Arlo|Smart Home Security|Wireless HD Security Cameras

There was a problem establishing a connection to the media server

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aripa
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Aspirant
My Arlo Pro camera is giving me this message(There was a problem establishing a connection to the media server) when I try to view live video through my web browser. On my phone using the app it just doesn't connect(show the rotating busy icon) and I am not getting any of the recordings during motion detection. It appears to be recording because I am still getting notifications on my phone when it detects motion. I've tried restarting the base station. I have also tried removing my camera as a device from the base station. Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated.
101 REPLIES 101
Jkbd
Aspirant
Aspirant

Same issue, started early this morning. Removed and re-added all devices, no change

JeanID
Aspirant
Aspirant

I just found another thread about cameras not recording to the library and it seems to be the same issue.  Started yesterday for a lot of people and still hasn't been fixed.  I'm hoping by more people posting that the Arlo techs will work to get this fixed!

JordanMkOhio
Aspirant
Aspirant

I'm having the exact same issue "There was a problem establishing a connection to the media server" started showing up few days ago, everthing worked fine before.

It's not browser or app related, the same error shows regardless of the way I try to connect to my cameras.

I hope someone can provide a solution to this problem.

JeanID
Aspirant
Aspirant

Happy to report that it looks like it has been fixed at least for me!  Feeling much more secure now. Thanks!

aripa
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Aspirant

Glad your issue was resolved, unfortunantly mine has not.  Do you do anything different?  Or it just came back on its own? 

JeanID
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Aspirant

Gosh, I'm sorry!  No, I didn't do anything.  Just suddenly started to work.

JeanID
Aspirant
Aspirant

Just noticed that you have a different base station that I do.  Wonder if that has anything to do with it.  Maybe they have to do a fix for each model.

BryceD
Aspirant
Aspirant

Hello all,

I'm a network security professional and just noticed this issue on my Arlo as well.
From my testing, I've found that during power-up and occasionally during operation, the Arlo Pro base station tries to ping Google's DNS servers.
If Arlo is unable to complete this ping, it seems to result in the issue we're experiencing.

Depending on your firewall access, this may show up in logs as blocking ICMP EchoRequest (8) to 8.8.8.8.

Remedy:
1. Configure your firewall to allow outbound ICMP (specifically to that server or in general)
2. Reboot base station
Note: I used the physical power button to restart mine, I don't know if the in-app reboot is sufficient.

Hope this helps!

LovinLife
Aspirant
Aspirant

Getting the same issue. Base has been reset and then resynched. Unplugged/replugged. Disabled my firewall. Still nothing. 

RupertBare
Tutor
Tutor
I have two Arlo Pro base stations with 9 cameras covering parts of my farm. After the 27 March update only one updated. The one that hasn’t tells me a firmware update is required, it displays a firmware version but doesn’t update. Help please!!
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mgbnet
Apprentice
Apprentice

Same here. The Arlo webpage tells me that my base station is already running version 1.12.2.0_2790 but with a release date of 3/25....

Can't view live video feeds from the cameras, but recording when triggered by motion seems to be working still.

kletbett
Aspirant
Aspirant

i'm having the same issue. it started on 4/19/19. My cameras weren't notfying me and when i tried to see a live feed  they couldn't connect to the media server.  I did a factory reset on the old one and then the app couldn't discover the cameras.  I returned the set in exhange for a new one,  and i'm having the same issue. Ill be returning this one soon if the problem doesn't get resolved soon.  

blah8
Aspirant
Aspirant

I am experiencing the same issues.  I suspect that the April 19th Arlo Pro Base Station firmware update has broken my entire Arlo system. I have a VMB4000r3 base station and was receiving recordings and able to live stream my cameras until the early morning of April 19th (last recording was 2:14AM). After the latest firmware update, I am no longer able to connect to any of my 5 cameras for live streaming and recording has also stopped.

 

I have already attempted multiple times to power cycle the base stations and cameras, remove and re-synced cameras, and I have even performed. a factory reset of the base station and re-synced cameras. None of that has worked.

 

My camera system is effectively useless now. The VMB4000r3 base station is running firmware 1.12.2.0_2794, and the Arlo Pro (H7) cameras are on firmware 1.092.0.19_26228. This is absolutely ridiculous.

 

I wish we could manually downgrade to a previously working firmware version on the base station.  I'm hesitant to disable IDS or other firewall protections (they're enabled for a good reason) and everything was fine until early morning on April 19th, which really makes me think it's correlated with the latest firmware.

 

I don't understand why the Arlo base station would need to ping Google DNS (8.8.8.8) anyways.  I already use 8.8.8.8 as my default DNS server for my home network, but I guess I'll try to allow ICMP outbound to 8.8.8.8 next.

