base station drop connection to the internet, cameras won't connect

[Thebennyhana]

So after about 500$ invested here, and past my return window(unfortunately) I must get these things working. First off, for random reasons, the base station drop connection to the internet, and then once back on my cameras won't connect. This appears to drain the battery down (trying to connect all day?) The batteries are 20$ to replace for each of the four batteries. Then on thanksgiving it drops off completely, and according to the forums is "back up"... except mine it seems. Now the cameras won't connect to the base station. I have given up on using arlo for the outside (the original purpose) as it's a pain to climb up and swap expensive battery every week, but would like to use to cover indoor areas. I've already bought hard wire cameras to run for outdoors, and even if a pay a certified tech to install, still less than 500 WITH free access from my phone and one or more less issues to deal with. This is crazy, as costly as arlo 's are, Arlo you should be more on the ball with customers complaints. This is our safety here! Someone please help! My next stop is to recoup some of my hard earned money and sell this set up on the internet.

[jguerdat]

Let's go through this step by step:

1) The base station going offline can be a variety of possibilities. First, what are the LEDs on the base showing then it's supposed to be offline?  If the Internet LED is not green, what color is it?  If it is green, it's working properly and something else is going on. AMber means it's not connecting to the servers and off means it's not connected to the router.

However, the camera battery drain seems to be related to the base being turned off rather than not connected to the router/server. That would mean the power LED may be amber or off, which is a totally different kettle of fish. That's definitely a hardware problem, whether the power supply or the base itself. In this case, we can't try to fix it so you'd need to open a case with support to get hardware replaced.

2) Yes, the batteries will drain trying to connect to the base if it has somehow "disappeared". Rather than spending $20 a pop for batteries, we need to understand what's happening first. If the base is off/not responding, that has to be fixed. For the cameras, use a quick Google of CR123 batteries - you should find them in the $1.50-1.75 range. Also consider rechargeables - Netgear has certified a Tenergy setup. While they don't last as long, it cuts the battery cost drastically.

3) The recent outage was unfortunate, to say the least. I'm not happy about it, you aren't and tons of others are with us. However, we should be able to get your system up and working. Right now, remove all devices from Settings, My Devices and start fresh.  Yes, it's a PITA but it's worthwhile. Use the Add Device button on the Devices tab to add the base and sync the cameras. Ensure all firmware is up to date. That should fix any non-hardware issues.

[Thebennyhana]

Latest issue, turns out the base station somehow got removed... so I re-added the base and re-added all the cameras. Batteries no matter the cost should not die out so fast no matter what, this is a critical flaw, and gets expensive. Someone said to upgrade to the rechargeable arlo... why? I already spent a lot of money on these, and if they have all the issues listed here in the forums, then it's clearly a manufacturer problem. ALL POTENTIAL BUYERS BEWARE: This is not a 'set it and forget it' system. It requires a lot of attention and fine tuning/troubleshooting; sometimes daily. Before buying this, check the hardwire systems, if they fit your needs- they will save you money and headaches... thank you for your reply and assistance. It's a remarkable concept, however I feel arlo releases new products so fast, perhaps they are not fully worked out prior to release... causing these issue which should have been discovered during testing/ r&d phases- just my opinion and that's all. Love the idea, just think it was sent to the public before all the kinks were discover and worked out.

[Thebennyhana]

Also, I have upgraded my entire Wi-Fi, router, modems, wiring, all of it at great cost to rectify other issues of dropping Wi-Fi. Arlo is the only thing on the network which has issues at least once a week. Everything else, tv Amazon, roku, video games, cell phones, pc, tablet etc. All work fine. Even alarm system has back up through Wi-Fi and never sent an alert of Wi-Fi issues....