Cameras won't connect to base

[MrCat]

Says base station on line, cameras off line; happened early 25 Sep23.

Is Arlo down?

[JamesC]

The development team is currently investigating reports of this issue. The recent firmware release has been rolled back. Please restart your base station/SmartHub to allow your cameras to receive the previous firmware version. If you're still experiencing an issue, you may need to remove and reinsert the battery within the affected cameras to allow them to come back online.

JamesC

[darkness975]

Did you charge the cameras fully first?  @bubba56 

[bubba56]

NONE of this works for me! I have two worthless Ultra hubs and two useless Ultra Cameras.

[Hinkman]

After trying 3 or 4 times to do the full camera reset, last night, after yet another attempt, the camera finally said there was a firmware update and after that update my Ultra 2’s are now working again.  It was a long and painful process and over a week with no security system.  It appears a bad firmware update was sent out but it sure would have been nice if Arlo just owned up to it up front and saved us a lot of trouble.  S$&t happens, I get it - but the customer support was awful and there’s no excuse for that - especially when you’re dealing with something as critical as a security system.

[Dgmi]

I had to do the reset procedure up to 5-6 times on some of my cameras.

[brownland01]

Thanks to the community, I am getting them back on line.  Another community member noted the battery completely drained.  Taking that into account, and because the camera needs to be inside the camera sleeve immediately following reset, there seems to make it a timing issue.  Again, thank you community.

[JPC_77]

I am glad everyone is starting to find their way (I’ll know my fate when I return home in a month). However what is Arlo going to do for all of their customers who lost equipment? Bricked cameras, shot batteries, charging issues, station malfunctions, etc? Not to mention people paying for service they didn’t and in many cases still don’t have. What is the escalation process to file claims and make this all right?

[JamesC]

If you're continuing to experience an issue after trying the camera factory reset steps listed here, I encourage you to reach out the Arlo Support team via the Arlo Secure app under Settings > Support to open a ticket.

JamesC

[Chuckl113]

Having same offline issue, followed new direction to remove and factor reset cameras, after the amber light, attempted to add cameras back, but app can't fine camera the Ultra2 cameras.  Frustrating.  

[bubba56]

Yes always and remove battery before all resets.

[Chuckl113]

After many attempts, I was finally able to complete reconnection and firmware update.  Apparently, the batteries wouldn't charge through the camera until the update is completed.  

[k2gic]

Both 2 of my Ultra 2 cameras went offline the others not Ultra 2 connected to the same station are still working. How do I put them back online?

[Arloishorrible]

Every time there is an update it knocks my cameras out and I have to go around and reset all. And then they blame my router and other things on my side. Not reliable at all and horrible tech support.

[MrCat]

I agrée. I reset to factory default and followed instructions (charge, sync,etc) several times.

Best result so far is to access only one camera with « live » feature, nothing (no feed etc) else. Other camera no response, Base Station always shows « Online ».

It seems that heir recent software change is the problem as mine and others have quit on the same date as their upgrade.

[bubba56]

I am happy to say after 6 days of no security both my Ultra 2 hub and cams are back online. An Arlo support agent did call me at a convenient time.  Even she didn’t seem to be 100% knowledgable with her advice but between the two of us we got the system back online. This community was a big help to me as it taught me a great deal and I just want to thank you all. It was a very complex resolution with even just one error you would have to start over. I would estimate it took the agent and I about an hour to get my hub and cams back to normal.

In my comment to Arlo I let them know this error has hurt their reputation and customer trust (at least with me) and they should in some small way compensate us, their Arlo Ultra 2 customers.  This is an American company and they need to stand by their product and customers. I still prefer Arlo over all others!

[ebmebm]

Followed these instructions exactly.  Worked perfectly on multiple cameras.  Thank you.

[Frisco512]

This is not as easy as they make it sound here.  As another user has mentioned, this crap firmware update they didn't test well, drains your battery very quickly.  So you have to contend with that with whatever power items you have purchased for the Ultras.  I only purchased batteries since I have them hooked up directly to power at all times.  But even with that, you have to take them off direct power to do these steps (remove battery, sync button, etc).  I didn't have it disconnected from direct power for all that long and the battery couldn't keep enough juice to finish the process.  I dinked around with it all day (putting it back together so it could charge the battery, waiting, retrying, etc).  After 3 hours (and up and down many ladders), I finally got my 2 Ultras working again.  None of my 5 Pros had an issue, plus I have more power options for them.

