Arlo cameras keep disconnecting.

[gnarkilljboy]

Bought these last year, after my car was broken into. Wish I would have returned them. Went away for a family vacation, and set one camera at the front door, and one at the back. Both cameras lost connection shortly after we left. When this happens, I have to manually sync them back up to the The base, which means taking them down, and bringing them within 3 feet of the station.

This happens, at the least, 2 times a week. The base station is well within range of the cameras.

Battery life is horrible, with new batteries lasting only a month. I even went and bought the rechargeable batteries, and they don't last very long at all. A week, if I'm lucky.

Is there anything I can do to stop the cameras from CONSTANTLY losing connection, or am I better off to just toss them into the trash?

[Skorp]

What would be blocking the connection though? My cameras have been working 10 or 11 months straight without ever going offline at all until last night. They are now down for 23 hours and haven't gone back online? What could suddenly block the cameras from connecting to the base station. I took a camera down and put it right by the base station, but still says offline. I tried syncing, but it still shows as offline. Just frustrated.

[jguerdat]

What are the LEDs on the base showing? WHat happens when you open and close the battery cover - what does the camera LED show? Have you checked the battery level, perhaps using a voltmeter, or changed them? Did you power cycle the base?

[Llewxam]

Hi, I don’t use rechargeables although I probably should to save expense. I’ve been using Panasonic or Surefire A123’s. I have started replacing my legacy cameras with the newer.

[tkeigley]

I've had my cameras a couple years now with no problems. Now the last couple months the batteries are dying very quickly and they keep unsyncing to the base station. Anyone else having this problem? I   think it is shot. There is nothing blocking my signal. 

[tkeigley]

I've had my cameras a couple years now with no problems. Now the last couple months the batteries are dying very quickly and they keep unsyncing to the base station.  I think it is shot. There is nothing blocking my signal. 

[tkeigley]

Which upgrade did you do? 

[DaveWick]

Update ...

I'm a "Me Too" earlier in this topic.

My problem camera appears to be working now. Nothing has changed with the location or other electronic equipment nearby. So, I figure it must have been a recent firmware update.

Just for the record, I have a complete set of Tenergy rechargeables, plus one extra set, for my four Arlo cameras; which is a very good thing because when the one camera was acting up I would have had to refinance the house to buy all the batteries I would have gone through.

The only problem now is i dropped one of the cameras and the night vision does not work any more. Oh well.

[Rickhid]

Yes, there was a firmware update about a week ago. I had taken the batteries out of my arlo after problem started a couple of months ago. When I heard there was a firmware update I put in batteries and saw update take place via yellow flashing light on camera. Things seem to work now, as I say crossing my fingers. Point being anyone out there with cameras still acting up take out and put back batteries to get the firmware to update.

[AdeJH]

A me too - had the arlo system for around 2 years without any issues, but after the last firmware update, the system drops the camera and internet connection intermittently. I can reboot and re-sync the cameras but the connection drops again during the following 24 hours.

[JamesC]

AdeJH,

What does the signal strength indicator show for the camera behaving this way?

JamesC

[DPanattoni]

Well, I had hoped I was back to normal with the latest firmware. But, my cameras continue disconnecting, and my second set of batteries in three weeks are reporting as dead.

[Dukeofdelish]

Thanks for the update! Guess we're looking for a new system. There was one recommended earlier in this thread. I'll be looking into it.

[Delboyii]

' 3 weeks' - I have been recharging my Pro camera batteries after 7-10 days since December whilst previously they were managing 3-4 months!

Before we revisit all the usual reasons for high battery use here is an overview of my environment:-

- Four Arlo Pro cameras now 10 months old.

- All fitted on an RV with a maximum of 12ft between cameras and base station - VMB4000

   As it is an RV with minimal wall material, signal strength is ALWAYS full strength.

- For the past month the ONLY WiFi networks visible on any device in the area has been the Arlo 'Netgear 19' and my Netgear DC114A 5Ghz local WiFi. I have 2.4Ghz disabled on the Netgear base as it is not required.

- Arlo base hard wired to Netgear DC114A.

- Motion detection, typically one camera may trigger once a week, so no high traffic areas involved.

- Recent firmware updates occured automatically which have improved the lost connection issue but do not appear to have resolved the high battery drain.

I have also seen differences in the battery status being reported between the iOS app & web browser access which indicates there are still fundamental issues with the software.

[DaveWick]

Two of my four cameras are now going offline intermittently.

When I pop the battery covers and relatch them, they come back. Batteries show 63% and 73% left.

Just saying.

[arlovh]

I have a total of four cameras, two Arlo wire-free, two Arlo pros. Things have been fine for a year or more, and now only one of the cameras will not stay connected for more than a minute, if at all. Beause the other three cameras are fine,  I don't think there is an interferrence problem. There is plenty of charge on the batteries. The firmware is out of date, but I can't update it if it won't connect. What are the steps I should take at this point?

