Camera appears to be offline

[Skorp]

So just last night, my cameras suddenly just stopped recording and so I checked through my app and all three cameras show as camera appears to be offline message. I logged into Mac and went on the website and same thing. I tried everything what people have posted on the site from turning it off and on to resetting the cameras and sycing to no avail. What is going on? Had these cameras for near a year so far with no problems, so this is the first time it has happened. Please help.

Exact error message:

Your Arlo device appears offline

Please make sure it is powered on and connected to the Internet.

I am fully connected to the internet with 150 Mb/s speed and 5G Wifi.

[brh]

@Skorp

While i have hooked my Pro base station to 5G in the past, it did not perform as well as it did on 2.4 Ghz. If you have had it on 5 G for awhile then that probably isn't part of your problem, but I think your base station was designed for 2.4 Ghz.

Anyway, what are the LEDs on the base station showing?

Brian

[jguerdat]

What does hooking a base to 5GHz vs. 2.4GHz have to do with anything? The base uses an Ethernet connection and its own dedicated 2.4GHz WiFi, totally separate from your home WiFi.

[brh]

@jguerdat

I replied that it probably was not his problem - I just expressed my opinion from prior experience that over all he might get better performance from switching.. I then went on to give him the links that hopefully would help him solve his problem.

Brian

[Geezy]

I have the exact same problem. Two cameras, front and back, and both stopped working/recording the afternoon of January 24, 2018. 

Tried rebooting the base station ( which is showing green lights) and installing new batteries but still receiving “This Arlo device is offline” error message on both cameras.

I also have Nest cameras, indoor and out, and a Ring floodlight camera, and those are working fine.

Model: VMB3000

Firmware: 1.9.8.0_16666 (no updates available)

[jguerdat]

Have tried logging out and back in as well as using both the app and a browser? For the app, try both WiFi and cell service.

[Geezy]

Yes, tried all, then tried restarting my router. The router gave me a neverending flashing white light, After some research I found that there’s a known issue with this router (Linksys EA9500) getting stuck in what they call a reboot loop.

Purchased a new router and will give it another go tomorrow.

Thanks for your help!

[GregNuke]

My cameras are offline, how do I get them working again?

[jguerdat]

First, you need to give us as many details as possible. We can't possibly guess what the problem is.

What have you tried? What do you see? What are the LEDs on the base showing, including color?

[brh]

@GregNuke

There were two firmware updates just before you posted your message. Did the cameras come back online? Did you notice any of the LEDs on the cameras or base station blinking?

Brian

[Skorp]

Thanks for the replys everyone. Looks like this is a huge problem occurring now with a lot of people. I am using the regular Arlo Wire-Free Camera (not pro version) for all three cameras.

Here is what I am seeing. It has been 5 days and still no luck. The base station, all three lights are green with the second one blinking from time to time.

How do I update the camera firmware, or should it update itself?

[tutone88]

Just purchased this camera a few days ago and now it's showing the device as offline, just like everyone else. The base station is about 15 feet from the outdoor camera. Both base station and camera updated firmware as soon as they were powered on. This is a real PITA and unacceptable.

[Skorp]

That sucks you are newly experiencing this problem. Seems like it is an issue that started for most people recently. I bought this camera bundle in March of 2017 and hadn't had any issue at all until a few days ago. I really loved this camera system as it was so easy to use and no more hassles with wires, but now really am questioning its quality.

[brh]

<p><li-user login="Skorp" uid="401009"></li-user></p>
<p>Here are a couple of links. The first one is how to do a power reset. The second one is how to do a factoru Reset</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>https://kb.arlo.com/996/My-Arlo-base-station-is-offline-how-can-I-troubleshoot-it</p>
<p>Go to Number 4 to do the power reset.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>https://kb.arlo.com/1057976/How-can-I-reset-my-Arlo-base-station-to-the-default-values</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Brian</p>

[brh]

I don't know what happened to the last post from me.

Brian

[Skorp]

Thanks for the links. The power reset didn't work as it shows the base connected to the internet, but still says camera offline.

Gonna try the factory reset. Looks like I didn't do it all the way according to that article. Hope this works.

[Skorp]

So I held the reset button and it did what it says with everything flashing amber (five lights). Right now though, only the first 2 lights are green and the third one is amber color.

I went and click add new device and tried to sync, but it seems to be not adding it to the account and won't sync now. I tried three times click sync on the base station and then on the camera. It blinks rapidly the blue light, but it is still not on my Arlo account. It shows add device only.

[brh]

@Skorp

I would open the battery doors on all the cameras except the one you wish to sync.

Be sure that that camera is within 3 feet of the base.

I can't remember but some say just a quick push of the sync button on the base unit and other places it says to hold it for two seconds.

You can try both ways. 

Then hit the sync button on the camera. It might take a little while to sync.

Brian

[brh]

@Skorp

here is a link for setting the cameras up.

https://kb.arlo.com/987/How-do-I-set-up-and-sync-my-Arlo-Wire-Free-cameras

Brian

[jguerdat]

The facts that you've used the reset button and that the Camera LED is solid amber means you need to claim the base before doing anything else. Remove all devices from Settings, My Devices and start fresh. Use the Add Device button on the Devices tab to claim the base and then sync the cameras.