VMB5000 keeps corrupting microSD cards

[Stevewins]

What’s going on with the SD card corruption issue?  I keep repairing the cards on my computer and the VMB5000 keeps re-corrupting them rendering my local storage option non-functional. 

[Stevewins]

Yep, Arlo is a never ending procession of one issue after another. Every new update introduces a new bug or two and maybe fixes an old ongoing bug or two. It’s unfortunate, this system has such good potential and is awesome in theory and on paper but in reality it is constantly fraught with critical issues that take months and months to fix, and the fix always introduces a new issue or two that then takes months and months to fix and so on ad infinitum. 

If we all send Arlo CEO Matthew McRae (@mbmcrae) messages on Twitter every day about these bugs, maybe they’ll get fixed faster and we won’t have to wait months and months. Also, send WIRED magazine a message too (@WIRED), it might light a fire under their IT team to stop screwing around and get to work. 

[verheult]

Any update on ETA for a fix? Also why is this taking so long? And meanwhile why does your support team seem completely unaware of this bug, uselessly RMA'ing base station hardware for a firmware bug? That's costing Arlo money, in addition to frustrating all of us to no end. Your product simply fails to work as designed for as long as this bug persists, and I seriously regret buying it.

[BBuxton]

Count me in as another one with the issue. How does it work flawlessly for nearly 2 years and then suddenly it's broken?

Is there any way to roll back the firmware? That seems like the easiest fix.

[Stevewins]

ShayneS, any updates? We’re all waiting for your update.

[ShayneS]

@Stevewins 

The team has identified the issue and an update will be coming soon.  

[Stevewins]

Thanks, that’s good to hear.

It’s been over a month, the IT dept could use a compensation plan where pay is based on project turnaround time and quality. They’re either understaffed or under qualified it seems. 

[Scott668]

Add me to the saga Arlo Team.

Followed all the other advice from the Forum members.

Still the same.

look forward to the update or rollback.

[BBuxton]

Welp, here's an interesting twist. The Arlo app (Android) updated a few days ago and I'm no longer getting the corrupted SD card issue. Great, right?

Nope. They removed direct access in the app now it seems and there's no way to access videos on the hub via the Android app (4.5_28538). And I know it's storing videos because I formatted the card a couple days ago and it's already up to 3+ GB of stored data. 🙃

[edrevugh]

4.5 28538 released Jun 2, 2023

I'm on that version and am able to see three days of videos (before 513 error) from direct access in the app. Further I am getting the same SD errors from before. 

[Sport6929]

Why isn't this issue fixed yet?  How does a class action lawsuit against Arlo and parent company Netgear sound?

[Edinburgh_lad1]

What is it about some always wanting to go for class action lawsuits? Is there no other way to try to resolve a problem but through threats? I really don't get that. 

Anyway, FIY: Arlo has nothing to do with Netgear. These are two separate companies. 

[jguerdat]

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@Edinburgh_lad1 wrote:

What is it about some always wanting to go for class action lawsuits?

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It's a US thing. Gotta sue everyone for anything.

[Sport6929]

Disregard that comment.  I was just irritated that this issue has gone o  so long.

[Stevewins]

Sport 6929, it was a valid comment, it’s the only reason we got the EOL Pro/Pro2 cloud recording scam reversed. 

[Pcken]

Thank you!!!!   I confirmed this issue occurring on my hub.    Most recent dated folder had 513 videos, all others had 512.  I had this issue back in the end of April, did all kinds of things to troubleshoot.  It was a pain when one support recommendation was to reset the hub and re-add each camera.   Each camera had its own unique issue.    Wish there was a way to charge Arlo for my hands-on tech support in resolving their issue.

[Ponderosa1]

Please notify me when you have fixed this.

[ranger123]

Same relative problem, the base  (vbm5000r4) simply shows the cards as missing.  I swap them out and it happens again and again.  No errors on the recordings. Tried all the best cards, they all work for a few days then disappear. The entire thing seems designed to push for their subscriptions.

[ranger123]

Yea same, return and get eufy.  Arlo seems intent on pushing their subscription services rather than anything local. I have been waiting months for any reply to my issues and if you are out of warranty then you are toast.

[ranger123]

Yes, in my case I can pop the card in and out and it can work, other times not at all.  The card's videos remain accessible which is strange,

[Sport6929]

You're lucky then Ranger.  I haven't been able to store video on SD Cards since the software/firmware push that caused all this.  

Of course I have a concern of how long videos are stored in the cloud until deleted.  I'd like to be able to have them available in case I need them to investigate an issue near my house but now that's been hosed up!

Arlo: DO NOT require us to remove a camera from out system and re-add it as this is not easily accomplished where cameras are installed.

Find an immediate solution to this issue that requires little to no effort on the part of the subscriber.   We shouldn't be paying for cloud storage simply because you decided to send an uodate that renders local storage useless.

[BBuxton]

Edit: it appears to be working for me again but I'm not sure what changed. 

[edrevugh]

My ticket was just updated with this "A Root Cause has been identified for your case" and "I just want to let you know that this is a known issue and the engineering team is now working on it. As of the moment, there's no ETA yet on the fix. Rest assured, once we receive an update from them we will contact you immediately. Thank you for your patience!"

[edrevugh]

The only reason Arlo narrowly won my business years ago was because Eufy didn't sell a wired doorbell. Now they do and I recommend everyone buy them at the time of your next hardware upgrade.

[Bartley]

Once again, I can use local storage. VMB4000r3. Firmware 1.21.1.0_4300_898b168. Looks like it updated overnight. I went from corrupt SD card to a working local storage without user input. Available storage shows I have 52.81 used of 1862GB. I am using a WD easyshare 2TB USB drive. The same one I have been using since 2019. Hopefully this firmware update fixes it. Was an Android app update a couple weeks ago. Maybe a combination of the two. I wish Arlo would give more information on what the cause was and the fix. Save a lot of headaches. I think we all would appreciate that. Time will tell if this works. In the meantime, local storage is working again on mine.

Thanks

Gary

[verheult]

Same here. What a nice surprise today. And yes (assuming this bug is actually fixed finally; let's hope!) Arlo Support's overall lack of communication here and the length of time it took to fix this bug is rather indefensible.