Vmb4050 suddenly no longer connects to router even though led is blue

[Sgnolocal]

• Arlo vmb4050 suddenly stopped recording mid morning in 9/19/23 and also no longer have access to local recorded videos. Led light on base unit is solid blue.   Cameras work, get notified but no recording or maybe its just access to the library. Have reset port forwarding on router,  but ios app says cannot access router in the port forwarding section of the app.  Looks like something changed on app.

[Sgnolocal]

Correction vmb4540

[jguerdat]

Port forwarding is only for remote access to the videos. Is that what you're attempting or are you at home on your home WiFi?

Port forwarding also requires that it be configured for a specific IP address. Rebooting the router and/or hub may have caused that address to change. In that case, you have to check for the new address and put that into the port forwarding section. You may need to get the current address and port info again from the Arlo app and use that. You also need to make a change in your router's DHCP settings to set a static IP address for the hub so you don't have to go through this process again.

[Sgnolocal]

thanks for the response.  duplicate post was in error.  Am attempting to get to the videos while on the same wifi, static ip is set and base unit and router matches ip address and internal/external port.  I reformatted the USB stick yesterday and it seems to be recording, as Storage Status indicates that it is using up space on the stick but am still unable to get to the videos.   LED on base unit is still blue, but in the port forwarding section of the mobile app, it indicates "Unable to connect to router".

[StephenB]

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@Sgnolocal wrote:

 Am attempting to get to the videos while on the same wifi,

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Port forwarding isn't used in that scenario, so that is not the problem.

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@Sgnolocal wrote:

but in the port forwarding section of the mobile app, it indicates "Unable to connect to router".

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Try this test when the phone wifi is turned off (so it is forced to use the mobile data connection).  Maybe reboot the router and power-cycle the base first.

Also, make sure the ports are really open, using https://canyouseeme.org/ or a similar website. 

• Sometimes people are double-routing w/o realizing it - and that will prevent port forwarding from working.  The solution there is to forward the same ports from the outer router (often a gateway they think is a modem) to the inner one.
• And sometimes ISPs decide to block ports in their infrastructure.  Sometimes that's just their security policy, in others they are using Carrier Grade NAT (CGNAT) or equivalent tech that doesn't allow port forwarding.

[Sgnolocal]

rebooted router several times yesterday and the same ip address.  Also, just ejected and read the USB and it is doing the recording.  Have turned wifi off of the mobile app and tried to get to the local videos, but that did not work eitherAlso, just ejected and read the USB and it is doing the recording.

My guess, since this suddenly occurred, that for some reason, either a mobile app software change or the base software change, the base is no longer accessible from the router.

One thing I noticed and I hope it is not the problem, on 9/19/23 I lost the ability to see the local videos.  Suspiciously 9/19/23 is also three years from my first use and maybe hardware support expiry (initially put in service 9/19/20 is the cause.  I hope Arlo did not automatically disable due to that.

[StephenB]

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@Sgnolocal wrote:

rebooted router several times yesterday and the same ip address.  Also, just ejected and read the USB and it is doing the recording.  Have turned wifi off of the mobile app and tried to get to the local videos, but that did not work eitherAlso, just ejected and read the USB and it is doing the recording.

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Try https://canyouseeme.org/  to confirm that the ports are still truly open.

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@Sgnolocal wrote:

One thing I noticed and I hope it is not the problem, on 9/19/23 I lost the ability to see the local videos.  Suspiciously 9/19/23 is also three years from my first use and maybe hardware support expiry (initially put in service 9/19/20 is the cause.  I hope Arlo did not automatically disable due to that.

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The hardware warranty is 12 months, though that is extended to 24 months in Europe if you have the Arlo Secure Plus subscription.  So there is nothing magical about 3 years.

I can access local videos (both when at home and remotely), and my Ultras go back to 2018.  Though I don't have port forwarding set up, I use a VPN connection to my router instead.

