vmb4000r3 not recording to USB

[Tribeca]

So we just bought and setup the vmb4000r3 system last night to try and catch some residents in an Apartment complex. We setup the cameras so they could see each other (in case of theft of the cameras themselves) and locked the base unit in a nearby (within a couple of meters). I had tested the recording to USB function elsewhere whilst disconnected from the internet and it seemed fine. I then tested it again once setup and the USB recording offline was fine.

I left the cameras overnight (in a well lit area) and came back the next morning to find them stolen. 'All good' I told myself as they should have caught the thief and I'd be able to track them from there. But on looking at the footage off the USB stick, I saw that it recorded me locking up the cupboard, a resident walking past a few minutes after me (away from the cameras) and nothing else.

Now this is obviously a problem, not so much because the cameras were stolen, but because the base station had stopped recording for no reason that I know of.

Can anyone tell me why it would have stopped or if there is a connections log I can see to get a report on what the system was doing at the time?

There were no power issues from what I can tell, the base was close to all the cameras and tested fine, it was recording as I left and after I left, the lighting is constant and good where they were and it wasn't connected to the Internet at the time (as it was supposed to record to USB all night).

The 'armed' profile was used, but with the push notification and email notification disabled. The camera quality was set to the highest quality over battery saver. And we know the cameras were stolen no more than 2 hours after they were setup.

Any help would be great

[brh]

I would contact Support as they probably have a log and tell you what exactly happened.

Brian

[brh]

If the base is not connected to the internet it will continue to record to the Flash drive but it will never reach the cloud. It looks like you did not have a strong internet connection. The proper way to test them would have been to walk in front of the cameras a few times then look in your library for the videos. If the video reached Arlo's servers it would show up in your library.

I feel bad for you as these cameras are rather expensive. Also, be sure to find a way to mount them to make it very difficult to remove, even if it means making your own enclosure.

Brian

[Tribeca]

It had no Internet connection which was the point of the USB drive. We needed to put it somewhere where we can't run an ethernet cable to and planned to review the footage in the morning.

We did lots of tests to make sure the cameras still recorded when there was no network connection and it seemed fine and all documentation seems to say it should have recorded continuously to the USB despite having no Internet connection.

Which also rules out online logs, because I need to know why it didn't record locally whilst offline 😞

[brh]

Is there any way the thieves could have cut the power to the base?

Brian

[Tribeca]

Hi Brian,

Not possible as access is locked with a master key, the cameras included the cupboard in their view and the device was still powered in the morning with no reports of power issues overnight.

I also suspect they would have stolen the base station or USB out of the base station if they somehow found it and got access. (they also didn't know which cupboard it was in).

[brh]

This is very strange, but in an effort to troubleshoot the situation we must try to eliminate as much as possible even if the questions seem dumb.

Were the cameras inside or outside of the room/building?

Is it possible that a small animal, too small to trigger the motion detectors, could have knocked them down and run off with them? This has been reported several times on this forum.

How were they mounted? Is it possible that the thieves shot at the cameras with a BB gun , slingshot or pellet gun, thus not being detected?

Brian

[brh]

In thinking about this, since you did not have the internet connected, it couldn't have been a firmware update and you would not have gotten any notifications anyway. Since it was working when you left and shortly thereafter, I can only think of three things, a short power outage at the hub, (unlikely), temperature dropped below the opperating range of the cameras, (again unlikely), a range issue - in other words the cameras dropped out and lost communication with the base, (the most likely scenario although it is strange that the thieves would choose that time to steal the cameras). The other thing that is strange is how the thieves stole the cameras without being detected and no blurry video of the movement when the cameras were taken down was captured. Whoever took them would have had to pull the batteries out very quickly before the video could start recording.

Both the base and the cameras have radios built inside them to communicate back and forth with each other. Something caused the communications to fail.

I would still call support and see if they can think of any other reasons. Also ask them if you leave them on your account will someone else be able to use them since the serial numbers are regestered to you. 

Brian

[brh]

What color is the third light on the base station?

If it is green, the cameras are still connected and close by.

If it is blinking green then the base station is trying to connect to the cameras.

If it is blinking amber, the connection is weak.

If it is off then there are no cameras still connected to the base.

Brian

[jguerdat]

Too late now but perhaps you could have used a WiFi or powerline extender to provide the base with Internet access.

I have no explanation for the lack of video except for possibly being the lack of Internet after positioning the base in the closet.

[brh]

That is the strange thing, They were not using the internet. They simply wanted to use the local storage. If it had never worked I would understand, but she got two recordings out of it and then everything quit. The user is vague about the circumstances where and how the cameras were mounted so unless I get some clarification I have done about all I can do.

Brian

[brh]

The only thing I can think of is that someone switched to Live view in the app, which would have stopped the cameras from recording to the flash drive. During that time someone or something stole the cameras.

Brian

[Tribeca]

Thanks for the replies, and after 10 years in the IT support industry I'm glad that there is as much confusion as I had.

The cameras were mounted firmly to 3 separate areas using the magnetic mounts, in a corridoor that is inside, temperature controlled and only accessable via a lift. And the cupboard is a communications cupboard which doesn't fluxuate temperatures.

It couldn't be live view, unless the base decided to try and switch to it for some reason, as there was no Internet connection from the time it was powered down and taken to its location, then going through testing where motion capture wasn't spectacular, but every instance of me putting up the cameras was recorded.

Thanks for all the replies and the high level of consideration gone in to what could have caused it. Sadly it's not something that can be fixed (due to the camera theft) and something that has put me off Arlo products 😞

I will still try support just to be sure something with the basic setup used didn't cause a known problem. But thanks all again for the replies

[steve_t]

Have you filed a police report? Give them the camera serial numbers in case anything is recovered. The police report will also allow you to file for insurance more easily

[JamesC]

Tribeca,

The local storage feature is intended as a backup solution, not a permanent alternative to cloud recording. See here: How do I set up local storage backups on a USB device using my Arlo Pro base station?

"All Arlo video recordings are stored to the cloud, but you can connect a USB device to the Arlo Pro base station and use the USB device as a second location to store Arlo Wire-Free and Arlo Pro Wire-Free recordings locally. Local storage to a USB device cannot be used on its own as a substitute for cloud recording."

Relocating the base station to an area with no internet connection is outside the scope of how this feature is designed and intended to be used. It sounds like an issue arose when the base was powered down and relocated.

JamesC