Arlo
Support

JimCav · ‎2019-08-17

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.

Tingyunliu · ‎2019-09-11

I am in USA. Same problem!

@janettechud wrote:
I am wondering if this is a regional area problem - specifically not mainstream USA? I’m in Canada in the summer but my winter home in USA also has Arlo Pro and still working.

jalcala83 · ‎2019-09-11

Had the same issue as everyone else. It started a few weeks ago, and tried power cycling the base and router, checked ethernet connection, deleted the base station and tried adding it, tried an actual reset, but the LEDs keep cycling but the power LED stays on amber the longest.

Started a chat with Tech Support and after explaining what was happening and actually referencing this thread and one of the cases that someone posted here, they said they were going to do a "one time" RMA replacement even though I bought my Arlo in 2018 and warranty has expired. Maybe they do think it's a firmware issue? Haven't gotten the RMA email yet, but once I get the RMA base, I'll follow up with how it went.

Tingyunliu · ‎2019-09-11

Please do share your RMA results. Thanks.

target · ‎2019-09-12

@jalcala83 wrote:

Had the same issue as everyone else. It started a few weeks ago, and tried power cycling the base and router, checked ethernet connection, deleted the base station and tried adding it, tried an actual reset, but the LEDs keep cycling but the power LED stays on amber the longest.

Started a chat with Tech Support and after explaining what was happening and actually referencing this thread and one of the cases that someone posted here, they said they were going to do a "one time" RMA replacement even though I bought my Arlo in 2018 and warranty has expired. Maybe they do think it's a firmware issue? Haven't gotten the RMA email yet, but once I get the RMA base, I'll follow up with how it went.

As I've mentioned on page 3 of this thread, my VM4000 was over 2 years old and was replaced with a refurb within a couple of days of sending back my base after receiving the RMA. I can't fault Arlo on their response and efficiency with dealing my request once they acknowledged the issue (...well maybe refunding the cost of postage to them, if it was indeed a faulty firmware upgrade as looks likely).

(My only real criticism would be with online chat support, whose immediate response was that as the unit was out of warranty I should buy a replacement. Once I actually spoke with someone over the phone, it was actually resolved very quickly. I'll maybe give online support some benefit of the doubt given that my problem seems to have appeared early on, so perhaps they weren't aware of the technical issue.)

janettechud · ‎2019-09-13

I am delighted to report some progress. If you are following this or reading it sometime later, my experience is that the CHAT LINE works the best.

I put today aside to try and make progress on my Arlo system base station worry. I have had 2 new base stations that did not work either!

Today I got through to Chat support and worked with a very helpful person called Amer K. I was asked to take the base stations to a neighbour and see if they worked at the neighbours. They did not. So I am being Fed-Exed a replacement. I had to give my credit card number because they want the defunct new base station that I have - and i have to return it in 10 days which all seems reasonable. I will let you know if and when the 3rd new base station fires up and reignites my system after 4 weeks of not working at all.

monyv · ‎2019-09-15

The system worked well for over a year. A couple of days ago I no longer had images so I checked the system. Arlo support suggested to reconnect the base station wich didn't work. So I removed the device in my app to add it from scratch.

When I try to add the VMB4000 the following happens (after I connect first LAN, then power) :

Power lamp goes Amber
Power lamp stay Amber + Camera lamp goes Green
App tells me : no device found
Power lamp goes Green + Internet lamp goes Amber
All three lamps go Green (for just a second)
Power lamp goes Amber, the other lamps go Off.

My router tells me that the VMB4000 is connected !

I tried this several times, I switched the cable and I made a reset of the Base Station. Nothing worked.

Thanks for any suggestion !

jguerdat · ‎2019-09-15

The power LED being amber is a problem. You can try resetting again (hold the reset button until the LEDs flash amber and let the base reboot to green power and Internet LEDs) and try to claim again. If still amber, contact support for faulty hardware.

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

WMGXE00 · ‎2019-09-16

Hi All, sorry for my late reply. I found the ARLO tech support very helpful for diagnosing that my VMB4000 was "Brown Bread". The unit needed replacing as there is not a service centre for repair in the UK. They said as 3.5 months out of warranty the only option was to buy a new base station. Great 😞 Quailty Job... NOT ! An expense not acceptable on a unit that was only 15.5 months old. It does seem that a firmware update error is the cause of our woes, so surely ARLO should be more helpful ? Anyroad Up.... > I have now bought a VMB 4500 base unit and it is working fine. In fact it works better in all ways except the siren is quieter. So if anyone else has to replace there base staion, the VMB4500 is a better job for me and probably most ARLO users. Not Happy with the fix at spending more money on kit and ARLO should be far more customer focused and make units more reliable and may be a 24 months warranty.

