Modes on basestation is not working.

[oldskuule]

Hi there,

I have owned this VMB4000 base station for many years. Suddently recently the station is not following any of the rule modes. It is connected to the internet, and I am able to view all my cameras without an issue. But when when I have it in a mode where it should activate recording due to motion or sound, it is not doing anything. Nothing is being recorded, and I get no notifications.

Any idea why this would happen? I tried to test it using newly created modes, and restarted the device as well, but it is still not initiating any notifications / recordings.

Thanks!

[StephenB]

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@oldskuule wrote:

I have owned this VMB4000 base station for many years. Suddently recently the station is not following any of the rule modes. It is connected to the internet, and I am able to view all my cameras without an issue. But when when I have it in a mode where it should activate recording due to motion or sound, it is not doing anything. Nothing is being recorded, and I get no notifications.

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Quite a few others are also reporting this.  The mods can resolve it remotely, so I am tagging @BrookeN , @ShayneS , and @JamesC .  It might a couple days for them to get to it.

[oldskuule]

Thanks! Luckily I was able to resolve it. Just did a factory reset and everything worked again. Just had to reconfigure settings, which wasn't to bad.

ty!

[RonLH]

My VMB4000 (with Arlo Pro 2 cameras) was having the same problems, I tried powering on and off and that didn't make a difference, however, once I did a factory reset, the base unit won't connect to the internet. It was connected just before I hit the reset button. Now, I'm unable to get it working at all. 

How can I get this reconnected? And if a mod can resolve the problem remotely, without a connection to the router/internet, that can't be done. 

[StephenB]

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@RonLH wrote:

My VMB4000 (with Arlo Pro 2 cameras) was having the same problems, I tried powering on and off and that didn't make a difference, however, once I did a factory reset, the base unit won't connect to the internet.

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I suggest checking your router's attached device list.  If you see the base there, then it is connecting to the internet - and the issue is just getting it back into your account.

Did you remove it from your account before the reset?  If you didn't, then do that now, and then try to re-add it.

If you are trying with a phone or tablet, then try again with a PC (my.arlo.com).  That sometimes works when the app fails. 

Also, make sure any VPN software is turned off on your phone (or PC).

[RonLH]

I can see the base unit in my router attached list. I can even ping the base unit with positive results.

No, I didn't remove it before the factory reset. 

In my account, on my app and my.arlo.com, the base does not appear so there's nothing to remove. (I do see a base and two cameras on our other home which are working correctly).

We do not use any VPN software.

So, this base unit is connected to the internet, I can ping it and it appears in router attached devices. However, the internet center LED does not light up and when trying to attach the base through the app and my.arlo.com, all attempts have failed. It was working just fine until a few weeks ago and we've made no physical changes to the setup at the house. 

[oldskuule]

Are you connected to the same network with your phone as the base? The base should be connected directly to your router which in your case it seems it is. But then your phone has to be connected to the same network as well, via WiFi to the same router / network. You should be able to see both the base and your phone within your routers dynamic IP system.

The app for me just loaded with all the previous credentials and detected the base immediately.

You mentioned the center LED is not online, which means the base is having issues connecting to the internet via your router. Are you certain that the router isn't blocking it in some way? Also did you perform the factory reset while everything is connected?

[StephenB]

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@RonLH wrote:

No, I didn't remove it before the factory reset. 

Unfortunate mis-step, especially since you can't remove it now.

I'm tagging the mods - @JamesC , @ShayneS , @BrookeN  - to see if they can help.

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@RonLH wrote:

So, this base unit is connected to the internet, I can ping it and it appears in router attached devices. However, the internet center LED does not light up 

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Is it possible that the router is not allowing it to reach the internet?

[oldskuule]

It seems that his router is not allowing it to connect. Only reason why that middle light will stay amber. Usually that is only amber when an internet connection is not present.

[StephenB]

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@oldskuule wrote:

It seems that his router is not allowing it to connect. Only reason why that middle light will stay amber. Usually that is only amber when an internet connection is not present.

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The puzzle here is that the router did let it connect before...

[RonLH]

To be honest, I'm not up on many router settings. I can see the base in the wired section, I can even ping the base and get a positive result. I've tried different ports on the router and even bought a new cat5e cable. I've looked through the router settings and I don't see any static IP (would that have changed when I factory reset it?) and there is nothing that I can see in a blacklist or block list. I even tried turning off the firewall to see if that made a difference and it didn't. 

I tried my tablet/phone on all possible networks (regular and guest, 2.4g and 5g) when trying to search for new device in the app. The my.arlo.com page is a joke, everytime I sign in, whether on phone, tablet, or PC, it only wants me to subscribe to a service and if I try to go to account/cameras, it goes right back to the login page. I can't get out of that circle. 

And yes, the router let it connect before I pressed the factory reset button; never had an issue despite several power outages, it always came back just fine. It's my fault for not researching more about the initial issue that made me think the factory reset button would solve it. 

I hate throwing money at things, but at this point, would a new base unit with a new MAC and IP resolve the issue? Is it possible that the last power outage caused the base to go wonky? 

[StephenB]

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@RonLH wrote:

I don't see any static IP (would that have changed when I factory reset it?)

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You can't set up a static IP address for the base.  You can reserve an IP address in the router, but that would be preserved through a factory reset of the base (since it only depends on the MAC address of the base).

[RonLH]

StephenB & oldskuule - here's another development. I tried two different things. I tried creating a new account under my wife's name to see if I could hook anything up under her name - still not seeing anything from the base. Then, I took the router out of the equation and plugged the base directly into the modem and got the same results; no light for the internet. At this point, I think the base went toes up. I'm going to try a new base and cross my fingers. I won't be able to get things together and get to the cottage until next weekend. I'll update then. 

[oldskuule]

What I would try is, keep the power on the base connected, and disconnect the ethernet wire to the router. Do a factory reset once more, let the lights blink and do their thing. Then connect the base back to the router. That middle light has to turn green. And as long as you have the app I think within the same network, it should detect the router when logged into an account.

[RonLH]

I tried that last suggestion on the reset and that didn’t work.

I was already prepared with a new base hub, so I attached the cable to a new hub, hooked up the power and had internet connection in less than a minute. All cameras were hooked up and running in a couple of minutes. In the end, that old hub just went dead for some reason.