Video Pixelation after firmware update Pro/VMB4000r3 (1.16.1.1_3348_facf74c)

[Ordinary1]

Hi All.

Hope everyone is keeping safe and well.

Since the early hours of yesterday morning (25th April) UK time all of my Arlo Pro cameras have been suffering from extreme pixelation in both live view and motion detection recordings. The location of the cameras and base station have not changed for months.

The base station is VMB4000r3 on firmware 1.16.1.1_3348_facf74c

The four cameras are version H8 1.092.0.25_24_986

The pixelated video is also present on local USB storage suggesting a local issue.

I have checked WiFi strength using an analyser and all is good. All cameras have three bars in the Arlo app.

One of the cameras is within ten feet of the base station with no obstructions and is suffering the same.

I have noticed that a camera firmware update was issued in the last few days. Are there any known problems that could have caused such a drastic change in system performance?

[silverado44]

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@JessicaP wrote:

As we shared Friday, the new software update has now been deployed and your Arlo system should have downloaded it by now. If you are continuing to see the same issue, please reach out to us at 408-638-3750.

- Arlo Team

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Nothing has changed on my end still the same firmware and junk videos in live and record.

[TerryHoss]

Well I can't see that I got an update and the issue is far from solved.

[CCNE37]

Jessica

Thanks for the feedback. Could I ask that you withdraw this status as a "solution".

It is FAR from a solution to the problem. If I could ask that you take the time to read my post one page back, I gave my feedback of the "update" (including details of bitrates etc) - a marginal reduction in pixelation, but overall still very poor quality video, with a bitrate that is significantly lower that the same camera has produced previously, and lower than it should be by a country mile.

And, as others have said, the firmware versions on my cameras have not changed.

A solution would include the following;

• Bitrate back up to at least 1,500kbps (for Pro 2 1080P)
• An option to install or ignore all future firmware updates (to avoid this recurring issue)

All I am asking for is to continue getting the quality and service that I originally paid for - nothing more. If it is impractical (or too costly for Arlo) to increase bitrate to at least 1,500kbps, then give us the option to move to local storage only, and increase our own bitrate after we have done so.

My first 3½ years with Arlo were pretty good with minimal (none ?) issues with the cameras, declining quality etc, but that was when Arlo was owned by Netgear. Since the ownership changed, it seems to have been a continuous downward slide where Arlo seems to be on a mission to reduce the end-user experience to a point where they are driven away to seek an equivalent of what they originally purchased elsewhere.

It seems hard to believe that a company is truly actively eroding their existing customer this aggressively, but that is what seems to be happening. A solution is to change direction on this and actively try to improve the end-user / existing customer experience by giving us at least what we originally purchased, and preferably improve on the experience.

Kind regards

[ralfyguy1]

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@CCNE37 wrote:

Jessica

Thanks for the feedback. Could I ask that you withdraw this status as a "solution".

It is FAR from a solution to the problem. If I could ask that you take the time to read my post one page back, I gave my feedback of the "update" (including details of bitrates etc) - a marginal reduction in pixelation, but overall still very poor quality video, with a bitrate that is significantly lower that the same camera has produced previously, and lower than it should be by a country mile.

And, as others have said, the firmware versions on my cameras have not changed.

A solution would include the following;

• Bitrate back up to at least 1,500kbps (for Pro 2 1080P)
• An option to install or ignore all future firmware updates (to avoid this recurring issue)

All I am asking for is to continue getting the quality and service that I originally paid for - nothing more. If it is impractical (or too costly for Arlo) to increase bitrate to at least 1,500kbps, then give us the option to move to local storage only, and increase our own bitrate after we have done so.

My first 3½ years with Arlo were pretty good with minimal (none ?) issues with the cameras, declining quality etc, but that was when Arlo was owned by Netgear. Since the ownership changed, it seems to have been a continuous downward slide where Arlo seems to be on a mission to reduce the end-user experience to a point where they are driven away to seek an equivalent of what they originally purchased elsewhere.

It seems hard to believe that a company is truly actively eroding their existing customer this aggressively, but that is what seems to be happening. A solution is to change direction on this and actively try to improve the end-user / existing customer experience by giving us at least what we originally purchased, and preferably improve on the experience.

Kind regards

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Well in a way it solved as to what the culprit was and that the culprit was NOT on OUR end but on THEIRS. Doesn't mean it got fixed nor that it will EVER be fixed. Gotta read between the lines...

[silverado44]

Man, the pro3 2k crowd is ONLY getting 1080 on live stream and recordings and we cant even get 720 on a 1080 system.

