of replacement, do I?  I get there can be glitches in a product, and I do use a lot of tech in my life.  My "complaining" is about the customer service aspect of Arlo.  It is a known issue that is being experienced by their customers which has rendered their systems useless.  I would think it would justify a posting on THEIR hosted forum such as "we are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.  We are working diligently.........." with a periodic update as to what they are doing.  They probably are working on it, but just do not communicate well with their customers.  I typically don't "complain" on forums.  I just ask for suggestions to fix the issue.  But, yeah, this is also a complaint...a valid one.

[plato]

Same problem after update one of my working cameras which was not connected at the the time of update is now dead will not sync .

[JimCav]

Just tried this suggestion, did everything exactly as described. NO HELP. I cant even get the damn thing to reset. Held the reset button in for a minute, nothing. The reset button never responded. Getting really pissed, paid good money for this system and now it dont work! Im betting the base station took a crap or it has something to do with there last update. When i check the client list on my router it still is showing a really weird MAC address: 00:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff. The base is trying to reboot but just keeps going back to amber on the power light. But it has been doing that before I tried this suggestion. Appreciate your help though. I just wish Arlo cared as much as the people on the community do.

[JimCav]

I feel your pain! Mine has been down almost a month! Same situation as yours. Arlo wants me to send the Base back and upon receipt of my unit they will send out a replacement base. But your have to put in for an RMA confirmation first. I did mine thru a chat, tried the claim process and it did not work. But that dont suprise me. Then when you call Tech Support you get to talk to someone that you cant understand. EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING. Pay good money for a system that you thought would work, it goes down and its nothing but problems getting it running again!

[Tingyunliu]

Getting RMA. I assume that you Aee still under warranty? Or maybe you have subscription? My warranty expired (bought May 2018), and no subscription service...

[target]

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@Tingyunliu wrote:
Getting RMA. I assume that you Aee still under warranty? Or maybe you have subscription? My warranty expired (bought May 2018), and no subscription service...

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No on both counts. My system was purchased August 2017. I think that this is issue is likely the result of a bad firmware update (though this is just specualation on my part).

[BTR32]

Thank you for your answer. It was a hardware issue, so I’m sending the base to Arlo for repair 🙂

[target]

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@JimCav wrote:

Just tried this suggestion, did everything exactly as described. NO HELP. I cant even get the damn thing to reset. Held the reset button in for a minute, nothing. The reset button never responded. Getting really pissed, paid good money for this system and now it dont work! Im betting the base station took a crap or it has something to do with there last update. When i check the client list on my router it still is showing a really weird MAC address: 00:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff. The base is trying to reboot but just keeps going back to amber on the power light. But it has been doing that before I tried this suggestion. Appreciate your help though. I just wish Arlo cared as much as the people on the community do.

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There are a couple of other threads ith the same issue reported (see https://community.arlo.com/t5/Arlo-Pro-2/Base-station-fails-to-connect-to-Internet-Only-Power-LED-is...). I didn't get much joy through the Live Chat, but as soon as I talked with Tech Support on the phone they handled it very efficiently and i got an RMA authorisation within a day.

[kirwin97]

I’ve yet to be contacted. When should I expect to be contacted and how will I be contacted?

[doug725sa]

Well Costco came through for me.  Fortunatley I made this in the Spring.   I called Costco concierge services who patched me through to ARLO tech support.  After explaining the scenario and doing a few reset attempts, we agreed that the base station is no longer working properly   I will now wait for a replacement product to head my way.   I'll post an update for reference.  

[ZiggyUK]

Glad to hear this but exactly "who" will the the agent be reaching out too ?

So annoyed that such an expensive piece of kit is just sitting there providing no protection to my home at all.

[ShayneS · Accepted solution]

Hello Everyone,

For those of you still experiencing this issue, please reach out to the arlo support team to further investigate the issue. I have provided the support link Here - Arlo Tech Support

Thank You

[ShayneS]

Hi @kirwin97

I see you are expecting a call back on Thursday Sep 5th. Is this the date you chose/provided to your support agent?

[ShayneS]

Hi @ZiggyUK

Have you previously contacted customer support? I have provided the link here - Arlo Tech Support