Ultra recording bug?

[Minlas]

As I understand it there is a current issue where if the internet (not WiFi or the local lan) goes out then the cameras won’t record even if they are recording to local storage only? This is of course heinous as though I have a stable ISP it robs battery operated security cameras of one of their inherent advantages. Is this being worked on as it is surely just a firmware/low level settings bug as logically of course the internet isn’t required for it to record locally via WiFi to it’s hub.

Have you experienced this?

At 5m30sec into https://youtu.be/lNVAjt72Leg
is where I heard that there are no recordings if your internet was down. He mentions notifications first but then also recordings. Hopefully we can get someone on the forums to test it to see if maybe his experience was a fluke. Perhaps it was an issue that has now already been addressed or if not then maybe we can get it fixed as it obviously shouldn’t be a thing.

[JamesC]

Minlas,

Do you have local storage enabled? Are you experiencing this issue personally?

JamesC

[Minlas]

JamesC,
As I mentioned above my source is the YouTube review video linked and hence why I was trying to get other users feedback if they could verify this on their system or had experienced this. Also to find out if maybe it was perhaps an isolated incident the reviewer had experienced or a bug that had already been fixed etc.

[Minlas]

If no one can replicate this bug, that is recording to the Ultra base’s microSD stopping for some reason when the internet (NOT local WiFi and lan) is down. Has anyone tested? Then I may contact the YouTube reviewer as I believe he is one of if not the most prolific Arlo reviewers on YouTube and ask him to update as he has done several time on previous issues.

[Minlas]

Another YouTube reviewer found the same problem/bug as the other reviewer I linked above. In this review it goes into it at
11:03
https://youtu.be/RWJZa-u8OWk

Also when specifically rebutted on this point by a YouTube user (not me) in the comments below in a screenshot of the YouTube reviewers’s adamant response.

That’s two (and I believe I heard this information in several more YouTube reviewers) on two different Arlo outdoor wireless cam products that they found this issue but no one here experiences it when they check?

[StephenB]

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@Minlas wrote:

... but no one here experiences it when they check?

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Not sure I'll have a chance to check it anytime soon.  There are quite a few scenarios here that might behave differently

1. disconnecting the base station LAN with the base running
2. disconnecting the router WAN with the base running
3. booting the base with the LAN disconnected
4. booting the base with the router WAN disconnected.

      5-8. Test all the above with and without cloud activity zones enabled

And in the case of the Ultra, the USB recording won't be a backup as soon as the direct access to local storage feature is released.  So the test would need to be redone again when that feature is released.

The youtube test was similar (but not identical) to [2], and there was no indication as to whether cloud activity zones were enabled or not.

FWIW, I believe that the reviewer's conclusion in the comments that the USB video is backhauled from the cloud is in fact incorrect. We have quite a few reports here of 

• local recordings that are not in the cloud at all
• recordings that are corrupted in the cloud, but not in the local USB storage

Neither of these would happen if the USB recordings were backhauled from the cloud.  Even if it were done that way today, backhaul from the cloud makes little sense once the direct access to local storage feature is release.  

[Minlas]

I -believe- in all the YouTube reviews their test is at the router or modem level vs anything involving the Arlo base etc. However I know you realize from your reply there is also value in ascertaining issues if say the base was disconnected from the LAN etc. I want to say that -I believe- the “lifehackster” YouTube reviewers also found the issue along with the above two reviewers I linked where they specifically stated those findings.

There are indeed several scenarios that have value to be tested. The by far most desirable and by far more valuable/reliable for a security camera setup is one where as long as the cameras can communicate with the base there will be recordings. This if course contradicts with what the reviewers have found with again even if the internet goes down there aren’t local recording which surely, if true, is just an overlooked serious bug.