Intermittently not ringing

[BT643]

I installed an Arlo Essential Wireless Video Doorbell a week or so ago but I've had loads of problems with it.

It's connected to the smart hub and also paired with an Arlo Chime 2.

50% of the time it doesn't notify me when someone presses the doorbell.

Scenario from today:
- Delivery driver came and pressed the doorbell. I got absolutely no indication of this.
- They pressed the button a second time and it rang my Chime 2.
- After they'd left I checked the video library on the app and can clearly see the doorbell giving an audible notification to the driver that he'd pressed the button but nothing to me, then a separate video of him pressing the button again 1 minute later which worked.

I work from home all day every day, internet has been solid and hasn't dropped out once.

Whenever I try pressing the doorbell myself it works, but there's been 6 different occasions now of someone pressing the doorbell and me getting no indication that someone is there.

Can anyone help? Would rather not return the thing since I've drilled holes in the wall mounting it!

Edit - I forgot to mention I'm using a Google Pixel 5 Android phone, but this info is probably irrelevant since when it DOESN'T work it doesn't work for either calling my phone or the chime 2. When it works it rings both.

[JamesC]

BT643,

If the doorbell gave an audible notification the first time it was pressed but the Chime 2 did not ring and you received no alert on your mobile device, it sounds like the doorbell is working but may have a connectivity issue. What does the signal strength icon show for the doorbell?

JamesC

[BT643]

It's showing full signal strength.

The bizarre part is that EVERY time I've pressed it myself, it's worked perfectly. I really can't figure it out.

[JamesC]

BT643,

Is there any consistency with the failures? Specific times, specific days, etc.?

JamesC

[BT643]

The times are pretty varied so no pattern I can see there.. but it fails very regularly when someone else presses it. Confirmed failure times over the last few days - have video proof of someone pressing it but it not ringing me or the Chime (it still records them based on motion but doesn't ring my phone).

2022-04-16 - 5:16pm

2022-04-19 - 1:08pm

2022-04-20 - 2:30pm

2022-04-20 - 12:50pm

2022-04-21 - 6:36pm

Some of these cases either I or the visitor pressed it a few seconds later when I answered the door to "test" it (I work right next to the front window so luckily I see them most of the time) and it worked on those secondary presses.

[BT643]

Is no one else getting this issue? Any other ideas before I return it for a refund?

[JamesC]

BT643,

I've escalated the information here to the engineering team and they are currently investigating the details. I will provide an update as soon as I know more.

JamesC

[ClaireDublin]

Exactly the same issue.  It doesnt ring the first time the bell is pressed. When I try afterwards( callers sometimes use door knocker after)  it works.

[jmunoz87]

Our family is having the same problem.

We bought the Arlo Essential Video Doorbell wire-free a couple of days ago. Aside from the primary account, it's shared with 5 other people in the family. 2 of the phones were intermittent, and now they don't ring those 2 phones. We tried everything with permissions, and uninstall/reinstall app but no luck.

Has Arlo support made any update on this? The app is clunky at times too. Not very fluid

[BT643]

Unfortunately nothing useful. They've just repeatedly been telling me "if X setting is on, try turning it off. If it's off, try turning it on". Ie - they have absolutely no idea what else to try.

I've done everything they've asked just to "go through the motions" but I've been 100% certain every time they weren't going to work.

I've sent logs of the issue and many examples and I'm sure if a developer was to look at these they'd be able to see what was going on.. but it seems support don't believe that there's bugs with the the product which need resolving and they think "turning it off and on again" is a suitable fix in this case. And as such they're not passing the correct information onto developers to fix the problems.

My Chime 2 doesn't ring either but support keep going on about Android phone settings.

I badly wanted to keep the Arlo doorbell because I already have other products of theirs which are working alright. But think I'm going to have to return it for a refund soon and try something else. Also annoying because I've drilled holes in the wall to mount it. Suppose they know this is the case and are hoping people will just keep a broken product to avoid the hassle 🙂

[jmunoz87]

Hi James,

Is there any update from your engineering team? 2 out 6 of our family members have issues where it no longer rings their phone. We've allowed all permissions for the app itself, messed with numerous mobile settings, and tried uninstalling and reinstalling the app.

We want to purchase the security cameras next, but we'd like the basic functionality working first. The app is a bit clunky with setup, which makes me think there is still underlying setup problems that is probably affecting the doorbell not ringing the phones.

• One user has a Samsung S21 FE (we have 2 users using this same model. One is having issues with the doorbell. So this is very odd)
• My phone is the Samsung S10

[jmunoz87]

2 other phones stopped, so a total of 4 out of 6 phones stopped ringing. It has to be the app. Nothing has changed. All phones were getting the ring, but after 1 or 2 days they have stopped.

Can someone from Arlo please respond?

[BT643]

One thing to note is that I have the "Chime 2" chime from Arlo linked to my doorbell too, and that often doesn't ring when someone presses the doorbell, so it's not *just* the phone app which is the problem.

[ClaireDublin]

I seem to have a work around for the issue, time will tell.  After removing both  the door bell and chime, rebooting my router etc I was having problems getting the Chime to reconnect to the WiFi. I had created sub WiFi channel for guests/children/game playing to ensure the main channel was stable for work. The Chime connected to this straight away, and now rings first time. It's been 2 days and is still working.  Fingers crossed.  I5s not ideal as there is a wee lag, but at least we are not missing callers.  I do hope this issue is resolved permanently by design.

[JamesC]

jmunoz87,

It sounds like you may be experiencing a slightly different issue than what is being described in the original post (which engineering is investigating).

For each mobile device to receive calls on doorbell presses the mobile app needs to be logged in on that device. Are these devices all using shared accounts via the grant access feature? If so, they also need to be logged in to receive calls.

JamesC

[jmunoz87]

Hi James,

Yes these devices were all granted access and have full permission. We were all receiving rings from the doorbell press. After 1 or 2 days they have stopped. What is your definition of 'logged in' on a device? We are still logged in the app.

[DerHerzog]

Same issue here.

18 months of trouble with this product. Each firmware update it gets slightly worse...

[ChefChaudart]

Same issue here, Arlo support is a disaster ....