Arlo|Smart Home Security|Wireless HD Security Cameras

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cam33
Tutor
Tutor

I have 2 cameras and my rule is when A detects motion, both A and B record. B is passive, no motion detect, only records when A is triggered I have been very happy with this rule since B is installed at the front of my house facing a busy road while A is installed near the fence gate facing the house. So when any one enters, A will detect and record so does B. It is very precise hence I barely receive annoying false alert and also very good for battery life. But B seems "stop working" this afteroon as I only receive 1 video record in my library which is from A. It should be 2 videos there from both A and B. I have tried everything I could, including reboot the base, camera, taking out batteries and put them back...even delete the rules and set up again. Still 1 video instead of 2 ! I also tried "When A detects, B records," it works. It doesn't work for both (A and B both record). Then I went out at night walking pass A I see A has IR on (red LED) and B has IR on too it proves they are working when IR on it means recording. But the question is, where is the video from B? Only see A in library. Does anybody here come to this before? Is it my problem or the problem of Arlo cloud which doesnt send the video through?  Thanks!

 

PS: I found this rule is extremely good I only have 2-3 alerts everyday so I can record 30 sec or even longer if I wish rather than heap of false 10 sec alerts which is not only annoying and also wasting battery life. Also I can install the camera at front of my house in higher place that covers the whole street I can even see what car and its plate. If the motion detects cannot let both cameras record, I can't put the camera in that way to face the street as I ever tried and received tons of alerts by those cars and people walking by not to mention how long the battery can last. Now my battery only drops 1% for a week by recording 30 secs per detect. Very amazing results. This way battery is really not an issue but Arlo if you read this, pls fix the problem as what really matters is how to use Arlo in a smart way rather than how long your batter can go! 
 

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cam33
Tutor
Tutor

Eventually it turns out it is an issue on the server's side and Netgear has fixed it without our doing anything. 24-July, 2016.

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56 REPLIES 56
bmattox79
Apprentice
Apprentice

i have had my cameras for about two weeks and also have rules so that if camera a detects motion camera a and b will record and i camera b detects motion camera a,b,and c will record.  this has been working great for the whole two weeks i have had them.  Now as of midnight or so today 7/20/16, they rules dont seem to be applying i will get alerts but no video in the library, or only camera a  will have video stored not camera b or c.  as someone else is having this issue, and im sure more ppl i wondering if it is something on netgears server side.  i also notice a lag between setting the camera in a mode on one device then looking on another device and the correct mode isnt set.  im a little annoyed as it seems to have waited till the day after i could return them.  so now my only recourse is netgear support wich i hear is terrible.

cam33
Tutor
Tutor

Hi tox79, thanks for sharing your situation that it turns out i am not alone. As said it works if I set camera a detects b records so if Arlo supports would suggest swap location etc I won't buy the story. I reckon they will. What it doesn't work is to record on multiple cameras when one of them is triggered. I reckon perhaps this increases their sever's load and ban the video? As I said also, one of the considerations to set rule like this (using one camera as motion detector) simply for saving battery life and Arlo doesn't provide settings of detecting zone to exclude something out of the image such as a busy road. They have to fix it ASAP as this is one of the only ways to trade off the disadvantage of battery powered - easy to install but you need a brain to figure out a golden rule to work with the poor battery while you just made it it stops working. 

bmattox79
Apprentice
Apprentice
Have u contacted netgear yet, if I have the standard one camera detects and records on then everything seems to work, as soon as I put my custom mode back only 2 cameras seem to work, I am thinking of doing a factory reset on the base. The way my house is with bout the rules to have the other cameras recoRd in motion the system is useless
TomMac
Guru Guru
Guru

What i would recommend is to scrap/delete the custom mode with a/b, b/a rules.... remove and rewrite it.

 

Also make sure the camera's time to record is the same lenght

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Morse is faster than texting!
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bmattox79
Apprentice
Apprentice
I deleted my custom rule mode and went back to the default all motion on wich is only one camera at a time and let the system run like that for a few hours, every motion was caught and video was uploaded to library and I received all alerts. I just created one trigger rule for my side door to record if the front door detects motion, everything seems ok again,I am going to let that run for a while and then add one rule at a time. I'm guessing netgear had some server or software issue on their end as I saw a lot of topics pop up today on alerts with no video, camera triggers but doesn't record etc... Hopefully they resolved this issue and all is well in the world. It took me 10 days after purchasing to get the right angles and motion and I was very happy till today.
cam33
Tutor
Tutor

Hi Tox79, pls see my reply in your survey post. Same same. Now I am going to delete the rules and set up again. See if it works.

cam33
Tutor
Tutor

Hi TomMac, a/b or b/a is not a way when one of cameras faces a busy road or a public area, too many false alerts and too short battery life.

