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Homekit Integration not working when I am not connected to WiFi (away from home)

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Curtterp
Guide
Guide

YES - Apple Homekit integration is here!

 

Wait - Not working when I am not connected to my WiFi (away from home or WiFi turned off)

 

I got notifited that Homekit integration is working. I added my Base Station and Camera's to my Apple Homekit, and everything worked pretty well. I went to work the next day and nothing Arlo was working, I was getting the No Response error on everything Arlo. My other Homekit devices were working just fine.

 

So I checked again when I got home, and everything is working again. OK, that seemed strange, so I turned off my WiFi while home and everything Arlo went back to No Response in Homekit.

 

I thought OK, maybe something got screwed up. I deleted everything in Homekit, and setup all my devices again. Everything is back working while I am on WiFi at home, but not working again when WiFi is shut off and I am just on my Cellular connection or away from home.

 

Since everything is working just fine on Homekit, Arlo implementation seems to be the issue here. I am hoping that Arlo figures this out soon, because veiwing my camera's via Homekit is much simpler and quicker than trying to see them through the Arlo App.

 

All my devices are on the latest OS Release (Not Beta). When I am away from home, I can still view my Cameras live through the Arlo App, so its not a problem with my iPhone. Base station and Homekit hub are less than 30 feet away from my router and in the same room, so my WiFi is not an issue. I have a cable modem with over 100mps, so my home internet is not the issue.

 

The Homekit implementation is good, but it is not valuable and a bad user experience when we cannot view away from home.

 

 

18 REPLIES 18
Paulmidi
Guide
Guide
When I’m at home or away I can look at the Arlo app and see my cameras with no problem .
When I’m away from home when I turn on Apple HomeKit to look at my cameras it says no Internet connection What am I doing wrong?
Dannybear
Master
Master
Do you have cellular data enabled for the home app in the iPhone settings?

Edit:
Scratch that, my HomeKit stopped working when on cellular only.
Jmbarragan
Initiate
Initiate
Same problem any idea what’s going on Netgear?
JessicaP
Arlo Employee Retired

Hi Curtterp and Jmbarragan,

 

Try reading this article to learn how to control your HomeKit remotely: Set up your HomePod, Apple TV, or iPad as a home hub

Lars_thn
Initiate
Initiate

@JessicaP wrote:

Hi Curtterp and Jmbarragan,

 

Try reading this article to learn how to control your HomeKit remotely: Set up your HomePod, Apple TV, or iPad as a home hub


 

I have the same problem. But everything else in HomeKit (lights and sensors) is working via 4G so it is not a problem with controling HomeKit remotely. 

JessicaP
Arlo Employee Retired

Hey Lars_thn,

 

If the article didn't help you out, I would suggest to contact the Support Team to further investigate this issue. You will find several options for contacting support in the provided link.

 

PeperoniJeans
Initiate
Initiate

Hey guys,

 

I just purchased the Arlo Pro 2 because of the latest firmware update that adds HomeKit support. Firmware of base station and cameras is updated. Everythign works fine except: I can't access the cameras when I'm on the go. They work perfectly fine in HomeKit when I'm on the same network.

 

Shouldn't I be able to access them when I'm not home through the Home app? I can access them via the Arlo app tho.

 

Can't get behind why this won't work.

Curtterp
Guide
Guide

JessicaP,

 

I think that you missed my reference to everything working EXCEPT for Arlo, not only did I say it, I said it twice. Not a good look for someone to reference Apple materials, since I already know how it all works. I have 2 other devices that have worked throughout this experience away from home, so Homekit is not the issue.

 

With that said, a couple of days after I trashed my Homekit and started over from scratch, the Arlo cameras started to work in Homekit. I am getting video away from home and not on my WiFi network. There is nothing that I did since my original post, no settings were changed, nothing else was added, it just started to work.

 

Since nothing has changed since the reload, I am suspecting that Arlo missed throwing a switch somewhere, and it was not in the firmware because the firmware has not changed on the base or cameras in a while. I do think it was either server-side, or something else, but it was not in Homekit. There is no other explanation for something to start working a couple of days after a reload.

