"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!

[WilsonFlyer]

Just wanted to add that I have been running flawlessly for 4+ months with a 4 cam/1 base system. Added a second set just like the first (new base with 4 cameras and upgraded to premium) for an out-building Sunday and have had nothing but problems since then. Same messages as all over this thread. Frustrating.

[WilsonFlyer]

Something has changed this morning. I don't want to jump the gun but mine would have normally failed by now as much as I've been playing with them this morning. FW on base is 1.4.2695. Is that an upgrade overnight? I forgot to write my version down.

Anyway, still playing but things seem MUCH better and MUCH snappier this morning, at least for me.

[WilsonFlyer]

Never mind. Spoke too soon. Darnit!

[devotchko]

Out of the blue 2 of my cameras are having the exact same issues as yours. Shame as I was impressed by the good reliability of the system (for some reason some activity goes unnoticed by the camera inb my front door). Does Arlo have a place where one can get a status update on their system and servers so users don't waste their time trying to fix issues on their end when the problem is really somewhere else?

Base FW Version: 1.4.2695

Camera FW Version: 1.2.2688

Does anybody know if this streaming issue prevents the camera from doing its job otherwise? Can it sill detect motion, record video and send notifications?

[jgravert]

Just installed a 4 camera system today.

I am having the same issues as everyone else.

It's updated to Base Station: FW Version 1.4.2695    Cameras: Firmware: 1.2.2688

I just replaced my VueZone camera system.

This is total crap!!!!

Why isn't this fixed?

[jogeau]

continue to have this problem with my Arlo station - please help. 

all cameras are connected,motion alerts are received on phone but video showing and recording to do not function. 

best regards

[WilsonFlyer]

It would be funny if it weren't such an expensive lesson. It's a piece of crap in its current form. Worthless comes to mind. Problem is, I'm in for over $1k at this point. 

[devotchko]

My cameras started streaming again today, after testing them several times. I reiterate that customers should be notified when the issue is at their end to prevent wasting time trying to fix an issue that can't be fixed locally.

[WilsonFlyer]

Be very careful in assuming it's totally fixed. I've been there also. I am convinced the problem is at Netgear's end with their server farm and not on our end in any way. Just a gut based on the way it's behaving. I think they have overloaded their server farm. I'm not making excuses for them. There's no excuse for it, but what you're seeing is just further proof they are actively working on it. That, and none of the firmware has changed "recently."

My biggest fault at this point is that they are not admitting the problem and essentially leaving us totally in the dark and not actively informing us as to status. Thinking that you are avoiding public embarrassment this way almost always comes back to bite you in the ass. If it all suddenly begins working properly for everyone with no changes seen by us, we're going to know what happened anyway. It's not like they can hide behind it. This has turned into a fiasco to say the least, but we are such a cottage market in the grand scheme of things that we will never hear an audible public outcry, unfortunately.

I fully expect them to fix it. I honestly didn't think it would take this long. That's what I'm most disappointed in. That, and the fact that they are hiding behind the issue and avoiding it like the plague as if it didn't exist. 

[WilsonFlyer]

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Troubleshooting/What-has-happened-in-the-last-7-8-days/m-p/965991#U...

[jgravert]

I literally was running the VueZone System without issues.

I installed Arlo yesterday as it showed up in the mail.

This was to upgrade from VueZone to Arlo as Netgear is phasing out the VueZone system; Netgear solicited me to upgrade my VueZone to Arlo.

So I did.

Installation of Arlo was easy. But after it was installed is when the trouble started.

It seemed that it worked fine initially. I do not know what Firmware versions the Base station and cameras were out of the box.

I know now they are the version that everyone is having the same issues with.

I know for a fact that this issue is not on my network. I have plenty of bandwidth to handle this system. 57M Download and 12M Upload.

It is not my network hardware; because if it was then it would still be Netgear's fault. I have been running this configuration for multiple years with zero issues.

Also my network hardware is all Netgear hardware. Netgear Switches, Netgear Routers, Netgear Wireless Range Extender. I don't see how it would be possible that the Netgear Arlo isn't compatible with Netgear Networking Products.

I think if there is a problem that Netgear is aware of they need to spill the beans. Covering up the issues will not bode well for them in the Long Run.

Stuff like this is what makes people switch brands permanently.

As someone else has said this system is not a TOY and I didn't buy this to PLAY with. I bought this for SECURITY. And it is flat out ridiculous to not only be dealing with this but to have no logical response from Netgear on the subject.

They better be pulling all-nighters over there at Netgear until the problem is resolved. This is just stupid! And expensive!

[Showguy]

I too had a couple of nice years with Vuezone without any issues worth talking about. As an advertising and PR exec of 30 plus years I will tell you this is not the way to go about things. Netgear needs to come clean, fix this issue and make sure it never happens again.

[jgravert]

To update everyone on my experience.

I don't know if it is a fluke but it seems that if I use the Android App for Arlo it functions fine.

If I try to used the Arlo interface through any Web Browser I get issues.

I have tried Internet Explorer 11, FireFox 39.0 and Chrome version 44.0.2403.125 m

I recieve different errors depending on which browser I am using.

Right now through FireFox I am getting "Adobe ShockwaveFlash plug-in disabled! Even though it is not disabled and is running the latest version of Adobe ShockwaveFlash.