[Sgnolocal]

perhaps lets approach this problem from another perspective.  I am on my wi-fi network, and I have videos on my local USB inserted to the base station, but I do not have the ability to see the local videos in the library.  I can see the status of the USB and it uses memory and can obviously communicate with the base station for the USB status.  So, why am I unable to see the videos if I am on the same wi-fi network and it is not supposed to rely on port forwarding.  I also turned port forwarding off on the mobile to see if that would work and it did not work either.

[StephenB]

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@Sgnolocal wrote:

So, why am I unable to see the videos if I am on the same wi-fi network 

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I agree that is the problem to resolve first. Since you have a smarthub, you should be able to see them when you are using the phone app on your local network. Port forwarding (whether working or not) is not a factor.

I'm thinking you've been using local storage for a while, given the cameras were installed in 2020.

Are you getting an error when you try to access the local recordings?  Or just not seeing anything?

Also, are you seeing "Library" in the app, or do you have the newer "Feed" and "Dashboard" options?

[Sgnolocal]

I have the library icon and the error I get is that "Videos stored on Base Station are not available.  Please check your connection settings."  I see the hub when I look at available wi-fi, led on base unit is blue, even switched the LAN  port on my router, even ejected USB and can see the recorded videos on the USB when I plug it into my computer.  My guess is that something is wrong in the update that was pushed on the 9/19/23, which prevents access to the locally stored videos attached to the base.  It was working early Tuesday and not thereafter and I did not change anything on the router nor the port forwarding configurations on the base (local IP address has been the same for years).  So, my analysis, bottom line, is that everything is working with the base, except access to local videos.  How do we get Arlo to look into this, since I do not have a support plan and the reason I purchased this years ago is because of the local recording of videos?  The devices are ok and basically did not have problems with it, except for two instances in the past: one where I experienced the local recording problem (or at least not being able to see them through the app but I was able to analyze further this time) and it cleared up with the subsequent software update and another time where Arlo central had an authentication issue until that was fixed centrally.

[StephenB]

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@Sgnolocal wrote:

How do we get Arlo to look into this, since I do not have a support plan and the reason I purchased this years ago is because of the local recording of videos?  The 

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Your only option for live support is to get a subscription (which you could cancel later on).  You could also try PMing @JamesC I guess.

Likely support will want you to remove the cameras and base from your account, do a factory reset on both the cameras and the base, and then set everything up again.  Very painful, but it might resolve the problem.

[DJArlo]

Coincidently, at my 3-yr mark (just this week) port forwarding stopped working.  This is the case both within and outside my LAN.

Specifically, the Port Forwarding Status is "Not Available".

Clicking on that status in the App, shows the message:

"Unable to connect to router"

In the Library, it shows an error message 

"There was an error obtaining your library.  Arlo team is working on this issue."

*On March 11, 2024, library access to the hub (local storage) was fine.  Since then, there is no access.

*I rebooted the Arlo hub and the router multiple times, included hard reboots.

*I "Refresh Ports" in the Arlo app, then applied the port change in the router.

Port Forwarding Status remains "Not Available".

Based on this post and my scenario, I wondered if Port Forwarding settings expire after 3 yr, but refreshing did not remedy the issue.

[StephenB]

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@DJArlo wrote:

Based on this post and my scenario, I wondered if Port Forwarding settings expire after 3 yr, but refreshing did not remedy the issue.

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They don't expire.

Plus port forwarding isn't needed when you are home (direct access will work without it).  It's only needed when you are remote.

It's possible that something changed with your ISP.  I suggest seeing if the forwarded ports are open using a PC browser ( https://canyouseeme.org/ )

[DJArlo]

If the Port Status error is unrelated, then I have 2 separate issues. 

I removed the USB (after safe eject), and verified that it is still recording, even while the App cannot view.

(1)  I cannot access local recordings, even when on the same LAN. 

In the Library, it shows an error message 

"There was an error obtaining your library.  Arlo team is working on this issue."

