ADC-V723 alarm.com webcams won't stay connected to my Orbi RBR850

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htsu wrote:

Andrew, I have the RB750...but own 4 of the exact same model alarm.com cameras.  I also experienced this issue, almost to the letter.  Changed all of the settings you did...multiple times.  Disconnected, factory reset, whisky, repeat.  I finally had to add my old Apple Airport Extreme to the ethernet port in the back of one of the Orbi devices to create a secondary wifi network *only* for the camera.

 

This makes me rather aggravated.  The Orbi system would be perfect if it wasn't for this problem.

 

I am having a similar issue with an iHome smart/wifi plug.  Although the plug has only faltered on me twice in about a month. The alarm.com cameras have countless drops per camera, per hour.

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I may have a very robust solution for you. I just got the whole thing working this week. Here's what I did:

1.) First I bought three of these: https://www.netgear.com/home/products/networking/wifi-range-extenders/ex2800.aspx I needed three because of the placement of my cameras, but you probably won't. One or Two might do the trick if you have plug located near where your cameras are and in range of an Orbi router or satellite.

2.) I connected each of them to the nearest Orbi in fastlane mode with a 5Ghz connection to Orbi and a broadcast of 2.4Ghz (this is easy to do, but you have to do the fastlane set up). 

3.) Each extender broadcasts a unique SSID. Important. So, for example, I have cameras_EXT1, cameras_EXT2 and cameras_EXT3. 

4.) My Orbi is set to broadcast 2.4Gz on channel 3 and I set all the extenders to channel 8.

5.) I then connected the cameras to the various extenders (depending on where the cameras were) and viola! Everything works awesome. No network degredation anywhere and stable camera connections.

6.) To clean up my network dispalys, after I connected everything I went to each of the extenders and turned off the SSID broadcast so they don't show up anymore.

Basically, this is an elaborate way to split the Orbi signal only push a 2.4Ghz signal.

I know it seems like a lot, but when you have some of the less sophisticated 2.4Gz/5Ghz devices with the Orbi this seems to be a great work around. Didn't cost me that much either. So, hot of the presses and my problem is completely solved. I use the extenders only for my cameras (I don't have any other wonkey devices in the house). 

I'm actually really happy now as the I get to keep the smart Orbi network in my house that autoselects AND I have all my cameras working.

Andrew

--Same story here. Almost word for word the same problems, same solutions attempted, same outcomes. Any suggestions on the best 'additional' router setup for my already expensive Orbi setup for all of my frequently dropping, reconnecting Vivotek Alarm cams and smart wemo switches would be appreciated. 

I don't have any problems with all my wemos. I did turn off 20/40Mhz co-existence in advanced wifi settings though. All wemos (and I have a lot) work fine. I assume all your firmware is up to date. Most of my wemos are gen 2 though. I don't know of any other solution for the cameras beyond the extender one I wrote about. I will say it works just fine. Maybe you can get away with just one of them?

Followed this thread since I as well am in the same group of ADC-723 security camera people. I too just decided to connect my Extreme router to the satellite 15 feet from the camera. Finally able to connect the camera but need to change it to 2.4 since it seems to still have some issue now and then.

I spoke to my Alarm.Com technical support and finally got someone with more than a rudimentary knowledge of networks and he confirmed that they have seen many issues with the Orbi and their security cameras. He did tell me that he put in a request to the camera developer and that he will email me when he gets a reply.

We'll see I guess. Love the Orbi otherwise but tire quickly of the fanboys out there that defend deficiencies in a product. Especially at this price point.

I found this thread by Googling. It's not the same unit, but it is the same behavior and it worked a year an a half on 3 different Xfinity wifi access points.. I recently replaced that access point with the cable modem CBK752 kit which has the CBR750 access point and the RBS750 satellite. Everything else connected fine including other IOT devices, but I can't get the outdoor cam to connect at all. I also have the indoor V522IR cam and it never skipped a beat (same wifi login/pwd).

I called support and alarm.com decided the wifi had failed in the cam so they sent me a new one. It won't connect either. When you load that little web page from the camera to give it the login, it shows a signal strength and mine's around 88 which is plenty. I moved the modem literally 2 feet to the left into the doorway of the front door and got it to 100 and still nothing but a red light. Finally I put the satellite right underneath the cam--and it quickly and easily connected!

I went inside to add the camera on the website and it wanted to install new firmware which I thought was great news based on DaveEdmonds'  comment in January. I thought maybe there's a fix? It finished the upgrade and began working perfectly. I unplugged the satellite to put it back where it belongs, and it continued to stream via the router for a few minutes and then failed, going back to a solid red light and a worthless camera guarding my house. And that's where I am.

I don't remember mentioning firmware to get my working. The only way my camera for my security system would work was to hardwire an extra router I g=had laying around to facilitate an additional access point that I used to connect both my camera, the alram panel and my garage door.

There are apparently many devices that don't play well with a mesh style network unfortunately, even icluding many home soundbars and other interior devices.

Naw, what I meant was, you'd posted that they put in a request to the camera developer about this issue, and I was hopeful that maybe the firmware upgrade I got on a brand-new cam might be the fix. 

Oh, got it. Yeah they never came back with anything or any information which sadly is typical of the alarm company we have.

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betona wrote:

I found this thread by Googling. It's not the same unit, but it is the same behavior and it worked a year an a half on 3 different Xfinity wifi access points.. I recently replaced that access point with the cable modem CBK752 kit which has the CBR750 access point and the RBS750 satellite. Everything else connected fine including other IOT devices, but I can't get the outdoor cam to connect at all. I also have the indoor V522IR cam and it never skipped a beat (same wifi login/pwd).

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I recommend setting your CTS/RTS threshold to 2347 for 2.4Ghz using orbilogin.com, Advanced tab, Adbvanced...Wireless Settings.  In my experience this improves compatibility for older 2.4Ghz devices with the new Orbi AX systems.  If that doesn't help, also try disabling AX mode for 2.4Ghz in Setup...Wireless Setup.

Wait wait wait--I got it to connect. I saw a thread about a different security cam on Reddit in /r/orbi suggesting to set the 2.4Mhz Preamble Mode to Short:

Advanced tab > Advanced > Wireless Settings > Preamble Mode (top box for 2.4) set drop-down to Short Preamble.

I looked at the cam and it had a green light (!!). I was able to import it into alarm.com by searching on its MAC address and everything cranked right up. I don't know what that Preamble change means, but this was a complete surprise that it worked.

Interesting the RBS850 at least that I have has no such option for that setting. EDIT, I finally found it it was to the right of the setting. I may try that. Thanks.

I also found this if interested:

Long Or Short Preamble: Pros And Cons - Internet Access Guide (internet-access-guide.com)