Arlo Wire Free suddenly stopped working

[flibbidyfloo]

I have a pair of first-gen Arlo "Wire Free" cameras and base station.

One of the cameras recently stopped reporting in, so I assumed the batteries had died and replaced them. But it still wouldn't connect, and doesn't seem to even power on. No clicks and no LEDs come on, and it never connects to the base.

I tried to remove/readd it, but holding the Sync button doesn't make the blue LED ever come on.

The only sign it's not completely dead is that after putting batteries in it gets a tiny bit warm - like it's working, but never getting anywhere.  I pulled the batteries for half an hour for comparison and it came to ambient temp. Put the batteries back in, still no signs of life, but it got a little warmer again after a minute.

Is it completely dead? Any suggestions on getting it working again?

I'm sure it's long out of warranty, so if I had to replace it, will any of the current models still work with my old base station?

[StephenB]

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@flibbidyfloo wrote:

I'm sure it's long out of warranty, so if I had to replace it, will any of the current models still work with my old base station?

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Likely not, but there is a compatibility list here:

• https://kb.arlo.com/000062284/Arlo-SmartHub-and-Base-Station-Compatibility

However, some newer cameras (Pro 4 and Essential) that can connect directly to your home wifi.

Note that all the newer cameras (starting with the Ultra back in 2018) require a paid subscription for cloud storage.

• https://kb.arlo.com/88/What-are-the-available-Arlo-subscription-plans-and-how-much-cloud-recording-i...

[jguerdat]

While you're trying to revive the camera, be sure to only lightly place the batteries in the slots and let the battery door do the pushing.