Ultra VMB5000r4 & H6 crippled 2 Arlo Secure updates ago

[whiskeytango]

Two Arlo Secure updates ago, my VMB5000r4 Hub fried yet another (3rd in 1 year) name brand micro SD card and my H6 Ultra Cam disappeared Motion Zones in Settings. After adding a brand new micro SD card, The Hub reports that local storage is available for recording, but continues not to record anything locally.

All components have been cold booted and reset from Factory, without any relief from these problems.

Coincidentally, my one year of so-called free cloud storage ended on 29sep2023.

Is this Arlo's/Netgear's way of extorting a paid Cloud subscription? Or are these devices not intended to last more than one year of active service?

Stupid [cr]app will only create an encrypted log file in Zip format. I, the owner, have no access to the log file. What a brilliant decision on Arlo's/ Netgear's part. Force me into paid support.

Yet another disappointment in a long series of Ultra disappointments.

[BrookeN]

Have you tried removing the SD card and viewing it from a PC after having triggered motion detection on the cameras while they were armed?

[whiskeytango]

thx for looking in.

yes, microSD card is readable and writable on other devices. the Arlo hub formatted it and recognizes it as available.

also tried resets (not just power cold boots) with and without microSD card inserted.

why would the SDcard have any effect on the sudden disappearance of Activity Zones from the H6's settings?

does anyone know how to access the encrypted logfile contents inside the zip file created by the Arlo Secure [cr]app?

[StephenB]

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@whiskeytango wrote:

why would the SDcard have any effect on the sudden disappearance of Activity Zones from the H6's settings?

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It shouldn't.

But dropping the subscription will, as activity zones are a subscription feature.

[whiskeytango]

i can grudgingly live w/o Activity Zones, because i will not be extorted into a "sub."

but Arlo's past destruction of 3 name-brand microSD cards in 1 year and current refusal to record to a perfectly functional microSD card, that it formatted & recognizes as "availble," makes my blood boil. it's outrageous.

i'm not buying any more Arlo, or Netgear...

[StephenB]

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@whiskeytango wrote:

I will not be extorted into a "sub."

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I get that point of view.

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@whiskeytango wrote:

i'm not buying any more Arlo, or Netgear...

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Your choice of course, but nothing to do with Netgear.

Netgear divested Arlo in early August 2018.  They did not retain any stock and have no ownership stake - the IPO stock was all redistributed to Netgear shareholders.

The decision to drop 7-day cloud storage on the Ultra (and eventually all new models) was announced four months after the divestiture (early January 2019).

[whiskeytango]

after the free trial cloud ended, ages ago, no cloud storage option showed up in [cr]app when I went to view recordings made directly to a local microSD card in the hub.

with the last 2 (or 3) Andro [cr]app updates, an empty cloud storage option  now shows up in the [cr]app, above the SD  storage option. the reappearance of (empty, no sub) cloud in [cr]app storage is new. before that, there was only SD storage, and  it was unlabeled. SD storage was just the default.

then, 2 updates ago,

the hub stopped all recording to local SD. I still have no explanation as to why.

I'm not even allowed to read the encrypted [cr]app log file. wtf.

arlo sucks...

[StephenB]

Are you using Android or iOS?

I am seeing locally stored recordings on my own VMB5000 smarthubs on my iPhone 12 mini.  They appear on the smarthub's Storage Settings page - IMO not the right place, but that of course was Arlo's decision.

[whiskeytango]

Andro 13

OneUI 5.1
SM-S908U [TMOBILE SIM unlocked]

[StephenB]

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@whiskeytango wrote:

Andro 13

OneUI 5.1
SM-S908U [TMOBILE SIM unlocked]

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Ok.  I have no way to check the current Android app.  Perhaps @jguerdat (or someone else running Android) will chime in.

[jguerdat]

I have no problem seeing local recordings from various Android devices. I'm also using the same card in my VMB5000 that I have used for a few years now. 

One thing I don't see is whether you're using the old user interface (UI) that uses Library to view recordings or the new one that uses Feed - which one are you using?

The apparent destruction of SD cards suggests either an issue with the particular cards or, probably more likely, an issue with your hub's hardware. It's unfortunate that you didn't start talking with official support while the hub was still in warranty so an RMA may have been arranged. It's also unfortunate that too many folks have battled with faulty hardware instead of getting it replaced - this goes back years where I can remember a thread early on when a user finally replaced his base station that had been giving him fits and resolved all his issues. YMMV.

Finally, some manufacturers' phones along with the customizations to Android they make can cause unusual issues. Recently, Samsung phones had some issues with the app that apparently an app update fixed (the complaints seem to have disappeared). Any chance you can use a different brand phone from a friend to load the app, log in and see if that makes a difference? You can then delete the app so no one else has access.

