Arlo Essential Wire-Free Video Doorbell not saving locally to VMB4000 Smarthub

[np2022]

Hello,

I have had Arlo Pro cameras for years, which are connected to the Arlo Smarthub VMB4000, and the videos are stored locally. A few months back, I added an Arlo Essential 1080p Wire-Free Video Doorbell. I signed up for the free trial of the Arlo Cloud Subscription.  The doorbell was saving videos to the cloud as I expected.

After the Cloud Subscription expired, the doorbell was no longer saving videos, to the Cloud and to the VMB4000. So I removed the doorbell from the account (via the iOS app), and added it back in, and during setup, I specified that it should connect to the Smarthub and not through Wi-Fi.

My Arlo Pro cameras continue to save videos locally to the Smarthub, but the doorbell does not save any videos to the Smarthub. The doorbell can only notify me when it detects motion, but it cannot save any videos locally on the Smarthub. I cannot see any videos from the doorbell using the Arlo iOS app, even though I had specified that it should connect to the Smarthub. I can only receive notifications from the doorbell, and then I have to view the doorbell's live videos in real-time, but no doorbell video is saved locally.\

This is completely NOT the behavior I expected... the doorbell should be able to save videos to the Smarthub, otherwise what is the point of having a Smarthub? Why is only the doorbell (which is a very new device, purchased a few months back) not able to save videos locally, while my older Arlo Pro cameras can do it? I purchased the Smarthub for storing videos locally, as I did not want to purchase a cloud subscription & pay monthly fees. That defeats the purpose of having a Smarthub.

My request: Please enable saving  Arlo doorbell videos to the VMB4000 Smarthub and access to the videos from the Arlo mobile app.

Please help!! I am sure many Arlo customers will be having the same issue.

[StephenB]

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@np2022 wrote:

My Arlo Pro cameras continue to save videos locally to the Smarthub, but the doorbell does not save any videos to the Smarthub.

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FWIW, the only smarthubs are the VMB4540 and the VMB5000.  The VMB4000 is just a base station/hub.

Did you check the mode you are using (likely armed, but could be a custom mode).  See if there is a rule for the doorbell in there that includes a recording step.  You might need to add a rule (or edit an existing rule for the camera).  https://kb.arlo.com/42/What-are-modes-and-rules-and-how-does-Arlo-use-them

BTW, one user posted that their system had the record portion of the rule grayed out.  If you see that, please post back here.

[np2022]

Thanks. I checked and the mode is Armed (standard, not custom). Now the doorbell does save recorded videos to the local flash drive attached to the VMB4000. However, I cannot view the saved videos on my Arlo mobile app.

Further, the videos locally saved on the VMB4000 from my other Arlo Pro video cameras also cannot be viewed on my Arlo mobile app. Is there another way to remotely access the saved videos (e.g. when on vacation)? Somewhere else, there was a mention of using VPN or router port forwarding, etc. ... any links or suggestions on that would be appreciated. Thanks!

[StephenB]

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@np2022 wrote:

However, I cannot view the saved videos on my Arlo mobile app.

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Correct.  That requires a smarthub (VMB4540 or VMB5000).  https://kb.arlo.com/000062337/What-is-Direct-Storage-Access-and-how-do-I-use-it

Even with a smarthub, there are limitations to direct access to local storage:

• Recordings only viewable in the app (not at my.arlo.com)
• Recordings only viewable from the primary account (not frient accounts)
• No ability to save manual recordings or snapshots
• No thumbnails in notifications or the library
• Some find remote access difficult to set up.

Of course you also lose other subscription features - activity zones are often very useful with the doorbell, as the camera can't be aimed.