Ultra 2 Smarthub - WiFi issues resulting in Camera offline

[RH609]

I have a five Ultra 2 camera system supported by two Smarthub VMB5000's. The system has worked well for three years. Recently (October 2024) one of the cameras went offline. After much troubleshooting we have found out the following:

1 Smarthubs connect OK to cameras within 3-5m range

2 Smarthub will not connect a a camera 6m away.

3 Camera is working and reconnects if moved closer

The issue is WiFi channel congestion, which is causing my furthest camera to go offline. I can optimise my home WiFi and change the channels is broadcasts on. However when I do this the Smarthubs after a short time, alter the channels they are broadcasting on to match my home WiFi, resulting in channel conflict and my furthest camera being.  I use the free WiFi Analyzer app in Windows Store to gain the data points. My home WiFi broadcasts at a higher level then the Smarthubs and thus erodes their signal limiting it to 5m.

Clearly the Smarthub range claims are very wildly inflated.

Do Smarthubs need renaming?

What's caused this change in behaviour?

Is anyone else having this problem?

What's the solution?

[StephenB]

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@RH609 wrote:

I have a five Ultra 2 camera system supported by two Smarthub VMB5000's. The system has worked well for three years. Recently (October 2024) one of the cameras went offline.

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Only 1 of the five cameras is going offline?

Have you tried swapping the camera with one in a different position, and see if the swapped camera also disconnects at that location?

I am also wondering how far away the problem base is from the router.

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@RH609 wrote:

the Smarthubs after a short time, alter the channels they are broadcasting on to match my home WiFi,

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The Arlo bases have always worked this way.

[RH609]

Yes I have swapped cameras they all fail in that position. My home WiFi broadcasts via mesh and the nearest access point is 2m from the smarthub. 

[jguerdat]

That rather sounds like interference from some other 2.4GHz wireless devices near that position.

[RH609]

There are no other WiFi receiving devices on the way nor around the disconnecting camera. It's channel congestion that is the issue. When I move my WiFi to different channels after a while the Smarthubs follow to the same channels. Why? It's stupid they should be looking for uncongested channels to operate on.

[StephenB]

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@RH609 wrote:

When I move my WiFi to different channels after a while the Smarthubs follow to the same channels. Why? It's stupid they should be looking for uncongested channels to operate on.

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I don't get the "why", but I do know this policy was developed by the Netgear WiFi team back when Arlo was part of Netgear. 

FWIW, personally I think Arlo should let people set the wifi channel for the base in the app.  Despite many suggestions to that effect in the forum, Arlo hasn't done that.  That said, I also have one of my own bases connected to a mesh router, with a second one connected to a mesh satellite - and am not having any issues with interference.