ARLO ULTRA MOTION RECORDING "GOES TO SLEEP"

[HazzMatt]

I've spent hours per day over the last week trying to figure out why some of my Arlo Ultra Cameras stopped recording on motion.  I have two different Ultra systems on two different accounts in two different states and both systems have this problem. Symptoms are:  Arlo app shows last activity hours ago on some cameras, when I know there was activity during this time that should have been recorded.  No recordings in the library for those certain cameras either, no surprise there.  I've spent hours resetting batteries in cameras, rebooting the base station and even factory reset the base station and then rebuilding my cameras from scratch. The problem re-appears and it isn't always a specific camera that stops recording. The problem moves to different cameras. I do have some cameras that have a weaker signal that the others, but it isn't the weakest camera that always goes to sleep.  Sometimes the weaker one will stay working but the stronger cameras can also be the one that goes to sleep instead. The only way to "wake up the camera" seems to be to either remove and resync the camera or reboot the base station. Despite a short restoral period, the problem appears again.  After hours with Arlo Chat, going through the painful processes they must ask you to do or try - nothing got fixed. I finally got escalated to Level 2 support. Finally I was informed that the Ultra Base station received a firmware update on July 29th -the "exact day" that my problems started.  My fault for not checking the Arlo website for a list of recent updates - it was there, Arlo Ultra Base update on July 29th.  Unfortunately, Arlo cannot revert to the previous firmware version.  At present, they don't know what came out in that update that "broke things".  Anyway, I hope this report helps others to avoid the painful amount of wasted time troubleshooting that I've spent.  Oh, another thing - I also have Arlo Pro cameras at the same location and they all work fine, they don't have this problem.    Last thing: I've seen many claim that the Arlo Ultra systems don't have the range to cameras that the Arlo Pro has/had.  I also have seen this.  An Arlo Level 2 technician told me today that is absolutely not possible or true. If the power and sensitivity isn't less, the antenna pattern must be different. The result -not as good of range.  I hope this helps at least one person! Take care and Good Luck!   Matt

[OneofKind]

Hi
I have 4 cameras but 2 of them have stopped detecting motion or recording. I noticed these 2 cameras positioned in close proximity to each other stopped about 2 days ago. I’ve spoken to Arlo Support and they have done everything to troubleshoot and it’s still not working. I’ve now swapped one of my other cameras that continues to work fine to the location where one of the faulty ones were and now it’s not recording... Both cameras light comes on when it detects motion but not recording or sending any notifications!!! Can anyone help?

[JamesC]

OneofKind,

Are you using a custom mode/rules for your cameras?

To isolate the issue, try creating a new custom mode, with rules for only one of the cameras that is having an issue, activate that mode and see if you receiving recordings and notifications.

JamesC

[PT805]

For about 3 days now, my alro ultras have not been recording any activity. I've done motion detection tests. The light blinks like its supposed to, so it IS sensing motion, but there arent any recordings in my library.

[n1976jmk]

Hi PT805, if you go to the 'mode' section does it show 'armed'?

[LandJS]

mine has been doing the same.  One thing strange is if I go to devices it shows the person or animal that triggered the camera but there is no notification or recording.  So the camera is triggered but no recording is done.  This is a sometimes thing.  Also since the last update, about the16th I believe, 30% of the time, even though there is a recording it doesn't recognize people or vehicles anymore and just lists them as motion so there is no notification.  That last update broke more than it fixed

[Colaschnur]

I have exactly the same problem. I am a german user. Since the 31th of July the Ultra stop recording. It detects motion but doesnt report. I tried everything. All other cameras work fine (Arlo Pro, Pro 2, HD). The problem also occurs when only the Ultra is connected. The devices were reset several times and put on again. Even custom modes do not solve the problem. The Ultra runs a few minutes to about a maximum of 1h normal, then the problem occurs. Like other users here in the forum the problem occurs since about the 31st of July. Motion detection test works, light or infrared also works, but there is no motion detection in the app. The camera ran normally for 5 months. Nothing was changed.

[OneofKind]

Im pretty sure mine stopped working on 31st July also. Same as you, nothing changed. Id only installed this new system a week and a half before. 

Yea well I spoke to Arlo Support last week and did all the troubleshooting with them to no avail. I was told to take back the two cameras as they may have been faulty. What I did after the phone call is I went and got a camera that was 100% working and swapped it with one that wasnt working, and low and behold it also stopped workiing.  I spoke to Arlo support again and told them what else has happened and was told that as it is a new camera system that I need to bare with them while they work out these issues. I would have thought any bugs or issues would have been sorted before it went into the market.... Ive now had to take the 6 cameras and smarthub back for a full frefund as it is completely useless to me in not doing what it is inteneded to do. Ive now gone with a totally different brand that works perefectly fine. Dont think i'll ever buy Arlo ever again. 

[OneofKind]

Ive tried everything and nothing works. 