I think it is sad that they can f up a firmware update this badly and then take their time acknowledging the issue and communicating it to all ultra users.  Then people have to spend hours, on ladders, trying to un-brick their expensive devices.  No apology, no type of credit for the hassle or considerable time - just screw their customers and move on.  If this ever happens again, I will move on - to Blink or something where they test their releases and own their mistakes and make it right when they horribly inconvenience everyone.

[bubba56]

Frisco I agree with you 100%! What these folks put us, their Ultra 2 Customers through  is unforgivable.  

I just hope there is no one who has just given up on getting their cams back online. Arlo should realize customers are the backbone of any company who can make or break a business.  This online community is the only thing that kept me going!  I came very close to  giving up but thats not the kind of person I am. Thank you for your honesty.

[Pennymcgonigle]

I was on vacation and my cameras went offline.  I could not get them back on line so I removed the 3 cameras and tried to resync them back to the hub.  Nothing has worked.  I charged the battery and did the steps to add a camera.  The hub shows it is on line and the LED blue light blinks when trying to add a camera but it does not find camera.  Camera has a full charge tried pushing the sync button on the camera but nothing seem to work.  I have only had the system 3 months and now it is usless.  Can't return to the store I bought it from.  Have over $1,000 invested and can't use them.  Any help would be appreciated.  Can't find a phone number to call the support team.

[StephenB]

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@Pennymcgonigle wrote:

I could not get them back on line so I removed the 3 cameras and tried to resync them back to the hub.  Nothing has worked.  

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Did you try the hardware reset for the camera (holding down sync for about 15 seconds; until it flashes amber)?

[hhschwind]

My Arlo Ultra system worked well for the first month that I owned it. Then, on September 15, 2023, (I think this may have coincided with a firmware update), the cameras became disconnected from the base.  I have chatted with Arlo and opened a case.  They have sent me various emails with instructions on how to reset the hub, manually sink the cameras, plug the base directly to wall socker, etc. (all the stuff that is listed in the User Manual and that you can research on their site).  I have gone through these procedures about four times now.  It appears to me that the base is connected to the WiFI (it's on a cord after all) but, for some reason none of my four cameras can be "found" and will not connect.  I am getting very frustrated with Arlo as they are just regurgitating the same rest process over and over to me.  I think they are preparing to send me 4 replacement cameras but I'm thinking the problem may be with the base since I find it hard to believe all 4 cameras went bad at once.  Any ideas??

[StephenB]

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@hhschwind wrote:

I have gone through these procedures about four times now.  It appears to me that the base is connected to the WiFI (it's on a cord after all) but, for some reason none of my four cameras can be "found" and will not connect.  

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The smarthub connects via ethernet, so not connected to your wifi.

Are you seeing the smarthub in the app device list?  If you are, then is it shown as on-line?

If the cameras still are in your account, then try removing one.  Then do the hardware reset (holding down the sync button until the camera flashes amber, then let go of the button).  As soon as it stops flashing amber, try onboarding it again.  If you've been doing this with the app, then I suggest trying it on a PC (logging into my.arlo.com).

[hhschwind]

Yes.  The base station is connected (based on the LED signal and the app).  The app can see the base.  The base is listed as a device and my app tells me my firmware is up to date.   I have cycled each of my four cameras several times (fully charge battery, remove/reinsert battery, hold "sync" button for 10 seconds until double amber flash, etc.).   None of my four cameras are listed as devices and when I try to "add a device" using the app and the above procedure it always fails to connect.

[StephenB]

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@hhschwind wrote:

None of my four cameras are listed as devices and when I try to "add a device" using the app and the above procedure it always fails to connect.

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You might also want to try this from a PC (browsing to my.arlo.com).  That sometimes will work when the app fails.

[hhschwind]

I have.  Same result.

[brownland01]

Like so many, four of my Ultra cameras went done Sept 15th.  The thread was helpful in getting all of my cameras back online.  What I was able to discern is: A firmware update was pushed out to Ultra cameras early Sept. 15th.  This update knocked, in my case, all Ultra cameras (my older Arlo cameras were unaffected).  Batteries were apparently drained, as well.  Like many on this thread it took many tries to get each camera running.  Persistence was the key.  One camera was especially troublesome.  I resigned myself to just try once each day.  Finally, after six days, I started the process in the morning, which immediately failed.  I left the camera plugged-in and in close proximity to the base station.  I discovered the blue light on the camera rapidly flashing when we returned from an outing late that evening.  I used my computer to restart the discovery process on the base station.  The discovery was successful without having to mess with the camera.  The old firmware was installed on the camera within a minute.  Very grateful for the users and guides on this thread.