Arlo
Support

ChrisKay · ‎2020-03-07

Making this mandatory is an exceedingly bad idea since it will slow down authentication and when it breaks—and it occasionally will—it will prevent access completely. At least give the end-user the option of deciding how much protection to require for the account.

dcfox1 · ‎2021-01-26

@jescott3 wrote:

Hi stevespalding1 — Judging by the wide variety of comments about wireless surveillance cameras, there does not seem to be a big winner. I’ve got both Arlo (original cameras) and the newest Bling Outdoor and Mini cameras with the Sync 2 base station. Arlo and Blink are both “walled garden” systems, which suits me just fine. I just want to know what’s going on inside and outside my home, nothing more. None of the wireless camera systems are very good security solutions. Arlo is a little less walled garden because of the Arlo online server storage business, so it’s a security risk. I have my Blink cameras set up so they store snapshots on the 256 GB USB drive plugged into the Sync 2’s USB port. When the free online storage expires next month, I will rely on the Bling’s local storage setup, which suits my purposes just fine. I think Blink’s newest Outdoor, Indoor and Mini cameras are superior to the original Arlo cameras I have been using for several years. I especially appreciate the two-way audio feature, the crisp images and the extended battery life. In addition, I've turned Blink Outdoor cameras 90 degrees so I can see alongside my house on the east and west. Neat. To each his or her own.

Arlo just started asking for Touch ID authentication on my mobile devices (all Apple), but Blink has not asked for any follow-up authentication other than the original setup request. Arlo, OTOH, still nags me in colored banners to turn on 2FA. I did, and it was a PITA, so I turned it off. That was months ago and Arlo's still cluelessly nagging and threatening me. ROTFLMAO.

Not sure if you still have the old base with the old cameras but if you have an updated one is the Blink local storage different the Arlo? Guess since you said when your trial ends you have to pay for cloud storage. A lot of people think it just Arlo for newer camera models.

jescott3 · ‎2021-01-26

I have 2 Arlo VMB4000 base stations with 10 original Arlo cameras. I have 16 GB thumb drives installed in the base stations for local backup. I also have a Blink Sync 2 base station with 9 Outdoor cameras and one indoor Mini camera, and a 256 GB thumb drive installed in the USB port of the Sync 2.

Both Arlo and Blink automatically send all snapshots to their servers (Blink will stop doing this as of Feb. 18 when my free trial period ends). I can remove the USB thumb drives from the Arlo VMB4000s and from the Blink Sync 2 and view their contents on my iMac. I can purge snapshots taken by either Arlo or Blink via their apps.

The beauty of the Blink setup is that I don't have to use the online Blink server, whereas the Arlo setup requires that all snapshots go to the Arlo server first before I can see them. It's also much, much more difficult to see and manage the snapshots stored on the VMB4000 thumb drives. Blink's local storage solution lets me manage all snapshots directly from the app, or I can plug the USB drive into my iMac. I don't like that Arlo forces all my snapshots to go through its servers. Blink's setup gives me total control, with no fees, and no hassles. That works for me; it might not work for someone with a need for higher photo storage security.

CCNE37 · ‎2021-01-26

Linusl

How is the scheduling feature in Eufy ? Is it possible to set up "modes" like Arlo (like some cameras on and others off) and schedule different modes at different times or days of the week ? I generally have different cameras on or off depending on whether we are home or not, or day vs night. I also use different detection sensitivities for day and night.

Can you access the Eufy cameras & recorded videos from a desktop as well as the app ?

Thanks

Colin

eddymac · ‎2021-02-27

I've had my ARLO for 2 years & had very little problems with it until now . I continue to have problems with the 2 step log in (that I was forced to setup) & get no answers from Arlo "support". Now I continue to get a popup on the screen stating my system will shut down in March if I don't purchase Arlo smart. My original cost was almost $600 & now they want me to pay more. No longer happy with this system.

EOSJOE · ‎2021-02-27

I've been getting a prompt offering Arlo Smart but there is nothing saying I must purchase or my system will shutdown in March. Can you post a screen shot of the verbiage?

oillogger · ‎2021-02-27

Hmmmm.... I have yet to receive that warning and hope it does not apply to the owners of the Arlo Pro. Please provide more details if you have them.

Nanlee · ‎2021-02-27

Sick and tired of this two step verification and also the ad that pops up every time I log on.

EOSJOE · ‎2021-02-27

Why don't you turn two-step verification back off?

Chris67 · ‎2021-02-27

Instead of spamming me with these infuriating popups every time I go to view my library or cameras, I have a suggestion for Arlo as a customer. Do something about the highly compressed video recordings which render them pixilated and useless for identification purposes which is the whole point of having security cameras. I might even be willing to pay a small monthly fee to have my recordings viewable in high definition although I shouldn’t have to as I purchased an Arlo Pro bundle that was advertised as free cloud storage and high resolution images.

