Connection issues doorbell 2k

[DaniR]

Hi

I’ll be very grateful if anybody could help! I’m trying to connect my new 2K video doorbell to my slightly older base station (vmb4000r3) however I cannot get it to connect. I have tried resetting both the base station  and the doorbell separately, restoring to factory settings… Everything is on in the app settings such as Bluetooth etc and I followed the instructions in the help section to no avail…  my Arlo security cameras still work and connect with the base fine. 
The doorbell seems to only want to connect to my Wi-Fi. 
any ideas how I can get it to connect to the base station please? 

many thanks 

[StephenB]

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@DaniR wrote:

I’m trying to connect my new 2K video doorbell to my slightly older base station (vmb4000r3) however I cannot get it to connect. 

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Are you trying to do this to get local storage?  One thing I'd like to point out - the VMB4000 does support local recording, but it can not play back those recordings.  All the recording you are seeing now are stored in the Arlo Cloud.

[DaniR]

Thanks for your reply Stephen. 
yes I am trying to connect it to the hub for local storage but it won’t connect to the hub. My cameras are connected to my hub.  do you know how I can get the doorbell to connect? 
My videos from my cameras that are stored on my hub playback… is it just the doorbell videos that won’t playback once connected? 
many thanks 

[jguerdat]

It's possible that the new doorbell has old firmware that doesn't allow you to connect to a base or hub. Did you connect to WiFi first and update firmware? If so, remove the doorbell from your account and add it back, this time choosing the base.

[StephenB]

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@DaniR wrote:

My videos from my cameras that are stored on my hub playback… i

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No they don't.  Your older cameras were sold with free 7-day cloud storage, and all the videos you see in the app and my.arlo.com are in the Arlo Cloud - not your USB storage.

The ONLY way to see videos saved on the VMB4000 hub is to eject the storage using the app, and then connect the storage to a PC.

This is easy to test - just eject the storage, and you'll see you can still play the videos.

[DaniR]

Ah, I did not realise this! Thank you so much Stephen. 
would it help if I bought a newer hub/base to be able to get storage and playback of videos for the doorbell? 
sorry for all the questions! 
many thanks 

[DaniR]

Thank you for your reply-  it says firmware updates and tried unconnecting and reconnecting everything. 

[StephenB]

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@DaniR wrote:

would it help if I bought a newer hub/base to be able to get storage and playback of videos for the doorbell? 

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Either of the two smarthubs (VMB4540 or VMB5000) would work.  The VMB4540 has USB-connected storage, the VMB5000 uses a microSD card.  The VMB4540 is less expensive.

There are limitations:

• recordings are only available in the app (not the browser)
• recordings are only available using the primary account (not "friend" accounts)
• there are no thumbnails - everything needs to be downloaded to your phone before you see anything
• you cannot save snapshots or make manual recordings
• remote access requires router setting changes that some find difficult (and which are not available with some internet service providers.

[woodlandsprite]

Any luck in getting your camera connected to your hub?

i have the same hub and am okay not having playback within the app, but I cannot get the doorbell to connect to the hub.  Have tried contacting customer service several times with absolutely no luck....I get stuck in a please reset your hub and please reset your doorbell and try to connect them loop.  (have done both numerous times with no joy).  I note that there was a doorbell firmware release on 12/10/2024 however my doorbell does not have that version of firmware and when I try to force an update, it states that my firmware is running the most up to date version available, so not sure if that was a regional firmware release.

The doorbell connects fine to wifi, but always gets a "failed to connect" error when trying to connect to the base station.

[DaniR]

No I have never been able to connect it to my hub and get exactly the same message as you - 'failure to connect'. I can only connect it via the wifi too. 

Also it seems it is pointless trying to get it to connect to the hub anyway as someone else pointed out on the thread you cannot actually watch any videos back from there without plugging the hub into a computer and downloading the videos! 

[woodlandsprite]

Yeah, I understand about the not being able to watch videos via the app, but it's easy enough for me to pull the USB stick and move it to my computer if I need to review video from the doorbell.  I have another Arlo mounted at a higher angle, so the doorbell video is mostly wanted for the lower angle in case any suspicious individual is looking down or wearing a hat.  I don't want to pay for a subscription if I don't need to - and the doorbell was supposed to connect to the hub so I could record locally.

[StephenB]

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@woodlandsprite wrote:

 the doorbell was supposed to connect to the hub so I could record locally.

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If should connect if you have the most recent firmware for both the base and the doorbell.

What firmware are you running?

[DaniR]

I still cannot get it to connect to the base with base having firmware 1.25.1.0_4598_1f1c874 and the bell says it has 1.5.0_1059_eb10395. When I click on either of them it says 'no updates available'. 

Im assuming the base needs updating and that is why it does not connect? But how can I do this if it says no updates available? 

Many thanks. 

[jguerdat]

You can always check firmware versions here:

https://community.arlo.com/t5/Firmware-Release-Notes/Arlo-Firmware-Release-Table/m-p/1920885#M791

That page shows the base has the latest firmware but not the doorbell. Without the latest firmware, it's likely not going to connect to the base (it was released with firmware that would only connect to WiFi). Where are you? Many times firmware releases are rolled out slowly so your region may not have been updated yet.

[StephenB]

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@DaniR wrote:

When I click on either of them it says 'no updates available'. 

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Often the case.  I honestly don't understand why they have the "check for updates" feature, since it doesn't really do anything.

[woodlandsprite]

I have the same firmware versions as Dani (OP).  Same issue, can't force a firmware update to the doorbell.  I did highlight this to customer support when I last messaged them.

[BrookeN]

Are you still seeing the same behavior?

[woodlandsprite]

Yes, am still seeing this issue.

This is an ongoing saga with an open ticket since November 27 2024.

[BrookeN]

I am going to have support reach out to you so they can look into this further. They will reach out as soon as possible. 

[DaniR]

I am also still having the same issue still. Firmware updated and cannot connect the doorbell to my base station. Very disappointing. 

[woodlandsprite]

@BrookeN   I saw the ticket that got created but while the notification went to my email, I cannot access the ticket in my arlo app.  As mentioned before, there is already an existing ticket that has been open since the end of November. Let me know if I need to provide that ticket number for your reference.