Message says device offline, and cameras offline

[micmak]

I set up my new 3 camera system at home last night. It worked great.   Now I am in work and when I try to connect to see things look at home, the cameras all say:  "Your Arlo device appears offline   Please make sure it is powered on and connected to the Internet".  The device was lit up with three green light this morning before I left home.  I logged into my account and I found the option to reboot the device. I waited a few minutes and still I get the same message on each camera. How can I fix this now from work? 

[micmak]

Well, I am at a crossroads;  Could my system simply be defective?  Could it be that my base is defective?  Obviously this system doesn't work for whatever reason.  For the last 5 days it has worked properly for a few hours - maybe 5 or 6.  And in order to get it to work for those 5 or 6 hours, I have put in countless hours tweaking it.  For the remaining 114 or 115 hours it has not worked.  So what do I do? Do I return the entire system and get my money back or do I request a new base unit and see if that will fix the problem?  

[jguerdat]

Swapping the system at the store is the fastest avenue.  Otherwise, open a case with support.

[micmak]

I bought the system through Amazon.  I will return it.  I am so disillusioned with this whole experience that I don't know if I will even try getting a replacement system.  I am VERY disappointed.  When I think of the enthusiasm I had just 6 days ago when I got the system delivered, and also when I think of all the hours and hours of effort I spent trying so many teaks and adjustments.  And here I am packing up the system to return it.  Very disappointed indeed.

[manfredz]

I know your frustration.  Was really looking for enjoying my new cam system only to discover the internet light stayed orange.  Spent over a frustrating week looking for help in forum and L1 tech support.  Wasn;t until I finally advanced to L2 support where I was pleased to find very competent techies who established by base station was defective, send a replacement and stuck by to make sure worked ok.  Am very glad I stuck it out.  Although some things could be designed more user friendly or work better I think the Arlo is a great system.

[JamesC]

micmak,

This could be a connection issue caused by range or interference causing the cameras to drop offline. Consider (temporarily) relocating your base station/cameras close together, away from other wireless devices if possible and test again to see if you get the same behavior.

JamesC

[micmak]

Hi JamesC,

thanks for your comments.  I have been so disillusioned by this whole purchase and its dismal rate of success, that I turned my back on it for the last few days and never touched it.  Now that the weekend has arrived, I am looking at it again.  You have a fair point in your comment.  My base unit was close to my wireless router.  So, I moved it to the opposite end of the house.  It seemed to be better, at least at first.  Then the next morning, the Device was offline.  I had to unplug it leave it for a few minutes, and plug it in again.  Then it seemed ok. But 10 minutes later, when I tried to access the cameras again, I got the Flash upgrade message on all cameras.  And as always, when I agreed to upgrade, (which I don't need to do - I already have the latest version of Flash, but it gives me no choice) it kicked me out of the system as usual!  So, the problem is still there regardless of where I put the base unit.

Hi manfredz,

I appreciate your comments too. How did you advance to level 2 support?  I didn't even know there was such a thing.  How can I do that?  Is it a phone conversation with a technician?  Is there a toll-free number to call or something? Obviously, I am failing miserably in trying to fix this myself using the Arlo Community forum as a course of assistance. I need more hands-on help.

[manfredz]

I did all my back and forth with Netgear by using the e-mail form at first.  L1 folks went through all of the basic steps that I already did myself (I have an IT? background and am sure that I frustrated some of my users too when I'd also go through the basics before getting deep into issue).

They then advised me L2 person would be calling me.  I dealt with three different techies if I recall.  Although in the Philipines, they spoke excellent English and were very knowledgeable.  They used teamviewer to access my PC and through it by router/modem, exhausting various causes until they concluded the base station was defect.

Took my credit card number and shipped me a replacement, explaining I then had 10 days to return the defective one using the prepaid shipping label or I would be charged for it.

When the replacement arrived an L2 techie was on the phone as we went through the setup, and for 3 months now alls been good.

Now I'm in Canada so I don't know if there's a difference with other countries.

Quickly bought rechargeable since I knew mine with get considerably more use that what Netgear used to get their 6 months figure.

Although far from ideal, I have found the Arlo works very well for my purpose and I accept many of the limitations it has are to enable it to run off small batteries.

Hope you have as much luck getting yours going

[micmak]

Hi manfredz,

I am in Toronto so I would assume I’d get similar response to what you described.  But I have been thinking about this and really as neat n tidy as the Arlo system is (even though it just doesn’t work for me), I am no longer sure if I really need wireless cameras after all. A wired system would never give me such difficulty.  Most of the locations where I want to locate cameras have a power source nearby too. I am more inclined to think that returning Arlo to Amazon and getting a refund is the easiest option.  Then I can decide on a good wired camera solution.  At least there will be much less configuration to be done, no batteries to replace and when I try to use the cameras, they will be wired, on the network, and not be depending on a questionable wireless signal, from a questionable base unit that tells me the cameras are offline one minute, and online the next, tells me the base unit it is offline when it is not, tells me that I need upgrades which I do not, and sends me senseless error messages.  The past 10 days or so have been a disaster with this system.  I have spent hours and hours trying to configure it and I have been driven to maximum frustration.  Who needs all that?  It’s is easier just to return the system and get something else.

