Ultra Camera update - sound issues

[Mjbeuke]

Hey guys - I am having a couple of issues and have a couple of questions about the Ultras:

When I got home from vacation today I noticed my new SmartHub’s light was amber - and some of the video recordings stored on the cloud taken by my Ultras while away were sort of “glitchy” and choppy... weird stuttering going on with anything in motion (EX. A car driving by would be chopping across the screen - no pixelation or video degradation just bouncing around in a choppy looking manner.....) I have 2 cameras in the front - one ultra connected to my SmartHub, and one Pro 2 also connected to the SmartHub.... the Pro 2 did not glitch and showed the same motions clearly where the Ultra was choppy/glitchy.

Also, when I pulled up the app upon getting home - I noticed the cameras had a firmware update available - so I just updated them both and rebooted the base station.....

1) does anyone have any idea what the update is for??? As usual - the idiots at Arlo find it better to push out an update without saying anything about it in advance....

It seems like after the update the sound is all screwed up - way sensitive and cutting in and out both on video and live view.... it was not doing this before which makes me made for the reason outlined above....

2) Has anyone else been experiencing these issues with Choppy motion in video taken by the Ultras???

I have not noticed or seen this issue in the 2 days I set the new system up before I left for vacation.... one of my Ultras has full WiFi bars - the other is missing one bar. My internet is a Cable connection with 200 down 15 up - and there are absolutely no connection or internet issues on my home network. I have a $500 router, home NAS I streamed from while on vacation, and over 50 smart devices in total around my home including cameras of another brand - all of which have zero issues.

I appreciate any advice or shared experiences along these lines... I still have 15 days to return these to Amazon if things don’t level off. So far I like them, but I’m overall completely dissatisfied with Arlo’s customer support both in my Pro 2 5-camera kit that has a bunk base station firmware that freezes.... and now issues with the Ultra.

Arlo really makes it hard to remain a customer...

[JamesC]

Mjbeuke,

Choppy video/sound generally might indicate interference or range issues (not as likely given your signal strength indicator seems good). How close to your router is the SmartHub? If the router has a very strong Wi-Fi output (at $500, I would guess it does) it could be interfering with the signal between the SmartHub and the Ultra cameras. Are you able to put some distance between the two?

Do you experience the same behavior when live streaming?

JamesC

[Mikeila18]

I am experiencing terrible static while in live view. Any suggestions? Cameras are only a month old. Thanks!

[JamesC]

Mikeila18,

Is there anything nearby causing noise? Try relocating the camera temporarily and test again to see if you still experience the same behavior in a different location.

JamesC

[Mikeila18]

Actually it is all 4 cameras, and I thought it was my phone but it is happening on my husband's phone also. There is not much activity nearby either. They've been working great with no static for 4 weeks. Just began today.

[JamesC]

Mikeila18,

Could you provide an example clip of the issue?

JamesC

[Mikeila18]

I am not sure how to attach file. I recorded but then what do I do? Thanks I tried to attach file bit mp4 is not acceptable format

[JamesC]

Mikeila18,

I've sent you a private message on where to send the file.

Do you have "Reduce Wind Noise" enabled or disabled for your cameras? Do you experience any difference if you toggle that feature?

Settings > My Devices > select Ultra camera > Audio Settings > Reduce Wind Noise

JamesC

[Mikeila18]

I did send it. I hope you're able to hear it.

[Fireflight25]

My two week old ultra has developed static in the sound of the feed and recording. I shut the mic of and it goes away. I've done all the trouble shooting, re-syncing taking it closer to the hub blah blah blah.. $1000 dollars for the kit and in order to get a replacement you must ship first your defective camera and wait or pay. The worst part is my state isn't available during the shipment process to select to have it shipped. Ridiculous. I have ready submitted a ticket and have an RMA number and authorization.i just can't do anything with it as it would ship to the wrong place. Terrible terrible customer service. It would be easier to return to best buy the whole package and start over .

[Mjbeuke]

Hi, @JamesC

Thanks for your reply. For the very reasons you describe I have the SmartHub placed in a different room than my router - and it’s not within a straight shot of the router so it’s unlikely that’s the issue with the sound.

To your point - I tried live streaming just now on both my Ultras and it seems they do not exhibit the choppy audio.

Once I updated the cameras the video stuttering appears to be gone... no weird stuttering on recorded videos for 2 days now - but the audio is so choppy you almost can’t hear anything.

I didn’t notice any issues at all with choppy audio until the camera firmware update 2 days ago.

[JamesC]

Mikeila18,

Thank you, reviewing this with the development team now.

I will provide an update as soon as I know more.

JamesC

[Mjbeuke]

Thank you JamesC - I’m still having issues again with poor sound and have tried toggling reduce wind noise on/off - didn’t fix it.

We appreciate any updates

[Eddyeds98]

Very disappointed

[JamesC]

We're investigating reports of this internally now. I will provide an update as soon as I know more.

JamesC

[DadBod]

Same issue here, static burst sound present both recorded and while live. I have turned on/off the wind noise reduction feature, does not address the issue.

[Redpower187]

Same audio problems here with the new update, audio went from perfect to choppy and stuttering.

Everything else has improved and does not take as long to connect to the cameras and bring up the live view feed.

On a side note, when will 4K local MicroSD recordings be viewable directly from the app? this feature needs to be implemented asap.

[KelvinOr]

same here, audio stuttering, need it fixed asap or I will get money back

[KelvinOr]

side note:

after 1.070.41.1_80_9996bd9 update, when the spotlight is on due to motion detected, the video recording will pause for that half a second which is very annoying. It was all good before the update, how do I go back to the previous update?

[Mikeila18]

This is very discouraging. We need answers as to why the sound is not working. For $1400 (with upgraded router to accommodate 4k cameras) we're very disappointed. Please find a solution soon.

[Kammfam]

Following... I'm getting the choppy audio on my Ultra cameras as well (but never on my Pro2 cameras). It seems like if I pull the battery and then put it back in, the choppiness will stop for a while, but it starts up again a day or two later. I've noticed it happening with all of my Ultra cameras. Sometimes when it happens, the audio goes in/out/in/out for the entire video. Sometimes it just cuts out a few seconds in and has a weird echoey kind of quiet audio for the rest of the video. Here's one of mine with the bad audio.

https://my.arlo.com/hmsweb/users/library/share/link/2BEC2C0FFD27DEDE_201907

[ArloUltra83]

Same here just brought the Ultra. During setup update new firmware.
During live view and enable sound - sounds so choppy and annoying had to mute mic. Any progress on the issues?

[thadt]

Same issues as everyone else.. STATIC in recorded and live mode. Just in 1 camera. I have uninstalled/reinstalled the camera and app and still has the same problem. Turned the wind on and off ... still has same problem... system is 3 weeks old .

Video clip:    https://my.arlo.com/hmsweb/users/library/share/link/A9A265D6BDF37F45_201907

[Redpower187]

Any update on this issue?

[Disappointed81]

I live in Australia.. My camera has done the same over the past 2-3 weeks.. stuttering, takes forever to start a live feed and load recorded activity and goes offline daily.. and i also have my camera plugged in directly to a power source.. i think there are serious flaws with this camera or base.. never had these problems with the arlo pro.. how do i go about returning this camera? It has become too unsafe to use from a security point of view..