Arlo Ultra Camera Distance from Base Problems

[ba1070]

First I will say there are many great features on the new Ultra cameras. I purchased a 4 pack yesterday on the day of release, very excited. I have owned and loved the previous 3 generations of cameras (original Arlo, Arlo Pro and Arlo Pro2). 

Here is my issue:

* I am unable to connect my camera in one of the locations. The odd thing is, it worked fine on all other 3 generations of Arlo cameras in this exact same location. The signal strength shows weak and it simply won't connect.

* Since my original Arlo, Arlo Pro and Arlo Pro2's all worked in this location, why is the new Ultra NOT working here???

* Is it possible the new Ultra has less range than the previous versions? Can I have a bad base station? I have tried 3 different cameras and none of them will connect here. 

I see a number of posts about connection issues with the new Ultra's. Could I be experiencing something similar? Will a firmware update fix this at some point?

I don't want to return these, but I need a camera working in this location.

Any feedback would be appreciated. 

Thank you!

[dnagir]

Hi guys,

Have any if you had any luck resolving the range issue?

I was committed to buying a number of Arlo Ultras but there are a lot of issues around currently and the range is definitely a blocker.

Can you tell a bit more about your environment? How far is the base from the cameras that do not work? How many walls/obstructions are there? Any interference etc?

Cheers.

[brh]

I might be the exception to the rule, but I have an Ultra mounted at all 4 corners of my home with the Smart Hub located in the center of my house. All the cameras have at least 2 bars of signal strength. The furthest camera is probably about 35 feet from the hub with 4 walls separating them. Previously, I needed two Pro bases to accomplish the same thing.

Brian

[dnagir]

Worst comes to worst, can you use second base to extend the range?

If so, how does it work and where are all the recordings kept (which SSD card)?

[brh]

@dnagir,

I was so impressed with the first Ultra camera, I went out and purchased 5 more. 

Now, If you don't purchase the subscription, you probably will not be happy with them as most of the features don't work without a subscription. To use the 4k recordings you also need to pay extra for the PVR plan. I only use the PVR plan for one camera. 

Yes if worst comes to worst you can use two Smart Hubs but you will still need a wi-fi extender, mesh router, etc. to connect the hub to.

That being said, the Ultra system is very different from all the other Arlo systems. The camera has a built in LED that can give color recordings at night to better identify people, vehicles or animals. The Audio from the two speakers can reduce wind noise. The cameras can automatically switch between 2.4ghz and 5ghz depending on the signal strength. There is a Zoom and Track feature, (1080p only), that works reasonably well. SD card, (up to 256 gig), is built into the Smart Hub, (still no card viewing without removing the card from the Hub).

Downsides include the outgoing speaker and built in siren are barely audible. Smart Hub has no siren, presently cannot natively view 4k recordings in most browsers.

Presently I can live with these downsides and they work great for my purposes. The better your wi-fi, the better the system performs.

Brian

[LandJS]

Without a vast knowledge of wifi tech I can only add what I have seen and done.  I have a wifi analyzer on my computerI've used for 3 or 4 years now.  My 2 furthest cameras are 40 and 50 feet away.  When they sometimes show the lowest signal strength I check what channel is being used by arlo and what that ch.  congestion is in my area which can change depending on others in the area.  The analyzer shows arlo with both 2.4 and 5ghz, the signal strength and ch.  being used.  I then reboot the arlo and recheck, sometimes the ch. is changed and sig. is back to at least 2 bars.  Other times nothing changed and I reboot my router and check and that does the trick.  Occasionally nothing will change the ch and I go into the router and force the use of the ch suggested by the analyzer.  Once arlo is usig that ch I reset the router to auto for the sake of other devices and arlo remains on that ch until something causes a reboot.  Then it's just wait to see what stregth my cameras show.  Not tech but what works for me.  I might at add that even at the 1 red bar mark they have still worked fine, I just don't like a red bar on them lol

[RRRemco]

Had the same issue installing the Ultra. Exact same location as the Pro 2 previously but just a red dot of range instead of 2 bars on the Pro 2. What solved it was moving up the base station 1 floor approx . 12 feet. Signal strength of the Base Station seems to drop in height the further you move away. I went from a red dot to 2 strong bars again moving it up. Conclusion for me is that the range of the Ultra is really disappointing.

