Detection issues with Pro4 cameras

[richierich1468]

I have 2 x Pro4 cameras set up which stopped detecting and recording people and vehicles about 5 weeks ago. Both are running  v1.080.22.3_56_e704b23 firmware and I updated the iOS app to 5.3.1. Since this time, they have been detecting and sending notifications for really random stuff - a courier van pulls up in the drive and no notifications; neighbor's car off in the distance moves and I get a notification; someone comes to the door and 1 camera picks it up but the other doesn't (before they used to both pick this up). Frustrating as hell, as it has worked almost flawlessly for over 2 years.

Over the weekend I decided to factory reset the cameras and reinstall them to see if that would resolve the problem. It didn't. Previously I had Person and Vehicle Recognition as options, but now it says that those options are only available with cameras and doorbells, so not sure why. The cameras are still detecting random stuff and I will now only get a couple of notifications a day.

Reading thru the threads here it seems there is a known issue with the new AI which Arlo is working on, but seems to be taking forever to get resolved.

Is there any update on when this will be sorted? We live down a long drive and have had several people come down late at night and in the early hours of the morning and the cameras would alert me, but now they do nothing - which terrifies my wife when she is home by herself while I am away for work. The very thing the system was bought for, it cannot do.

The system cost me over $1000, not to mention the ongoing subscription charge for the last 2.5 years. I am about ready to toss them and go with another brand. I've also recently recommended Arlo cameras to a couple of friends and they went out and bought them. Now they also have the same problems and I look like an idiot...

[BrookeN]

Are you still seeing this same behavior? Can you also double check that the settings are correct:

https://kb.arlo.com/000063424/What-are-Arlo-Smart-Detections-and-how-do-I-set-them-up
 

[PTUxTOO]

So I have had similar issues over the last few weeks, and each time I thought my cameras were the problem, I found that something or someone changed the sensitivity settings on the cameras. The default setting has always been ‘80’ but I’ve recently discovered 3 times now they are all set to ‘50’, which is too low.

Go to ‘Mode’ and check ‘Motion is detected’ for each camera within each Device. I bet you’ll find the same.

Also, unless I am mistaken, you’ll need to adjust it everywhere each camera is referenced in your modes.

[PTUxTOO]

Just following up: did adjusting the motion sensitivity fix your issue?

[richierich1468]

Hi there,

Sorry for the delay. I checked as you advised and mine is set at 85 for both cameras, which is what I had set it at originally. So it hasn't randomly changed at all. I checked all settings. 

[richierich1468]

Hi Brooke,

Sorry for the delay. Yes, same behavior is happening. I have smart detection enabled per the article, but same issue - no detections. Just now I walked outside in front of both cameras, got in the car and drove up the road. Came back 10 mins later and no detections or alerts on either camera. There wasn't even video in the feed. Any idea what could be going on? I'm  on v5.3.3 of the ios app. 

The other annoying thing is that person and vehicle recognition are no longer available to me whereas before I reset everything they were. Why would that have happened?

[jguerdat]

It sounds like you don't have a subscription for the cameras, which is required for cloud recordings as well as Smart Notifications. It may be that your trial subs expired and now you need to purchase a plan. Check Settings, Subscriptions (if you use Library to view recordings) or Settings, Home, Plans (if you use Feed).

[richierich1468]

Hi,

I definitely have a subscription - I'm on the Plus plan. 

[StephenB]

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@richierich1468 wrote:

I definitely have a subscription - I'm on the Plus plan. 

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Check that the cameras are still in the plan - it's possible they didn't get added back when you reinstalled the cameras.

Also, double-check the rules in any modes you are using (esp. if you are on the new "Feed" interface).

[richierich1468]

Hi there,

Have logged into My Dashboard on the website and both cameras are there under the plan. I have gone thru every single setting I could find and cameras are there. I have also checked the Mode settings under "routines". I have both Arm Home and Arm Away set up the same - that is, Motion Detection (people, vehicles, animals) -> Record a Video -> Send Notification.

