Arlo Doorbell won't Trigger Arlo Chimes - known issue

[CJH_SIN]

Chimes (x2) synced to Arlo basestation (VMB4000r3), as is the doorbell.

Running latest firmware on devices (1.14.1.1_2913_78b189a) and latest Android App. (2.8.0_25870)

Chime LED's indicate sync status is good and app confirms this.

However Doorbell will not trigger Chimes. - Have tried all permutations of the counter intuitive "silent mode" toggle as well as the incoming call / individual chime toggles. This is not an incorrect user setting issue.

Have performed multiple factory resets and resync of devices.

Spent hours on-line chat with Arlo troubleshooting.  Been informed this is a known issue and engineers are working on it, but no progress update provide or estimted of resolution date.

Now stuck with Doorbell system that won't activate chimes, with no visible path to resolution.

Appreciate if anyone has insight on this topic.

Note: Menu Setting: Doorbell>DeviceSettings>Melody dropdown is now blank. In prior version of the app this menu was populated with differnt Melody choices. I wonder if a lack of Melody choice is causing the Chimes not to sound?

[igityit]

I am having the exact same issue, one difference is we have a single chime and not two. The other difference, is at the end of my hours long ordeal with support, they diagnosed it as a faulty chime, sent a new one, only to have the same issues.

I was able to fix the blank Melody field by unpairing the chime from the doorbell, and then adding the chime back, however even when the pull-down of Meldoy options is back, there is still no chime when the doorbell is pressed.

Not sure what to do next short of asking for a refund and shopping for a more reliable doorbell.

[CJH_SIN]

Thanks for the pair unpair tip. Have tried a few times without the Melody menu coming back up but will try again.  - Although I do believe the defintion of insanity is doing the same thing multple times and expecting a different result! Regarding Chime replacement, I'm on Chime #3 and #4 with #1 and #2 hardware failing with 6 weeks of purchase. I added the newest one to my system just the other day, straight out of the box, but that hasn't rectified the "won't ring" issue I'm experiencing and confirms your experience also. As per your comment, wondering how long to wait until requesting a full refund. I'm in the same boat. Visibility from Arlo into the resolution path would be appreicated.

[brh]

Out of curiosity, what position is the switch inside the doorbell set to? To ring the Arlo Chime it must be set to either position 1 or 3. The reason I ask is that I have 2 doorbells and 1 Arlo Chime and they are all working properly.

Brian

[CJH_SIN]

Hi Brian,

Thanks for the query. I have tried troubleshooting this with the internal bell switch in positions 1, 2, and 3 - hoping this may change the result. It has not.

I  returned the switch to position 3, which is where it was initially set when it last worked.

[captainac]

Good to know that I'm not the only one having issues with this ... I thought that I was going insane!

[CJH_SIN]

Update: Parital Resolution:

Arlo contacted me and requested I try un-linking the camera linked to my doorbell and restart the base station. I did this and the Melody Menu in my app populated and my 2 chimes sounded when the doorbell was trigged. Success!!! 

However, I then tempted fate and re-linked the camera to the doorbell to try isolating / testing the issue. Sure enough, the Melody Menu went blank and the chimes would not sound. Following the same procedure as before I un-linked the camera for a second time and restarted the base station. This time however no luck. Melody Menu would not populate and chimes would not sound. Have tried multipe system resets / re sync of devices but no luck. Many more hours sunk into trying to resolve this. I did note however that after resetting the bell via the 10sec hold on the sync button, and reconnecting to base station and Chimes that the Melody Menu populated. But as soon as I trigged the Doorbell they immediately went blank and the Chimes did not sound. I've attached the before and after screenshot from the app. Note the 1 min time difference and Melody Menu content. - The Doorbell was trigged between the two images.

Unfortuantely it looks like the resolution to this problem is a little unpredictable.

