VMB5000 offline, strange but true!

[Sheppeyboy]

On my last 3 vacations/holidays on trying to access my Arlo 3 x Smart-hubs remotely I notice they are offline either accessed by iPhone 13 pro Max or iPad Pro, it seems to happen after 3-4 days away from home yet one camera is obviously functioning because it records videos in the library which I can see and view.

I have several Ultra 1 and Ultra 2 cameras with 3 x VMB 5000.

What I do notice before they are permanently offline is when i access the  Arlo App the screen on the iPhone flashes on an off before connecting me, once this has happened several times the Smart Hubs remain offline as though they are locked out,  I don’t know if this is relevant?  The same scenarios happen with my wife’s iPhone 13 Pro Max & IPad Pro. tried via several different WI-FI and 4G and 5G when available but no different.

The last two times I had to wait until I got home and simply turned off and on the power to the VMB5000’s and everything returned to normal.

I notice that if I try and access via the web I can log in but all it shows me my subscription and that how many cameras I have participating, the right hand menu just shows headings for products, uses, Community etc and My Account, no sign of my 3 hubs or any of my cameras?

Turned off virus protection/VPN etc but no change.

My network provider tested and checked the Full Fibre 900MB service to my router all ok and reset the hub remotely but the Smart Hubs remains off line. 

Each Smart hub is connected by Ethernet cable directly from the router, I know it’s not the broadband fibre service or house power supply because I can remotely access and view live my Solar Panels, Central Heating controls and house alarm system. 

any thoughts would be great but expect I will have to wait until I get home and restart the hubs.

[ShayneS]

Please reach out to the Support Team to further investigate this issue you are experiencing. You can find several options for contacting support though the Arlo Mobile App by navigating to Settings/System/Support.

[StephenB]

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@Sheppeyboy wrote:

The last two times I had to wait until I got home and simply turned off and on the power to the VMB5000’s and everything returned to normal.

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Though of course this shouldn't be necessary, there is a workaround you could consider.  That is to get a smartswitch for each of the VMB5000s that will let you power cycle the bases remotely.

Some of these switches might not automatically turn back on after power is restored after a power cut.  So that is one thing you might want to investigate if you implement this.

[Sheppeyboy]

Thanks, that’s exactly what I did today, turned off and then power on and as you say everything works fine again and shouldn’t be necessary- what’s the point having security cameras if the don’t work while you are away????

[RafS]

I may be having the same issue and I think I may have figured out what the issue is on my end.  When I go into the Arlo app to view the cameras, it would show that all the cameras are off line and this would happen numerous times throughout the day.  I restarted the hub and changed the ethernet cable leading to the hub but nothing helped, then I thought that maybe there could be interference in the WiFi signal between my Orbi system and the Arlo system so I went into the Orbi and changed the channel for the 5Ghz band and things seem to have improved, not quite completely gone away but definitely improved. I may have to mess around with it a little more but this might be something you might want to look into since the Arlo works on it's own WiFi channel and another WiFi system close by can by causing issues. 

[Sheppeyboy]

Hi, Thanks for you feedback, I will look into possible interference but my problem only occurs when I am away for more than a few days, I don't have any problems with Arlo SmartHubs during normal usage for several months at a time. However whilst I am away it all seems fine for a couple of days and I can view line cameras and the library with no problem and the next time I try to view the live cameras on the app and after a few flashes on the iPhone they show they are all offline. its the same from me and my wife's iPad Pro and her iPhone 13 Pro Max.

I can't understand that if the SmartHubs are off line why does a couple of the cameras record videos and store them in the library and I can view them???

I have changed the Ethernet cables to UGREEN CAT 8 Ethernet Cable High Speed 40Gbps 2000MHz Ethernet Cable Braided RJ45 LAN Gigabit Network F/FTP POE but doesn't seem to make any difference.

I will look to see if the Alarm wifi may be interfering as that will also be set to alarmed, that's probably the only difference between me being and home and away. Thanks again.