Smart Notification Delay in Arlo Pro 2

[Deminda]

I recently bought an Alro system and having issues with smart notification.

Base Model : VMB 4000r3

Firmware: 1.12.0.1_27940

Phone : Iphone XS MAX - iOS  -12.1.2 and latest Arlo App

With basic plan the push notifications are not delayed at all and receiving within 5 seconds. I have more than 5 cameras so I use the Smart premium subscription. As soon as I got the subscrition the push notifications were delayed to come. I have tried removing the cameras from the smart notification list and still the push notifications are delayed around 1 minute. Is there any solution for this issue. Thanks 

[illuminous]

Unfortunately there is no fix other than unsubscribing from Arlo Smart altogether. The Smart feature introduces significant delay to the notifications and Arlo seems to be unable/unwilling to do anything about it.

I bought my cameras partly to communicate with delivery people who leave packages in my driveway. It’s funny because by the time I get a notification the guy is gone and by the time I activate two-way audio he is miles away.

Arlo is great for seeing what “happened” but in terms of doing anything live, it’s a waste of time

[JamesC]

Deminda,

A slight delay is normal behavior. Alerts are not instantaneous because the video is being analyzed by the Arlo Cloud service. After the analysis, an alert is pushed only if it is relevant based on your Arlo Smart settings.

JamesC

[illuminous]

James,

I think the point here is we are going beyond a “slight delay”. I would call the notifications without Arlo Smart coming through with a slight delay (a few seconds). With Arlo a Smart, it is a substainial delay to the point of it impacting the functionality of the system. Arlo definitely needs to improve its backend systems.

[Deminda]

There is a new update for the iOS arlo app. Could we expect a solution ?

[illuminous]

The issue is with Arlo’s cloud servers that process the Person detection etc. Unfortunately the iOS app cannot fix the issue.

In reality there may be no way for Arlo to reduce the delay to the point of it being useful for live interaction. The video needs to be sent to the server, analysed and then a notification sent., all of which takes time.

If this is the case I see two solutions. The longer term solution would be to release a base station that has the capability of processing Arlo Smart notifications without the cloud servers.

The simpler solution would be for Arlo to allow the user to turn on multiple notifications. The user initially receives a notification without using Arlo Smart indicating that motion is detected. A follow up notification is then sent saying that the previous motion detected was say, a person. If you could add this option on a per camera basis is would be useful.

[PhilB2]

I've never gotten a "small" delay. My notifications will typically take 10 mins or so to arrive. I'll probably just cancel smart and live with the additional false positives since smart recognizes almost anything as a person now. It's a shame, the service was very good in the first month or so.

[ShayneS]

@PhilB2

  Have you tried contacting customer support regarding this issue? I have attached the link here for you - Arlo Tech Support

[illuminous]

I have not on this particular issue, but have little faith in Arlo technical support.

I have another smart notification issue I sent to technical support a few months ago and can’t even get them to reply to my emails. The issue still persists.

[Charm21]

Let's not forget the Arlo 2 is single WLAN card - its just a shame that it can only use the 2.4Ghz band 

[PhilB2]

Same thing.. I followed the moderator suggestion and reached out to the support. After the first email, no more replies.

[ShayneS]

Hi @PhilB2

I reviewed your case and it appears support could not get ahold of you by phone. Can you contact me via PM with the best contact number & email to reach you. I will provide this information within your case as soon as it's received. Thank you for your patience.

[PhilB2]

thanks, will do

[PhilB2]

OK I never got to be contacted by support, but I figured out what was causing the dual notification (ie, ANY motion coming up as motion detected PLUS my """smart""" notifications coming later if it detected something in the selected categories, even with "all other motion" disabled).

My camera was setup to trigger another camera once it detected movement. For example, 

1. WHEN backyard detects movement

2. THEN backyard starts recording

3. AND door starts recording

When I removed item #3, the undesired notifications went away. Hope it helps someone else.