Thanks for your help anyway.

……Mike……

[manfredz]

If you don't need wireless then no reason to go wireless, you're paying premium for a system that is more prone to interuption because of its archetecture.  Also wired givves you 24/7 monitoring whereas the Arlo Wireless you use battery everytime you monitor.

Depending on your use you may still need to consider waterproof or not.

Earlier in my time I've burned out several indoor cameras by shielding in plastic and using outdoors but only good for so long.  We had some pretty bad storms in the 3 months I've had my Arlo and although the lens has iced over somewhat on one that got the brunt of these storms, the waterproofing held perfectly (of course you have to make sure the door is closed properly)

Good luck.

[micmak]

Well I guess I really didn’t think about it too much.  I was sold on the idea of Arlo because I figured a wireless, weatherproof camera is so versatile.  You can put it anywhere and not concern yourself about power or network cables.  But when I got the Arlo system, I ended up putting the cameras within easy reach of a power source anyway, and two of the three were inside the house!  So now that the system doesn’t work properly, I may as well just get a simpler system that will need the power that I will be close to anyway.  I am very disappointed that Arlo didn’t work.  It came very highly recommended by a friend who swears by it. He can’t understand why I have had so many problems with it.  

Anyway, I will pack it up after the weekend and send it back for a refund and I will definitely NOT be recommending it to anyone!

[manfredz]

everybody recommends or doesn't recommend based on their experiences.

I am happy with mine after 3 months but recognize they're not for everybodys application, may have set up issues for some and work great for a while, then bang.

I have also found this to be a great forum for help and I found tech support to be very helpful though a bit stiff and lacking a toll free number (a lot of other companies are similar).

I also recognize some people, like you, have issues and weren't very successful in getting help.

Good luck with whatever system you choose.

[waterydan]

jcisneros227, I have exactly the same symtom as you. I have 2 base stations (using 2 separate logins) and 1 went offline recently. I did a factory reset (using the pin at the back) and it worked for about 5 min and went offline again. My other base station is fine. I'm wondering there has been any changes on Netgear's side that they block 2 base stations from the same IP. This is getting really annoying! 

[micmak]

Well I was so pee'd off that I returned my system and got a refund.  It is an expensive system that I expected to work as advertised, and in my case it worked successfully about 2 or 3% of the time!  Horrible success rate.  And one of the most surprising things in my mind is that Netgear is well known for it's excellent hardware in the IT world.  You can buy many different products from many suppliers and makers, but if you want hardware or networking devices that are superior to the mainstream, Netgear is famous for making devices that just work.  Well they have dropped the ball as far as I am concerned. Dropped it BIG TIME.  I am now looking at Blink.  They have nice stuff and it is a lot better priced than Arlo.  And all they need is to work a measly 4% of the time and they will be better than Arlo!!! :). I will tell everyone I know about my bad experience with Arlo.  I wouldn't recommend Arlo to anyone ever.  Good luck Waterydan, I don't envy you!

[jguerdat]

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waterydan wrote:

jcisneros227, I have exactly the same symtom as you. I have 2 base stations (using 2 separate logins) and 1 went offline recently. I did a factory reset (using the pin at the back) and it worked for about 5 min and went offline again. My other base station is fine. I'm wondering there has been any changes on Netgear's side that they block 2 base stations from the same IP. This is getting really annoying! 

---

Nope.  I have two bases, one Pro and one original, that continue to work fine.  

After using the reset button, you also have to remove the associated devices in Settings, My Devices (the base and cameras synced to it) and start fresh.  If it still isn't working, you need to open a case using the Contact Support link at the bottom here.

[LindaGranfield]

I have the same issues reported here back in April. One of my cameras works well most of the time (except for the ocasional "timed out") while the other indicates the device as being offline. As previous users indicated the camera does work periodically (and I get a live picture) but most times it is  "offline". I also sometimes get a "motion alert" from this camera and I will see a 10 second video as per the setting. The emails indicating this motion alert come in approximately 1 1/2 hours after the alert so an intruder could have their way with my home long before I'm alerted. Finally, despite the fact that I rarely get a live picture and that I periodically get an alert the battery power on that camera never indicates anything less than 100%.

I am new to this technology and don't follow some of the previous suggestions except for turning all systems off, removing and re-inserting the batteries, deleting everything from settings and starting over. The home is a rental so I don't physically have access to the camera at this time. I don't see any further information on this issue since the beginning of April. Does anyone have any updates or suggestions on how to troubleshoot this remotely? Thank you.

[JamesC]

LindaGranfield,

It sounds like there could be a connection issue between the base and the camera. Possibly too far from the base or wireless interference. Consider moving the camera closer to the base station and test to see if you get the same results.

JamesC