Camera failed to connect...Please try

[Oceans]

For about 16 months or so, basically no problems.  Now, all of our cameras continually fail to connect to the server, are shown as off line, do not than take any videos, and bascially we have a nothing system. The cameras just keep flicering green, and waasting battery power.  Yet, when we check our ARLO status, it all shows ok.  It always show ok.  Resetting the base has not done anything.  To me it seems that their server is often down, and no notice is given.  It's a server issue.  We are having a new wireless modem/router installed with a little more speed.  If we are still having issues with cameras not connecting to the server, we will be off to find another system that we can rely on.  We can't rely on ARLO for any security. 

[ShayneS]

Oceans,

What firmware version is your base  station & cameras running? When you mention resetting the base station, is this a reboot or Factory Reset with a pin?

[Oceans]

Hello. First, our system has not been functioning for about 3 week or longer. We have done nothing different here. Our home has never lost power for over a year. It is all cameras that cannot connect to the server. Not just one, or a few. All of them… They will come on maybe twice a day for about 3 hours most at a time. 90% of the time none of them work. even when I have the inside ones shut off entirely when we are home, they constantly blink amber, using up battery power. How can this happen when the camera has been shut off.

I shut the power off to everything, which includes the router and modem and the camera system and it works for maybe an hour or so, then back to not connecting to the server. Also, when it seems they are connected, we cannot open the camera to view what is going on. Cameras will not open up.

When we first got our system we had 5 cameras and loved it. Everything worked great. We added more cameras and now have 10 and for about a year and ahalf no problems. . They have been in the same position since we put them in, which is at least a year ago. Now we have a nothing system.

also, for about the same amount of tiem, when on, the camers take lousy videos and I have them set to take great videos.

I have never had a pin to do a factory reset. The cameras just did a firmware upgrade a week ago or so, which all failed the first try saying camera rejected but took the 2nd time. I would have no idea what the base station is.

I feel you either have servers crashing all the time, or too many users and too many cameras to handle the load, or combination of both.

[Oceans]

How this tread posting works is confusing.  This message may show twice as I posted it but your response to my first message is still showing to submit a reply. 

Hello. First, our system has not been functioning for about 3 week or longer. We have done nothing different here. Our home has never lost power for over a year. It is all cameras that cannot connect to the server. Not just one, or a few. All of them… They will come on maybe twice a day for about 3 hours most at a time. 90% of the time none of them work. even when I have the inside ones shut off entirely when we are home, they constantly blink amber, using up battery power. How can this happen when the camera has been shut off.

I shut the power off to everything, which includes the router and modem and the camera system and it works for maybe an hour or so, then back to not connecting to the server. Also, when it seems they are connected, we cannot open the camera to view what is going on. Cameras will not open up.

When we first got our system we had 5 cameras and loved it. Everything worked great. We added more cameras and now have 10 and for about a year and ahalf no problems. . They have been in the same position since we put them in, which is at least a year ago. Now we have a nothing system.

also, for about the same amount of tiem, when on, the camers take lousy videos and I have them set to take great videos.

I have never had a pin to do a factory reset. The cameras just did a firmware upgrade a week ago or so, which all failed the first try saying camera rejected but took the 2nd time. I would have no idea what the base station is.

I feel you either have servers crashing all the time, or too many users and too many cameras to handle the load, or combination of both.

Message 3 of 3

[Oceans]

How this tread posting works is confusing.  This message may show twice as I posted it but your response to my first message is still showing to submit a reply. 

Hello. First, our system has not been functioning for about 3 week or longer. We have done nothing different here. Our home has never lost power for over a year. It is all cameras that cannot connect to the server. Not just one, or a few. All of them… They will come on maybe twice a day for about 3 hours most at a time. 90% of the time none of them work. even when I have the inside ones shut off entirely when we are home, they constantly blink amber, using up battery power. How can this happen when the camera has been shut off.

I shut the power off to everything, which includes the router and modem and the camera system and it works for maybe an hour or so, then back to not connecting to the server. Also, when it seems they are connected, we cannot open the camera to view what is going on. Cameras will not open up.