MikeBravo · ‎2021-02-28

Instead of spamming me with these infuriating popups every time I go to view my library or cameras, I have a suggestion for Arlo as a customer. Do something about the highly compressed video recordings which render them pixilated and useless for identification purposes which is the whole point of having security cameras. I might even be willing to pay a small monthly fee to have my recordings viewable in high definition although I shouldn’t have to as I purchased an Arlo Pro bundle that was advertised as free cloud storage and high resolution images.

Unfortunately, whoever is still in charge is too preoccupied with silly things like constantly redesigning the PC web portal to make it even more inconvenient to use.

You can't really expect any sense from a security company who somehow managed to ruin their video stream that used to be okay and now is atrocious and now continuously blocks your thumbnails with constant demands for you to create 'Activity Zones' which by the way require an extra trip between the camera and their servers which delays your viewing even more.

We're stuck and the BBB, FTC, and the CPB are utterly uninterested in helping.

mamarcac · ‎2021-02-28

@Chris67 wrote:

Instead of spamming me with these infuriating popups every time I go to view my library or cameras, I have a suggestion for Arlo as a customer. Do something about the highly compressed video recordings which render them pixilated and useless for identification purposes which is the whole point of having security cameras. I might even be willing to pay a small monthly fee to have my recordings viewable in high definition although I shouldn’t have to as I purchased an Arlo Pro bundle that was advertised as free cloud storage and high resolution images.

I'm totally with you except the part about paying extra - I'd rather get totally off of the Arlo cloud altogether but they won't open up local usb access on any of the base stations that are older.

It's honestly shocking how they've crippled a once-decent system all in the name of forcing subscription sign ups to bump up stock prices.

TheOldITGuy · ‎2021-03-09

what makes this worse, is getting kicked off every few minutes from the web interface, and having to go through it again.

Your session has timed out. Please log in again.

Arlo is becoming nothing more than a PIA

bbharlo · ‎2021-03-10

How did you manage to disable 2 step?

jescott3 · ‎2021-03-10

Log in to the Arlo app, then click on Settings. Navigate to Account in lefthand pane, then click on Profile. Click on Two-Step Verification, and move the slider to the disable position in the window that opens. Easy as that.

You've got Two-Step Verification activated, but you've chosen to disable it. If Arlo didn't want you to have that choice, it wouldn't offer it. Makes the storm and fury coming from Arlo seem kind of silly, doesn't it?

oillogger · ‎2021-03-10

I am unable to disable my 2FA. When I follow your instructions I get to see the deactivation switch only for a split second before it goes to a screen offering ways to options only to change how the 2FA process is implemented.

jescott3 · ‎2021-03-10

Huh! Not sure what's going on there. May be a corrupted Arlo app, or that the app's missing an update. Or that something went wonky when you activated Two-Step Verification. The latter is entirely possible as that process is not as intuitive as it could be.

First thing I would try is to delete the app and reinstall it. The next thing is more drastic: completely uninstall your system and reinstall it from scratch. I've had to do that several times over the years. Pain in the anatomy to do, but it has worked for me.

Good luck!

oillogger · ‎2021-03-10

Tried reinstalling the app......no workie. 😩

jescott3 · ‎2021-03-10

I've not seen that problem myself, but I've seen similar things with other apps over the years. Nuke and pave will (should) correct the situation, but that's a drastic fix. So failing that, it sounds as if some things are crosslinked or corrupted. I'm a Mac user and the first thing I would do is to go into Preferences in my user folder and remove any and all Arlo preferences and put them in a new folder on the desktop. I then would shut down and reboot, then open up Arlo. Then I would go about setting up new preferences, including Two-Step Verification. If that fixes the issue, then I would delete the desktop folder holding the old preferences. If it doesn't fix things, at least you can restore the old preferences.

Other Arlo users in these forums have talked about disabling TSV, and I've seen no mention of the issue you're facing. So the logical assumption is that it's pilot error -- something happened while you were at the controls. I've done it myself many times, which is how I've learned to go back to the last thing I did before the Mayday horn went off. That's assuming things were working before I "fixed" them. :^}

jescott3 · ‎2021-03-10

Aha! I tried turning TSV back on, and now the Arlo app will not let me turn it back off again. So what you're seeing is the way Arlo wants it. Dang! Those Arlo guys are really beginning to tick me off. There are times and places when being able to turn off TSV is appropriate -- even necessary.

So never mind what I said before.

