"There was a problem establishing a connection to the media server"

[cyberjunkyfreak]

Frequently get the above message when attempting to connect to any of the wireless cameras, and I can't find anything about this message online.  There is no rhyme or reason as to which camera(s) get this message at any time.  I have to re-attempt in order to connect, sometimes it connects and sometimes it does not, it fails to connect more often (failure rate is about 75 percent if I had to guess).  Sometimes I'll just get a "please wait" message that 

I have 4 cameras and 1 base station, brand new batteries (just installed the system yesterday).  The system appears to have the latest firmware installed:

Base:  

FW Version

1.4.2627

HW Version

VMB3010r2

All 4 cameras are same:

HardwareVMC3030

Firmware1.1.2074

I have done a hard reset of the base and resync'ed the cameras and same issue occurs.  Sometimes it appears to be connected to a live stream however if I walk in front of a camera it does pick up the movement (as if the video is paused - although it does not show as paused in the web browser).  This does not give me a good feeling when I will be monitoring remote! 

The furthest camera is less than 40 feet from the station (between a couple walls).  All 4 cameras show as full Wifi bars and full battery life when viewing in the web browser.  I'm viewing on a Mac with Yosemite (10.10.4) and Safari (8.0.7).  I have re-installed latest version of Adobe Flash... no help.    I don't suspect any Wifi interference issues (I live in a very rural area).  The base station is set for channel 7 (not sure if I can change this? I haven't been able to figure that out yet) and is hard wired to the router.  The router has it's Wifi channel set for channel 1 (it was set at 6, i changed it 1 as part of my troubleshooting, no difference).  

One thing I do notice is the beacon interval for the base station is reportedly set at 31?  Does this sound right?

I'm wondering if it's a network issue outside of my network (ie, is the message "problem establishing a connection to the media server" refer to the cloud?).  However, I would think if this were the case, more people would be reporting the issue.  I've been troubleshooting these connectivity issues for 6 straight hours now and am running out of ideas.  I really want to like this product, however these connectivity issues have me resting uneasy at the moment.  I don't want to go thru the hassle of returning it, if there's a fix to get stable streaming connections to the cameras, perhaps a firmware update???

Thanks in advance for any ideas!

[jhamley]

I continue to experience this problem daily, something I did not experience when I first installed the system.  I have four cameras and all function well once they connect, signal strength and battery indicators are good, seems to be a ARLO network or server issue.  Just checked today Sept 23, 2016 10:42am, same problem, very frustrating, Please help.

[jguerdat]

It might be worth notin g all settings and modes/rules and then resetting the base using the reset button until the LEDs flash amber.  Delete all devices in Settings, My Devices and then readd the base using the Add Device button on the Cameras tab, followed by resyncing the cameras.  Rebuild your modes and rules, etc. and see if that helps.

[woseyjales]

---

jhamley wrote:

I continue to experience this problem daily, something I did not experience when I first installed the system.  I have four cameras and all function well once they connect, signal strength and battery indicators are good, seems to be a ARLO network or server issue.  Just checked today Sept 23, 2016 10:42am, same problem, very frustrating, Please help.

---

jhamley,

I had the same issue a couple of months after having the system. Arlo didn't miss a beat while I was overseas, but a couple of weeks after getting home, it all went to scrap.

I really think you'll find it's all wifi related. I had the same things, perfect signal strength and Arlo would work for a few hours, then it would go to scrap again. It's all documented on this forum, just check my username posts and Arlo themselves, use my troubleshooting experience as their frontline advice.

Long story short, I used a 50 foot ethernet cable, to relocate my base station, in order to find the sweetspot, while monitoring my cameras with my laptop. Don't trust the radar icon, it isn't all that accurate!!! I had better response on camera's with only one bar and if the green light is lit up on the base station indicating your cameras are connected, that really only means "one" camera maybe communicating. That green light, in no way shape or form indicates all your cameras are communicating, with the base station!!!

I ended up with a wifi extender to get everything working correctly, with my base station relocated and connected to the wifi extender,

Hope this helps.

