Arlo turns off by itself and reboots (VMB3010 or VMB3500) after firmware update

[Serious47]

Now I am rating this Arlo product as one star, not two, three, four or five stars, because my Arlo SmartHub device with five cameras has operated poorly since yesterday. For many times the Arlo online turns off by itself, for no reason at all. I was getting so tired and frustrated when I frequently rebooted the cameras back normal, but still offline again itself. Last September I started with the free trail for one month, and then I cancelled the subscription a couple of days ago. As my product problem has wasted my time, I have frequently tried rebooting the operating system, but never completely successful! I feel down, not happy with that problem. Very strange, I have experienced no problem with Arlo all through the years since 2015 when I purchased my first Arlo kit, but why that Arlo developer acts so weird and strange this time?

[Dontech]

I am having the same issues. Base is consistently cycling on and off line. Has Anyone received a fix yet?????

[duckson]

Not yet, they are aware of it and looking into it apparently (according to the reply on my ticket).

[duckson]

Looks like the firmware was released on the 3rd November.....highly coincidental there is now reported issues as seen here since!

https://community.arlo.com/t5/Firmware-Release-Notes/Arlo-Base-Station-VMB3010-1-12-2-14-817-e5957a9...

[Bond22]

Right now, system off, and rebooting, 🙃

[Dontech]

Thank you for the response 👍🏻

[Dontech]

I totally agree. You would think they would have tested this before releasing.

[Bond22]

They have a problem but when you look at the status arlo in principle everything works fine that is not true. The problem persists and it is right after the update and it is unfortunate that after three days nobody has checked it.
Batteries died.
😞

[Nancy_L]

I have two VMB3010r2 base stations and they are turning themselves off all the time since the 1.6.297 firmware update.  I am so fed up with my Arlo system that I just want to pitch them in the trash and buy a RING system!  I just put new batteries in several of the cameras and after the disfunctional firmware update they are all now drained.  Come on Arlo, you used to be a great product but you are not now!

[Nancy_L]

I see it is actually the firmware update 1.12.2.14_817_e5957a9 on the base stations that is probably the rebooting problem.  Add in the battery drain of the firmware update to the cameras and what a mess.  Good thing I am not out of town relying on Arlo security. 

[JessicaP]

The Arlo development team is currently investigating this issue. We will provide an update as soon as we have more information to share with the community.

[Bond22]

since 3 days 11cameras battery died, in 3 base station, a lot of money for nothing.
😞

[Bond22]

Right now.
System down since 3 days, why in Arlo Status all is ok?
😞

[CraigTCS]

Hello Community and Arlo Support,

I have five separate systems running with 2-5 cameras each, spread across three different routers and separate internet connections. The problem of the base going offline and rebooting appears in four of my systems and several of my clients systems. I have opened a ticket (#42046222) with support level 2 and explained the following information:

From my investigation this appears to be a problem with the latest base station firmware (ending in e5957a9) for the original rectangular base (VMB3010r2) and the newer round base (VMB3500r4). It has not been evident in the one Arlo Pro base station (VMB4000r3) I have in the mix with firmware ending in c289687.

The issue/bug can be triggered by live viewing one or two of the cameras in each affected system. Once the first camera viewing is stopped the base goes offline, sometimes with the "internet" LED on and other times with the "internet" LED off. Sometimes live viewing a second camera is required to trigger the issue. The base then appears offline on both the IOS app and the web browser interface. After approximately a 6 minute timeout, the base reboots and goes back online. Sometimes cameras take a while to reconnect to the rebooted base.

The above issue/bug is repeatable in my systems and has been happening for several days since the new base firmware was installed. If you do not live view the systems, they continue to provide motion sensing recording and notifications when armed.

Please find this bug and provide updated firmware ASAP, or provide a path to downgrade the base firmware until the bug is fixed, as my systems are unusable for live viewing in their current condition.

[Nancy_L]

Thank you CraigTCS.  This is exactly what is happening to my two VMB3010r2 base stations.  Can we go back to the original firmware from 2018 when my system actually worked!!  Loved Arlo the, not so much now.

[CraigTCS]

During my contact with Arlo support, they said there was no way to downgrade the firmware.

I am hoping that someone from Arlo will read this and provide an option to downgrade the base firmware for those of us who want our systems to function while waiting for them fix the bug introduced in the latest firmware.

[Bond22]

Well explained.
Still waiting.
🤨

[Bond22]

Please do it quickly. Thankiu.

[duckson]

Firmware has been downgraded back to 1.12.2.12.
Live view appears to be working again now.

[Bond22]

New firmware 1.12.2.12 working well, in 2 of my 3 base station.
One base is off and 5 cameras off and batteries died.
I need to restart. And buy new batteries.

[duckson]

All mine are on rechargeables, worth their weight in gold!

[Bond22]

Which brand you use normally, and how many time on standby will be ok?

[duckson]

I have Olight but I did get them about 3 years ago from Amazon, they were a bit cheaper than they are now.
https://www.olightstore.uk/olight-rcr123a-lithium-ion-battery.html

On a camera that isn’t triggered so much (5 times a week say) with 15s recordings and best quality video I can get 5-6 months.

These seem to get good reviews;

Arlo Battery Arlo Rechargeable Batteries [750mAh 3.7V 8Pack] for Arlo Wireless Security Camera (VMC3030/VMK3200/VMS3230/3330/3430/3530) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0868H8TRB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_pxtPFbXYAJ3KZ

[Bond22]

Thanks!!!😊

[Brandon1Edward5]

New firmware 1.12.2.8.9_fc4b603 works well on my VMB3500R4 BASE STATION now.

I guess it was downgraded.

[JessicaP · Accepted solution]

As some users have reported here already, we have reverted back the firmware version and your Arlo Base Station should now be working properly.

To update your Base Station firmware manually:

1. Launch the Arlo app or log in to my.arlo.com.
2. Tap or click Settings > My Devices. 
3. Select your SmartHub or base station.
4. Tap or click Device Info > Firmware > Update.
   Warning: Do not turn off your SmartHub or base station while the firmware update is in progress.
5. Wait for the base station firmware update to complete.
   The base station Power LED blinks green while the firmware is downloading and installing. After the firmware is installed, the base station reboots and the Power LED lights amber. When the Power and Internet LEDs light solid green, the firmware update is complete.

If you're still having some issues related to this (or your firmware is not getting downgraded), please let us know with a new thread.