This makes me even happier that I bought and installed a Blink system several months ago. I'm quite pleased with the way Blink works. I especially like the 2-way audio, and the fact I can manage all my video clips locally by deleting them from the 256 GB thumb drive installed in the Sync 2 base station. Blink's standard settings, which are designed to extend battery life to 2 years, are sensitive enough to capture movement on my property that Arlo cameras don't. I'm out there replacing Arlo batteries once a month. So far, I haven't touched a Blink battery.

oillogger · ‎2021-03-10

I had taken the posting with a grain of salt. That is OK and great you admitted your own "pilot" error. LOL!!!🤣

jescott3 · ‎2021-03-10

Aha! Aha! The issue continues to get interesting. I was using my iMac and Safari browser when I turned TSV on and then couldn't turn it off.

But ... I then logged out of Arlo on my iMac and logged into Arlo on my iPad mini. I went into Settings > Account > Profile and then I was able to turn off TSV again. So apparently the desktop Arlo app is different from the tablet app. What a mess Arlo has created.

MikeBravo · ‎2021-03-10

Aha! Aha! The issue continues to get interesting. I was using my iMac and Safari browser when I turned TSV on and then couldn't turn it off.

But ... I then logged out of Arlo on my iMac and logged into Arlo on my iPad mini. I went into Settings > Account > Profile and then I was able to turn off TSV again. So apparently the desktop Arlo app is different from the tablet app. What a mess Arlo has created.

Model: VMB4000 | Arlo Pro/Pro2 Base Station

Well, they have done something to the PC web based portal again----they made it different that and for no reason I can discover. Before, you could watch a clip and then click anywhere to close it. Now, you HAVE to go to the 'x' above it which just adds effort to what was already working. Too, in the past you could select a clip to delete and leave other and then go right back to Devices. Now, if you don't delete all the clips, you HAVE to hit 'OK' first----just an added step for no reason I can think of when it was already working well enough.

Now, if they'd only work as conscientiously on getting the video performance back to where it use to be then they would be doing something worthwhile.

While I'm at it, I just wish there was a way to get rid of the stupid 'Create Activity Zones' prompt the won't go away permanently. Why in the hell would I want to create an activity zone when doing so makes the already sluggish motion capture go back out to their servers to begin recording?

stevespalding1 · ‎2021-03-10

Yep, I have Blink and Eufy - both are superior in pretty much every way to Arlo. The only decent thing about Arlo is that it’s pretty easy to integrate with Home Assistant. This has nothing to do with Arlo and everything to do with some talented independent developers.
It never ceases to amuse me how utterly inept Arlo are at implementing a feature as relatively straightforward as 2 Factor Authentication. I gave up some time ago hoping that it is going to get sorted out and have been trialing out other solutions. For me at least, Blink is not ideal - for one it’s another American company and also here in the uk, local storage is not available and it doesn’t play well with HA and had its own 2FA issues. Eufy is slightly easier to integrate (although not much). For me, I think a wired solution from a security firm will be what I end up going for.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with US companies, it’s more the lack of consumer protection in federal law which enables said companies to do pretty much what they want. Here in Europe We have pretty robust consumer protection laws.
Anyway, at this point I’m done with Arlo - they have nothing to say on this thread and their customer support is beyond useless - all I’ve got from them is a long explanation of how 2FA is supposed to work. Ironically if their system worked this way then I’d have no issue but as we all know it sadly doesn’t.
Arlo have managed to turn a product that was once truly innovative and useful into a novelty that is no longer fit for the original purpose it was sold for.
I should imagine many, like myself, will just run their existing systems as long as they are able to usefully and then move on to competitors’ products. Arlo will be left with technically ignorant , and I should think, ultimately disappointed customers. Who knows whether that will be sustainable for Arlo but then again, I no longer care.

dcfox1 · ‎2021-03-10

@stevespalding1 Aside from computers not being a trusted device ( I hate that also) what part are you having problems with. I have it off now but when I have it on it works as it is suppose to.

stevespalding1 · ‎2021-03-10

It’s the lack of trusted devices and the fact I usually look at the cameras with the web app. My other devices just haven't got big enough screens. A camera as a security device that you have to wait for a code for each and every time is just not fit for purpose. I need to see the camera feed immediately, not when an sms eventually arrives.
My real issue is mostly Arlo’s refusal to listen to their customers - it would be so easy just to leave it as an option - and then fob them off with scripted responses, not to mention that their reliance on cellular for 2FA completely breaks all my integrations.
At the end of the day, i simply don’t care about having the level of security that PayPal and Amazon have for their customers - all a hacker can do is look at my back yard and half the neighbourhood can do that if they want - my point is it’s not particularly confidential, unlike my Amazon or PayPal account.

Arlo Support

Arlo App for Support

Arlo
Support

Arlo App
for Support