[JEA003]

How many devices do you have on wifi?

[Nikki198606]

Having issues with my cameras
They are not recording when motion is detected not get notifications or emails no recordings
Also getting error message when trying to view live. Please any advice tried calling but there's 30-40mins waiting time

[Nikki198606]

Everything been working fine with cameras for 8months now today got these issues

[jguerdat]

No problems here in Rochester, NY. My server resolves to Ireland.  Must be a specific connection.

[JamesC]

Engineering is aware of an issue with iOS push notifications and is actively working on a resolution as soon as possible. I will post an update here as soon as I get more information.

JamesC

[JamesC]

This issue has been resolved. Users may need to log out of their iOS app and log back before push notifications start working again.

Thank you all for your patience in this process.

JamesC

[CHParker15]

I am having this issue and it has been going on for over a month now.

[JamesC]

CHParker15,

How often do you notice this error message? Does it happen on a specific camera or all cameras?

JamesC

[sosa1]

hello i am having the same problem of establishing a connection to the media server, i am contacting you so i can get this fixed right away 

[sosa1]

hello i am having the same problem of establishing a connection to the media server, i am contacting you so i can get this fixed right away 

[CHParker15]

A few times a day and yes all cameras.
Most often is when I choose to log in to a camera.
Also the video image on my Arlo q is now pink! I have reset a few times and turned off night mode but it's still pink!

[JamesC]

sosa1, CHParker15

Please contact the Arlo Support Team to further investigate this issue. You will find several options for contacting support in the provided link.

JamesC

[DonTB]

Arlo tech Christine in 2015 blames no connection to media server on bad server. Problem resolvedd.

NO? That is what I am getting in June 2017. The last 7 days that is all I can get.

I'm about to take the system back to the retailer and tell them what they can do with it.

PS Then the ARLO troubleshooting says you can adjust battery/video lquality. I see the slider but it won't slide.

Another Arlo "help" topic says check for firmware update by clicking said "Firmware" Click away. No reaction.

GRR

[JamesC]

DonTB,

Are you getting this error when trying to stream cameras or when you are trying to log in to your Arlo account? At what point do you see the error?

Do you see the same behavior on the mobile app and the web client?

JamesC

[CP987]

I notice these posts are 2015! I would have thought the issue would be resolved but it's 2017 and I have the same problem---there was a problem establishing a connection to the media server. Any help would be appreciated!!!

[CP987]

JamesC, netgear moderator, I'm right there with DonTB!! If I can't stream live, a great deal of the effectiveness is gone!! The primary selling points for me were live streaming, free cloud storage, and USB backup storage. Also, in recording, I set it to record 30 seconds and the most I get it 7-8. I purchased a brand new netgear router thinking that since both arlo and the router are netgear products, everything should work seamlessly!!! But no live streaming!!! I also am about ready to return them!!

[manfredz]

Any battery powered cam will never be good for continuous streaming/viewing.  On the Arlo you'll get 8-12 hours before batteries are exhausted.  Thats why live viewing automatically stops at 30 min.

When you set recording length to 30 sec did you remember to save the new setting (when you check now is it still showing 30 sec?)

[CP987]

Yes, I did save it and yes when I go back and look at the camera settings again, it's still set at 30 seconds. I'm not looking for continuous monitoring, however when I get a notification of motion detected, I should be able to go to live view and see what the motion is and determine if I want to sound the alarm or not.

[JamesC]

CP987,

It sounds like there could be an interference or range issue. What does the signal strength icon show for your camera? If you move the camera close to the base station (within 3-5 feet) do you see the same behavior? You might consider repositioning the camera (or the base) so that they are closer together to improve the signal.

JamesC

[CP987]

JamesC, I have full signal strength. To be exact, the message is "The connection to the media server has timed out." I would think the "media server" would be Netgear's cloud storage??

[JamesC]

CP987,

You could be getting this message due to an interruption in the connection between the base and camera. Try repositioning as suggested above to further isolate the issue.

JamesC