Video Doorbell recording corrupted and occasionally not ringing.

[Andy92]

I had 3 Arlo cameras for over 5 years and they always worked well so I decided to purchase also the doorbell.

Initially, I used the doorbell connected via WiFi and it worked perfectly, then I decided to connect the device directly to the SmartHub to have a local recording.

Since it has been connected to the Hub the videos after 10 seconds or less freeze and the image is corrupted.

Occasionally people ring the doorbell but no call is received on the smartphone and Chime doesn't go off.

The doorbell is quite close to the SmartHub,  within 3 meters and I am sure it is not a problem of connection because one of my Arlo cameras is placed in the back garden with over 10 meters distance from the Hub and records perfectly. ( all cameras record perfectly )

I opened a case with Arlo at the beginning of November 2023 and as of today I don't have a solution, I have provided multiple pieces of evidence, details of the setup etc and I haven't heard back from them since the 29th of November.

I reached out multiple times for an update but no one got back to me, really disappointed in the support service provided.

I tried reducing the resolution of the video recording,  time of recording, formatting the SD card in the SmartHub, and factory resetting the doorbell, but nothing helped.

The Arlo app shows the doorbell has a full signal to the Hub and in my home I have a 1GB internet connection and the hub is connected via ethernet cable.

All devices are up-to-date with the latest firmware.

Have you experienced anything similar and if you did, have you found a solution to this issue?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

[jguerdat]

Did you try moving the hub away from the router?

[Andy92]

It is 2 meters apart from the router, unfortunately, because the Hub need to be connected via ethernet it cannot be too far from it and in my current property I have no other way to connect the two devices if not directly.

My cameras are not affected so I assume there is not much interference but I might be wrong.

[jguerdat]

There are longer Ethernet cables that can be used as well as WiFi and powerline extenders that the hub can then connect to via the cable. That doesn't really seem to be the issue, though, but could be one more troubleshooting step.

WHat happens if you bring the doorbell indoors, perhaps just inside the door, for testing?

[Andy92]

So just run this test:

Moved the SmartHub behind the entrance door ( literally less than a meter from the doorbell ) well away from the modem using a 10m ethernet cable.

Also, changed my WiFi channel to be different from the one used by the Hub to make sure there is no interference.

Unfortunately no improvement, the issue persisted and after a few seconds of recording the video froze.

[jguerdat]

I would have thought your test would have been successful. Did you also try bringing the doorbell indoors for testing as I suggested before?

[Andy92]

Sorry forgot to mentioned that I did tested that too but no improvement.

[Edinburgh_lad1]

I think you should try this: bring the base station *closer* to the router (within 10-15 cm max) and leave it (usually a couple of hours, but maybe up to a day) so that it can change its channel to that of the router.

Try then and report back.   

[Andy92]

Hi,

thanks for the advice.

I have tried your suggestion but still have a problem, It's weird how on WiFi it works perfectly but when connected to the Hub it doesn't while the 3 cameras do not experience the same issue and the videos are perfectly recorded with an even higher resolution 4K while the doorbell record at 1080p.

I still haven't heard back from Arlo support.

[jguerdat]

It's a PITA suggestion but you may want to consider a whole system reset to fix this. That means removing ALL devices from your account and starting fresh, as if you just bought the system. That usually clears out whatever weirdness is occurring as long as it's not a true hardware issue.

[Andy92]

Thanks for the suggestion, this has already been tried following one of the first pieces of advice from Arlo support that unfortunately didn't fix the issue.

But appreciated the help so far, hope this issue will be fixed eventually.

[BrookeN]

Please contact support. Within the app on your mobile device click on the silhouette on the top left ~ support center ~ the device that you are needing assistance with then choose the issue. Support is open 7 days a week from 6 am ~ 6pm PT.

[Andy92]

Yeah already tried that and been told by a representative to wait for a specialist to get back to me and that can take some time.

In my opinion over 1 month is a bit too long without any update especially since I tried to reach out three times asking for updates.

[BrookeN]

I've opened a support ticket detailing the concerns you've posted here. An agent will reach out to you with a status update as soon as possible.

[Andy92]

Thanks you very much, really appreciate this.