Failed to load devices. arlo app

[cifellca]

arlo app version 5.7.,8. is giving me the message (ios). happens on ipad and iphone 

“failed to load devices”  yet all devices are present and accessible. they all stream.  yet i get the message. 

it does disappear for a little while then it comes back.  Note all devices are through a vmb5000r6.  Yet the message refers to wifi 

its a nuisance but aggravating. how can i resolve this?

thanks

[jguerdat]

Are you using the latest app? No iOS here but I think I saw something about v6.0 being used. In any event, reboot the devices and reinstall the app to see if that helps.

[cifellca]

I checked the app store for Iphone  and there is no update available.  (guess 6.0 is not available for IOS).  I have restarted the hub, reinstalled the app on Ipad.  Still the same.  Don't know how to restart the camera's other than taking out the batteries.  Will try than next. As I said the message displays but all cameras are functioning properly.  All cameras have at least one full bar for wifi, 

  I just don't understand,  nothing has changed.  I wish it would tell me which device(s) was the issue.

I will try restarting the access points and router.  But I understand the hub has it's own wifi sid for the cameras, it doesn't use my wifi sid.  If i find anything I will post it. 

[StephenB]

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@cifellca wrote:

I checked the app store for Iphone  and there is no update available.  (guess 6.0 is not available for IOS).  I have restarted the hub, reinstalled the app on Ipad. 

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FWIW, I am running 6.0.0.0 on my iPhone.  Arlo doesn't update all users at once, they do rolling updates.

Have you tried accessing the cameras on a PC (my.arlo.com).  If you have, does that behave differently?

[cifellca]

On Friday i updated the Ipad and Iphone to 6.0. All day friday same thing go into the app and received the error.   The cameras all show full wifi.  I decided to leave it it for a while and on move  the hub to another location in the house sometime. . Today no errors?  Can’t figure it out. Made absolutely no changes.   Is it a wifi channel issue and if so, how does the hub change the channels?  is there a way for me to see the channels and change my wifi to avoid the same channels.  

Or as they say, If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.   I’ll keep you posted. 

[jguerdat]

You can use a phone app for WiFi signals to determine signal strength and channel. Normally the hub uses the same channel as the router to minimize interference but moving it away from the router may allow it to choose a different channel.

[StephenB]

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@jguerdat wrote:

 moving it away from the router may allow it to choose a different channel.

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@cifellca - Arlo doesn't give you any control over the wifi channel used in their hubs.  They are designed to follow the strongest channel they see (counter-intuitive, and arguably not the best strategy).   Normally that will be your router, but it could some other wifi source (an extender, or maybe a neighbor's router).

[cifellca]

i am getting closer to finding the cause. Let me explain. Today i had an amazon delivery..  My apple  tv did what it should do. Gave me a picture of the delivery. My doorbell however failed to ring. I went manually to ring the bell, not working. I opened the arlo app and the doorbell was missing and the error message was present. Took a while of restarting the app and the hub but finally i managed to get the doorbell back on the app.   tested everything and the doorbell when off line again. Went through the pain af restarts again and got it back on line. 

Looks like my 6 month old video doorbell gen 2 is the culprit. Will search through this site for any clue as to why this is happening.  So far its stable but don’t know for how long. 

[cifellca]

Some very good suggestions have been made.  I have checked wifi for overlapping channels and no luck.  Given that my access points  (location and units) have not changed,  location of Arlo hub has not changed, and doorbell location has not changed.  What has happened in the last week or so, to cause this.  

I am surmissing that given its spring,  we have had lots of rain.   Hummidity and dampness are the norm.  Yes I am aware that rain can impact wifi signals.  However the doorbell is only 10 feet from the hub.  I could be that the hardware can not handle damp weather.

I will wait until the weather get dryer and check again.  If the situation gets worse then I beleive it;s and issue with the hardware 

Thoughs?

