Arlo Pro Fixed Length Recording does not work

[Bomoseen]

I followed a thread from 2018 of this exact title.  It was closed with no apparent resolution.  I am having the same problem in 2020 where my cameras do not record for the fixed length of time that I have set.  I have gone a far as disabling all but one camera and it still does not record for the fixed time I have set.  Any ideas please? 

Thanks

[ShayneS]

HI @Bomoseen

I have a few questions for you:

• Which base station/camera were you having this issue with fixed recordings?
• Did this issue ever stop since your participation in the previous thread?
• What is the fixed duration do you have the cam set for?

[Bomoseen]

Hi Shane,

I have an Arlo Pro 2 VMB4000R3 base & Cameras with H3 Hardware Version.  I have 4 cameras, but shut 3 down to try to trouble shoot.  The one camera I have left on is set to 90 seconds fixed record time.  It records, but the time is not fixed.  Seems to be using motion only to keep it going.  If I trigger it and leave, it quits recording.  It could be 15 seconds or 22 or 31, no rhyme or reason.  I have rebooted the base, no change.  This used to work fine, I don't know when it started acting up and I was not part of the original thread from 2018.   I just began to trouble shoot this yesterday and found the original 2018 thread closed with no apparent resolution.  I am using both a PC via the Arlo website or an iPad with the latest Arlo app to manage my setup.   Thanks for your help.

[jguerdat]

What mode are you using? The Armed mode should work as advertised. A custom mode may need to be deleted and rebuilt with the same settings.

A more brute force method would be to remove and resync the cameras.

[Bomoseen]

@jguerdat I am using Armed mode. 

[jguerdat]

Have you tried removing and resyncing the cameras? 

It's also possible that the connection between the cameras and base is an issue. This could be signal strength and/or quality caused by 2.4GHz interference. If you bring a camera closer to the base does the issue resolve?

[Bomoseen]

@jguerdat OK, I have been doing several tests and it's getting complicated.  To simplify, I have limited connection to 1 camera.  All adjustments via Windows PC to Arlo.com website

1. Deleted camera and base then:

- Removed camera battery

-did factory reset to base.  Used Paperclip in hole for 10 seconds.

-re added base via web, it asked for a base name, i gave it a new one.

-re added the camera, it did not ask for a name, so some setup info is being kept somewhere......

-set record time to fixed 120 seconds.  It records for around 110 seconds + or -.  This is an improvement from the 10 to 30 second snippets before.

-I noted that a live shot from this camera has brief pauses if I am using a Wifi connected iPad which is on 2.4 ghz.  A motion triggered shot from this same camera ran for 90 seconds when iPad is operating.  Looking at a news video on the iPad.

Observations, questions:

How do I completely wipe out my setup to start over?

I now see Arlo_VMB_15xxxxxxx broadcasting on wifi.  I never noticed this before.

Does Arlo use the same wifi band for its cameras as regular wifi devices?

Why has this not been an issue for over a year?

[jguerdat]

---

@Bomoseen wrote:

Observations, questions:

How do I completely wipe out my setup to start over?

I now see Arlo_VMB_15xxxxxxx broadcasting on wifi.  I never noticed this before.

Does Arlo use the same wifi band for its cameras as regular wifi devices?

Why has this not been an issue for over a year?

---

You already wiped things out as much as possible (note the automatic naming of the camera). You can't do more other than to buy a new system or create a new account for your existing system.

The base does advertise its SSID since hiding it has no real value - it can easily be discovered even if "hidden".

Yes, Arlo uses the same 2.4GHz WiFi band as any other WiFi router. Think of the base as a limited, locked-down router. One thing you can try is to move the base as far away as possible from the router. WHile the base shares the same channel as the router when close by (it's been shown that using the same channel actually reduces issues), some folks have had success getting the base away from the router. You can be extreme and use a long Ethernet cable or a WiFi or powerline extender to get the base way away from the router.  Whether this helps is anyone's guess without testing but it's worth a try. I do note that you said you have "limited connection" to one camera so moving the base may actually solve that issue, too.

[Bomoseen · Accepted solution]

Good Morning,

Thanks for the answers to my questions.  Spent the day on a ladder and finally got all 4 cameras back in service and the fixed recordings are working.  The recordings always seem to be a few seconds lower than setting (ie 114 vs. 120), but it's fine.  So at the end of the day, no resolution, just reinstall and the problem goes away, hopefully for good.

Thanks again for helping me through this!

[Graham_A]

Hi, Have Ultra system and completely reset 5 cameras and hub, with the hope of getting more than a random number of seconds 1 to 39 recording. system is running ‘Armed’ with 60 second record on all cameras. Only recordings with more than 39 secs (59) are black screen. Movement directly in front of the camera stops at 6 secs with object still traversing the field of view.

Thought setting the fixed record length may deal with the problem of the camera just stopping recording on detecting movement seemed to stop recording with the object moving obviously still within range.

While it seems from the forum this issue has been ongoing for years I’m unable to see a reliable solution.

Any ideas on how to fix this issue?
I tried phone support. It seems the problem was too hard for them as the person disconnected after I’d given the description of the problem, above, though I’d waited to get onto them for nearly 30 minutes.

[Bomoseen]

Graham, you are correct in that there is no fix I could find for my situation.  Reinstalling everything (as I documented earlier in this thread) cured my symptoms and I am working fine now.  Your situation seems a bit different given the black screen issue. A question is did this ever work properly for you?  My system was fine for over a year, then it started acting up.  Troubleshooting a multi-camera system is a chore, I would suggest you focus on getting one working properly then bring the others on line.

[Graham_A]

Hi  Bomoseen, I eventually was in contact with a helpful lass who explained the ‘fixed’ length recording rules Arlo uses. In that regard Arlo plays by its own rules. The result of which is frankly useless and means a cameras may as well be left on the default. To me and I expect a lot of others, setting a camera to record for 60 seconds will have record for 60 secs (or thereabouts). Arlo on the other hand thinks this...distilled, to save time...’If the time to record is set to 60 seconds the camera will record, while it detects movement to a file of up to 60 secs duration. If the movement continues, it will create another file. If the movement finishes in less than 60 secs the camera stops recording resulting in a file of less than 60 secs.’ So there’s no point setting the record fixed length because it does nothing more than make a set of files.

The lass aslo had me reset the iOS app, which fixed the black files issue, well for a few hours anyway. The system started showing (saving? I haven’t checked the SD card) zero length and longer ‘empty’ files again shortly after a reinstall.

Other than missing movement, the system was working (well good enough to be useful) until i tried to add a CVR, it lost the plot, trashed my subscription (separate thread) and I was told to reset everything. Now it’s useless. I’ve spent in excess of 30 hours trying to get it working, resetting, synching etc. 10 hours of which has been to support people.

I’m hoping once the subscription issue is resolved it will all just work again, but not holding my breath.