The Person or Vehicle recognition options are still not available. One thing I did notice though is that after reinstalling the cameras it shows that I am on the Plus plan, but I also have a free trial (again) of the Secure plan. Could this be causing an issue with the Person and Vehicle recognition? I don't imagine it was be causing problems with the notifications as my brother-in-law has the same set up and he also is not getting notified.

[StephenB]

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@richierich1468 wrote:

The Person or Vehicle recognition options are still not available. One thing I did notice though is that after reinstalling the cameras it shows that I am on the Plus plan, but I also have a free trial (again) of the Secure plan. Could this be causing an issue with the Person and Vehicle recognition?

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It could be.  The Secure plan has "filtered detection", the Plus plan has "Object detection".   There have been complaints on the labeling with "filtered detection" - I don't know if the issues were resolved.  

So the Car Port camera will work differently if it is in the Arlo Secure Trial.  I'm tagging @JamesC in case he has some suggestions to resolve this.

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@richierich1468 wrote:

The Person or Vehicle recognition options are still not available.

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These features are a notch above the person and vehicle detection.  They use the AI to recognize specific people and vehicles.

They are not available in all places due to local laws that regulate use of AI.

• https://kb.arlo.com/000063157/

[richierich1468]

Thanks for the reply Stephen.

Both cameras are showing the Secure trial (I only took the screenshot of the carport one). I'll wait to see if @JamesC comes back with anything.

Version 5.3.4 of the iOS app just popped up on the NZ App Store today. I installed it but still the same behavior.

[richierich1468]

Hi @JamesC 

Just following up to see if you have a solution or any advice?

Thanks. 

[richierich1468]

Well this has gone from being really annoying to completely ridiculous now, and I'm at the point where I'm about ready to throw the kit out and replace it with another brand. 

A few days ago we had a rather unsavory and intimidating gentleman park his pick up in the driveway and knock on the door looking for someone who didn't live here and we'd never heard of. The cameras didn't record it so there is nothing to give the police. We alerted the neighbors and they said they would keep an eye out while we were at work, and lo and behold he came around another two times. Nothing on the damn cameras, yet I'm getting multiple notifications for the neighbors car that is parked and not even in the activity zone. 

Today a courier arrived and left a very big package on the porch. No notifications or video and the package wasn't detected (nothing was stolen). Wife walking in front of both cameras to get to her car and then leaving up the driveway - no notifications. Same thing happened when I left. It's almost like the system recognizes us and our cars and won't send out a notification (despite the AI feature not being available to me). Yet when the damn cat walks around I get alerts.

This is beyond frustrating - the system is not doing what it was bought for in the first place. The wife does not feel safe at all now, given the incident a few days ago and the cameras not alerting or recording. Meantime I am still paying NZD$20/mo for basically nothing.

@JamesC  surely it can't take this long for your team to undo this massive **bleep** up and roll things back? This has been going on for months now, and I know I'm not the only one who is pissed about it. 

[BrookeN]

@richierich1468 I have reached out to support to contact you regarding the behavior you are seeing with your camera. Support will be reaching out to you as soon as possible. 

[richierich1468]

Thank you - appreciate it. 

[richierich1468]

Hi @BrookeN

Have just been on the chat with tech support and have made a little progress. It seems I am on the Trial Plan as well as the Plus plan. When I factory reset everything the Trial became active again and it appears this is overriding the Plus functionality. 

I asked the agent to cancel the trial but they said they are unable to and I have to wait until it expires. I also asked for a credit for the 3 months I am without the Plus plan but I was told they are also unable to give me this. 

Is there anything you can do on the backend to cancel the Trial Plan?

Thanks. 

[BrookeN]

@richierich1468 I am looking into this. I will reach out to you as soon as possible. 

[richierich1468]

Thanks @BrookeN