Maybe we need to start and new thread in the Arlo pro 2 section about this problem as it seems all of us having this problem is with the pro 2 system and this is the regular pro 720 section.

 I will start one as the pro2 crowd may have not realized the degraded video yet and might not even look in this regular pro section.

[silverado44]

Since the last update at end of VMB4000 1.16.1.3_3394_1a608c1 the live videos and recording are pixelated and blurry. My wife was about 10' away from the camera and the video was so blurry I could not make out it was her and the grass on the videos looks like its moving and is wavy , the videos and recordings have dropped below 720 since the last update and we are suppose to get 1080, big write up over at the Arlo pro section.       https://community.arlo.com/t5/Arlo-Pro/Video-Pixelation-after-firmware-update-Pro-VMB4000r3-1-16-1-1...

[Andy91]

I have the pro3 and it don’t look 1080p to me more like 720

[Ozphoenix]

Our image quality has improved by maybe 20%, but is still not anywhere near as good as before the April update. It is still pixelated and stuttering. We have Arlo Pro 2 Wireless. Can't read numberplates right in front of the camera like we used to, or make out faces.

I thought this might happen. Arlo would get annoyed with all the complaints and would deliberately only improve the quality a small amount and then tell us to contact tech support for more help - who won't be able to help because Arlo is controlling the bit rate.

I have made a complaint to Fair Trading and requested a refund. I'm tired of Arlo's games to be honest. We've wasted $800 (I checked our invoice, I thought before it was $600, but it was $800) on equipment that Arlo have deliberately stuffed up because they don't want to provide free storage even though it was sold to us as including free storage.

I'll keep everyone updated on what happens with Fair Trading. This is such terrible behaviour by Arlo. Very disappointing.

[Leeboy]

Nothing changed here in ( Canada ) still running the April firmware on both the base station and camera .  For a moment I kinda got excited , should have known it was too good to be true . 👎

[Manolo86]

Mine looks like trash. Losing frames. Pixelation everywhere.... My "2K" Doorbell too, all on a VMB4540 with usually full signal.....

[ChowHound]

Same thing happened where mine appears to have improved slightly but still bad pixelation compared to the original recordings.  

Any thoughts on contacting the major reviewers:  pcmag, wirecutter, cnet, consumer reports, etc. and explaining the issues to them in hopes they'll do addendums or updates to their reviews warning consumers?  Because their reviews are based on initial out of the box impressions.  Once warned about the degradation of video quality, lack of transparency with firmware updates, poor customer service (didn't they ignore the complaints about being Flash-based for years before suddenly switching recently?), etc.  maybe they'll post updates to their reviews to give a better overall picture of potential issues the buyers may have down the line. 

[shoustonnz]

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@ChowHound wrote:

Same thing happened where mine appears to have improved slightly but still bad pixelation compared to the original recordings.  

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When you say original recordings. What do you mean? Do you mean what is recorded to USB storage?

[Dadd1o]

Same here. Not what I call fixed

[silverado44]

EDIT

[silverado44]

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@silverado44 wrote:

Since the last update at end of VMB4000 1.16.1.3_3394_1a608c1 the live videos and recording are pixelated and blurry. My wife was about 10' away from the camera and the video was so blurry I could not make out it was her and the grass on the videos looks like its moving and is wavy , the videos and recordings have dropped below 720 since the last update and we are suppose to get 1080, big write up over at the Arlo pro section.       https://community.arlo.com/t5/Arlo-Pro/Video-Pixelation-after-firmware-update-Pro-VMB4000r3-1-16-1-1...

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LOL this is the thread I started over on the pro2 section and what did they do? they moved it here, unreal.

[CCNE37]

I think what has happened is that  number of threads have been merged into a single thread, including the one I started a few weeks ago. Perhaps yours was deleted, but it may have just been merged into this big thread.

[silverado44]

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@ChowHound wrote:

Same thing happened where mine appears to have improved slightly but still bad pixelation compared to the original recordings.  

Any thoughts on contacting the major reviewers:  pcmag, wirecutter, cnet, consumer reports, etc. and explaining the issues to them in hopes they'll do addendums or updates to their reviews warning consumers?  Because their reviews are based on initial out of the box impressions.  Once warned about the degradation of video quality, lack of transparency with firmware updates, poor customer service (didn't they ignore the complaints about being Flash-based for years before suddenly switching recently?), etc.  maybe they'll post updates to their reviews to give a better overall picture of potential issues the buyers may have down the line. 

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Good idea. Now that I think of it we may have to purchase a Ultra system which no way I would buy one due to this issue to get 1080? The Ultra users are in for a rude awaking in about a year when there video quality drops to 1080 or 720.

