Spectrum router in Florida dropping old and new cameras

[archieab]

Hi all, my Spectrum router that was replaced last summer worked great for a while then in October 2023 it dropped all of my older Arlo Pro cameras that require the base.  The base connects in the app but that's because it's plugged directly into the router but I cannot add cameras to it.  I opened a discussion on this several months ago and never got anywhere with it including with Arlo's crappy chat only support.  If you don't provide them with the needed info from your system within 30 seconds, they cut you off.  I even tried a new base (same model) and had same problem.  Now my new floodlight and cameras are starting to drop off unless I'm connected to 2.4ghz only.  These Spectrum routers do not let you tweak the settings to do anything regarding 2.4ghz.  Called Spectrum, their routers broadcast both 2.4 and 5 and you cannot create 2 separate SSID's.  Have any of you replaced your Spectrum router with your own and if so what did you get please?  I have to have someway to get my devices back on and have them stay on.

I've reset router, cable box, cameras, etc. til I'm blue in the face. 

[StephenB]

If you use a base, then the spectrum wifi is not relevant (because the base creates the wifi for the cameras).

Is the base currently on-line and in your account?

What is the status of its LEDs?

• https://kb.arlo.com/000039100/What-do-the-LEDs-on-my-Arlo-SmartHub-or-Base-Station-mean

If it is on-line, have you tried installing the cameras using a PC (my.arlo.com)?

[archieab]

I gave up on the old Arlo cameras connecting to the base a long time ago.  My current issue is recently purchase floodlight cameras and new Arlo connect direct to wifi cameras starting to drop off.  When I go to reconnect them, Arlo app says connect to 2.4ghz before reconnecting camera. It will eventually after several tries scan the QR code but within several hours, the device gets dropped.  This happens from both a laptop and iPhone. 

[StephenB]

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@archieab wrote:

Arlo app says connect to 2.4ghz before reconnecting camera. It will eventually after several tries scan the QR code but within several hours, the device gets dropped.  This happens from both a laptop and iPhone. 

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Are you saying that the cameras are successfully being added to the account, and then get "dropped"?

By "dropped" do you mean

• disappear from the account
• go offline
• something else?

[archieab]

They go offline.

[StephenB]

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@archieab wrote:

They go offline.

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how far away are they from the router?

[archieab]

The first one to drop is about 30 feet or so.  The recent floodlight one is only about 15 feet or less.  They were both working just fine for months so I'm willing to bet that Spectrum pushed an update to the router. That's why I suspect the router being the problem because these cameras must be grabbing 5ghz which makes the distance away from router an issue causing them to drop.

Thanks for your help!

[StephenB]

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@archieab wrote:

 because these cameras must be grabbing 5ghz 

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The floodlight only has a 2.4ghz radio, so that is not possible.

What model is the other camera?

[archieab]

Arlo Essential Spotlight cameras

[StephenB]

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@archieab wrote:

Arlo Essential Spotlight cameras

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They also only have 2.4 ghz radios.

[archieab]

I don't know what else to do then.  I tried reconnecting the floodlight that dropped yesterday and it sees the QR code but Arlo never finds it.  I have a spare floodlight camera (same model) that I use to keep a battery charged and in case one breaks and Arlo will no longer find either of them.  I've rebooted modem, router, iPhone and after 2 hours of this I'm at a complete loss. 

[StephenB]

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@archieab wrote:

 I tried reconnecting the floodlight that dropped yesterday and it sees the QR code but Arlo never finds it. 

Did you remove if from the account?    Also you might try a factory reset (holding down sync until the LED flashes amber - about 15 seconds).

We've seen a lot of onboarding issues here, but your problem (multiple cameras connected to home wifi going offline) is unusual. 

I am wondering if you ever tried removing/reinserting the floodlight battery when the problem occurred.