But just think why people have to monitor themselves own such as a rear garden or activities sure to be "safe"? People's concern is from outside, not inside. If a/a&b not working, arlo is useless. This is about IFTTT, you can't say only IF a then b it should be a & or b as this is how the real world can be, otherwise it should stay in laboratory before coming out to say hello.

One question if you could help pls. How to re-sync the camera? I want to try this too. Thanks! 

TomMac
Guru Guru
Guru

cam33 wrote:


One question if you could help pls. How to re-sync the camera? I want to try this too. Thanks! 


If for some reason the Arlo cam doesn't auto  re sync....

 

open then hen close the battery door to reset camera

go into settings then pick camera then Remove Device.... This eliminates the camera from the base.

 

Now go back and add the camera as if new.... Don't forget it's a quick push on the base button not hold

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Morse is faster than texting!
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Tocker30
Apprentice
Apprentice
 
Tocker30
Apprentice
Apprentice
I am having he exact same problem. Everything was working great for weeks and all of the sudden, yesterday, the same issue happened to me. It is very frustrating. I get the alert that the camera is detecting something and the secondary camera records but not the one that senses the motion. This has to be a problem with the software or cloud based software on netgear's end because everything used to work fine and all the cameras work independently. I tried to reach customer support via live chat and via phone but neither were successful. I was told to reboot my system both times like I had never thought of that and we got nowhere. Hope to get an answer here somehow
bmattox79
Apprentice
Apprentice
I did this to no avail, the cameras work perfectly in single activate/record mode but as soon as I apply rules to make the camera that activates record and tell another camera to record it ignores the rule to have the other camera record simultaneously. Someone posted that Arlo changed their policy for abuse and that we can no longer record 2 cameras at the same time do u know if this is true
cam33
Tutor
Tutor

thanks Tocker, good to know one more user has the same pro as I do. it can well explain it's not a problem on our side, but on Arlo.

live chat etc is rubbish they will fix you nothing but waste your time. most company would have a policy to judge it's user's fault not their fault so they would ask you to reboot this and reset that. community is the only place where we can share info, learn from each other and sort out the pro. they have to fix it ... i don't have worry at all as I am protected by consumer law if I am not happy i simply kick things back to the store and get money back. 

 

also like what TomMac said, a/b or b/a, i think it is anti-IFTTT standard. Arlo will degrade themselves if to go this wrong way, come back!

cam33
Tutor
Tutor

Thanks Tom. Will do.

cam33
Tutor
Tutor

Hi tox79 have you tried the resync camera that may have the 1 cam detect & record on 2 works pls?

MichaelRogers
Apprentice
Apprentice
I had and still have the same issue that started some point after the evening of July 19.
juko
Initiate
Initiate

I have exact same problem. I have a mode to record with two cameras if any of the cameras detect motion. 

Rules:

 - Record video on A if A detects motion

 - Record video on B if A detects motion

 - Record video on B if B detects motion

 - Record video on A if B detects motion

 

This all worked perfectly until couple of days ago. If I get motion on camera A, only the video from camera B will be in the library. If I get motion from camera B, only the video from camera B will be in the library. I've rebooted, removed batteries from cameras, deleted rules, delete the mode, etc. Motion detection works great, both cameras will go to "busy" mode (the man icon is either orange or gray, while recording) but only the other video appears in the library and only the other camera will send notification. This is clearly an issue on the software which started couple of days ago.

bmattox79
Apprentice
Apprentice
I have contacted netgear and have a ticket number, not that I have heard great things about their CS, but everyone with this problem needs to contact them via phone or email and get a case number so they know there is an issue. What software started a few days ago
bmattox79
Apprentice
Apprentice
I have removed batteries and hit the sync button reset base power cycled base
juko
Initiate
Initiate

I also sent an email and got a case number from Netgear. What I meant with the last sentence of my previous post is that the issue is clearly in the Arlo software and the issue started couple of days ago.

Tocker30
Apprentice
Apprentice

I did the same thing. I sent an email and received a ticket number. This is quite frustrating. I also recommend posting the issue on social media. I am writing a post on their facebook page about how this essentially incapacitates the system. Since we dont have continuous video recording, rules allow us to essentially achieve that same effect by triggering multiple cameras to activate whenever something is moving. Otherwise, this is nothing more than a webcam I coulld by for 30$ and activate from my phone.

cam33
Tutor
Tutor

This is great. Perhaps you can attach a link of my post to their facebook?  

cam33
Tutor
Tutor

Hi MichaelRoger thanks for sharing your situation. When we know more ppl are affected the more we can push Arlo. The informations so far have been gathered in this post is clear that it is not a fault on our side. I just return home and check all still same, nothing is improved.

cam33
Tutor
Tutor

Well done Juko and thanks! I will write them an email too.

cam33
Tutor
Tutor

Just shoot Arlo an email, attached a link to this post and get a ticket number 27171312.

I am sure they will come to read so if you guys want to say something, say it loud. We need our voices to be heard and our problems to be solved, and ASAP!