[jguerdat]

Use the app to go to Settings, Support to choose a method of talking to official support. You're still within the warranty period so they may offer an RMA.

[cyberjunkyfreak]

I’m having the same issue with both of my Arlo gen2 doorbells, been happening for a week or so now. Everything had been working fine however recently the doorbells would mysteriously disappear from widgets and I’d have to keep adding them back, I’d get random “failed to load devices” messages in the Arlo app and the doorbells would not be visable. Last night, when I checked my “Standby” routine, the doorbells were no longer there, however there were two “blank” entries listed (assuming they were the doorbells). I removed the blank entries from the routine and now I can’t get the doorbells back at all, no option to add widgets for them and they do not show up in Arlo app yet I keep getting the “failed to load devices” more consistently now, every time. I’m going to attempt to re-add the doorbells to the hub this morning. The strange part is, both the doorbells are still accessible in Apple HomeKit, so it seems it may be an issue with the latest Arlo 6.0.2 iOS app?

[cifellca]

You have nailed down my issues exactly.  Yesterday. I took the advice and went through support on the app.  

Approx. 2 hours. with arlo support and maybe a resolution.  Will know in a week or so.  So what we found was this.

Like you the doorbell missing from the Arlo app both on Iphone and Ipad.  They had me log in to the Myarlo web site.

The Doorbell existed on the myarlo and was on-line but not streaming,  It looked like the hub, yes it was there but somehow not available.  The support person had several discussions with colleagues.  I was asked to reset the doorbell and added to the wifi NOT the hub,  so on the myarlo i removed the doorbell reset and added it back on the wifi only.  They asked that I leave the doorbell on wifi for 24 hours before adding it back to the hub.   So far so good,  still in the app but not on homekit yet.  I will do that latter today and see how it goes.  

Like you I was thinking it was an IOS issue.  So I have set up an android emulator and see what happens if and when this issue surfaces.  So far its stable in Android as well.  

Seeing that the issue also existed in the myarlo web site,  I don't think that the issue is issolated to IOS but could be firmware or hardware related.

You could try the https://my.arlo.com/ and see if your doorbells are in a weird state.   I will keep this updated, with results if any.

[cyberjunkyfreak]

Appreciate this update as it is going to save me a lot of troubleshooting!

I factory reset both doorbells this morning and attempted to add them back to the hub, but with each doorbell every time I got to the point of naming the doorbell in the iOS app, it would not allow me to name it (I even chose some random strange name, thinking the original name may have been cached somewhere). There was no way to continue in the iOS app, it just kept prompting me to name the doorbells. If I hit the "x" it quit adding the device and I needed to start over with another factory reset. This time, I chose not to add them to the hub and added them thru wifi instead and was able to add both the doorbells, only now they no longer show up in HomeKit (expected). So I was about to take drastic measure and factory reset the hub however I don't want to go thru all that trouble, I'll wait 24+ hours and then try to add them back to the hub. Please update if you are successful adding them back to the hub, thank you!

[BrookeN]

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. I have passed this information onto our development team. I will update the community as soon as possible. 

[cyberjunkyfreak]

Thank you Brooke. To add, in the latest iOS app, the "HomeKit" option under settings randomly disappears, perhaps it's all related?

Here is a screen shot of where it has disappeared:

And here is a screen shot some time later where "HomeKit" option appears:

[BrookeN]

Thank you for providing that information. 

[gIr0d]

@BrookeN I have exactly the same with my Doorbell 2k. Interesstingly I was able to add it back via my wifes Android device, but going into the device settings, nothing appears on Android. I was able to configure it also into the routine via Android, but on i.OS it keeps telling me the message as all other said plus in my.arlo.com the state of the camera fo the doorbell is the same. TO me it looks like a server-back end issue somehow adding the device. I have local storage and the doorbell is recording but its not names with my name I've given, its just called "Label". Thanks for looking into this.

[BrookeN]

Thank you for providing that information. I will pass it onto our team.