Don't get me wrong I love the system and its a nice product I just want what I paid for (almost 2 grand tied up in 2 systems and acc.) and that is 1080. But as of now I will NEVER recommend this product to anyone.

[tommy777]

I have a system with 4 cameras, mix of Pro and Pro 2. 

One of the Pro 2 cameras that’s connected to power has been doing fine for about 6 months. The camera has great connection with the hub and has always been in the same position 

Today, it all of a sudden started showing intermittent, really distorted picture, not pixilated like there’s a bad connection, but just weird. Sensor is working and it’s recording, but weird. 

see attached photo. This is as good as it gets. Worth noting that it’s 104 today 

[ChowHound]

By original recordings, I mean the .mp4 cloud recordings since I first installed the cameras up until recently.  They were always fairly good quality until the past month or two. 

Does anyone know anything about Lorex cameras?  Wondering how the reviews are for those.  They might all be hard-wired instead of wireless though. 

[Onno-Karl]

Hello all,
my 4 arlo pro cameras have been worked as well until 4 weeks ago. Since that time the life screen and the recordings from all my pro cameras have got poor quality of resolution.
Can someone of the Arlo support give an outlook when this problem will be fixed ?

[Ordinary1]

Hi @JessicaP

It has been a week since the fix was applied and there have been a number of posts highlighting that problems still remain with the picture quality.

Nobody seems to have posted a positive experience letting us know that they are fixed and happy.

Can you please ensure that this thread is not marked as Resolved and provide an update as to whether another change will be made to increase quality further ?

Arlo are not exactly hot performers in the stock market having made significant losses over the last 4 years. If I were you as an employee I would be worried about how quickly that can be turned around, especially with an increasing tide of poor reviews, panning on social media and local trading standards cases. Good businesses survive by listening to their customers, poor ones sink taking their customers products with them in a cloud based solution ( our kit is useless if Arlo aren't paying for the servers that process our data ) and also their staff.....Arlo has a fundamentally good product here that could be market leading. Management culture and poor engineering seem to be eroding everything that the product once stood for.

[alchemist50]

Agree completely with @Ordinary1 .  The fix has merely made the videos less bad, but still far from what I consider good.

I've owned this system for more than two years now, starting with three Pro cameras.  It worked quite well at first.  But over maybe the last 18 months, system performance has been plagued by buggy firmware and software updates, which I assume were unintentional, and this gradual decline in video quality, which seems to be intentional.  Responsibility really lies with Arlo's management team.  Procedures should be in place to insure that buggy programming is not pushed out; if it does slip through, it should be quickly resolved.  The CEO's comments make it clear that they want everyone on a paid subscription plan.  I understand that free cloud storage, in any form, is going the way of the printed newspaper and will eventually disappear.  But Arlo's approach is terrible.  A better way to move legacy users to paid plans would be through incentives, not coercion.  Offer me guaranteed much better video quality on a paid plan (say, 2000 kbps for 1080p cameras, half that for 720 p, with minimal compression), and I would strongly consider paying $ 10/month .  But right now, I would get the same inferior quality on the paid and free plans.  Why should I even consider a subscription?  And the legacy systems are still being sold; my Pro 2 cameras are much less than a year old.  They should not be abandoned.

There are many good suggestions on this thread, which I hope Arlo will seriously consider implementing.  Their hardware has so much potential.  It would be a shame to junk it due to poor management decisions.

[TerryHoss]

Other than Arlo saying that they did a fix I have no evidence of it on my end. Video isn’t near what I used to get when compared to older archived video and is worthless for crime prevention or identification. It looks like I’m going to be forced into purchasing a new system from a competitor. If that happens everyone I communicate with will know of my poor experience with Arlo.

[Scott27]

@JessicaP   

my base station or cameras still have not been updated.  The cameras are useless

What are the new firmware versions we should be looking out for.  Can you provide a link to the release notes

thank you

[silverado44]

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@Scott27 wrote:

@JessicaP   

my base station or cameras still have not been updated.  The cameras are useless

What are the new firmware versions we should be looking out for.  Can you provide a link to the release notes

thank you

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Arlo didn't do a damn thing to the videos and they marked it as solved on the thread, I still have the same firmware as before and my cameras STILL have a blurry look to them and the grass looks like waves in a pond. 

They did this video degrade to phase out the pro and pro2 systems but still selling that have free 7 day recordings and to make there pro3 and ultra look good (payed service) and if they think people are going to upgrade to the pro3 and ultra they are kidding themselves no way iam upgrading to them and giving them more money and what there doing is illegal to are systems.