When we first got our system we had 5 cameras and loved it. Everything worked great. We added more cameras and now have 10 and for about a year and ahalf no problems. . They have been in the same position since we put them in, which is at least a year ago. Now we have a nothing system.

also, for about the same amount of tiem, when on, the camers take lousy videos and I have them set to take great videos.

I have never had a pin to do a factory reset. The cameras just did a firmware upgrade a week ago or so, which all failed the first try saying camera rejected but took the 2nd time. I would have no idea what the base station is.

I feel you either have servers crashing all the time, or too many users and too many cameras to handle the load, or combination of both.

[Oceans]

I have unplugged and plugged the base in again and didn't do anything. I signed in to My Arlo and poked around and found a place to reset the base! I did that.  At the moment all cameras are working but I had to do the open camera and wiggle the batteries around to reset.  That I have always had to do when it shows cameras off line.  You need to tell people about the reset base option in "MyArlo".  We though are still not getting any videos.I will keep posting to update as to where we are on these issues and if we are still experiencing problems.  

[Oceans]

I have posted replys but I will recap.   For just under 2 years, our system worked great. An update firm came through and at first cameras wouldn't take, So did it again when the prompt appeared.   Then the whole system was off line.  Base station would not connect to the internet.   The update "broke" our system.  Thanks a heap. Firmware updates should be fully tested before implementing. Obiously, it wasn't.

Tried both unplugging and plugging back in, and resetting the base station.  It seemed to work - for about 15 minutes then all went off line again and base station would not connect.  I gave up trying anything with that base station.   We had a spare, brand new, unused, same model base station that came with another same camera arlo system we purchased when we decided to go over the 5 camera limit for free video and monotiring storage.   Rather than ding around with the old one and perhaps further wasting my time, I decided to go with the new base station.  (This is the way to go  if you want to add more cameras - after this experience it is a must with an Arlo system to have a spare base station because either they can't update or they don't last longer than about 2 years).  

Thankfully I had printed off the arlo manual when we first bought the system.  So I knew how to get rid of the old base station and put in a new  one.  The old base station must be removed.  When I removed it, all the cameras were removed at the same time.  I plugged in the new base station, and there was a prompt/link in the system to add the new base station.  Then I synced the cameras to the new base station.  Went like a breeze. Just prior to uninstalling the old station and putting in the new one, we decided to purchase some of their high definition camerasin a kit that was on sale.  Everything works fine.  But alas, here again comes the firmware update-on all/most/ who can tell of the cameras.  Again.  You can't get it off-it blocks looking at the cameras, there is no "cancel" or "reject" button.  So, here we go again.  Again, the cameras (maybe just some, not all - who can tell) rejected the firmware update.  On one camera a little box popped  asking if I was sure I wanted to update the firmware on the camera, and I clicked no.   I think it was trying to update the new high definition HD cameras with the same update? Again, who knows who can tell. I don't memorize the camera numbers.  I guess if I wanted to take an unneeded waste of my time, I could have studied each one seperately to see which was which, what was what.

So now, we have coming out to the house, our isp provider.  While our router/modem is great and still going strong, our speed was just at the edge/slightly under what Arlo recommends for internet speed. We could not get faster speed without buying a new router/modem. Installation took about an hour and ahalf. Exausting.  I waited anxiously to see how our camera system would work after being shut off and off from internet.   Happy to say it is all working great.   We sitll get the occasional camera that will say off line, and we have to open the back and wiggle the batteries and that it all it takes to get the camera connected and no longer be off line. Now tell me how someone should have to do this with cameras.  This issue we dealt with for months and months.  Now that we are much over the required "speed" this issue should cease to exist. 

In live camera mode we are only now seeing half of the screen.  Full picture seen by the camera but only have the screen is used.  Very hard to look at the picture. Creates eye strain.  Arlo team - you need to fix this and soon.

In summary, should your system just quit and base station isn't connecting to the internet,  and resetting using the pin or unplugging power and plugging back in doesn't work, remove the base station and cameras and reinstall the base station, and sync your cameras.  That should fix it.  If it doesn't, put in a new base station.

I use Safari and always have and have had no problems.  Businesses should treat Safari the same as Microsoft etc. when developing and updating soft ware etc.  Safari is just as important to get right as Microsoft etc.