 

I did check my beta devices, both before the reload and after the reload. Before the reload,  Arlo devices did not show up in both iPadOS or macOS beta. After the reload, everything showed up.  I am not sure if that was because when I was first notified, I made the mistake of clicking on start to add to Homekit when I was at work. I was able to install later, but I kept getting notified of temphome entries and do I want to delete them.  I was able to clear them out, but when things were still not working, that is the reason for the reload.

 

But it all works now both in regular iOS and macOS, and also the beta OS.  All is good with the world at this time.

 

Have a great day

Palazz
Initiate
Initiate

I have exactly the same problem. Homekit works locally when I'm under the WLAN where the Arlo PRO2 cameras are installed. Apple Home is installed and available (my iPad) but when I switch to mobile (4G) I cannnot get the videostream. In the arlo App everything works fine also via 4G. If there is something I need to set additionally I would like to know. The general description how to set-up Homekit does not help. Otherwise the only explanation is that something is broken in the Arlo SW and there is a need for an update.

tomtomkinson
Aspirant
Aspirant
Having the same problem. HomeKit integration works when I’m at home on my network but does not work when I’m away on cellular. When I’m away I can see the last image I saw while at home with the spinning wheel over it then eventually the error message pops up saying it’s not connected. Hoping this can be resolved via update otherwise I’m returning everything, it’s still just way too beta. It took a minor miracle to get HomeKit integration working in the first place.
Tc87
Aspirant
Aspirant
I have the baby monitor and HomeKit on 4G was ‘not responding’ but the app was fine. Now, with the new Arlo app, HomeKit outside the house seems to be fixed! Fingers crossed it stays this way...
Kimpan
Aspirant
Aspirant

@Tc87 wrote:
I have the baby monitor and HomeKit on 4G was ‘not responding’ but the app was fine. Now, with the new Arlo app, HomeKit outside the house seems to be fixed! Fingers crossed it stays this way...


Hi guys! Have you tried to shut the camera off in Arlo settings after you implement/add it in homekit?  I think the Arlo GUI work overhead the homekit user and when you leave your home/change from wifi-cell) it will  ”take the camera back” after a while if you know what i mean? Or maybe it has something to do with geofence settings i guess. Good luck👍

DashingPrius
Aspirant
Aspirant

Same problem here. Any resolution to the problem?

bruno_gp
Aspirant
Aspirant

To be able to control Homekit accessories remotely (away from home), you must set up some device to act as your home Bub. It can be an Apple TV, iPad or HomePod. Of course these devices should always be connected to the wifi and the internet so it can provide you remote control for your the Homekit accessories. The link below has more details on how to set up a home hub:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207057

rello
Aspirant
Aspirant

I have the same issue.

I have an Apple TV configured as a HomeKit hub and other HomeKit devices (non Arlo) are working fine when away from home.

Arlo Ulta cameras though they do not work in the iOS Home app when I am not connected to my Wi-Fi home network.

They work fine when I am connected to my Wi-Fi network or when I am away from home and I use the Arlo app.

rello
Aspirant
Aspirant

 

UPDATE: I have updated my AppleTV to tvOS 13.3, my iPhone to iOS 13.3 and now the Arlo cameras are correctly showing the live feed through HomeKit in the iOS Home app.

 

Perhaps the issue was with AppleTV or iOS.

rello
Aspirant
Aspirant
Back at square one.
Since a few days Arlo Ultra’s HomeKit cameras don’t work in the Home app when I am away from my house. They work correctly in the arlo app.

I tried rebooting the arlo base station and the Apple TV multiple times without success
Bschepers
Aspirant
Aspirant
Solution: On the Home screen, hit the Home icon in the upper left corner, go to Hubs & Bridges, and make sure the connected Apple TV (or another Apple device) is one that’s in your house. I have more than one Apple TV linked to my Apple ID, and Arlo was linking to one that was remote from my house. Thus, my cameras were not accessible in Home when I was away from my house (via cell). Made this change and everything’s working fine. Hope this helps.