Arlo Essentials cannot be setup through Base Station

[twcox]

I have three Essentials Spotlight Cameras that were all setup and connected fine through our WiFi and the Arlo app.

 I just purchased a base station (VM-B4540-NAS) and set that up and connected it to Apple HomeKit.  The problem I’m facing now is that the cameras (all removed from my Arlo app/home) cannot be “found” through the Base Station when I’m trying to set them up.  

I’ve reset the base station, my wireless router, and factory reset the cameras, but nothing seems to be working.  Any ideas?

[twcox]

I'd like to add that I just factory reset two cameras and were able to re-add them to my Arlo app over WiFi.  I still cannot get them setup and connected through the Base Station.

[JamesC]

twcox,

Are you seeing an error message when you try to add to the base station? You might try unplugging the power to the base station, plug back in, allow it to fully reboot and then try the onboarding process again to see if you still experience the same behavior.

JamesC

[twcox · Accepted solution]

James,

I tried that as well as resetting the entire base station.  I did find a solution though, maybe by dumb luck.

A summary of what I experienced, in case anybody else has a similar issue:

• The Arlo Essentials cameras all were connected to my Arlo app/through wifi - no issues there.
• I was able to setup the BaseStation without any issues and then connected that to HomeKit (I think this last part was my problem).
• I disconnected/removed my Essentials cameras and then tried to add each camera again, through the BaseStation instead of through wifi like they previously were connected.
• Timed out each and every time. 
• I then tried just adding the cameras back to our wifi again so I could have them set up overnight while I tinkered with a spare camera and the BaseStation.  No issues connecting and setting up the cameras via wifi.

Here's what I did to fix the problem:

• Disconnected everything - cameras and BaseStation
• Reset the BaseStation and then added it/set it up through the Arlo app.
• DID NOT CONNECT THE BASESTATION TO HOMEKIT YET!
• Then manually added each camera through the Arlo app and through the BaseStation and what do ya know... everything connected fine.
• Each camera has now been added to the BaseStation/Arlo and then on the BaseStation's settings, I set up HomeKit and now all my cameras are working fine in both the Arlo app and in the Home app.

TLDR; After you set up the BaseStation, do not connect it/set it up to HomeKit yet.  Add each camera to the Arlo app/BaseStation and once all the cameras are added, connect the BaseStation to HomeKit.   Not sure if that's a known issue/solution, but it took some trial and error to figure it out.