Light Flashing on Arlo Q

[nz19]

Hi there,

I have two Arlo Q cameras. They are fantastic but I have just noticed one of my cameras lights is flashing (Purple). Its still working fine but I do have the camera set to status light OFF.

The other camera light isnt blinking and status light is also set to OFF.

Appreciate any help

[jdb_]

Looks to be the same issue reported in the thread proceeding yours LED-showing-Low-wifi-signal-purple-flashing-EVEN-with-status

[jguerdat]

Try pulling the power and then back on.  Maybe something's just confused.  You can also try a factory reset and resync to see if that fixes it.

[TomMac]

The low WIFI signal flashes the front LED reguardless of the toggled settings for the front led... been that way for a long time.

I put tape over mine.  : )

[JamesC]

nz19,

Take a look at this article for Arlo Q LED definitions: What do the LED lights on my Arlo Q camera mean?

As TomMac indicates above, flashing (blinking) purple means the camera is too far from your router. Moving the router or camera closer to one another should resolve the issue.

JamesC

[jdb_]

Thanks James, however if the answer were that simple I imagine most of us would already have done it.

The issue seems to be that since the last firmware updade, an Arlo Q in the same position relative to the router as before now flashes purple. In my own case the camera is ~4m from the router (although behind a wall) and whilst previously fine, has now decided that is too far. It's on a 2.4ghz network and EVERY other network device in that room and some further away show full wifi signal bars. Indeed devices on the corresponding 5ghz network (which the Arlo refuses to connect to) also show full wifi coverage at that location.

The most logical conclusion is that the Arlo has networking issues that need addressing.

[nz19]

Agree - Its weird. Ive tried turning it off and the Wifi router is only 3m away...Might use some tape until Arlo provide a firmware patch? Thx all and still love the product 🙂

[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]

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.

[JamesC]

gilbo2,

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

[THE_KINGDOM]

Agreed, latest update must have made this light come on a less of a distance than before. Or at least my light is flashing purple now whereas last week it wasn't..

[JamesC]

THE_KINGDOM,

How far from the router is your Arlo Q? Has anything changed on your network or have you moved the Arlo Q further away from the router now that you are noticing the flashing purple LED?

JamesC

[Jack_Ross]

Same here, after the latest update one of my camera's led keeps flashing purple.

The camera is less than 5 meters from the router (no walls in between them) and i never had any problems before.

The camera now shows only 1 bar for the wifi strength (before the update it always reported full wifi strength).

I tried resetting the camera but it didn't solve the problem.

[JamesC]

Jack_Ross,

If you move the camera closer to the router (or the router closer to the camera) do you see the same behavior?

JamesC

[jdb_]

JamesC,

do you have any ability to escalate these issues with Netgear?

It would seem there is now a large number of us reporting the same problem with the recent firmware update yet you continue with the same generic response to "move the camera needs closer to the router". Many of us are reporting a camera only a few meters away from our respective routers yet are still having the issue. Please take some responsibility and work for a solution.

[NewArloUser2016]

Absolutely agree with jdb_

Something needs to be done...

[JamesC]

jdb_,

I have escalated the concerns in this thread, see my earlier post above.

The suggestion to reposition the camera is an option to help further isolate the potential cause of the issue. (Range is often the cause of a flashing purple LED)

This is something that is currently being investigated further, I will post an update as soon as I can.

If you have a case open with the support team regarding this issue. Please feel free to private message me the case number and I will do what I can to assist.

JamesC

[Pugmom]

I added a 3rd Arlo Q to a disabled childs bedroom. The purple flashing light upsets her at night. Audio and video is good. Will it harm the camera to cover light with tape?

[TomMac]

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Pugmom wrote:

I added a 3rd Arlo Q to a disabled childs bedroom. The purple flashing light upsets her at night. Audio and video is good. Will it harm the camera to cover light with tape?

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No it will not hurt the camera ( use a tape that can peal off without trouble )... I actually used a small round bandaid to cover mine

[Pugmom]

Thanks!

[Sasnak79]

I just purchased and installed an Arlo-Q camera to add to my Arlo Wire-Free 3 camera system with base station. When I installed the Arlo Q it did a firmware update and when the setup was complete and camera operational the purple light immediatley started to flash. Currently, I have the Arlo Q on the shelf right next to one of the Wire-Free cameras. Furthermore, the Arlo base station is right next to my router in another room, so the distance between the two cameras and the router and/or base station is the same. Yet the strength of the signal of Arlo Wire-Free is much greater than that of the Arlo Q (See images below).

Seems to me that, as others are reporting, something is amiss with the Arlo Q cameras or the firmware they are running to cause the purple light to flash.

[TomMac]

Not saying something may be wrong re the flashing Q led re SW ....I put a tape on mine.

but your trying to compare apples and oranges.

The Arlo runs via the base wifi, the Q runs from your home wifi.... In a few tests I've done, I have found the Arlo base signal to be about 20% stronger than my home wifi signal. ( Yours may or may not be diff but the only true way is to check the streight of your two sources)

In 3cases I've checked, the Arlo base had a better signal ( you can check with any computer that has wifi search with signal % and or an android app call wifi analyzer )

[Sasnak79]

Point taken. But if that is the case that the base station signal is typically stronger than the home wi-fi signal, then maybe is would make sense for Netgear to allow the Q's the ability to connect to the base station. That way we could use the same modes with all cameras instead of having the wire-free base station cameras separate from the Q's.

[TomMac]

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Sasnak79 wrote:

Point taken. But if that is the case that the base station signal is typically stronger than the home wi-fi signal, then maybe is would make sense for Netgear to allow the Q's the ability to connect to the base station. That way we could use the same modes with all cameras instead of having the wire-free base station cameras separate from the Q's.

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Good idea, but I can see why it isn't.  The Qs push out data at a peak of 1.5mb while the Arlo maybe hit normally half that. As it is now the Arlo base is limited to 5 streaming arlo cams at a time... i don't think the Arlo base as designed can handle the processing of additional data like the Qs would dump.

I guess that the whole idea about the Netgear 7000 router being able handle both Arlo and Q cameras ( don't have one, I believe Jeff does, he'll prob chime in )

[jguerdat]

While I have both types of cameras on my R7000, I also have only a 1Mbs upload speed (thanks, TimeWarner) so it's difficult for me to answer bandwidth issues.  I'm sure the router can handle the load but the ISP connection can certainly be a limiting factor.