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...

[Redpower187]

Mine also has moments where it seems like the audio is fine LandJS, but i can tell you that it is not.

I have recordings where it seems like the audio is fine and the next recording straight after the audio is terrible.

Live view has moments where you cannot hear anything and the next minute intermittent sound static and choppy.

Or

Audio sounds fine on live view for about 20secs then starts going bad again.

I encourage you to keep checking your audio, if yours is truly fine, you're one on the lucky ones.

[LandJS]

actually I check mine a few times a day so guess I'm just lucky.  I've always had great audio at my house and from the chickens 150 feet away and the dogs 200 feet away in the background when checking my recordings and it hasn't changed with the firmware update.   Just a comment on mine is all.

[Kammfam]

Yeah, mine is still bad as well. I also get good audio on Live View for about 10-20 seconds, and then it goes all choppy again. And it seems like the louder the noises in the environment, the more choppy it gets.

[JamesC · Accepted solution]

This issue has been resolved in the most recent firmware update for Arlo Ultra.

Please be sure your camera is up to date with the latest version and take a look at the release notes here: Arlo Ultra VMC5040 - 1.070.41.5_156_3372fbf - 29th August 2019

JamesC

[Redpower187]

Excellent!!!!

[Kammfam]

"Please be sure your camera is up to date with the latest version..."

How do we do that? Is there a way to manually update the firmware that I'm not seeing? It looks like I don't have today's firmware update installed yet.

[JamesC]

Kammfam,

It should automatically update overnight. If you're not seeing the update, try rebooting your SmartHub.

JamesC

[Kammfam]

I rebooted and still no update. But I noticed that the firmware update says for Ultra VMC5040, and my portal says I have HW version VMB5000r4. Are there different models of the Ultra base station???

[JamesC]

Kammfam,

You're looking at the firmware for your SmartHub. This is firmware for the Camera.

Settings > My Devices > select an ultra camera > Device info > Firmware

JamesC

[Kammfam]

Oh! Then I do have it. Thanks. 🙂

I just checked out the audio, and it sounds so much better than it did. I am very curious to see how quickly the infrared turns on tonight. That has been driving me crazy.

[Disappointed81]

Nope.. the sound issue and the choppy videos have not resolved after the update for me.. i wonder if i have a faulty unit.. the first week of use drained the battery to 5% before i decided to connect it to power permanently.. but it has so many problems.. live stream videos and audio are choppy, live chat gets cut off half way.. etc.. my arlo pro did not have any of these problems.. do i have a faulty unit?

[JamesC]

If you're still experiencing these issues after receiving the latest firmware release for the ultra camera, please contact the Arlo Support Team to further investigate. You will find several options for contacting support in the provided link.

JamesC

[Paulandmel]

The camera says it’s firmware needs updating you tap on it but after 5 minutes the same message comes up ?

[Paulandmel]

It says my fourth camera needs a firmware update but it won’t update.
Any ideas please.

[JamesC]

Paulandmel,

Is the signal strength to that camera full? It could be that the camera is too far from the SmartHub or the signal strength is too weak for the update to complete. Try fully charging and temporarily bringing the camera close to the SmartHub and allow the update to take place automatically overnight.

JamesC

[FRUSTRATEDNOW]

I have had my 4 camera Arlo Ultra kit for a couple weeks. Audio stutters on at least 2 cameras and one won't connect or won't stay connected. Plus why should I pay for remote access when I could buy a wired camera that doesn't rely on wifi nor have wifi interference. No excuse for something this expensive to be so consistently inconsistent.

[Toybreaker]

HW VersionH6

Serial Number5GG28C70B9EC7

Firmware1.070.41.5_156_3372fbf

Same issue. Live feed and recordings, constant static in one of the 2 cameras. 

What I have tried

Moving the camera, 40 feet away

reboot camera

resync camera

reboot hub

Verified no firmware updates available. 

System is 2 weeks old 

Happy to send a clip if needed

[StephenB]

Swap the two cameras, and confirm that the static moves with the camera.

If it does, then either exchange the system with the seller or contact Arlo support: https://www.arlo.com/en-us/support/contact.aspx