[SuperZwu]

Dear community,

I'm a little lost at the moment - my Arlo Ultra system worked nice and smooth but about the point of the last firmware update a few weeks ago I do no longer recieve any notifications (push or eMail) on any of my devices (iPhoneX, iPadPro).

I checked all the settings (although I've not changed anything) and they all look fine.

I tried the "Armed" profile as well as the "Scheduled" profile and both gave me zero feedback but when I've the app open when armed and force a movement on any of my cams the motion detection symbol for the affected cam immediately turns yellow so the motion detection works fine but the indicator of the recordings located beneath the video-window left beside the settings button just stay showing "0" all the time.

I've already tried to re-install the App on all my devices and unplugged the base-station from AC for 10min but nothing helped so far.

Any idea?

[JamesC]

PT805,

Are you receiving any push notifications for the cameras? As mentioned above, what mode are you using?

JamesC

[JamesC]

SuperZwu,

If you navigate to the library, are recordings being saved when motion is triggered?

JamesC

[SuperZwu]

No there are no recordings in the library shown but as far as I've learned these recordings will not show up on my "free account" on my mobile device as I'm using an "Ultra" system.

In any case I've never seen anything to show up in my library even when all the notifications have been working!

I'm using an SD-Card to store all of those video data and I can't see the memory shrinking so I think there's nothing being recorded.

Back then when the notification system was working I could see a change in SD-Card free memory.

[PT805]

Yes mode is set to armed. I've even tried to set it to schedule to see if itll work, but no luck.

[PT805]

No notifications at all. Which doesnt bother me because it's been like this for the past 5 months. But not recording really irks me.

[Jdubbs4131]

I am having essentially the same issue.  Started for me though late last week, even in Armed mode one (just one) of my two Arlo Ultra cameras is not detecting motion.  It isn't even recording.  The motion detection test is working normal and I can live view the camera without any issues.  

If I restart the base it will start working normal for a 2-4 hrs and then stops again.  Very odd.  Might have been connected to the recent firmware issue.  I have contacted support and they opted to replace it in case there was some hardware failure.  However they are having a system issue and can't update my shipping address right now so I am waiting on them to resolve that issue before they can send me a replacement.  I would think for sure it was just a recently hardware update but my other Ultra is working normal.  I have tired all the usual steps.

[m4reel]

I'm having the same problem. One of my two cameras isn't working. If I reset the base station it will work for about 2-4 hours then stop again. I can view live mode, it just won't record or send notifications. I believe it Started after latest firmware update. 

[SuperZwu]

Short update here:

- Re-installed Arlo App on my iPhone -> still no notifications

- removed one of the Cams and re-paired it -> still no notifications (for this specific cam)

- double-checked for "Notification" settings in System App -> everything turned on

- double-checked all firmware versions -> running the latest version everywhere

- checked if there are recordings on the SD-Card -> YES recordings are there but since there's no notification I won't go there to check for them as they also don't show up in the mobile App "library"

I'm starting to get really pissed here as a major features of this system isn't working at all!

Notifications MUST WORK otherwise this system is completely useless - in a very expensive way 😕

Anyone has other suggestions???

[PT805]

I spend most of my day yesterday resetting my smart hub and all 5 of the cameras.
Uninstalled the app, reinstalled it. I thought I had the problem fixed. But like you said, it was only good for 2 hours. Now it's back to NO notifications and NO recordings. At this point I'm looking into the RING stick up camera.

[JamesC]

SuperZwu,

Please contact the Arlo Support Team to further investigate this issue. You will find several options for contacting support in the provided link.

JamesC

[n1976jmk]

Hi HazzMatt, do you use the outdoor AC power cords with your Ultra cameras?

Thanks,

[HazzMatt]

No, why do you ask? I do have 3 cameras on Arlo Ultra Solar panels.

[LandJS]

yes the rebooting, pulling batteries and re pairing is getting old.  Just this evening I had two cats playing in front of 3 different cameras less than 10 ft. away and nothing.  Other than the app not being able to handle doze mode on androids I was fairly happy with ultra until my brother came to visit from MN.  He just installed the pro 2 system and his recordings were beyond a doubt clearer and more detailed than mine.

[Mjbeuke]

Same frikking issue here - motion recording stopped working correctly since 7/29 update.... super frikking annoying. There is literally something broken with every single update these monkeys come out with.

I’ve frikking had it with Arlo. This entire $2k system is a waste of time and money. I’m don’t and moving to a different brand that is competent and cares about their customers.

[HazzMatt]

The good news is that I feel vindicated that I was finally able to convince Arlo I didn't have some settings wrong on my end. The bad news is that you're going through this too. The main purpose of my post was to save others from going through my experience. Arlo is sending me a new station from a different batch as a troubleshooting & isolation test. I don't know if it will work or if I have to wait for an update fix. I like Arlo enough to keep it but OMG, the pain and hassle I and others of gone through! Arlo took a beating early on with different problems and IMO this issue is just as bad. I wish you luck. Maybe you'll hang in there until the fix is identified and published.