VMB4000 suddenly stopped connecting to internet

[GESUK]

Hi there,

A few months back my VMB 4000 base station just suddenly stopped connecting to the outside world, disabling my system.

On & off I’ve tried everything suggested on the community forums (reset/reboot/turn off 5ghz network etc) until yesterday when installing a new Philips Hue lighting system I was introduced to the Fing app which allows me to see what is actually connected to my router.

In a nutshell, the base station is definitely connected to the router and the router definitely connects to the outside world and the Ping to the base station is strong.

Anyone know why the base station therefore would not connect to the Arlo servers? 

[StephenB]

---

@GESUK wrote:

A few months back my VMB 4000 base station just suddenly stopped connecting to the outside world, 

---

Did something change at that point with your router setup?

[GESUK]

No, absolutely not.

It feels like either something in the electronics just stopped working, or whichever server it was communicating with did.

[StephenB]

---

@GESUK wrote:

No, absolutely not.

It feels like either something in the electronics just stopped working, or whichever server it was communicating with did.

---

One thing that I know can disrupt the connection is the DNS server configuration in the router.  Using three DNS servers is ok, adding a fourth in the router config will mess up the base.  Someone posted (quite a while ago now) that using encrypted DNS protocols in their router also prevented the base from reaching the cloud server.  (I'm not saying DNS is the cause of your problem, just trying to explain why I was asking).

Is the internet LED on the VMB4000 still green?

[Edinburgh_lad]

You can have as many DNS servers queried as you like. Not sure what your basis (=evidence) is for the fourth one 'messing things up' as this shouldn't be the case. Obviously adding a lot of DNS servers is pointless and will only slow down things if your DNS 'manager' (like PiHole or AdGuardHome) queries too many at the same time. So, typically, your router will use one DNS server and then use another as a backup in case the first one isn't reachable (to prevent failure). 

Your advice about sending traffic/traffic queries using encrypted DNS servers having a negative impact on the base station is also wrong and shouldn't be replicated by others.  Your DNS traffic should, in fact, be encrypted as otherwise, it can potentially be intercepted by others. Common and frequently used standards of encryption are DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS-over-TLS (there are others, too). There are arguments for one standard or the other, but essentially both do the same thing: encrypt your traffic queries to DNS servers. You should do your best to implement encryption. 

Your router will typically enable you to change DNS servers and also enable/disable DoT/DoH when querying DNS servers. 

I use DNS-over-TLS and have not had issues with my base reaching/not reaching the Arlo servers.

Here is some basic info as to why your DNS traffic should be encrypted: https://www.cloudflare.com/en-gb/learning/dns/dns-over-tls/

You can check if your traffic/queries are being encrypted by going to: https://1.1.1.1/help

[StephenB]

---

@Edinburgh_lad wrote:

You can have as many DNS servers queried as you like. Not sure what your basis (=evidence) is for the fourth one 'messing things up' as this shouldn't be the case.

There are a few posts here from folks who've reported this problem (one recent).

• https://community.arlo.com/t5/Arlo-Essential-Wire-Free-Cameras/All-my-cameras-are-offline-and-can-no...

It does depend on the router, as some routers proxy the DNS services (just giving the router address to the clients), while others pass all the DNS servers to the clients.

[StephenB]

---

@Edinburgh_lad wrote:

Your advice about sending traffic/traffic queries using encrypted DNS servers having a negative impact on the base station is also wrong and shouldn't be replicated by others.  Your DNS traffic should, in fact, be encrypted as otherwise, it can potentially be intercepted by others. Common and frequently used standards of encryption are DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS-over-TLS (there are others, too).

 Again, there are posts (not so recent in this case) of folks finding their hubs didn't connect with these protocols were in use.

[Edinburgh_lad1]

How very strange!

I wonder what router that is, and if it has a problem with processing DNS queries.

My RPi regularly queries two Cloudfare servers simultaneously for the quickest one, and I use TLS and DNSSEC to encrypt my queries, and I've never had a problem. I'll include another two server addresses to test and report back.

