Arlo basestation offline issue after reboot

[allen_rong]

I am not sure if anyone is experiencing the same issue since last week, I have been using Arlo for a long time and it directly connects to my router always without any issue except Geofencing issue with iOS, which I have opened another case here. I have got daily reboot schedule configured on my router every night. However, since last week sometime my Arlo base-station remained offline after router reboots itself. The internet light on the station was in orange and my internet was good as usual. I was not sure whether the firmware of base-station was getting updated automatically or not.  To get around of it, I had to manually turn it off and turn back on to resolve the issue.

It will be interesting to see if anyone else is having the same issue.

[steve_t]

What base firmware are you running?
I'm on 1.8.9.1_13442

[allen_rong]

Yes, whatever the latest one is. Checked that it is 1.8.9.1_13442.

[steve_t]

After the base station restart, is it all working fine again?

[allen_rong]

Yes it is after manually switching off then on. It seems this particular version of firmware does not have reconnecting feature enabled. It only works when the device fresh starts.

[Wizliz]

+1 similar error and problem!

My system has been running without problem 18+ months. But since about two weeks my base station goes offline every night for some reason. Internet fully working, all cameras are in sync. Power cycle temporarily solves the problem for a couple of hours. I seem to recall a camera fw upgrade early mid july. Dont know if/when base station was upgraded.

So now i have just done a complete base station reset by pushing reset for 10+ seconds. Time to climb the ladder and get all cameras for resync... 😞

Base station fw: 1.8.9.1_13442

Four Arlo H7 cameras fw: 1.2.11810

[allen_rong]

If it fixes your issue, please let me know then I will have a shot. Checked the release notes that there was a firmware upgrade occurred recently for mine. So I guess that's where the issue started,

[Wizliz]

After the "hard reset" my base station has been up´n running for 48hours -knock on wood... 🙂

[allen_rong]

Thanks for your sharings.

I have removed my daily scheduled reboot code from my router, Arlo is functioning fine. However, if a reboot occurs overnight at 4:30am, which I defines of course, the base-station remained offline since then. It used to be fine in the last 18 months maybe since I purchased it.

[allen_rong]

Finally got a chance to do the full reset suggested last night. Everything went quite well until a reboot occurred this morning again.

So I am afraid it is nothing to do with it unfortunately. Also re-downloading the app on my iPhone did not address the issue either.

I wish I had an ability to revert the firmware back to the last version.

[DarkPrince]

I recently purchased the Alro Pro 6X cams. I think we all agreed how easy it was to setup (ie install to configure the cameras). What I believe there is a bug in the firmware. If a power outage occurred the amount of time it takes for everything to reboot (Modem/Router + Arlo base) shouldn't take more than few minutes (5MINS almost) to come back online. But for some reason, the Internet is restored except to the Alro base which rebooted but it won't reconnect to the Internet (Wifi and Smart Home system were restored). And, you need to power cycle the system in specific order (Modem/Router then Alro base) for it reconnects. 

This should not be the solution to fix the issue. What happens if you are away for a week, your neighbourhood has a power outage and restarts all electrics in your home and the one system that you are relying on fails to reconnect itself. 

I hope there is a fix for this or firmware coming soon or I will need to return this back to the store. As this the single point of failure. 

[steve_t]

Others have noted the same so hopefully there will be a fix soon. In the meantime a workaround would be to connect the base station to a UPS. This is a great idea from a security standpoint as well because your cameras will still work in a power cut and record to the attached USB drive.

Otherwise, the other workaround is to use something like a wemo switch/outlet to power cycle the base station after power and the internet have been restored. Not ideal but a workaround that works nonetheless

[jguerdat]

As for the UPS suggestion, be sure to also plug the modem and router into the UPS as well as the base so the Internet connection is never broken.

[DarkPrince]

That was the first thing when I found out about this bug! Modem and Alto into the UPS. But is Arlo team is looking into a fix. How long has this been going on?

[jguerdat]

You may have faulty hardware.  Open a case with support.

[allen_rong]

I konw. However, It has been working perfectly fine until it was updated itself a month ago maybe, the firmware I meant. It is still fine if I take the scheduled daily reboot script out from my router.

Thanks

[necoblitz]

I have had the same problem. I have now connected all the components to a UPS. Yesterday the neighbourhood had a several hour outage. Today the cameras (3) are all showing offline. The hub is showing connected and I can restart it remotely (from 1000 miles away) but all three cameras do not reconnect. My Nest thermostat and Wink Hub and connected systems are all back online.

This seems to be a major flaw. How can you rely on a system for security when you have to physically go to the site to re-sync each camera after a power outage? Surely the firmware can be updated to allow a remote restart of each camera or some other way to reconnect the cameras after power has been lost. If not the only option seems to be to switch to another system, but other than this I love the Arlo.

[jguerdat]

Did the UPS run out of battery? Is it possible that the Internet was also down for an extended time? A larger UPS would fix the former but nothing other than maybe a 4G failover for the router would help the latter.

[necoblitz]

Yes I suspect the ups ran down but being away I don't know. My plan, until Netgear finds a fix, is to keep only the Arlo hub on the ups as I believe it is only about 5 watts draw and the ups should last more than an hour at minimum. The router and modem seem to reboot fine after power loss but having the hub lose power seems to disconnect permanently the cameras.

[jguerdat]

The loss of Internet access may be another issue.  I'd rather use a larger UPS.  What capacity is this one?  Based on the power consumption of my router, modem and base, my 750VA UPS should last nearly a day although I haven't actually tested it (I am not going to listen to the beeping that long).

[necoblitz]

The UPS is an APC 900VA but the outage was I gather 12 hours or longer. Good to know you get that much time with router etc plugged. I'll test it next time I'm there and let it run to zero, see what time I get. Agreed the loss of internet may cause it's own issue when rebooting. The problem is larger tower UPS units don't fit in the area I have. 12 hour outages should be rare hopefully!

The real solution is still firmware that allows for remote camera reboots imo.

[jguerdat]

My assumptions are based soley on quick math, not reality.  I suppose I'll have to bite the bullet one of these days and get a real test done - perhaps I've been too complacent. The damn "power is down" beeper will drive me nuts but it will eventually be worth it.

[DarkPrince]

My Arlo base just died! Base would not connect to the internet anymore (no light). Tried factory reset and power cycle. Previous users has reported the same issue. I have to RMA but I opted to return it.

Is anyone from Netgear or ARLO monitoring these forums?

[JamesC]

DarkPrince,

No internet LED could mean a bad port on the router and/or bad ethernet cable. Did you try a different port/different ethernet cable and get the same results?

JamesC

[DarkPrince]

Yes. Checked different cables and ports and plugged it into two other laptops and all have connectivity.