[archieab]

I have reset the cameras with the blinking amber lights then tried again when blinking blue multiple times

Scanned QR code when it turns to blue blinking

Tried 2 different floodlight cameras and 2 different batteries in each (both of these floodlights have successfully been on my network for months)

Deleted and reinstalled app on iPhone

Removed devices from the account

I've even tried connecting phone to a Netgear wifi extender which is set to 2.4ghz

I've set the iPhone and cameras within 2 inches of the Spectrum router and the 2.4ghz Netgear device

The first device to give me an issue is an Arlo Essential spotlight camera that has been on account for 1.5 years that has been in the same location and suddenly went offline after 1-2 days

I have an iPhone 14 Pro Max, up to date

**As I was updating this post, I put my laptop onto the 2.4ghz Netgear extender, logged into arlo account, and was able to add the 2 floodlights back into my account.  They were deleted and I was prompted to add the 2.4ghz Netgear extender SSID and password and they're now connected.  My devices connected directly to the Spectrum router will not detect them.  This has to be a problem with the Spectrum router, correct?

[StephenB]

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@archieab wrote:

This has to be a problem with the Spectrum router, correct?

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Sounds like it might be - though it'd be good to wait and see if the devices disappear again when connected to the extender.

Is leaving the extender in place an acceptable solution?

[archieab]

That's exactly what I'm going to do is see if/when they drop again.  I really don't want to use the extender if I don't have to and they're at least 7 years old as well.  Is there a router you could recommend that I could buy to replace the Spectrum that won't give me this headache with 2.4 and 5ghz?  I truly appreciate everyone's help and input!

[jguerdat]

Virtually any new router would be appropriate. You may want to stay away from mesh network routers since they can cause problems with setup (although there are definitely ways to make it work). I have a regular Netgear router and separate the 2.4GHz and 5GHz SSIDs so I have no issues with who's connected to what band but you may wish to use a single SSID. One way would be to separate the bands initially, connect to the 2.4GHz band and then re-enable the single SSID using the name given to the 2.4 band.

[StephenB · Accepted solution]

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@archieab wrote:

Is there a router you could recommend that I could buy to replace the Spectrum that won't give me this headache with 2.4 and 5ghz?  

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The clear trend is for routers to provide only one network name, and not allow different SSIDs for different channels.  Arlo really needs an installation path that works better with that configuration.

The usual issue with a single network name is not being able to install the camera.  Not an issue with my Orbi, but definitely a problem with some other routers.

But I think your issue was that the cameras were disconnected after installing them.  That's a very different issue, and I don't think it is directly linked to the single network name.  I think it's something else (either a glitch in the router's wifi, or perhaps the router is deciding to blacklist the cameras).

As far as routers go, there are a lot of options. 

You could also turn off the Spectrum wifi and add a new extender.  Sometimes ISP routers are also providing some services for the TV setup boxes.  In that situation you need to keep the ISP router in place, so just adding the extender is often the best approach.

[archieab]

I don't have TV boxes, I use antenna for local channels and streaming apps.  The first floodlight camera I got reconnected the other night has gone offline again, ugh.  So I've been doing a lot of research on routers, specifically ones that work well with Spectrum and I found this.  Has really good reviews specifically for Spectrum and 2.4ghz devices that have trouble staying connected.  I'd appreciate your input on it:

https://www.amazon.com/WiFi-6-Router-Gigabit-Wireless/dp/B08H8ZLKKK/ref=sr_1_5?crid=3SWYMW7O4NZKK&di...

I very much appreciate everyone's help!!

[archieab]

Hi everyone, I installed the new TP-Link router and was able to setup both a 2.4 and 5 SSID and got all of my cameras connected to 2.4 and knock on wood, so far so good.  They are connected directly to the router, not the base.  I plugged in the base hoping I might be able to get my original Arlo Pro cameras connected to it but no luck there sadly.  I have 10 or 11 of them and would still like to use them outside as bird cams.  If you read farther above, I mentioned that when they dropped off last fall, I fought for 2 months to get them back online but they won't so I gave up.  The base connects to Arlo but the cameras are never found.  I want to thank all of you for your suggestions and help.