(2)  I cannot access local recordings when off the LAN.  Status shows "Unable to connect to router" error.  I use my own router, not controlled by my ISP.

It is interesting that this happened on the 3 yr anniversary (to the day) of activation, like the one who posted before.

[StephenB]

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@DJArlo wrote:

(2)  I cannot access local recordings when off the LAN.  Status shows "Unable to connect to router" error.  I use my own router, not controlled by my ISP.

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Did you confirm that the ports are actually opened using the URL I posted above?

The port forwarding assumes that the router has an ipv4 WAN address.  Plus there are some other scenarios where it can fail.  One of several is that your ISP might have switched to carrier grade NAT (CGNAT) because they have run out of IPv4 addresses.

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@DJArlo wrote:

It is interesting that this happened on the 3 yr anniversary (to the day) of activation, like the one who posted before.

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FWIW, direct access to local storage is working for me.  The Pro 3 is not on the EoL list, so that is certainly not a factor.

Quite a while ago, direct access to local storage failed on one of my VMB5000 bases.  I ended up removing the cameras and base from my account, and doing a hard reset on the cameras and the base.  After that it started working again.  So that is one thing you could try.

[DJArlo]

I'll look into the port issue after I can get direct access again.  If it is a change-to-CGNAT/IPv6  issue, and I have my own router, what is the resolution?  

Getting Direct Access (again)

For now, I've disabled port forwarding.

Before I reset everything, which I assume would lose access to all of my local recordings, what about swapping the USB storage?

Could a metadata corruption on the USB storage prevent the app from accessing suddenly?

What app version do you have?

[StephenB]

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@DJArlo wrote:

I'll look into the port issue after I can get direct access again.  If it is a change-to-CGNAT/IPv6  issue, and I have my own router, what is the resolution?  

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You'd need to contact your ISP and ask them if they can assign your router an internet-routable ipv4 address.  Some other posters here have done that - and I think in some cases there was no charge.

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@DJArlo wrote:

Before I reset everything, which I assume would lose access to all of my local recordings, what about swapping the USB storage?

e?

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Not sure if the reset would result in losing access to existing recordings - the process won't reformat the USB drive.

But you could try a different USB flash drive before proceeding with the reset.  If you are getting recordings on the current drive (and only having an access problem), then it won't help.  But it certainly does no harm, and is easy to try.

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@DJArlo wrote:

What aop version do you have?

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4.13.  This is a test version.

[DJArlo]

Thanks for the advice!

I'll look for the threads on the IPv4/6 and start with USB swap.

So is "Arlo team is working on the issue" an inaccurate error message from the Library?

I wonder if a bad RJ45 cable could cause all this.  (I am using the one Arlo provided.)

I have a VMB4540r2 with 1.21.1.0* firmware.

[DJArlo]

Update:  I installed the Arlo app (Android) on a different device that never had the app (fresh install).  I have Direct Storage Access, and the Port  Status for Port Forwarding is active.  I did not make other changes (same USB).

Now I just have to get it working on the original device.

[DJArlo]

Update:  I uninstalled the Arlo app (Android OS), then restarted device, then reinstalled, then restarted device, then opened the app.  Functionality is restored.

I don't think my router or USB were the problem.  Who knows.  More informative error messages would be helpful!

Thanks for the guidance!

[DJArlo]

...and just like that, the issue has returned, now on both devices.

Library:

"There was an error obtaining your library.  Arlo team is working on this issue."

(while device is connected to same network as the VMB4540r2)

"Coincidently", Port Forwarding Status is "Not Available".

Does this indicate an App issue?  Could something timing out (like communication to Arlo web servers) lead to these error messages?

[BrookeN]

Are you still experiencing the same behavior? 

[DJArlo]

It resolved itself about a day later.  The issue returned for a fairly short time a couple days ago.

[BrookeN]

But as of now you are working correct?

[DJArlo]

Currently, the app is working for me, and I did not change anything.