[LandJS]

disappointing is a understatment

[AlroUserAu]

What is the fix here? Have just brought Arlo ultra and this distance performance is ridiculously bad. Any closer it may as well be plugged it.

After operating original the Arlo in the same location for 4 years solid, this is not an upgrade.

[StephenB]

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@AlroUserAu wrote:

What is the fix here? Have just brought Arlo ultra and this distance performance is ridiculously bad. Any closer it may as well be plugged it.

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I do think there is a drop in range when you are set for 2K or 4K, since the camera needs a faster link speed to provide that.  One complication with the Ultra is that it can use either 5Ghz or 2.4Ghz.  That might not have been a good idea in hindsight, since 5 Ghz has shorter range. 

FWIW, I have Ultras about 40-50 feet away that are connecting reliably to the VMB5000.  I haven't tried moving them further away than that.

How far is your camera from the base?

WiFi interference is also a possibility, particularly if the base is right next to the router (and/or if two bases are very close to together).  Moving the base as far away as the ethernet cable will stretch is something else you could try.

[RRRemco]

No real fix. I moved it up 1 floor and 6 feet closer to de Cameras. Performance is still not half of what it was on the Pro2

[StephenB]

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@RRRemco wrote:
No real fix. I moved it up 1 floor and 6 feet closer to de Cameras. Performance is still not half of what it was on the Pro2

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How far away is the base from the cameras?

I don't what you mean by "performance is still not half of what it was..."  Are you talking about connection reliability, or something else?

[LandJS]

Since the release of the Ultra those who had pro 2 have commented on the poor range by comparison which can only be fixed by a redo of the hub.  Like any router some out perform others usually based on what you spend on them.  StephenB hit a good point on the 2.4 and 5 thing.  I had mine before they turn 5 on and the range was always better then.  My habit is to reset the hub until it picks good channels, sometimes taking 3 or 4 resets.  I might have 4 good, 2 med. and 1 red.  Do a reset and get 2 good, 3 med and 2 red. Do a reset and get 5 good and 2 med and leave it alone.  You could test by going into the router and turning off 5 to see what happens.  Since you can set a channel in the router instead of the usual auto and force Arlo to use that one turning off 5 should also limit it to 2.4.  But then who wants to give up their 5.

[StephenB]

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@LandJS wrote:

Since the release of the Ultra those who had pro 2 have commented on the poor range by comparison 

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I agree the range is less.  It's long enough for me (as I noted, my distance is 40-50 feet for two of my Ultras).  But I can put the Pro2s further away.

It would be helpful to know the distance though, since it's not clear to me at this point whether we're dealing with the range limitation or WiFi interference.  Plus I'm wondering if there are other issues.

[j1980mac]

The fix is buying Eufy cams and throwing the Arlo Ultras in the trash! That's what I did.

I am a forever lost customer. I will never buy another Netgear product. 100% garbage. 

[RRRemco]

40 feet max. 1 big window between the hub and the camera and just 1 red dot. Camera loses connection regularly and that drains the battery. Pro2 used to have 2 solid bars.

[StephenB]

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@RRRemco wrote:
40 feet max. 1 big window between the hub and the camera and just 1 red dot. Camera loses connection regularly and that drains the battery. Pro2 used to have 2 solid bars.

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Ok.  Not that different from my placement, though I think mine are a bit further away.  I have 2 bars on both Ultras, and I haven't had any connection issues.

How far is the hub from the router?  What electronics (if any) are nearby the hub?

Also, what is your old base model?

[Arlosad]

Exact same issue here. Have had 3 older model Arlo cameras for 4 years. Upgraded to Arlo ultras at a cost of over 700 dollars. 2 of the 3 cameras will not work due to poor connection and signal while the old cameras worked great. Exact same locations, less than 40 feet away from hub. From this string it appears there is no fix so returning ultras and will buy someone else’s product. Sad. Had arlo warned me of this downgrade in product performance I may have just upgraded to Pro 2s

[LandJS]

This complaint has existed since the ultra hub was introduced they could have upgraded the hub to address it but only want to sell you additional hubs.