[whiskeytango]

Thx for checking-in.

How am I supposed to suspect defective hub hw, when I'm not even permitted access to encrypted logfile?

I have never seen the Feed UI in Arlo Secure [cr]app, only Library UI to access microSD.

Please, how do I activate local Feed & access that UI to get to microSD?

[jguerdat]

The logfile is a support-only troubleshooting effort. I suppose it may contain proprietary and/or security-sensitive info which like being able to log into the hub, isn't allowed.

If you want to use the new UI, choose to install a security system, Pro 5 or any new Essential 2 cameras. The first step sis to migrate the UI to the new one. Once migrated, simply back out of the bogus install. You can't revert to the old UI once this is done and custom modes don't come along so you have to use the 3 default modes to do what you want. Be sure to read the various FAQs for the new UI's usage if/when you run into questions/problems and ask here, too.

[StephenB]

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@whiskeytango wrote:

Please, how do I activate local Feed & access that UI to get to microSD?

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You should still be able to see the recording using "Library".   Personally I am bit reticent to recommend that people switch to "Feed" unless they are trying to get friend access to work (which requires it).  It has some bugs, and one major limitation - it has no custom modes.  A lot of people also struggle with scheduling, which works differently.

If you want switch to it, the trick is to go into "add device" and start to add either a Pro 5s or a Home Security system.  You are just going through the motions - you don't actually need either device.  Although you won't be able to finish onboarding a device you don't have, the process will migrate your account to "Feed".

Once on "Feed" the local recordings are accessed differently.   You need to go into the camera settings and navigatge to the storage page.  The recordings are shown there.  IMO not as convenient as selecting the base station on the library page.

One warning - you can switch from "Library" to "Feed" using the hack above.  But Arlo doesn't have a way to switch back if you don't like it.

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@whiskeytango wrote:

How am I supposed to suspect defective hub hw, when I'm not even permitted access to encrypted logfile?

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Several folks (including me) have requested better logging over the years.  So far Arlo hasn't done anything about it.

I agree that it limits the troubleshooting you can do.

[whiskeytango]

Thx for checking in.

I can't allocate any funds to acquiring any new Arlo devices just to trigger a UI conversion.

Even if I could pick up a Pro5 or Essentials2, I have a zero track record of buying and returning products. I would have no continuing need for them. Meanwhile corporations

Rather than acquiesce to all of this Arlo hoop jumping, why isn't there a toggle, within the [cr]app, to convert the UI?

This Arlo 4K was a test and it's been disappointing from Day One. (In my urban arena, Arlo's are the most vandalized/stolen security cams in use.)

I have other security cams that record locally and have yet to destroy a single microSD card, let alone get in my way of viewing their contents.

[StephenB]

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@whiskeytango wrote:

I can't allocate any funds to acquiring any new Arlo devices just to trigger a UI conversion.

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Look again at what I posted.  You don't need to buy anything.  "Going through the motions" means that you pretend that you have the camera.

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@whiskeytango wrote:

I have other security cams that record locally and have yet to destroy a single microSD card,

Mine have been installed for a few years now, and nothing has been destroyed. FWIW, I am puzzled on how the base could actually destroy a card.  The only mechanism I can think of would require a power surge of some kind.  Software could trash the formatting, but that wouldn't destroy the card.

[whiskeytango]

Thx for checking-in.

Thx for your candid opinion on Feed, too.

I would prefer a fimware update, that resolves what ever confilct jumped up two Andro [cr]app updates ago.

A one-way trip to Feed looks to m# like digging a deeper hole to climb out of.

Is there any sanctioned way to downgrade [cr]app to 3 relesases (last known working) ago?

[StephenB]

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@whiskeytango wrote:

Is there any sanctioned way to downgrade app to 3 relesases (last known working) ago?

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No.  If you can track down the Android apk, you could side-load it.  A bit risky, as someone could have added malware to the apk.

No way that I know of to side-load on an iPhone.

[whiskeytango]

My hub (& etherswitch) is/has been on computer grade UPS from Day One.

Hub overvolting or overcurrentimg during SDcard-write can cause card damage.

Again, w/o diagnostics &/or logfile, how can one lknow?

[whiskeytango]

I would only sideload from an official Arlo repository.

[StephenB]

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@whiskeytango wrote:

Hub overvolting or overcurrentimg during SDcard-write can cause card damage.

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Similar to the power surge I mentioned above.

A log might show the write failure, not sure it would show the underlying power issue that caused it. It's not a failure mode I've ever had on any kit (arlo or otherwise).

@whiskeytango wrote:

I would only sideload from an official Arlo repository.

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There isn't one, so not an option.