LED showing Low wifi signal (purple flashing) EVEN with status light turned off

[NewArloUser2016]

Hi,

I am extremely satisfied with my two Arlo Qs.

They are placed within my wifi range but they receive a weak signal.

Everything works fine ; without interruptions at all.

I get the flashing purple led signal.

My problem is that when I turn off "Status Light" option from the device settings ; the led signal continues.

I would expect it to stop ?

Thanks in advance !

[jguerdat]

Purple means weak signal. You can use a WiFi extender to boost the signal or reposition the router and/or cameras.

[NewArloUser2016]

Thanks for your input !

My problem is not so much with the wifi signal ; my Arlos are working fine ; even with the low signal.

I have never had a disconnection. I don't want to / need to have a wifi extender / reposition my cameras since everything is working fine.

My problem comes from the fact that I'd like to be able to turn off the flashing LED.

I have turned off the "led status" from the interface ; but the LEDs are still blinking on my Arlos.

[jdb_]

I have this issue and desired outcome too. although... it only started after that last firmware update - neither the Arlo Q nor router have moved between updates.

[Nethalite]

Yeah same here I had excellent wifi connect from my camera to my router. Now I have to use a wifi extender to get to my camera even though the other devices in the room has full strength on wifi.

[cbot7]

For me it's the same, the purple LED flashes even though the camera works fine and does not seem to have any issues regarding actual wifi connection.  Connectivity and streaming to Arlo servers and viewing live video through the app are fine even when the purple flashing is taking place. 

This has only started since the last firware update and as such I think it could be related to that.  Wifi signals on all other devices in the room are at full bars.

[jguerdat]

Interesting.  I don't have a problem with this even though it's on 5GHz (less range) and showing 80% signal.  The browser shows all bars while the app is down one.

Maybe a trouble ticket to get this addressed?

[kollkash]

I have the same issue and is exasperated at night (obviously). My status light is configured to be "off" but still lights up enough to light up the room at night. Not cool. Arlo - can we please get this issue addressed.

JD

[kollkash]

I was on my 2.4 Ghz network and just switched over to my 5 Ghz even though signal on 2.4 should have been sufficient. We will see.

[Nethalite]

Can alway put a scotch tape or puddy over the status light. Just an idea.

[NewArloUser2016]

This is what I did indeed.

But this should only be temporary ; not a long term solution...

Given the fact that I am not alone with this problem, I hope it will be fixed !

[JamesC]

After gathering clarification on this topic, this is expected behavior. The flashing purple LED indicates the camera is too far away from the router and will override the Status Light toggle in the camera settings.

JamesC 

[gilbo2]

As per the other thread on this;

One point, the latest version of the camera firmware seems to have changed wifi strength reporting, ie it now shows 2-3 bars, sometimes even 1, yet my camera is 5 foot away from the router.

I therefore wonder if its picking up lower wifi strength now where as previously it hasn't.

[NewArloUser2016]

Well, this isn't any good, in my humble opinion.

First of all : as many users have testified : the cameras are well within wifi coverage. My Arlos work perfectly fine ; and other wifi devices are not complaining when used at the same range.

Second of all : if we toggle off status light ; it should toggle off for good. Otherwise, we have useless disturbances. If there is a problem with wifi coverage (which is most of the time NOT the case - see point 1) - it is within the app (or the web) that we should be warned - not on the device.

What do other users think ?

[kollkash]

I agree with these points. The status indicator should remain off if that is how it is set. Moreover, Arlo should be able to make the indicator a little more intelligent. A weak signal and even complete signal loss is only notable when it is persistent. Thus, rather than an indicator, which one would not see during the day should be changed to an alert - but only fires if constant or persistent signal degradation. Request for Enhancement (RFE).

[kollkash]

Until an improvement is made, I will have to use some tape. Not cool.

[BobQ]

I'm not sure if mine is purple (looks like a separate red and blue lights me) but it's flashing all the time now since the most recent update, camera hasn't moved and has great reception but the lights are driving me mad !

[Rsmith41000]

I have the same issue. My signal fluctuates between 40 and 60 %. When it goes to 40 the purple light blinks. It's only 40 feet from the router and other items have 100% signal. What can bee done about that

[jguerdat]

Change camera and/or router position or add hardware like a WiFi extender.

[NewArloUser2016]

jguerda

I think that Arlos are incredible devices, I love them, Netgear has done a fantastic job.

