Accessing your Arlo camera from the app and getting an offline error can be frustrating and annoying as it denies access to your security system or camera. With the cameras online, there is always some sense of guaranteed security which quickly disappears when they fall offline.
The camera must remain hooked to your home network to access it from your app. The link must be maintained whether your camera connects directly to your network or via an Arlo base station.
Sometimes, a simple reboot gets them back online, while others require a series of troubleshooting steps to fix. I’ll walk you through the common causes of the offline and offers simple fixes to get it back online.
Why Is My Arlo Camera Saying Offline?
Arlo camera displays an offline error when it can’t successfully sync with the cloud servers. To get it back online, confirm your home network works and power cycle your devices. Ensure the installation point receives a sufficiently strong network signal.
There are several reasons for the offline issue on Arlo cameras. Here are common ones;
- Poor network signal strength
- Prolonged power outage or power supply issues – low battery on the wireless models
- The camera is out of sync with the base station
- Changes in your Network settings – SSID, password, or auto switch between 2.4 and 5 GHz frequency bands
- Wi-Fi network range issues or interferences at the installation location
- The base station or Smart Hub is offline
- Adverse weather conditions – too hot or cold environments.
- Arlo server outage
Observing the LED indicator on your camera helps narrow down the problem. But first, your camera connects to a base station or smart hub; confirm it is online.
A solid Blue on the LED indicates your base station is online and in sync with the cloud servers. If this isn’t the case, try re-sitting (removing and reconnecting) the ethernet cable to refresh its connection to your router.
Here is a detailed guide on getting the Arlo base station back online.
The camera’s status LED color helps point you in the direction to focus your troubleshooting efforts;
- Solid blue – the ideal light shows the camera is online and in sync with the cloud servers.
- Slowly Flashing amber – Experiencing a network connection problem
- Fast Blinking amber – Failed to sync with the base station
- Alternating amber and blue – Firmware updating
- No light – Power connection issue (low battery or a tripped wire)
How Do I Get My Arlo Camera Back Online?
To get your Arlo camera back online, confirm that you have active internet access from your network— power cycle the network router and the camera to refresh and initialize the connection afresh. Refresh the Arlo Secure app on your mobile device and check if the camera is back online.
Before jumping into the thick of things, confirm that the camera is powered up. You should see some form of light on the LED indicator. If you missed a low battery notification, recharge the camera first.
If your camera is offline, but the Smart Hub is online, try resyncing it and refresh the app to see if it’s back online.
Try these solutions to get your camera back online;
Check Your Network Settings
Arlo cameras connect to 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi networks via the Arlo app. Typically, the camera falls offline once it loses connection to your network.
So, can your home network access the internet?
Try connecting your mobile device or any other device and access the internet. If it works, all is well. The camera should be able to receive some juice.
Conversely, if you don’t have an internet connection, contact your ISP for a reconnection. Remember, Arlo cameras require a solid internet connection – speeds above 5 MBs (download and upload) should be sufficient.
Again, some router settings affect how your network interacts with the connected devices—band steering in mesh network auto switches and transfers devices to the most robust mesh node.
An offline issue can occur when the camera is transferred to the furthest node. Therefore, turn off band steering or any form of smart switching on your network.
If the camera keeps going offline, it’s probably receiving a weak signal or interference, or your network is auto-switching.
Restarting your router refreshes your network and solves drop-in network scenarios.
Power Cycle Your Devices
Power cycling an electronic device refreshes and reinitializes the network connection. This refresh clears temporal network errors or IP conflicts rendering your camera offline.
Typically, power cycling entails disconnecting a device’s power supply for a couple of minutes and reconnecting it – a fancy form of restarting a device. The key is to fully disconnect it from the power supply and let all residual charge dissipate.
Reboot your camera, base station, and network device. Start the process with your router > then the Base station, if any > and finish with the camera.
To power cycle the SmartHub/Base station, unplug the ethernet and power cable, rest for 20 – 30 seconds, and reconnect the cables.
For battery-powered Arlo cameras with removable batteries, chuck the batteries for 30 seconds the reconnect. On the other hand, disconnect the hardwired models or turn off the circuit breaker for 30 seconds.
After your camera powers up, refresh the app and check if it is back online.
Move The Camera Closer
Moving the camera closer to your base station or network router boosts signal strength.
First, ensure there aren’t sources of network interferences on the installation spot. This includes baby monitors, electronic remotes, signal jammers, or other Arlo cameras.
Arlo cameras can connect to the Smart Hub within 300 feet (90 meters) radius. Practically, the range reduces with an increase in obstacles.
If your camera connects directly to your router, ensure you are within your network’s range. Consider getting a Wi-Fi extender or upgrading to a mesh network to boost your coverage.
Update the Firmware
New firmware releases improve the device’s functionality and fix known production bugs.
Ensure that your Arlo app is running on the latest version. A quick check on your respective app store should confirm this.
Again, check the camera’s firmware version on the Arlo app and try updating it.
Check For Arlo Outage Reports
Arlo cameras are in constant communication with the cloud-based servers.
Sometimes, albeit a rarity, the servers experience outages, rendering the Arlo devices on the affected region offline.
Such a time when you experience all your Arlo devices running offline despite your home having internet access. Server downtime could be the potential reason.
Luckily, the server issue doesn’t last long, and functionality resumes after several hours.
Reset The Camera and Reconnect
Factory resetting restores the camera’s default firmware, clearing any corrupt config files that could affect the connection process.
Before resetting, be sure to exhaust the above options. Otherwise, you will run into the same network issue after resetting the camera.
Depending on your camera model, you might have to release the camera from the housing to find the sync button.
To reset the camera, press and hold the SYNC button for 15 – 20 seconds. Once the camera LED blinks blue, release the button and let the reset process take the course.
The camera resets and enters pairing mode. Try connecting it via the Arlo secure app.
Contact Arlo Support
If nothing suffices, contacting the Arlo support team isn’t a bad idea.
Reach out to them and highlight the troubleshooting solutions you have tried in vain. They should get back to you with available options. It could be that your device needs to be replaced.
