VMB4540 not recording locally

[JeffRand]

I have a VMB5000r5 Ultra SmartHub running firmware 1.20 4.0_1367_36740e8. I also have two Arlo Ultra 2 (H10 4k) cameras and one Arlo Video Doorbell (1.2 wired). These have been working great for two years.

As of this morning, the VMB5000 base station is no longer recording any videos locally to the SD card. I reformatted the SD card through the app. It reports that storage is available and doesn't show any issues, yet when motion is detected on any of the cameras no recordings take place. I also cold booted the base and also restarted it several times. I can't figure out what has changed. The system status on Arlo's website says everything is good. I tried contacting support, but the chat bot says I can't connect to a live agent unless I have a subscription, which I do not (and have not for over a year). I just need the base to record videos locally and have no need for cloud storage.

Is anyone else having this issue? Any ideas as to what is wrong? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[JamesC]

I would like to reiterate that the issues being experienced in this discussion are not expected behavior. The development team is currently testing new firmware to address these concerns, we do not recommend any troubleshooting at this time. Once the firmware fix is available I will provide more information.

We appreciate your patience while we work to resolve this issue.

JamesC

[JamesC]

The development team is currently testing a fix for this issue that we hope to be able to release soon. I will continue providing information as it becomes available.

JamesC

[JamesC]

The issue being described here is not expected behavior. The development team is actively investigating reports of this issue and working on a resolution. As soon as I have more information to share I will provide an update.

JamesC

[Kidzn2terri]

Same here. Will they let us know when that have an update to correct the problem?

[Whuff]

Piece of crap software not working again after update! Will not let me into my smarthub and get pictures off. I am so so sorry I purchased thisbpice of crap! Will NEVER recommend arlo!!

[Swarnes]

This was done intentionally by Arlo. They want every customer to pay for a subscription service. Recording locally is not even mentioned in features of the product any longer. This is a bad marketing strategy and customers like us should consider filing a class action suit against Arlo. Maybe when they realize they could lose millions they will fix their firmware. 

[Swarnes]

You need to realize that this was done intentionally by Arlo. They want to force us into a subscription to make our storage operational again. Don’t believe me, purchase a subscription and see that local storage works again suddenly.

[JamesC]

The development team is currently testing a fix for this issue that we hope to be able to release soon. I will continue providing information as it becomes available.

JamesC

[JamesC]

The development team is currently testing a fix for this issue that we hope to be able to release soon. I will continue providing information as it becomes available.

JamesC

[FrannyK]

Thanks James.  As you have seen, all local storage customers are very frustrated and 1,000’s of our person hours have been spent, all in our personal homes, trying to fix an issue that wasn’t within our control to fix.   
Arlo needs to figure out a way that without a human customer service center, messages can be posted for awareness.  Won’t change the issue but if I could have been aware of the company issue much sooner, I would not have wasted so much time and would not have become so frustrated to bash the Company!

just saying

[vclchan]

Same issue. Motion detection is working for cameras but no recordings since Dec 13, 2022

[KartDude]

Me too! VM4540

[Shakawn]

"There was an error obtaining your library. Arlo team is working on this issue." I can't access my local storage. 

[KenC]

@JamesC  - I would add along with the other respondents to say that this is not the first time Arlo has "disabled" local recording with a new FW, SW, etc.. release.  Which leads us to think either Arlo does this intentionally or has poor quality in their products.  Either of which makes us rethink our commitment to Arlo.

[GinON]

I've had the same problem with my Pro 3 and VMB4540 Smart Hub. No recordings in the library. Everything else works both. I was able to format the attached USB drive, but no new recordings.

[CDaggy]

Yep same here! With all the porch pirates out there Arlo should get to it with a fix. I for one will consider starting a class action lawsuit. I purchased this system knowing I was able to record locally with no monthly subscription now they pulled the rug out from under me.

[Arlo_Ultra2]

I have the same system with the same issue. The last local recording  was December 12 @10:56p.  

[KartDude]

I just got off a 40-minute chat session will Arlo. They had me power down the base, unplug the USB stick and put it back in, then power up. They also confirmed that I had the lasted version of the App. They said they had an outage on their end. They will get back to me later.

[CDaggy]

Did any of that resolve the issue?

[KartDude]

No. The issue is not resolved.

[niemasd]

I have a Pro SmartHub VMB4540 (firmware 1.20.4.0_1305_38740e8) that is connected to three Arlo Pro 3 cameras (all firmware 1.060.12.2_6_fd2b14a, all plugged into the power), and I do *not* have *any* Arlo subscriptions (the cameras + SmartHub were in my home when I bought it). I have Activity Zones set up on all three cameras (which works fine because all three are always plugged into power).

I have been using the SmartHub's local USB recording functionality for the past week or so, which has been a bit finicky but worked alright. However, as of yesterday, it's completely stopped recording locally to USB. I've tried a 16 GB USB flash drive as well as a 2 TB USB hard drive (both formatted to FAT32), and I've tried reformatting them multiple times in the Arlo app on my Android phone. The Arlo app consistently says "Ready" and correctly reads the storage capacity, but it doesn't record any videos when motion is detected.

I have verified that I'm in "Armed" mode, and I have the following "Storage Settings" enabled:

• Record Locally
• Record in Maximum Resolution
• Direct Storage Access

Regardless, even though the Arlo app is properly notifying me of motion detection, no recordings are in my library, and the "Available Storage" of the USB device consistently says "0.00 used". When I plug the USB device into my PC, I see the correct Arlo-formatted folder structure ("arlo" in the root, with "000000" and "metadata" in the "arlo" folder), but no recordings.

I'm not sure what to try next: I've tried restarting the BaseHub multiple times, safely removing + reinserting the USB devices, disabling + enabling Direct Storage Access, etc., but nothing seems to work. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[ElleEzr]

As subject mentioned, no video recorded in library. Still receive notification but no footage. 
I tried doing : power cycle the base station, factory reset then adding all cameras again, log in/off from the app, reinstall the app on my iPhone, using different sdcard, using pc/laptop to see if the recording available. All with no luck. 
it was all fine until few days ago.

can anyone suggest how to rectify the problem?

Many thanks 

[Swarnes]

This is what is happening to everyone without a subscription. The app on your phone is not to problem. It is the firmware update from the night of December 12 th

[PGalore]

I have 1 camera that only records locally and 4 others on cloud.

It's been almost 12 hours since the last local recording.

I knew there would be a thread about this issue on here, so didn't bother formatting an SD card or anything. 

I have to wonder if Ring and Eufy also have these inconvenient issues as often as Arlo does. 

[Jfred63]

Arlo pro 4, local storage is enable, motion detection working but there is no recording in the library, base station VMB4540

[BenC00L]

Same here. Cameras stopped recording and no footage on smarthub. Shame on you ARLO - sort this out asap! 

[CDaggy]

Funny thing is I did not agree to the up grade I kept ignoring it for like 6 days and then it up graded it's self

[PGalore]

This is another sneaky tactics Arlo uses to get us to subscribe to their cloud plans 😁