Arlo|Smart Home Security|Wireless HD Security Cameras

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hcampana
Aspirant
Aspirant

Poor job by ARLO/Netgear alerting us the mobile device app will stop working soon and the web site has stopped working because of the separation of the two companies/divisions which I found out in my Google news feed. It advised installing the new ARLO app because the original one will become a legacy app and fail to work in a few days. I also found out on my own the original web site will no longer accept my sign-in credentials and went looking for the replacement site. I found it, they removed the "Netgear" from the URL and that was the key. The new URL is https://my.arlo.com/?_ga=2.31218879.1696063681.1568213848-788876814.1564521337#/login

I am sure there is a shorter one but for now this will allow you to view your cameras using the web site.  A simple in app alert or message on the website would have saved me time and frustration.  

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howarmat
Star
Star

I got the email, I read the app discription on the update that explained everything and my old link redirects just fine.  I can also log in perfectly on the web and apps.  Perhaps you have some settings on your browser or adblocker that is causing the issues that only you seem be having

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StephenB
Guru Guru
Guru

They announced the new app here, and sent emails to all the account emails.  The old URL (arlo.netgear.com) redirects to my.arlo.com (which is the you should be using).

 

It's unfortunate that you missed the messaging somehow - but it's not because they didn't reach out.

 

 

hcampana
Aspirant
Aspirant

Thank you for your reply. 

I beg to differ. How is it that both my wife and I didn't get their email and we both have Arlo accounts with valid email addresses. And, the old website does not redirect a user anywhere. I've been trying to log on for 2 days now. I just tried it again and nothing happens except my password disappears when I click on Log In.

I figured it out, at this point I just wanted the community to be aware some users were missed and what to do about it.

howarmat
Star
Star

I got the email, I read the app discription on the update that explained everything and my old link redirects just fine.  I can also log in perfectly on the web and apps.  Perhaps you have some settings on your browser or adblocker that is causing the issues that only you seem be having

ChimeraScorn
Aspirant
Aspirant

I have started recieving the notification that there is a new app that I have to download, and today the old app actually disappeared from the store. I have read the explanation that this is because Arlo will now be a different company than NetGear, and needs to have a new developer account associated with the app.  I have been through divestitures, and understand the general framework of requirements that lead to such actions, but in this case, there is a supported path that could prevent this.  Details of Google's support for transfering an application between developer accounts can be found here, and they cover the options fairly extensively.  This is a clearly supported scenario that could have/should have been transparent to your user base.  Speaking to an Android dev lead at a major company, the only reason they could come up with for forcibly migrating users and changing app identity is that it clears out the review history of the app, but I'd like to think that wasn't the reason for the move.  Did your team try to work with Google to migrate the application to a new developer account and hit some blocker?  Or not realize that this was an option? Or... Would be great to understand this a little more deeply.   

gsarlo
Tutor
Tutor

I didn't get any announcement either. My app became "unavailable" with no explanation. Next morning I got an email saying merely the companies were separating and I had to download the new app or everything would stop working. No explanation or anything. Not good business. 

huaforex
Aspirant
Aspirant
Your old app force me to download a new app.aftet download, my Arlo camera send no alert notification, it is not working properly, without alert send to me, how the heck I know my camera is working, without alert, even the camera video everything, how the heck I know someone is at my house it is like no camera, it is very poor job for your new app!!!!!!!!!!!!!
StephenB
Guru Guru
Guru

@howarmat wrote:

I got the email, I read the app discription on the update that explained everything and my old link redirects just fine.  I can also log in perfectly on the web and apps. 

Me too. So the emails were certainly sent, and the old app is still working and will work until the end of the month.

 

Clearly some people won't get the message (perhaps due to spam filtering, or just somehow missing it).  But Arlo did everything reasonably possible to communicate the change.

gsarlo
Tutor
Tutor

Out of five users on this thread, two users got the email but three users are complaining they didn't and also complaining the cameras stopped working.  So not user error or diverted to Spam which I check anyway.  Arlo did a poor job with the switch. To say otherwise doesn't make it so and is illogical.  

StephenB
Guru Guru
Guru

@gsarlo wrote:

Out of five users on this thread, two users got the email but three users are complaining they didn't 


Misleading statistics, since literally hundreds of other posts in this forum are from people who received the notification or saw the announcement.  And the original poster didn't see the email, but he still found out from his news feed.

 

I don't see how you can blame Arlo for not communicating the switch.  What else could they have done?

 


@gsarlo wrote:

but three users are ... also complaining the cameras stopped working. 


The original topic was focused on the communication, and that was what I was responding too.

 

Cameras stopping working is obviously a different matter.  I'm not seeing anyyone on this thread saying that their cameras are no longer working btw - the closest is about missing notifications.   I believe your unavailable message might have been caused by a short service outage.

 

But issues with the apps, problems with the web client, and with the service itself (whether related to the switch or not) are clearly on Arlo, and I've never said otherwise.

 

 

gsarlo
Tutor
Tutor

Must be an Arlo troll. You have no firsthand knowledge of any user's experience.  None. But there are commonlitys of the users. But you're just making things up to discount those user's experiences. Why do that unless employed by Arlo? That bothers me more than anything.   