But I also think that Netgear should listen to its customers ; in that respect, your answer is really disappointing for 2 reasons :

1. It implies that devices are too far away from our wifi routers.

As many have written here : this is not the case. In fact, our devices are very near our routers, they work fine (no disconnections) and other wifi devices testify that the wifi signal is fine. Moreover, we did not have that problem prior to the latest fireware update.

2. It does not address the issue of incoherence between the "off toggle" and the "led actually showing".

If we choose to have our led "off" (in the settings), we do not understand why some led "messages" are allowed to be displayed on the device. This is not coherent.

The end result is that many of us are needlessly putting tape on our Arlos. I think Netgear should really consider whether this is really how it wants its customers to use their product.

[jguerdat]

I certainly agree with your comments. My answer was just a simple reply to the question asked - what can be done to improve the signal? As such, moving the camera and/or router or using a WiFi extender is all you can do. Everything else is out of our control.

Again I agree with you. I've had a variety of back channel discussions about response times to issues and I'm still waiting for production firmware for my R7k router that I use with Arlo. It's also fair to say that Netgear isn't the only company with hardware/firmware issues. My August Smart Lock doesn't reliably send alerts and the BT connection is weak at best. If you think Netgear has poor support, August doesn't even have a forum to allow users to swap info like is done here.

I'm no apologist for anyone. I'm here for the sole purpose of providing (hopefully) useful suggestions to others. I've strongly pondered signing off sine 80% or more of my replies are the same as have been posted before. People can't or wontbread or use independent thought processes to think through many of the issues and just post yet another answered question or, to a fortunately lesser degree, troll since either the system doesn't work for them or they haven't bothered to actually figure out the issues.

OK, I'm done... 🙂 

/rant

[NewArloUser2016]

I thank you for your answer.

Here are some thoughts :

- I think that Arlo is a great product ; and Netgear a great company ; and it's great to have this kind of forum. I am not expecting Netgear to correct my problem in the next 5 minutes ; but maybe an aknowledgment that they are investigating in light of so many complaints and users ending up "taping" their devices...

- It is true that I haven't read the whole forum (I bought my cameras about 1 month ago - I don't have the time to read the whole thing - I hope you can forgive me for that...). I googled a few times for my problem ; didn't find anything meaningful ; that's why I created this thread. I am sorry if this is a repeat...

- I am trolling this thread because the only answers we get from "senior" users (who may work for Netgear ?) is that "all if fine" when, in fact, it is obviously not. An aknowledgment that there is a problem and that it will be investigated would be really appreciated.

- I have tried to figure out the issue ; and I have moved my cameras and routers, closer and closer and closer and closer to each other. Nothing has worked. The only thing that works is tape. And I find this very sad for such a good and powerful device.

[jguerdat]

Nothing in my reply was aimed at you. I don't join a forum and read every thread, either. Ya gotta start somewhere.

And just so you and others know, the "senior users" have no employment with Netgear. There are few employees who post here with JamesC being the primary one. If in doubt, the description of the person with their avatar will specifically state that they're a Netgear employee.

[JamesC]

NewArloUser2016,

In regard to the flashing purple LED persisting even though the Status LED is toggled off (indicating the Arlo Q is too far from the router), this is intended behavior as this warns the user that the distance from the router could cause connection issues.

With that being said I have escalated the concerns outlined in this thread.

You might consider temporarily relocating your camera/router to further isolate if the location of one or the other is causing the issue.

JamesC

[Cassidy]

I have a signal of 80 % and SINCE the firmware update, i have the purple light flashing...and a lot of holes in CVR recording. I also have a ticket with Netgear level 2 technician for this and he never told me than other people have the same problem...Before the update, the light was solid BLUE...

Like a lot of people here who haven't this problem before the update, Netgear should read and understand then the problem is in the new firmware, nowhere else and i really think  NewArloUser2016 is completely right when writing the following text ....and tape is not a solution 🙂 

JAMESC , you should send this complete post to your engineers

Cassidy

NewArloUser2016 

"But I also think that Netgear should listen to its customers ; in that respect, your answer is really disappointing for 2 reasons :

1. It implies that devices are too far away from our wifi routers.

As many have written here : this is not the case. In fact, our devices are very near our routers, they work fine (no disconnections) and other wifi devices testify that the wifi signal is fine. Moreover, we did not have that problem prior to the latest fireware update.

2. It does not address the issue of incoherence between the "off toggle" and the "led actually showing".

If we choose to have our led "off" (in the settings), we do not understand why some led "messages" are allowed to be displayed on the device. This is not coherent.

The end result is that many of us are needlessly putting tape on our Arlos. I think Netgear should really consider whether this is really how it wants its customers to use their product".