[DDsturgill]

This is the exact same situation I am in. I tried pretty much the same troubleshooting which you performed, but the Arlo tech noted the same thing which was a known issue. I wonder if this is an issue with the latest Android update and compatibility with Arlo? I wish returning this was easier than what it is...

[AussieSkier]

I have just purchased a new doorbell and chime.

After many many attempts, managed to get both to sync with the basestation.

However, as reported previously, no chime list is shown on my Samsaung S8+ and the doorbell will not trigger any chimes.

Any new solutions to this problem???

[AussieSkier]

I have just purchased a new doorbell and chime, and have exactly the same issue as described, two months on...........

Interestingly I have powered down the chime and removed the batteries from the doorbell........ the base station however seems to think the doorbell is still active as it is still shown in "My Devices"................

[JessicaP]

If you're having problems where the Arlo Chime won't trigger your Arlo Audio Doorbell after unplugging and re-plugging and trying to set it up again, contact the Support Team to further investigate this issue. You will find several options for contacting support in the provided link.

[AussieSkier]

Thanks for the advice.

I have all used all the plugged/unplugged options, to no effect.

Have also tried all the options of unistalling/reinstalling the doorbell and chime and rebooted the  Arlo base inbetween, again with no effect.

I have consigned the newly bought $ 200 of hardware to a box until a solution can be found, which I am pretty displeased about.

Having read the posts in the Community, this is an ongoing issue for many people over many months 

[UnpaidTestDummy]

Calling support is a complete waste of time.  Reading through the various customer comments should prove my statement.  

Although both chime and doorbell are recognized and firmware is current, the doorbell doesn't ring the ARLO chime or the hard-wired chime.   Haven't identified a workable solution. Since this problem is widespread across different customers who have taken an analytic approach to problem resolution, one wonders what the ARLO engineers are doing - waiting for us to solve it for them?  

[CJH_SIN]

So I'm still working through this with ARLO but having partial success.

1. Ensure you don't have a camera paired to your doorbell.

2. Unpair the chime from system and then repair. Immediately go to the Melody Menu.   Doorbell>Device Settings>Melody>Chime Melody.  

3. Change the Chime Melody from Traditonal 1 to another Chime Melody.

The issue appears to be that the Traditonal 1 selection (which is default) is causing the Meldoy Menu to blank and in turn the chimes not sound.

I note this is a parital resolution as I have 2 Arlo Chimes in my house. If I follow the procedure outlined above I can get 1 chime to work as per design. However, If I connect the second Chime I cannot get it to sound and it disapears from my menu. Still troubleshooting this with ARLO L2 support.

I have also been told that I should now be able to pair a camera back to the doorbell and the chime work. I've not tested this yet. But if the chime then fails I'd be unpairing the camera.

[CJH_SIN]

Please see my post #14

[AussieSkier]

Thanks for the advice.

I had read about the camera pairing issue before, there was/is no camera paired to the doorbell.

Started from scratch this morning, reset the base, doorbell and chime, then paired the doorbell OK. Then paired the Chime, as soon as I chose the option to pair the chime to the existing doorbell at the end of the chime installation process, I got the amber "setup error" light on the chime. The chime is not working......... again.

When I went into the Melody selection on the smart phone screen I beleive I briefly saw some text on the Melody page before it dissapeared......... the page is yet again blank, no chimes to choose from.

The above expereince suggests this is a chime interface/firmware/OS issue........?

[brh]

@AussieSkier.,

have you tried to do a factory reset of the Chime? Previously, in earlier firmware versions, if I lost the internet and or power, my doorbell and chime would both go offline. To get them online again, I had to do a factory reset of the doorbell then set it back up, then do a factory reset of the chime. Then everything worked well until the next power outage.

Also, what hub/base are you using this on as well phone type and software version?

I have one doorbell that is paired to the Ultra Hub with 1 camera and chime, and one doorbell, also paired with the Ultra Hub, paired with 1 camera, but no chime. Both are working well but they won't record video or send notifications to the Ultra and Pro 3 cameras - but that is another bug.