DHSSREDSTAR
Star
Star

whoa? just read this?  Was wondering why there was no communication.  I never got any email either.  The APP is going away to be replaced with another one?  WTH... shouldn't they be notifying people of this?  I only found about the new link by re-direction...  like they changed the DNS entry to go to their new link.  I never got any email.  Is there a formal communication somewhere online where one can find out what is going on?

 

Also... the webportal; it no longer pass through authentication?  My previous link always passed my credentials through.  now I have to type in my password everytime... is anyone having that problem as well?

StephenB
Guru Guru
Guru

@gsarlo wrote:

Must be an Arlo troll. You have no firsthand knowledge of any user's experience.  None. But there are commonlitys of the users. But you're just making things up to discount those user's experiences. Why do that unless employed by Arlo? That bothers me more than anything.   


If you are talking about me...

 

I am not trolling, and I am not employed by Arlo.  I of course have first hand knowledge of my own experience - and I personally haven't run into any issues with the app transition itself.  Like everyone who uses the web interface, I am frustrated by the continued use of flash and the recent shift to more aggressive log outs - and I definitely see room for improvement in the app, the services and support.

 

I've also read every new post in this forum since the transition (and helped many, particularly on the web interface issues).  So I have a quite good understanding on what other users are dealing with.

 

  • Are there significant issues that many users are facing?  Yes.
  • Does Arlo need to fix them ASAP?  Yes.
  • Were some of the issues forseeable?  In my opinion, Yes.
  • Were any of the above caused by not properly announcing the new app?  In my opinion, No.  Some might have missed the announcements, but nothing would have prevented that from happening.  

I haven't discounted other people's experiences, and I don't know why disagreeing on the last point bothers you so much.  Let's just agree to disagree, and move on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

StephenB
Guru Guru
Guru

@DHSSREDSTAR wrote:

Also... the webportal; it no longer pass through authentication?  My previous link always passed my credentials through.  now I have to type in my password everytime... is anyone having that problem as well?


If the credentials for my.arlo.com are saved in the browser, they are still automatically filled in by the browser  when you reach the login prompt.  Definitely stop using arlo.netgear.com.

 

Though the log in isn't as "sticky" as it used to be, and there are several scenarios where you need to log in again.  That includes simply refreshing the page.  That is annoying.

hcampana
Aspirant
Aspirant

First of all there should have been a message at the top of the ARLO website alerting uou to the new website. They do it when there is a new version of Flash that needs to be installed or when your session expires for any reason. Seccond of all, how hard would it have been to create an alert in the legacy mobile device app adving of the new app that was available. Like I said when I started this thread, I found out via my Google news feed and that was just wrong. Luckily I took action immediately after and installed the new app. And why was the old one still available in the app store? Are these guys rookies? Look how much time we all spent venting and some even making excuses. 

StephenB
Guru Guru
Guru

@hcampana wrote:

 how hard would it have been to create an alert in the legacy mobile device app adving of the new app that was available. 


They actually did do this - a bit later than the announcement here.

 

Personally I think starting with a smaller-scale communication and then enlarging it a bit later was the right strategy - giving them time to sort out issues before they affected everyone.  Unfortunately that doesn't seem have given them enough time in this case.  

 


@hcampana wrote:

there should have been a message at the top of the ARLO website alerting uou to the new website. 


The my.arlo.com URL has been working for about a year now.  That could have communicated better here.  Though arlo.netgear.com still works (it just redirects).  So technically that should have been seamless.  I understand it glitched for you, but based on posts here I don't think that affected very many people.

 


@hcampana wrote:

And why was the old one still available in the app store?

That was intentional, was communicated, and I think was the correct call.  It provided a fallback.

 

If anything, the old app was removed from the play store too quickly.  There are people here who are needing to sideload the old one temporarily, in order to get a working app again.  

 


@hcampana wrote:

 Look how much time we all spent venting and some even making excuses. 


I'm not excusing them, just trying to focus the community on the real problem (which is that the new app isn't working for too many people).  The switchover was communicated.  I'm thinking there a lot people here who wished they hadn't heard about it so early (so they'd still be using the old one).

 

Personally I think they should have switched to Arlo Technologies without making any other changes - waiting to roll out 2FA authentication, web client changes,  and other features or bug fixes until after the dust settled.  That also could easily have been launched well before iOS 13 beta. 

 

But hindsight is always 20-20.

 

Debron69
Aspirant
Aspirant

I got the email. Have updated the ap on the phone and ipad. What do I do about the computer which is an Imac? Will it change over automatically at the end of the month when I log in? 

 

StephenB
Guru Guru
Guru

@Debron69 wrote:

What do I do about the computer which is an Imac? Will it change over automatically at the end of the month when I log in? 

 

You just continue to use the web browser interface.

 

If you still browse to arlo.netgear.com, then change over to my.arlo.com.  You are being redirected there already, so you won't see any changes.  But at some point in the future, Netgear will likely stop redirecting - and then the older URL won't work.