Arlo Ultra 2 Relocating base station

[Emilhau321]

Can i connect Arlo 2 Ultra Base station to a normal Netgear switch connected to the router, and connect to the WiFi network on my phone and setup the 4 ultra 2 cameras and after the setup is complete, then move the switch and base station to another location where there is no WiFi connection, but the base station is still connected to the switch which is connected to the router.

Will the cameras work when they are relocated and not near the wifi network but was setup up on the wifi network but they are near the base station which is connected to the router through the switch.

[StephenB]

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@Emilhau321 wrote:
Can i connect Arlo 2 Ultra Base station to a normal Netgear switch connected to the router

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Yes.  It connects to the Arlo cloud over the ethernet connection.  Moving it to a different location (while still connected to the switch) won't be a problem.

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@Emilhau321 wrote:

Will the cameras work when they are relocated and not near the wifi network but was setup up on the wifi network but they are near the base station which is connected to the router through the switch.

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Yes.  They connect to the base station via its closed wifi.

One thing that will behave a bit differently is the base's wifi channel selection.  When it is close to a wifi access point/router, then it will use the same channel as the router.   It likely won't do that if the router is distant.  I doubt that will create any problems for you though.

[Emilhau321]

Hello again.

I’m a bit confused when reading this:
Your mobile device and Arlo camera are within the WiFi signal range of your WiFi router. During setup, we recommend placing your camera within 10-15 feet (3-4.5 meters) of your WiFi router. After the camera is set up and connected, you can move the camera anyplace within range of your WiFi router.

It sounds like that the cameras still needs a wifi connection after the setup to work.

My problem is that my customer needs the cameras in his barn where there is no internet connection, but my plan was (after the setup on the wifi network), to move the base station to the barn through a switch connected to the router.

You write that they connect to the base stations wifii, but the text says within range of wifi router??? I’m confused!!

[StephenB]

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@Emilhau321 wrote:

Your mobile device and Arlo camera are within the WiFi signal range of your WiFi router. During setup, we recommend placing your camera within 10-15 feet (3-4.5 meters) of your WiFi router. After the camera is set up and connected, you can move the camera anyplace within range of your WiFi router.

You are confused because that article only applies to cameras that can be connected to your home wifi.  The Ultra 2 isn't one of those cameras, and its model number (VMC5040) isn't in the "this article applies to list".

There is a link in that article to one that does apply: https://kb.arlo.com/000039094/What-to-do-when-your-Arlo-camera-will-not-sync-to-a-Base-Station-or-Sm...

The phone (or PC) does need to be connected to your local network during onboarding.  That can be WiFi, but also (in the case of the PC), ethernet.

The camera requires an ethernet-connected base station - preferably a VMB4540 or VMB5000 smarthub.  That base station creates a closed wifi network that the cameras use.  The password isn't published, and you cannot connect any of your other devices to it.

[Emilhau321]

Thanks!

But i meed to be super clear about this, sorry.
It’s Arlo Ultra 2 (Complete package with base station and base)

So you say that i can (with ultra 2 cameras and the following base station)

1. Connect the base station to the Netgear switch which is connected to the LAN.

2. Connect to the WiFi network (2.4GHz) on my phone.

3. Open Arlo app and configure a new base station and afterwards the cameras, step by step.

4. And when the base station and cameras is setup and working (when i’m currently on the WiFi network on my phone), i can relocate the base station 50 meters away to the barn where there is no WiFi, but the base station is still connected to the router through the switch.

5. So when i relocate the cameras to the barn (where there’s no wifi), the cameras and the app will work without being near the WiFi network, because they are connected to the base after the initial setup on the routers WiFi.?

Sry for the dumb questions, it’s just tricky

[StephenB]

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@Emilhau321 wrote:

So you say that i can (with ultra 2 cameras and the following base station)

1. Connect the base station to the Netgear switch which is connected to the LAN.

2. Connect to the WiFi network (2.4GHz) on my phone.

3. Open Arlo app and configure a new base station and afterwards the cameras, step by step.

4. And when the base station and cameras is setup and working (when i’m currently on the WiFi network on my phone), i can relocate the base station 50 meters away to the barn where there is no WiFi, but the base station is still connected to the router through the switch.

5. So when i relocate the cameras to the barn (where there’s no wifi), the cameras and the app will work without being near the WiFi network, because they are connected to the base after the initial setup on the routers WiFi.?

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Yes.

The only caveat here is whether the barn will get too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter.  I've never seen a temperature range spec for the smarthubs - not sure if Arlo has one or not.  However, the smarthub amounts to a specialized router, and a typical router is spec'd for an operating range of 0° to 40°C.  That is likely conservative.

The other option you have is to get the Go 2 cameras (which use cellular data).  They aren't as capable as the Ultras (only 1080p), and they require a mobile data plan.

[Emilhau321]

Hello again.

I have one last question 🙂

Could i buy a additional WiFi router and create a 2.4GHz WiFi network and wire it to the barn through ethernet cable connected to the WiFi router in the house?
Can i do the setup of the base station and the utra 2 cameras on the new network i created without any problems?

I tried to setup the cameras on a Huawei Pro 3 4G router where i made a network and connected to it on the phone and connected the base to one of the free ports.
It could find the base station in the app when discovering new devices but the cameras couldt detect.
I made sure it was 2.4GHz.

Do you think that it will work with the second WiFi router without any problems?

Thanks for the help so far!

[StephenB]

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@Emilhau321 wrote:

I tried to setup the cameras on a Huawei Pro 3 4G router where i made a network and connected to it on the phone and connected the base to one of the free ports.
It could find the base station in the app when discovering new devices but the cameras couldt detect.
I made sure it was 2.4GHz.

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The band doesn't matter in this case, because the cameras are connecting to the base station, not the router's wifi.

The cameras should have onboarded, so that is a puzzle.  Sometimes doing a reset (holding down sync until the camera LED flashes amber) works.

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@Emilhau321 wrote:

Could i buy a additional WiFi router and create a 2.4GHz WiFi network and wire it to the barn through ethernet cable connected to the WiFi router in the house?
Can i do the setup of the base station and the utra 2 cameras on the new network i created without any problems?

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You could put a second router (perhaps in extender mode) in the barn.  It wouldn't matter as far as the Arlo equipment is concerned, the main benefit is that it'd give you internet service in the barn.

As answered above, the Ultra cameras don't use the home wifi, so its frequency band doesn't matter.

[Emilhau321]

I also thought it was strange that the cameras didn’t detect when the smart hub (base station) was detected.

I tried to reset the base station and the sync buttons on the cameras without luck.

All this was a week ago, and i said to the customer that he should try to take them back to the store, and 3 days later they gave him a new complete set with cameras and base station, so mabye they found a defect of some kind.

I get back to work tomorow and try again with the 4G router and the new set. I really hope it will work this time.

I actually remember that i called the support line, and he said something about some ports 443, 123 and 80 should be enabled and that the cameras needed to be connected to the wifi.

But you sound like an expert, so i listen to you hehe 🙂

I will give a feedback when i have tried it out tomorow!

Have a good night or day, and thanks for the quick replies!

[Emilhau321]

Just an update:

I made it work with the 4G router, it seems like there must have been some problems with the other set.

Now everything is working and i think it is a great solution to use a 4G router, because you can place it anywhere! Ofcoure you need a subscription, my customer is paying 30$ a month for 500GB, so i hope thats enough 🙂

Thank you so much for your help StephenB, i couldnt have done it without you 🙂