VBM3000 Sets up in app, but does not show under devices

[Stevehoh]

I picked up a system from a previous user. He said he defaulted the system and I should be able to set it up.

I  find the base with the app and select it, name it, and (after skipping firmware update) get "Your Arlo Base Station is now active!"  But I cannot see it under the "Devices" section of the app.

I've defaulted the hub a few times.

relatede:  When I try to Sync the camera. the camera light on the hub, never goes "blue"  but the LED on the camera blinks fast Blue, and never shows amber.

Since I can't see the hub on the app, I don't know if the camera synced or not.

[jguerdat]

Look in Settings, My Devices. Is the base shown there? When syncing cameras, just briefly press the base sync button - don't hold it. Then press the camera button. You don't need to use the app to do this.

[Stevehoh]

Under settings, my only choices are “New system setup”, Profile, support, privacy center and about.  The VMB3000 does not show under any of the them.

[JamesC]

Stevehoh,

If there is nothing listed under Settings > My Devices, that means the base station was never added to your account. Try factory resetting the base station and onboarding again as if it were new: https://kb.arlo.com/1057976/How-can-I-reset-my-Arlo-SmartHub-or-Base-Station

JamesC

[Stevehoh]

When I press the reset button, all amber lights flash, until one goes on solid.  After a little time, the “globe” light flashes.  The app finds the hub almost immediately at that’s point.  I select it and change the name.  It checks for updates, but cannot check firmware status.  After a couple attempts I chose “ try later”. I get the message “ Your Arlo base station is now active!”  I select finish.

when I choose devices at the bottom of the app, I just get the “add new device” option only

[StephenB]

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@Stevehoh wrote:

When I press the reset button, all amber lights flash, until one goes on solid.  After a little time, the “globe” light flashes.  The app finds the hub almost immediately at that’s point.  I select it and change the name.  It checks for updates, but cannot check firmware status.  After a couple attempts I chose “ try later”. I get the message “ Your Arlo base station is now active!”  I select finish.

when I choose devices at the bottom of the app, I just get the “add new device” option only

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Ok.  But when you choose settings, do you see the base in the device list there?

[Stevehoh]

When I choose “settings” in the app (lower right hamburger). I do not see a device list.  I see a menu.

titled “Account”. Options are “New System Setup” or “Profile”

titled “System”.  Options are “Support”, Privacy Center” and “About”

Selecting any of them does not show any device list.

[StephenB]

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@Stevehoh wrote:

When I choose “settings” in the app (lower right hamburger). I do not see a device list.  I see a menu.

titled “Account”. Options are “New System Setup” or “Profile”

titled “System”.  Options are “Support”, Privacy Center” and “About”

Selecting any of them does not show any device list.

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Ok.  That means that the VMB3000 was not added to the account.

The puzzle is why that is, since you did seem to be able to go through the onboarding.  Try the factory reset that @JamesC suggested.

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@Stevehoh wrote:

He said he defaulted the system and I should be able to set it up.

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I'd follow up, since we don't know what he thinks "defaulting" is.  The relevant question here is whether he removed the base and cameras from his account.

[Stevehoh]

How would I know that?

And if he didn’t remove them from his account, how can I get that fixed?

I don’t have a way to get in touch with the previous owner.

[StephenB]

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@Stevehoh wrote:

How would I know that?

And if he didn’t remove them from his account, how can I get that fixed?

I don’t have a way to get in touch with the previous owner.

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Perhaps @JamesC can assist.

[Stevehoh]

@JamesC  Can you help?

I’m sure the last owner didn’t do this to me on purpose.  But I still feel a little “ripped off”. I have a kit with 4 cameras and a hub that I can’t use.

I got this from the owner at a “moving sale” and have no contact info.   I have a name on a receipt from Best Buy where it was purchased 7 years ago.  But I don’t even know if that was the person who handed it to me.

Is there a way to remove his old account, so I can put it on my account?

[JamesC]

Stevehoh,

If you got to the field during setup and the base station says it was added to the account, it would seem the base station was appropriately factory reset and doesn't have any association with the previous account. If the base station doesn't actually appear after going through onboarding steps, it sounds like it simply may be defective. One more step you could try is creating a brand new Arlo account and test again to see if you experience the same behavior.

JamesC

[Stevehoh]

@JamesC 

I tried set-up on the PC with my current account.  When I tried to name the hub, I got this message “We are unable to claim this device”

I then defaulted the unit and tried to set-up on the PC with a new account.  I got the same message.

I tried the app with the new account and I had the same results as when I used my first account with the app.  The app does not give me an error message.

Weird: I tried to search that error message on the Arlo support and it locks up the page. (Spinning Dots in the center, and cannot select any results.