[GESUK]

Thanks for replies, and sorry for delay in responding.

A lot of what’s been discussed is a little over my head. Originally the base station was plugged in to a factory settings BT router when it stopped working. The router was recently changed for a new generic ISP model, again with factory settings. 

It terms of troubleshooting I’ve removed all other devices from the router and then introduced all other items one by one. End result is that all other devices, wired and wireless, work properly, just not the base station.

[GESUK]

In terms of lights, the centre light is green but keeps flashing every 30 seconds or so, clearly indicating attempts to connect to a server.

[StephenB]

---

@GESUK wrote:

In terms of lights, the centre light is green but keeps flashing every 30 seconds or so, clearly indicating attempts to connect to a server.

---

Can you log into the router's admin web ui?

If you can, you might try changing the first DNS entry to 8.8.8.8 (google's DNS server), and the second to 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare's DNS server).  Take a screenshot before you do this, so you can restore your current settings.

[GESUK]

Thanks for your help.

Tried this, checked settings accepted using https://1.1.1.1/help which showed “AS Name = Google” and waited approximately 1 hour.

Unfortunately no change, green light still flickering and cannot find base station on app.

sorry….

[StephenB]

---

@GESUK wrote:

Unfortunately no change, green light still flickering and cannot find base station on app.

---

Ok. so not likely to be related to DNS.  Though if you have more than 3 DNS servers listed, then it's worth reducing it to three, and trying again.

Is there another location (perhaps a friend or family member) where you could try connecting the hub,  and see if it behaves the same way? It is possible that the hub has failed.

Also, in your first post you said you did a reset, but it wasn't clear to me what you meant by that.  Do you mean you removed the hub from the account, and did a paper-clip reset of the hub?

[GESUK]

Quick update, haven’t managed to re-locate the VNB4000 to test it in an alternative location but have borrowed a VMB3000 and plugged that in to the router with exactly the same problem.

Meanwhile, a Philips Hue Bridge attached immediately adjacent is working fine, although it did require to be initially found by directly connecting via its IP address, not automatically being seen by the app.

[jguerdat]

Just out of curiosity, since this seems to have happened coincidentally with the Hue Bridge install, what happens if you turn off/disconnect/move that bridge away from the base and router?

[GESUK]

Hi there, thanks for your reply, but I have tried that and no joy.

Just a quick recap of what occurred from the beginning:-

Original VNB 4000 base station working quite happily  but then suddenly stopped connecting to Internet last year. This was on old BT router with factory settings.

Due to ongoing building works  I attempted to fix this using reset and new leads when time allowed.

Changed ISP and got new. Router with factory settings, but same problem.

Now have need of cameras so putting more effort into fixing problem. So have tried taking all other devices off of router and now tried both VNB4000 and VNB3000 with same results. Green light for internet just flashes showing unsuccessful connection attempts.

[GESUK]

I wonder whether no coincidence that Phillips hue bridge would not connect automatically through app and required entry of IP address obtained through fing app to force connection.

unfortunately, Arlo app doesn’t allow for this.

[jguerdat]

A flashing green Internet LED is still green - the flashing just shows network activity. 

It rather sounds like an ISP issue although I can't say why. Have you contacted them to see if they can help? FWIW, I've had a similar situation where what looked like should be working, didn't. A different base worked fine. However, since you've changed bases (did you also change the power supply?), routers and ISPs, it would seem you've done almost everything to be tried. "Almost", however:

1) Have you taken the base(s) to a friend's house and tried connecting it there?

2) Is this a home network or something associated with a business? Business networks can be problematic and may need intervention with IT.

[GESUK]

Home network and used power supply that came with 3000 so definitely different.

Have scanned router connections again and can def see new base station showing online and have sent successful Ping (which I assume means I am able to successfully test connection from phone to router to base station?)

Router is working for all other devices but not Arlo 🤷🏻‍♂️.

I attach ping screenshot

 

if that helps…

 

[jguerdat]

It's still possible the bases are faulty or something in your network or the ISP's is blocking access. I would take one to someone else's house to see what happens there.