[steve_t]

---

@arlovh wrote:

I have a total of four cameras, two Arlo wire-free, two Arlo pros. Things have been fine for a year or more, and now only one of the cameras will not stay connected for more than a minute, if at all. Beause the other three cameras are fine,  I don't think there is an interferrence problem. There is plenty of charge on the batteries. The firmware is out of date, but I can't update it if it won't connect. What are the steps I should take at this point?

---

What steps have you taken so far? What makes you sure it's not an interference issue?

[arlovh]

I don't think it is an interference issue because the main unit is in the same room as before when the system was working well. The other three cameras are still working well, and one has had to re-sync without issue.

I have disconnected the main controller, waited for green lights (2 from left) and they began the sync procedure. (Briefly press main controller, then press camera sync.) Sometimes the blue light slowly blinks and nothing else happens...sometimes the amber light blinks quickly many times, and turns off. Only once today I got blue lights blinking quickly and then connection. When I walked about 20 ft from the controller with the camera the connection was lost. A couple times I opened the battery door and closed it, and the connection seemed re-established momentarily then no connection.

[steve_t]

I've had interference with a camera and it didn't matter how near the camera was to the base station. I put the camera right next to the base station on the shelf and filmed both the base and camera blinking away to sync for the 2.5 minutes that they'll attempt for. I then moved the base further away from the router and it instantly sync'd. Other people have done the same. Support has sometimes asked people to restart their router and then suddenly the camera that won't sync will sync. So don't think that proximity to the base necessarily means there's no interference

[jguerdat]

Also, because the firmware is out of date there's a strong chance that's the cause of the issue. Remove the camera from Settings, My Devices, open and close the battery door, and resync it with the camera near the base. The firmware should immediately be noted as needing updating. See if it will now update properly.

[DPanattoni]

Just thought I'd give another update.

My 3 cameras are still failing. I've moved the base station, checked the channel congestion, moved the cameras inside so that they are all within 20' line of sight, and the same 3 cameras still fail. Just when I think they're working (they'll work for 2 weeks) and then go from 100% battery to 0% in less than one day. And they're not pointed at busy areas (maybe 5-7 motions per day).

I "chatted" with tech support and offered to send my 3 cameras to them so that they could troubleshoot with them, and they declined my offer. Said they don't take back any cameras unless they are under warranty. I explained to them that I wasn't asking them to fix them, or asking for a replacement, but that I was offering them 3 broken cameras so that they could use them to identify why they're not working. That would allow them to solve the problem for the rest of us out here. They still declined. Very poor customer service in my opinion. As a software developer, I know that if I can duplicate the problem, I can fix the problem. Here was a perfect opportunity for their developers to fix a problem.

I'll be looking at some of the competing options out there. Blink and Nest.

[tkeigley]

Thank you for your update. I have started to have to replace my batteries almost every 2 weeks now. IF they even last that long. I am looking for a new alternative as well because the battery cost is not worth the trouble. When I first got the cameras they worked great and I had no problem keeping them all synced up but now it seems I have to redo this constantly. I just went on vacation for about 3 days and 3 of the cameras went out while I was gone. I had changed the batteries right before I left. Maybe when they make the cameras they only expect them to work a certain period of time and then they fail...which forces us to buy new ones? 

Thats bad that Arlo didnt want to take a look at your cameras. I would think they would want to fix the issue everyone is having to keep the business. 

[Terri_f38]

I have an arlo pro and all the sudden my battery keepa draining when my camera is not in use. And i am not getting notification when it is in use and it doesnt show me i have videos but when i go in to library they are ther. But why is my battery drwining down to nothing. It has nothing to do with where it is located. Can a hacker from your site be doing this and turning cam on without me knowing?

[DPanattoni]

Just another update.

On a hunch, I thought I'd replace my base station since it's relatively inexpensive to replace. If that doesn't resolve the problem, my next step would be to replace the 3 dead cameras.

So far I'm going on 3 weeks now and since replacing the base station, I am not experiencing the problem of the batteries failing. 

Dale

[Kirastar]

I had the same issue with various cameras disconnecting.  Opening the battery cover and then closing it allowed it to reconnect and then it would disconnect again in a few days to weeks.   New batteries, resetting the base, wiping everything and starting fresh with setting up like new again never resolved the issue permanently.   I replaced the base and haven’t had an issue since. My original base only lasted 1.5 years. Very poor quality.  I would expect the base to last at least twice that long. It’s plugged into a UPS power conditioner too. Poor quality all around. 

[DPanattoni]

I replaced the base on mine too. The three cameras that were failing worked for a couple of weeks and then failed again.

I have decided to spend my money on a different product. I've purchased a camera from Blink and am testing it out.