Dec 2nd firmware update

[Dbensette]

Is anybody having problems with the most recent ultra base station firmware?

I noticed my cameras which were connected to the ultra base station didn’t have any recording and kept going offline for some reason. I narrowed it down to only happening since the dec 2nd firmware update, and after some testing I realized that the base station will go online but goes offline as soon as any camera is triggered to record.

This is completely the opposite I would like a security camera to work. Why would I want a camera to go offline as soon as it’s triggered. Then no recording is saved afterwards?

I have been having geofence issues which I have relied on for over a year since iOS 13 and I am told it is being worked on and should be fixed in the next app update. Now, they have another “update” which is another step backwards.

Anybody else having this issue with the ultra? My arlo pro base is still working as expected, minus the geofence issue...

[srandall25]

The problem is the base station intermittently disconnecting. It may be working one minutes and then next minute it’s not. Arlo has not released a new firmware to resolve this since the last firmware update causing it on December 2nd. The cropped or zoomed in image in the camera video settings and activity zone is still an issue as well. Really wish they would just roll back to the last firmware until they can fix it. Whatever bugs they might have fixed pales in comparison to a useless system with the base station disconnecting.

[enigmaphoenix]

CEO Matthew McRae is all about plugging new feature functionality.  But has yet to address this issue.

https://twitter.com/mbmcrae/status/1205503405289947139?s=20

Please, keep letting him know via twitter your honest opinions on this situation!  Don't let up.

Thanks,

K

[Chrisk2]

Is it normal for Arlo to send bad firmware out and then take more than a week to fix or rollback?

[JJAdV]

A week would be fast, dont expect any fixed for at least a year, maybe 2.

[srandall25]

Let’s not encourage them with crazy expectations like that. Most of us would expect an immediate roll back at the least. Apparently that’s not what a company like Arlo does in a situation like this. For whatever reason they deem the new firmware fixes worthy to prevent a roll back even though the new firmware has totally broken a system that was working relatively fine for many months prior to the firmware update prior to December 2nd.

[enigmaphoenix]

Hey team.  Arlo got back to me on Matthew McRae's twitter thread.  The response should put us all at ease.  I certainly am far more informed!

"Hello and thank you for contacting Arlo. Can you please DM us with your contact info and the email associated with your Arlo account so that we may have our Customer Care Team follow up with you directly? Thank you! ^KN"

I'm actually going to DM and let the cycle begin again.  Why?!  Because I believe in 8th chances.  Odds on me being requested to completely reset my system again?  Maybe remove my subscription and resubscribe again?!

Please continue to let Arlo know via all channels how you feel about this issue going into day, what is it?  10, 12?

Reminder that you can voice your honest opinion here https://twitter.com/mbmcrae

Thanks,

K

[surfer1000]

I hope Arlo are going to compensate for this mess

[surfer1000]

Have just DM the CEO let's see his response, 12 days without any security or door bell and counting.

[surfer1000]

Just seen a post (today) by an Arlo product manager in another thread that's related to the 2nd December firmware and it's like the first he has heard of the problem! Geez

[KS1979]

Zones works only now and then. It sends an alert when I activate the system (two of the cameras goes off). Lots of bugs!

[srandall25]

This is getting ridiculous. What is up with the lack of communication among Arlo support. They continue to open up all these new tickets and trouble shoot like this is a new problem. Really wish they would quit wasting people’s time and just fix the problem. Going on two weeks with an entire product line being out of service all because of a buggy firmware when the last firmware was working just fine. Kinda ridiculous they don’t roll back the firmware or at least provide us an option to do so until they fix this. Arlo, our base stations won’t stay online and our activity zones are broke!

[LandJS]

Welcome to Arlo support.  I had 5 tickets over 5 months for the same issue and brought it up on here numerous times and when they finally put me in touch with upper level, they claimed it was the first time they had ever heard about it.  That is either incompetence or outright BS.   Don't know which but what can you do after investing so much money.

[RB321]

Its called "bury your head in the sand"

As I have already posted, I got in touch with support. What could only be described as incompetent, was the person on the other end. He pointed me to this web site https://status.arlo.com/ Then proceeded to question my ability or sanity because nothing I was describing was posted as a fault. What a **bleep**! If I could have climbed down the phone and punched him in the nose, then I would have! It sounds like that seems to be a common situation..deny...deny...deny. What a crock of sh1t!...Maybe if we bury our heads in the sand, the problem will go away on its own! Again...incompetent!

[RB321]

That would be nice...don't hold your breath!

[RB321]

They sent me an email, asking for a case update...here is my reply!

I have nothing more to say to you. Last conversation we had you pointed me to a web site that didn't mention any issues with the Arlo system. Actually, I know that web site and it never has, with any of the faults recently. You were eluding to the fact that my faults weren’t common, and that you were questioning my sanity or integrity, or even my technical ability. FYI I am an electronics service tech by trade, so I more than likely know sh1t loads more than you about electronics…Get your head out of your arse!

By the way, I posted our conversation on the Arlo community, it got the responses it deserved!

For the record, the Arlo system is sh1t, the recent fault is only a small part of a long story, and not the first time this so called security system has failed to perform to expectations. Here are some of the faults experienced.

Cameras triggering (from movement) but not recording anything.

Cant set up activity zones with my ultra cameras. (I can with Pro 2) The zoom on the settings is only half the FOV, and I cant set the zoom or reset it, those options are greyed out. This all over the community forum and is a common fault!

Cameras randomly producing short recordings, shorter than the time set. (120 sec)

Cant program a trigger to record on a different camera (in modes).

Arlo light does not stay on for as long as programmed once triggered (randomly)

Arlo door bell doesn't always work and un-pairs itself randomly from my Pro 2 base.