Tingyunliu · ‎2019-09-16

Please let us know if your replacement resolves the issue. Thanks.

@janettechud wrote:

I am delighted to report some progress. If you are following this or reading it sometime later, my experience is that the CHAT LINE works the best.

I put today aside to try and make progress on my Arlo system base station worry. I have had 2 new base stations that did not work either!

Today I got through to Chat support and worked with a very helpful person called Amer K. I was asked to take the base stations to a neighbour and see if they worked at the neighbours. They did not. So I am being Fed-Exed a replacement. I had to give my credit card number because they want the defunct new base station that I have - and i have to return it in 10 days which all seems reasonable. I will let you know if and when the 3rd new base station fires up and reignites my system after 4 weeks of not working at all.

janettechud · ‎2019-09-16

It’s likely u need a new base station. Contact support, Chat works the best. The VMB 4000 are experiencing troubles. My own system has been down for a month with 2 new VMB 4000 not working. I’m waiting for another new base station direct from ARLO.

janettechud · ‎2019-09-17

I am pleased to say that my Arlo cameras are working again. Today i received the replacement Base Station VMB4000 that was FedExed to me on Friday. It fired up right away and my problems are hopefully becoming a distant memory. My advice to anyone who is seeing a solid amber light on their power signal ... you need a new base station. When you plug it all in, REMEMBER to wait 2 minutes for the amber light to turn green. It is quite terrifying to see that Amber light come on again, but be patient for 2 minutes and if you are lucky, it will go away. Good luck.

hirorir123 · ‎2019-09-18

I've had a case open with Arlo for a few weeks now, with their support noting that engineering is working on a fix. Outside of an RMA, I don't see how their engs can fix this given that the unit won't even boot. Still no reply from Arlo support, and this is my 2nd RMA unit (over the past few years).

target · ‎2019-09-18

@WMGXE00 wrote:

Hi All, sorry for my late reply. I found the ARLO tech support very helpful for diagnosing that my VMB4000 was "Brown Bread". The unit needed replacing as there is not a service centre for repair in the UK. They said as 3.5 months out of warranty the only option was to buy a new base station. Great 😞 Quailty Job... NOT ! An expense not acceptable on a unit that was only 15.5 months old. It does seem that a firmware update error is the cause of our woes, so surely ARLO should be more helpful ? Anyroad Up.... > I have now bought a VMB 4500 base unit and it is working fine. In fact it works better in all ways except the siren is quieter. So if anyone else has to replace there base staion, the VMB4500 is a better job for me and probably most ARLO users. Not Happy with the fix at spending more money on kit and ARLO should be far more customer focused and make units more reliable and may be a 24 months warranty.

If this is the same issue as everyone else - 00:FF:FF:FF:FF on MAC address (look in your router logs) and the LED sequence I mentioned early on, then it looks like borked firmware, which is Arlo's problem, not yours. My unit was over 2 years old and was replaced with a refurb free of charge.

If it's genuinely dead than you may still have recourse with the vendor (not Arlo) under the Sale of Goods Act (whenever it was amended) which gives you 6 years to claim against a manufacturing defect.

StephenB · ‎2019-09-18

@janettechud wrote:

I am pleased to say that my Arlo cameras are working again.

Great news

Thanks for following up, and letting us know the outcome.

RupertBare · ‎2019-09-19

I have two base stations and 9 cameras covering my Buisness

Base stations just have amber power light and are shown as offline

Everything works apart from this crap system.

I was away went it failed, I’ve purchased 1 new base station to get some cameras running

Help

jalcala83 · ‎2019-09-25

I received the replacement base station on Monday and was able to set everything up on Tuesday. When I plugged in the new base station it did take a while for it to boot up and the Power LED was amber for a while, but not sure if it was coincidence or not, one I went to Add the Device within the app, the lights turned green and was able to add it to the network. As others have mentioned here, all the camera batteries were super low on battery. I had to add them as they charged, but was able to add all 5 of the cameras I have.

After setting up the first of the cameras the app was asking me to download a new firmware to the base station otherwise I wouldn't be able to get previews. I was worried about it and clicked "update" but it didn't do anything and showed me the prompt again. I clicked "update" again and then it showed the base station went offline! I was worried but after a while I was able to see it, and now it shows me previews again.

To summarize: If you're having this issue, try to get a new base station via the Chat Support and the replacement should work.

Arlo Support

Arlo App for Support

Arlo
Support

Arlo App
for Support