Qjhn
Aspirant
Aspirant
Mines cannot connect to the base, yet, it allows me to control the test, turn off the base. Cameras can't connect.
Turned on and off many times, no avail.
dlr32
Aspirant
Aspirant

i am having the exact same problem!!!!! come on Arlo!!!! Fix it!!!

LJ66
Guide
Guide

I am experiencing the same problem and have also tried numerous resets of the base station without any success.  This is very frustrating considering that this problem has crippled our entire security system.  My initial post can be found at:

https://community.arlo.com/t5/Arlo-Pro-2/Not-Receiving-Video-Connections-and-Notifications-Since-Las...

 

I also agree with the previous response regarding having a means to manually change the firmware.

LovinLife
Aspirant
Aspirant
Sent a private message to JamesC which sent the release notes notification of the firmware update and all of a sudden half an hour later it just started working. Not sure if anything was done. Still radio silence from Arlo support.
Pro2inAU
Aspirant
Aspirant

I noticed today that my app has not been sending me motion alerts. I subsequently noticed the last recordings were from two days ago. When I try to live stream I just get the "There was a problem establishing a connection to the media server" and can't get a connection to the cameras. 

 

I've tried rebooting and nothing improves. Two of my four cameras we around 98% charged a couple of days ago now they're both showing 70%. Seems strange to have such a sudden battery drain when they're not capturing or recording any video.

 

Looking at the other posts here this seems to be a common issue but Arlo are not moving swiftly to respond or resolve the issue. Lucky nobody depends on these cameras to provide security for their homes or businesses!!!!

 

 

VikasA
Aspirant
Aspirant
I have the same problem. System was working fine and since 19th night stopped working. Cannot get live stream and says media connection issue from the laptop (myarlo).
Opened a trouble ticket no update yet
Rustus
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Aspirant
Seems like we all are having similar issues, I had posted this earlier but sounds the same:

I have Arlo Pro 2, (7 cameras), all cameras are not recording and I am not getting any notifications, I am unable to connect to the cameras to do live stream. Although I can see the battery levels / charging levels on each camera and the motion sensor seems to go from black to gray. When I try to connect to the cameras to get a live view it times out, although it takes a little while.

I have tried a new switch, I have also replaced the ethernet cable, Internet is working fine, Base Station has three lights with the internet light flickering away... but no alerts, notifications and no recordings at all. I have restarted the base station... etc.

Is this a Arlo / Netgear issue / outage and will come right or is this my issue and I need to try something?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, have been down for about 24hours and am scratching my head wondering what to do next.
I guess what I am trying to establish is, if this is my equipment or if this is a Arlo / Netgear issue...?

You can spend a lot of time chasing your tail, when the issue was nothing to do with your equipment, but something to do with media servers... etc, in this case it appears that the BaseStation seems to have somehow disabled the cameras and I don’t seem to be able to re-enable them, I don’t seem to be able to connect to a live view...(just times out) but I can get accurate battery levels as I plug in a charger and see the icon change to charging.

My firmware is 1.12.2.0_2794
blah8
Aspirant
Aspirant

FYI, I tried BryceD's suggestion to allow ICMP traffic on my router's firewall, and now I'm able to view live streams and receive notifications/recordings again.  It was not just ICMP outbound as BryceD stated, I was not previously blocking outbound ICMP traffic.  I had to enable inbound ICMP traffic.

 

After the firewall change, my Arlo system is operational again, but I do NOT consider this a fix.  It is simply a workaround because we should NOT have to open up ports on our firewalls for the Arlo service to work; it's stupid and insecure.

blah8
Aspirant
Aspirant

Actually, I just did some more testing, and I'm not sure if allowing inbound ICMP traffic through my firewall was a workaround.  I've just re-enabled the firewall rule to block inbound ICMP traffic and yet I am still able to view live streams.  So I wonder if temporarily allowing ICMP traffic allowed the Arlo Base Station to do whatever it needed to do to get setup properly following the firmware update.  We'll see how long this lasts, but I'm glad it's working currently.

Cmay364061
Aspirant
Aspirant
I have a new Arlo pro system and I am just hooking it up and I am setting up the app on my phone . I have 2 green lights on the front of the unit and I am connected to my wifi but when the app searches for the base station it can not find it . The only odd thing I have it I am using att new fixed wireless internet because of where I live any ideas
TomMac
Guru Guru
Guru

Which two green LEDs ??

they are left to right... Power / Internet / cameras.

make sure the phone is on the same network when setting up

 

Also check if able on browser ; https://arlo.netgear.com

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Morse is faster than texting!
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Asterix7
Aspirant
Aspirant

Same issue onmy system. Started 2 days ago, and no matter what I do, it will not record. 

To be clear, it only happens with the wireless Arlo Pro cameras. The wired Arlo camera continues to function.