Brian

[AussieSkier]

Hi

Have factory reset both the doorbell and chime many many times, three times each today just to get them paired.

I bought the hub/base about a week ago. Samsung S8+.

[CJH_SIN]

I've also noticed that sometimes you navigate to the Melody menu and it is poulated for a fraction of a second, just enough to view before it goes blank.  This is why I mention that the first thing you need to do, assuming the system lets you, is to get into the Melody setting and change it from default "Traditional 1" to something else.

I've usually been able to pair the chime to the Arlo base without the red LED showing, which then allows me to access the Melody menu and resolve.  If you can't get the Chime to pair properly then this is another issue. FYI - I'm on my 4th Chime. (remembering I run 2 in the house.) The first 2 units failed and would do noting but show a red LED when plugged into the wall socket, regardless of doing a hard rest by pushing the Sync button for 10 sec.  If you are experiencing this I suggest you contact Arlo as they authorised replacement of my first 2 units that did this.  - The challenge with  trouble shooting is that there can be multiple failures, so trying to isolate cause is difficult.

[UnpaidTestDummy]

I tried taking the chime out of the system completely.  Went in and selection Lux 1 and removed Trad 1.  The chime worked when the button was activated, but when I added the cam back to the door bell, the chime wouldn't work.  Removed the camera association and redid the chime.  It was hit or miss if the Melody list would appear.  When it finally did, I selected Lux 1 and did not apply the camera association.  The door bell works, but the phone call notification does not.    

Simply, this is a SYSTEM compatibility issue which needs the immediate attention of ARLO.  

Thanks for your help, fellow sufferers.  

[AussieSkier]

I made an interesting discovery overnight.

Samsung issued an update for my S*+, which I installed, the consequence was that all push notifications stopped from my Arlo system. 

I uninsatlled the Arlo App on my phone, re-installed it and push notifications came back !.

Re-checking the newly re-installed Arlo App I notice the Doorbell and Chime, which I had previously unistalled, appeard as connected devices, however they ARE NOT shown as commected devices on the web version - software/coding issue???

Might go to expalining why my two devices refuse to work.

[curh]

So my chime will not pair to the doorbell, they are just 2 individual devices in the system, so I do not get a ring.  If I am reading all of this, is it that the doorbell cannot be paired to both a camera AND a chime at the same time?

[CJH_SIN]

curh,

In theory (and in a perfect world where software doesn't have bugs) the bell should be able to be paired to the chime and to a camera such that you can establish a rule whereby the camera records when the bell is trigged. - and the chime sounds.

The challenge some of us have been having (using android, not sure if issue on ios) is that the chime does not sound when paired to the bell. The resolution (for the moment) is:

1. Unpair camera if paired to bell.

2. Unpair then repair bell to Arlo system and immediately change the Melody for the Chime from Traditional 1 to another setting.

This should resolve the issue of the chime not sounding. However, if the camera is re-paired the solution may fail.

Hoping all of this gets resolved in the next software update - along with the inability to pair 2 chimes . I've yet to receive confirmation from Arlo this will be resolved then, but hoping.....

[AussieSkier]

Hi

Thanks for the feedback.

I have tried thsi soluton several times, for some reason does not work for me.

[CJH_SIN]

Aussie Skier,

What is the status of your system? Ie are the chime and bell currently syned but no sound? Or can they not be synced? Reading the prior posts it appears you have had issues with chime / doorbell not syncing / LED light issue on the chime and Melody Menu not populating. - where are you at now?

As you have noted yourself, I've had issues whereby I've had to unsync / factory reset everythign and commence from scratch. This has been compounded by chimes with faulty hardware, introducing multiple failure points.

My system is currently working with 1 chime sounding, but with no camera connected and Melody not on Traditional 1. To get to that point I did need to pair / repair resync a chime a few times.