There are many more, these are just a few that come to mind before I waste too much of my life on this piece of sh1t system.

[53Crusher]

I have already posted this on the "Activity Zones not working thread", but wanted to update all of you on my previous posts.

JamesC - You are the only person trying to help this community, I thank you for what you do, but this is a plea to you for help!

I was one of the very first owners of the Arlo Ultra system and am well versed in it and previous firmware updates/problems. This is my current system.

Base Station VMB500r4 Firmware 1.15.0.1_244_c345a43

4 Ultra Cameras H6 Firmware 1.070.50.0_197_09137a0

Audio Doorbell HW version 1.2 Firmware 1.2.0.0_309_283

Chime HW version 1.2 Firmware 1.2.0.0_297_266

Android Arlo App 2.12.0_26090 released 12/13/19

All cameras have constant AC power cables

The above is just to show that my $1500 Arlo Ultra system is completely up to date for firmware/software and is still completely non-functional. Although I did NOT want to spend 1/2 of my weekend troubleshooting Arlo equipment, I felt it was my duty to try and be part of the solution and not just complain. I did NOT want to go down this road, but I did. 

Got out my ladder, physically removed all four Ultra cameras, audio doorbell and chime. Within the Arlo desktop app, I removed the chime, bell, four cameras and then base. Pressed sync button on chime 10 seconds to reset it. Pressed sync button on doorbell 10 seconds to reset it. Removed the batteries from all four cameras. Pressed reset on the base station for 10 seconds. Took the additional steps of deleting all video in my cloud storage library. Bought a brand new 64Gb SD card for the base station. Deleted the cache for my Arlo Android app and then deleted the app. Restarted cell phone and re-installed Arlo app. 

At this point, I believe I had created the equivalent of a new out of box experience. Plugged Ethernet cable into my SmartHub and applied power. Light went to a solid blue. Used my newly installed Android app to add the SmartHub to my account. To be extra safe, I gave it a different name than before. Inserted brand new 64 GB SD card and reformatted with the Arlo Android app. One at a time, I installed the camera batteries and added them using my Android app. To be extra cautious, all cameras received a new name. 

Finally, I added the audio doorbell (with new name), and associated it to a camera. Lastly, added the Arlo chime (with new name). All synced well and everything went as it should have. 

Physically reinstalled all devices back to where they belong. Verified that I could do a "live view" on all cameras. Doorbell and Chime behaved as expected. 

THIS IS WHERE I BELIEVE THE PROBLEM LIES.........

Tried to set up activity zones with my Android app as well as Desktop app. All four cameras are automatically zoomed to either the upper left 1/4 of the live view screen, or they are even zoomed into a 12"x 12" area in the upper left quadrant. There is no way for me to change this. As a result, I can NOT set an activity zone and they really only trigger when something happens in this small area. 

Although Arlo hasn't paid me to be a beta tester for their system over the last year, that is EXACTLY what I have had to do to protect my $1500 investment. I REALLY hope you will forward this to your engineers. There is NOTHING I can do to make this better. The problem lies with the firmware update of 12/2. Instead of focusing on new features, Arlo should make sure that basic functionality exists first. I am starting to regret my purchase last year. 

Certainly i could call tech support and let them take me through their pre-written scripts, but as you can see I have meticulously done what they would have me do and my system is still no better than a door stop.  The problem lies with ARLO.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT TO DO!

[srandall25]

Do you not also have the problem with the base station constantly going off and online randomly?

[53Crusher]

I did have that problem initially, but for the last few days, my hub has stayed online and steady blue. Just doesn't see anything or record much. Sometimes, a car or lights from 500 feet away will trigger it. Completely at the mercy of the porch pirates because I have no working security cameras.

[Dbensette]

Have you tried resetting your system?

You could also try contacting support....





😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[Dbensette]

I can’t believe Arlo hasn’t made a public apology about this yet. Maybe offer something to all it’s disgruntled customers because of this issue? This is way too long of a problem to have, especially with the type of product they are selling.

[JamesC]

The engineering team is working hard to resolve the issues being reported here with Activity Zones, SmartHubs falling offline etc. I don't have a solution to provide at this time but will post again here as soon as I receive more information from the team.

We apologize for any inconvenience caused and appreciate your patience while we work to resolve these issues.

JamesC

[n1976jmk]

Hi Dbensette, the Arlo CEO actually just posted on his Twitter account about an hour ago and acknowledged the issue thankfully!  See it here!

Link-> https://twitter.com/mbmcrae/status/1205968661191593985?s=20

[53Crusher]

JamesC

I appreciate your help and updates, but right now, in the midst of the Holiday season. Owning an Arlo security system is similar to putting a target on your house for porch pirates. They can be assured that any house with an Arlo camera is an easy target for theft!

What did I spend $1500 dollars on?

[Bigcitynl]

Sorry James but I don't believe Arlo really gives a sh--$t about the people that bought their product on the promise of a technologically superior product. I was promised a camera that uses activity zones, infrared motion detection, batteries that work to -4 degrees F and outstanding customer support. What I got was a system that doesn't work the way I want it to, a system that doesn't work as promised, batteries that dont work in cold weather, and customer service that keeps escalating my issues to "Level 2 support" but NOTHING gets fixed. I can't even get customer support to call me back.

You can apologize all you want but my Grandma used to tell me that saying I'm sorry don't mean **bleep** unless you do something to fix it.

[robot-monster]

And...CVR dead again, so I have to unplug the camera for it to work at all. This is awesome.

And I feel for ya James. I've got 2 tickets in that are at least 1.5 weeks old that I have yet to hear back on. I've written those off and have gotten more useful info here. It's got to stink listening to us all 😂