Arlo|Smart Home Security|Wireless HD Security Cameras
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Sealey
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Guide

Hello, I'm using the VMB5000 Base station that ships with the Arlo Ultra camera.  My system has a mixture of Arlo Ultra and Arlo Pro cameras. I noticed that the new base broadcasts at both the 2.4ghz and 5.0ghz ranges.  The 2.4ghz is set to channel 11.  There are many routers in the neighborhood that are in close proximity to my base.  This is causing a lot of noise.  The SNR for the VMB5000 fluctuates greatly on the 2.4ghz band.  Is there a way to set the channel to a less congested number? 

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TomMac
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Guru

If the new Ultra base follows the home router ( like the older bases do if nearby ) then you may be able to do it.

 

Place the base nearby the main router ( lenght of cable ) and change you main router to a good channel, the Ultra base may follow if it behaves like the older ones ( not sure, but worth a shot )

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Sealey
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Guide
Thanks for your reply. I was aware of the older base station following the settings on your router. The new one does not seem to do that. At least that’s my current experience
Sealey
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Guide

Attached is a graph of what I am seeing.  The green line is the 2.4ghz bandwidth of the Arlo Base station.  The purple line is the 5ghz bandwidth. 

SNR - Arlo Hub (2019-05-30).png

st_shaw
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Master

 

Is there a problem with the camera system, other than the notches in the graph? Those notches don't necessarily mean anything, other than your WiFi scanner missed a packet because it was off scanning another channel at the time.

Sealey
Guide
Guide

Thanks for you reply st_shaw.  You ask a good question.  I should have explained in my original post of the problem I am seeing in arlo.  Only on my Arlo Pro cameras I am seeing the video freeze and pixelate.  (A link to an example is below).  I do not see this from the Ultra cameras.  It is my understanding that the Ultras operate at 5ghz and the Pro's at 2.4ghz.  I did not see this before upgrading to the VMB500 base.  The older base followed whatever channel I have my router set to.  In my area, channel 8 is much less congested than 11.  I was thinking if I could change the channel, possibly these freezes would go away.

https://my.arlo.com/hmsweb/users/library/share/link/9BEFB23EFB4062EA_201905

st_shaw
Master Master
Master

 

Thanks. That looks like packet loss.  Yes, the Pro uses 2.4 GHz.  The Ultra's "Smart Hub" use either band, depending on the signal quality. The 2.4 GHz is also present on the Ultra hub to allow the older cameras to connect to it. This might be your solution.

 

Just FYI, you should never use channels except for 1, 6, and 11 on 2.4 GHz. These are the only non-overlapping channels.  Using intermediate channels increases interference. It's much better to be on the same channel than on overlapping channels.

 

Things you might try:

Move the Ultra and Pro bases farther apart.

Move the Pro base closer to the Pro camera to improve the signal at the camera.

Remove the Pro base on connect all your cameras to the Ultra hub. This should eliminate the interference.

Sealey
Guide
Guide

Thanks st_shaw.  I apologize, I must have not made it clear from the beginning, I have all of my cameras operating from the new Ultra hub (VMB5000).  This gets back to my original question, is the a way to set the channel number on the 2.4ghz network broadcast by the new Ultra hub (VMB5000)?  At the very least, is there a way to get it to follow the settings on the home router, like the older Arlo hub does? 

jguerdat
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Guru

We have no control over what channels are used by any of the bases/hubs. I'm slightly surprised that the Ultra hub doesn't work the same way as the older bases but there's been no information on whether that's true and, if so, why.

st_shaw
Master Master
Master

 


@Sealey wrote:

Thanks st_shaw.  I apologize, I must have not made it clear from the beginning, I have all of my cameras operating from the new Ultra hub (VMB5000).  This gets back to my original question, is the a way to set the channel number on the 2.4ghz network broadcast by the new Ultra hub (VMB5000)?  At the very least, is there a way to get it to follow the settings on the home router, like the older Arlo hub does? 


OK. Then maybe try the reverse--put the older problem camera back on the Pro hub. That's how I have my system currently setup, with one Ultra hub and one Pro hub. I believe the old hub will follow the router channel as well.

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