I will also get the dreaded "There was a problem establishing...." error. And also occasionally it gives me the "Your base station is not connected to the Internet. Please make sure it's powered on and connected to your router" error.

With Chrome it usually likes to STAY/STICK on "Getting Status" for awhile and eventually gives the error "Your base station is not connected to the Internet. Please make sure it's powered on and connected to your router." Which of course it is becasue I can go to the Android App and it works fine. Just silly.

With Internet Explorer 11 it likes to CRASH and popup the alwasy lovely IE Error that makes IE restart. Sometimes it doesn't do this. When it doesn't do this it will do exactly what Chrome does. The Crashing of IE I blame on IE as it does this with many websites. IE is a joke but I had to try it to see if I could get a different result.

After messing with any of these browsers for A LONG TIME they will ALL eventually work for a little bit at some point. But they will alwasy go back to these issues.

Since it seems to work fine with the APP on Android I have to believe the Web Interface is the actual problem. And something about it is programmed incorrectly. It could have something to do with Netgear servers but since I have no access or control over Netgear servers I cannot diagnose them.

Usually when websites have issues like this there seems to be one Browser it works with while the others struggle. Personally I have never had a Website fail using all three of these browsers unless something is very wrong with the Code.

Why it seems to work with the Android APP I have no idea.

I do not have an APPLE device to verify if the APPLE App works or not. So if anyone is having good luck with the APPLE App please chime in with your experience.

I hope this helps expedite the Fixing of the system for Netgear.

[WilsonFlyer]

I hate to burst your bubble but the problem is in no way limited to browsers. The problem has been recuring on all my devices for 2 weeks now. This includes every browser known to man as well as iPads, minis, iPhones (all but one running 8.4) and multiple Android devices, all current. 

Sorry. The problem is at/with (maybe with the firmware but I ain't buying it just yet) Netgear. It has to be.

FWIW, not one of my browsers has "crashed," just multiple connectivity problems which seem to be exactly the same problems the apps are having on every device I have.

It IS intermittent on EVERYTHING. When I've seen it run flawlessly for 3 days, I'll let you know. It used to, up until a couple of weeks ago (almost exactly 2 weks ago).

[jgravert]

So, the Google play store Arlo App crashes on you?

[WilsonFlyer]

Doesn't crash. None of mine are crashing. They are failing to COMMUNICATE. Consistently. 

In the category of things I probably shouldn't say but I'm going to (not directed at you!).

I've been doing this professionally for 30 years. I was routing IP traffic over token-ring 4 megs bridged to ethernet before we even had DNS. I've been at this a LONG time. I wrote a network protocol that Disney STILL uses today. I still own the SECOND PC ever sold to someone outside IBM (My uncle was on the original development team.) I beta tested DOS .86 and I Still have the diskettes. My stuff is RIGHT. Sorry. It's just the truth.

[jgravert]

Why the Heck does my Android Arlo app work for me????????

This is some messed up business.

I just tested the browser on the PC again. Still failing to connect. I even cleared all the cache and history, made sure everything was updated plugin wise and also made sure there were not duplicates of plugins running. Rebooted and yes it still does NOT WORK using an Internet Browser on my PC.

WilsonFlyer can't even get it to work with the Android App. Why does the App work for me and not for him?

I am sick of this. I will check in on Monday. Hopefully some progress will have been made by then.

[armoredsaint]

thanks netgear for making us beta testers for your product that is clearly not ready or reliable. 

[JamesC]

I apologize for any frustrations this may have caused.  We are currently investigating an issue that might result in a small number of our customers experiencing delayed motion recordings or streaming connection issues during peak hours. The Arlo team is working diligently toward a solution. We appreciate your patience in this process and will provide an update as soon as possible!

Regards,

JamesC

[WilsonFlyer]

Thank you James, for someone from Netgear finally giving a real voice to the problem and acknowleging the problem may very well be at Netgear after all. You have restored my faith in Netgear, at least momentarily, though I still find it disturbing that it has taken over 2 weeks. Someone there HAD to know 2 weeks ago that there was a problem, yet even tech support continually sent people essentially chasing their tails while not acknowleging the real problem.

I look forward to your follow-up post in this thread telling us that Netgear believes the problem is fixed so that we can maybe once and for all put this nasty piece of history behind us.

[AATM]

Hi Christine,

We are currently experiencing the same problem as mentioned in your reply "There was a problem establishing a connection to the media server" is there anyway we can resolve this problem as a matter of urgency, as these cameras are monitoring a business that operates after hours and the cameras are a necessity for resolving after hours issues.

[BC1956]

I have seen the solution you (Christine) posted however this was a month ago (‎2015-05-26 10:20 AM ). I have just had the same thing happen to me. The cameras are active as I can set them up to activate for sensor check but won't do pictures.

Has the same problem arisen again???

Bruce C

[GraemeJ7]

Having same issue, detecting motion but no picture.

[Cheryl23]

I am currently away from home and I am getting quite anxious as i cannot get a live feed from my camera.

When ever I try watch a live feed from the camera it says "there was a problem establishing a connection to the media server." I have tried restarting the base station remotely but this hasn't helped. Funny thing is I am still getting notifications on my phone to say Arlo has detected motion, and apon opening the app it shows new recordings to watch, but as soon as you try load the recordings they just dissappear. Please help.

[ValiantAp6]

Exactly the same thing happening to mine. Really annoying