All cameras suddenly offline

[ching0001]

I have 3 cameras and they all went offline;  the batteries were not new but they weren't low;  I recycled the hub, unplugged it for 5 mins, took 1 camera and replaced with new batteries, tried to resync that camera and i'm Dead in Water.  Any suggestions?

Lights on front of hub:

light 1:  power:   GREEN

light 2:  internet:  GREEN

Light 3:  cameras:  nada/no color/no nothing

When i look at the settings on iphone or from surface, i am able to connect but the cameras (all 3) indicate OFFLINE.

[JamesC]

ching0001,

Welcome to the community! What is the behavior of the LED indicator on the camera when you attempt to sync?

JamesC

[ching0001]

when i hit the sync button one time on the base station, the lights begin to blink on the front of the base station for the 3rd light (aka camera);  all green

then i hit the sync button one time on the camera (that, btw, had been synced already) and it blinks blue;  after a few seconds it blinks amber and we are back to no more activity.

the base station will continue to blink for a few more seconds and then it goes blank, too.

something seems like it is wrong with base.

[ching0001 · Accepted solution]

PROBLEM SOLVED:

Although the internet lights were solid green, there was a communication problem in the network to which the base was connected.

My network contains INTERNET ROUTER > SWITCH > LOCAL ROUTER (used as a pass through) > BASE

I connected the base to the internet router directly and one of the cameras came back online;  I then returned to the LOCAL ROUTER and power cycled that with the BASE disconnected AFTER power cycling the internet router.  By cycling them in order (Hitting the base last in the power recycle), whatever problem the LOCAL ROUTER was having resolved.

Batteries were not a problem;  This is what i get for having an overly complicated network;  Frustrating but you learn something new every day.

[JamesC]

ching0001,

Thank you for the update and I am glad you were able to identify and resolve the issue within your network. This is great information for other community members that could potentially be suffering from a similar issue. Thank you for sharing your solution so that others may benefit from it!

JamesC

[imuscle]

I have had my system up an running for over a month now...Tonight 4 out of 12 of my cameras went offline and will not come back on...it is not a battery issue.  I reset the modem...nothing....now what?

[jguerdat]

A few things pop to mind:

1) Open and close battery doors to reset the cameras.

2) Log out of app/browser and back in.

3) Have you added or changed any devices that could transmit in the 2.4GHz range (including microwaves) that could be interfering with those cameras' WiFi signal to the base? What is/was their signal strength?

[imuscle]

Nothing has been added...I will have to take these cameras down...I really hope this is not a continuous problem...that would not be good for this product...thank you...I will try to open and close the battery...

[imuscle]

climbed up on the ladder four times to open and close the batter lids on four cameras...thank you...the cameras are all online now...However, I cannot turn them off or on by my laptop anymore..none of them will turn off with the app on my android or my pc.  I haven't changed anything....now they just continue to run and drain the batteries when I do not want them on.

[ching0001]

I didn't believe it when i spoke to a customer care rep BUT my config is a multiple network/subnetwork configuration.

When i took the HUB over to the main router (think the ROUTER closest to the internet), I was able to get all cameras up and going;  

It is redic but it worked.  I then returned the hub back to the router in the remote location.

I have had no problems since.

[jguerdat]

---

imuscle wrote:

climbed up on the ladder four times to open and close the batter lids on four cameras...thank you...the cameras are all online now...However, I cannot turn them off or on by my laptop anymore..none of them will turn off with the app on my android or my pc.  I haven't changed anything....now they just continue to run and drain the batteries when I do not want them on.

---

Are you saying that they're stuck recording or on live view? Or is it that the schedule or mode is stuck to always record on motion?

[R_Lowe]

Just to add my experiences of, coindicentally, today, I noticed from work this morning that all four of my cams showed offline.  I just checked (some hours later) and now only one is still offline.  I would have to say it is a router or interfacing problem and not the camera itself/themselves.  Every 3-4 months my two Dropcams do the same thing and then somehow fix themselves and reconnect.

That said, I'm obviously no techo-wizard so it's either the above... or their haunted.

[mhammo]

I have had my 3 camera system for about 3 weeks now and I am terribly disappointed. This system does not appear ready for prime time. In the 3 weeks the cameras have gone offline 2-3 times per week, there were 2 system updates that took the base station offline for several hours (1x was nearly a whole day) and two of the cameras have already completely drained their batteries. And they only captured two events....so it's not like they were constantly on. We were out of the house for a lot of the time and we have no animals that could have triggered the cameras.

I had high hopes but Arlo is just not stable enough for me to feel comfortable that it is going to work when I need it. Too much babysitting and fidgeting with things to keep them up and running. And, judging by the hundreds of posts on this community, there are a whole lot more issues that I haven't run into....yet.

I'm bummed but I need a reliable system that I don't have to worry about and constantly check to see if it is working. Sadly, these are going back.

[JamesC]

mhammo,

It sounds like there may be interference/poor WiFi signal strength that is causing the cameras to drop offline. If they are struggling to maintain a connection with the base station this would explain why the batteries are draining quicker than expected.  Consider relocating the base station so that it is away from any other wireless devices and make sure that the cameras have full WiFi signal strength. I hope this helps!

JamesC

[mhammo]

Hi James,

I have had them in different locations. One of the cameras is in the very next room through an open doorway that gets full signal strength. The other one is almost directly above the base station on the next floor. Again, WiFi signals show full bars. WiFi internet access throughout the house is as good as it can get except for the very top floor; where none of the devices are.

The base station is about 10 feet from the wireless router. I can try moving it again but I find it odd the cameras would be so suscpetible to interference. And, when I open/close the door to the cameras they connect fine.

Mike

[eliz]

I have 4 cameras that worked fine for about two months; however, the past couple of weeks all of them simultaneously go offline. The batteries are new. I've rebooted the base station a handful of times, this seems to work momentarily. Yet, after a few hours it goes back offline. My internet/wi-fi connection is strong and working properly. Please advise on how to resolve this issue.

[JamesC]

eliz,

It sounds like there could be interference between the base station and the cameras. To further isolate the issue, consider relocating the base station making sure it is away from any other wireless devices and be sure your cameras maintain the best signal after the move.

JamesC

[asrodgers]

All of this is absolutely a pain in my $&!!. What a waste of my time and money. This is NOT what I bought into or so I thought.

[jguerdat]

Well, that's not useful.  Maybe you posted your issues in another post but without specifics it's sorta hard to help.