Arlo VERY slow to connect to cameras

[HTWingNut]

I have two Arlo cameras. I primarily want them to get a live view of my front door and driveway since there are no real windows to easily see. I can undertand a few second delay, but when I go to Live view, it can take 30 seconds or more. One of the cameras is 10ft from the router, so I know it's not connection issues.

Is there any way to improve this? It seems it should be able to connect in a matter of seconds.

I don't even want it to record. If someone rings the doorbell, i want to be able to see who it is in less than ten seconds, not 60 by the time the app loads, I have to get to the camera, select "Live" video which will take 30-40 seconds, and then finally, whew.

I would think too if you had motion detection on that the camera would already be on so it would have instantaneous view from the camera.

[jguerdat]

The basic answer is that you're not communicating directly with the base/cameras but have to go through the servers. 60 seconds is a lot but there's still significant delay in setting up the communication.  I generally see a 5 second or so time to log into the app and another 5 seconds or so to start live view.  Sometimes it's slower than that but I'd say no more than 15 seconds each so a 30 second delay.  That's definitely a long period of time when trying to jump in to see what's up but there's nothing you can do about it - it's the nature of the beast.

A possible workaround is to use push notifications, since they're instantaneous on motion detection, and then short videos with email notifications which have a link to the video so you don't need to start up the app or log via the browser.  Experiment with video times if needed.  Maybe workable, maybe not.

[demetreb]

I find the same issue, especially if the camera is sending a video or signal to the base station. Until that process is complete I am unable to instantly view the camera....

[Meme1416]

Me too... It takes forever after you start the app to view live feed!

[Fort_Knox]

I measured how long it takes in my home (iPhone connected to wi-fi with poor signal - many walls between router and phone).

App startup takes 6-7 seconds. Live stream starts after another 5-6 seconds. For me this is good enough, although I've encountered longer response times.

[jult]

For me it's minutes on Live view, if ever, it's usually not connecting. That's the normal around here, because the wifi is occupied with neighboring systems.

And then I'm even on the same router the netgear base is connected to. And with a wire!

It's not my internet connectivity, that's fine (130 Mbit/s down/15 Mbit/s up) at Ookla.

[Abyss156]

The connection time is a joke. If Netgear can fix software maybe they should sell a base unit with a physical switch so at least i can just flick the switch and it can take its own sweet time to change the mode.

[styledata]

As a long time user of Vuezone who upgraded with the so-called special price, I am greatly disappointed in the slow response of getting base and camera status. Sometimes it simply won't connect to the camera at all. And motion recording is slow to start as well. I thought with the "new Arlo" system all this would be better than Vuezone, not worse. Very disappointed.

[JamesC]

styledata,

The symptoms you describe are often due to wireless interference or poor signal strength due to range. How far away from the base station are your cameras? What signal strength does the WiFi indicator show? Do you see the same behavior across all cameras?

You might consider relocating your base station closer to the cameras to improve signal strength. When relocating, be sure to try and limit the nearby proximity of other wireless devices that could potentially cause interference.

JamesC

[styledata]

I have an 800 square-foot house so I don't think distance is a problem. Again, I had the vuezone system for over two years and it performed flawlessly. The cameras in the Arlo and the Arlo base station are in the exact same location as the Vuezone cameras and base station were. Arlo is just slower, period.

[Castletyphoon]

I find the same problem. Not only that, but when it does connect there is a big delay. Holding a conversation with someone at home would be impossible due to this. I dont understand this though as a normal webcam which you would use for Skype is doing pretty much the same thing! In hindsight, a webcam with a motion sensor connected to an old lap top would have done the same thing as this thing and much faster. Disappointed so far I must say.

[jbkabss]

That can't be the problem because my system started acting up within the last week.  It had been fine for several months.  The physical arrangement has been the same all this time.

[SiaD]

I am out in the country - the only WiFi is my network and my tablets, Phone and Laptop has full bars with great connection 

My Netgear router is in the same place as the Arlo station. it still takes about 40 to 60 Sec. to connect and sometimes it would not even connect, I have to try it over and over again

I have 4 units with the station (VMS 3330) 

- Also made sure that My router is Netgear Nighthawk 7000 as well. 

The product is not what it is advertised to be.

[styledata]

Sorry, but distance is not a factor here! I am in an 800 sq. foot house with all the cameras actually quite close to the base station. The exact same configuration as my previous Netgear setup, which worked VERY WELL. I do not understand why your company is not fixing this issue, given how many complaints there are!

[JamesC]

There are many environmental conditions that can cause interference/poor signal strength resulting in the symptoms described in this discussion, if the above troubleshooting suggestions do not help, please consider contacting the Arlo Support Team to further investigate the issue. You will find several options for contacting support in the provided link. If you have any additional questions/concerns feel free to private message me. I would be happy to help.

JamesC

[styledata]

Sorry, but the message that I got today from the camera proves that the problem is on your end, since your servers host the media:

"There was an error connecting to the media server"

[styledata]

---

JamesC wrote:

There are many environmental conditions that can cause interference/poor signal strength resulting in the symptoms described in this discussion, if the above troubleshooting suggestions do not help, please consider contacting the Arlo Support Team to further investigate the issue. You will find several options for contacting support in the provided link. If you have any additional questions/concerns feel free to private message me. I would be happy to help.

JamesC

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Sorry, but the message that I got today from the camera proves that the problem is on your end, since your servers host the media:

"There was an error connecting to the media server"

[styledata]

And here is the message that proves the problem is on Arlo's end, not in any "environmental issues" at my house. I have whited out the image a bit for privacy but you can see the message which indicates that Arlo's server is not connecting. 

[TomMac]

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styledata wrote:

Sorry, but the message that I got today from the camera proves that the problem is on your end, since your servers host the media:

"There was an error connecting to the media server"

---

The fact that you got the above messg, no way mean the problem is on Netgear's end.....

all it mean is that the connection to the server was not completed.

I even seen that comment when using one browser but not when switching over to another with no other changes....it's a canned  message for an error, just somewhere in the full path failed.

[marcelocarapa]

"The basic answer is that you're not communicating directly with the base/cameras but have to go through the servers" . This answer is the only valid one. Arlo should resolve the communication locally, without the need to communicate with its servers.

[jguerdat]

Why?  It's stated right up front that the Internet is used to access the system.  Research would have told you that you need that and that there's no local access to the system.  Arlo can't do what it wasn't designed to do.

[marcelocarapa]

My opinion is that a security system must be resolved in your local network to avoid delays and other issues and only access intenet for special functionalities like cloud recording. I agree that it is a design theme. Thank you.

[PAPutzback]

If Facebook can handle live streams, I'd expect these cameras to be able to also. Just give us an option to change the compression on the video to speed things up.

[GetOverIt]

There is nothing you can do about this. It is entirely a product failing that can only be solved by Netgear, which is extremely unlikely they will do, since they have never acknowlegded the complaints and accepted responsibility for the slow connection.

If instant access is a feature that is important, the only option is to use a different product.

[ricatdowec]

Sometimes it just hangs for ever without connecting. Inadmissible if you want to quickly check what is on your sorroundings