Arlo Camera Not Connecting or Base Station Offline

Common Causes

When your Arlo camera is not connecting or your base station appears offline, the issue typically falls into one of these categories:

• Internet outage affecting your home network
• SmartHub or base station disconnected from the router or power
• Ethernet cable loose or damaged between the SmartHub and router
• Router assigned a new IP address to the SmartHub after a reboot
• Firmware corruption on the SmartHub or camera
• WiFi interference preventing the camera from reaching the base station
• Arlo cloud service outage affecting remote access

Step 1: Check the Base Station LEDs

Look at the LED on the front of your Arlo SmartHub or base station. A solid green LED means the base station is connected to the internet and functioning normally. If the LED is amber, the base station has power but no internet connection. If the LED is off, the base station has no power. These indicators help narrow down whether the issue is power, network, or device-related.

Step 2: Verify Your Internet Connection

Check whether other devices in your home have working internet access. If your internet is down, the Arlo base station will show an amber LED and cameras will appear offline in the app. Contact your internet service provider to resolve any outages. Once internet service is restored, the base station should reconnect automatically within a few minutes.

Step 3: Check Physical Connections

1. Ensure the Ethernet cable between the SmartHub and your router is firmly connected at both ends.
2. Try a different Ethernet cable to rule out a faulty cable.
3. Try a different port on your router.
4. Verify the SmartHub power adapter is plugged in securely.

Step 4: Restart the Base Station

1. Unplug the SmartHub from power.
2. Wait 60 seconds.
3. Plug it back in.
4. Wait two to three minutes for the LED to turn solid green.

If the LED turns green, open the Arlo app and check if your cameras have reconnected. Cameras paired to the base station should come back online automatically within a few minutes.

Step 5: Restart the Camera

If the base station is online but a specific camera remains offline, try restarting the camera.

• For battery-powered cameras, remove the battery, wait 30 seconds, and reinsert it.
• For wired cameras like the Arlo Essential Indoor Camera, unplug the USB power cable, wait 30 seconds, and reconnect it.

The camera LED should blink blue as it reconnects.

Step 6: Re-sync the Camera to the Base Station

If the camera does not reconnect after a restart, try syncing it again.

1. Press the sync button on the SmartHub.
2. Within two minutes, press the sync button on the camera.
3. Wait for the camera LED to blink blue and then turn solid blue, confirming it has paired with the base station.

Step 7: Check for Firmware Updates

Open the Arlo app and navigate to Settings, then My Devices. Select both the SmartHub and the affected camera to check for firmware updates. Install any available updates, as connectivity fixes are frequently included in firmware releases. The devices will restart automatically after the update completes.

Step 8: Check for Arlo Service Outages

Occasionally, Arlo's cloud servers experience outages that prevent remote access to cameras even though the local hardware is functioning. Visit the Arlo System Status page at status.arlo.com to check for any reported issues. If an outage is in progress, you will need to wait for Arlo to resolve it.

Step 9: Factory Reset the Base Station

As a last resort, you can factory reset the SmartHub.

1. Use a paperclip to press and hold the reset button on the back of the SmartHub for about 10 seconds.
2. The LED will blink amber during the reset process.
3. Once the LED turns solid green, open the Arlo app and re-add the SmartHub and cameras.

Note that a factory reset removes all local settings and recordings stored on the SmartHub's microSD card.

When to Contact Support

If the base station LED never turns green after restarting and resetting, the hardware may be defective. Contact Arlo Support with your device serial numbers for further assistance or warranty replacement.