Arlo hubs no longer recording locally as of 3 AM today

[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

[EY88]

JamesC,

Thank you the quick response. My system is back up and operating nominally.  Thank you!

[Wasi]

My cameras are now recording to local USB and are viewable.

[JenMic]

Before resetting the hub today I checked again for firmware updates. None available as of 2 hrs ago. So, reset, added back the hub, the app checked for updates, and lo & behold, a message saying firmware update being downloaded & might take up to 5 minutes to complete. 15 minutes later, update complete. Next, added back cameras: Arlo app/hub unable to see or connect any, so outside to take down 4 cameras and manually sync 1-by-1, then return each one to my preferred settings. Awesome job Arlo! Nothing like a seamless update in background and uninterrupted performance. Two hours of troubleshooting and another hour to manually reset and update everything.

What does it say about a company that releases such a flawed update?  Answer:  Arlo SUCKS!  

Also tired of their thinly veiled prodding to push users into subscription fees to access the recordings they created with a pricey system they already paid for.  Imagine buying a digital camera and not being able to see pix & vids w/o a subscription fee.  I use local storage/port forwarding but I regularly open my recording library and it defaults to the cloud and a nudge to sign up & pay fees to access recordings that don’t reside there. Arlo originally provided cloud storage for free. If they insist on squeezing users after they buy in, the updates should be flawless, not released with bugs that turn the system into a useless brick. No more Arlo after current system ages out. 

System is now operating normally.  Thanks for replying anyway. 

[hdoINcali]

Hi all, and @JamesC ,

I am, too, got this issue. However with the new firmware, my microSD in the VMB5000r5 seems to have recording because its capacity is getting smaller every time a motion is detected hence it does record. My new issue is that with the old Arlo Secure app, I was able to view the recording on my iphone, not with the new Arlo Secure App ver. 4.0.2. When I click on the "Feed" button, it always says there are no events for this day.

Does anyone get this issue and know a fix for it?

I want to give a little bit more details: Base Station VMB5000r5 firmware 1.20.4.1_1373_d606780, 3 Arlo Ultra 2 Cam, 1 Arlo Pro 3. All the cameras are connected to Base Station VMB5000r5, have Default Mode Settings to record when motion is detected until activity stops. Base Station VMB5000r5 has Storage Settings set to Record Locally, Local Storage Settings shows Storage Status as Good, Available Storage gets smaller and smaller as I am writing this. Direct Storage Access has View Recordings ON, and Port Forwarding ENABLE (and status Available).

Thank you everyone,

-hdoINcali

[Drew411]

I’m having the same issue with my BaseStation (#VMV4540r3) and rebooting doesn’t fix it as indicated. 

I have Firmware version: 1.20.4.1_1311_d606780. It says “No updates available.”

[ArloWishess]

After REBOOTING the base station, I too am seeing the local recordings again.  Was almost at the brink of  taking them down to release my tensions on them in the driveway.

[Drew411]

Same here

[Michael_Hull]

Hi hdoINcali

I am using an Android phone (Samsung) with app version 4.0.2.1_28506   With Storage Settings > Direct Storage Access set to ON, I can see the locally recorded videos.  If I turn Direct Storage Access to Off, I no longer can see the locally recorded videos. 

One thing to check is the way your phone is connected.  The Arlo documentation states the the phone and the hub must be on the same local network.  My hub  is cable-attached to my router, and my phone uses WiFi to connect to the router.  Thus both are on the same local network.  If your phone is using cellular to connect to your service provider's cell network, then Arlo may consider this as a different network compared to where your hub is connected, and thus will not allow things to be seen.

Something to try is to turn off cellular data on your phone, and make sure your phone is WiFi connected to your router.  If you can then see the local videos, the problem is "solved".  You still have the problem that you can not see the local recordings when your phone is not connected to your home router.

Hope this helps.

[Dlongo]

I do not want to pay for local storage. Everything was working fine until recently. Cameras work but they do not pick up motion and record LOCALLY as it did a few days ago. Please help!!

[PGalore]

If you enable Port Forwarding in Storage Settings, you can live steam or view stored recordings when you are away from home.

With my old router, I had to enter configuration by logging into the router but with my new router, I can for some reason access stored recordings and live streaming even though Port Forwarding status shows " not available."

[hdoINcali]

@Michael_Hull  and everyone,

I still cannot view the local recordings after the following has been tried:

— turn off cellular on my iphone to connect to local wifi to which the smarthub is connected to via network cable

— restart the smarthub

Thanks

[PGalore]

Also, the issue for me has been fixed now.  I didn't do anything but my app might have updated automatically. 

[hdoINcali]

@PGalore that is the thing that trouble me — I have the port forwarding enabled. I was able to view the local recordings fine on cellular. After the Arlo Secure App updates, and the firmware on the smarthub updates (the infamous one that disabled local recordings, i.e. 

1.20.4.0_1367_38740e8), I cannot view any recordings locally even after the new fixed firmware updates. 

Thanks. 

[Dlongo]

Driving me crazy

[hdoINcali]

@Dlongo I’m with you on that

[Dlongo]

Class action!!!

[Dlongo]

What are your current settings to get at least notifications that someone is at my house. The recordings I will deal with hopefully after they fix the problem, software update. Thank you!

[Ganinoj]

Ever since last Apple app update, my locally stored images are not appearing in my local hub library.  I have a VMB4540 with an Arlo Pro4.  I verified the port forwarding is status is Good and I can get live video through the App.  It also appears the motion detection is working, but it will not display the auto capture video it was intended to store on a local hard drive any more.  Something change?

Thanks,

John Ganino
ganinoj@comcast.net

[Dlongo]

How will we find out they have fixed the problem?

[Dlongo]

HOURS. Pissed off! How will get Information it was fixed?

[Dlongo]

By the way, without a service plan, your Arlo device will continue to have the following features:

• Live Streaming
• Push Notifications
• Two-way Audio
• Auto Zoom & Tracking
• Local Storage Recording

SO WHAT IS THE PLAN ARLO????????

[Dlongo]

RESET HUB IT IS WORKING NOW!!!!

[PGalore]

@hdoINcali 

You are right. I switched to cellular and couldn't view recordings, although I could stream live.

I tried to set up port forwarding in my new router but status still shows not available....

[AsCa]

@JamesC 

Thank you for your update! I can view record locally now, just another problem, I found that my camera LED control does not work anymore in live view after firmware update since 13/12. My Camera firmware is 

1.060.12.2_6fb2b14a, Hardware is H10, The base station hardware is VMB4540r3. Please help to advise how to resolve this problem, Thanks!

Another one have this same situation also?

[JohnLago]

I just started having the same issue.  Did you ever get a fix?