Record while streaming doesn't work with PC

[drysideshooter]

I have been extremely frustrated with the Arlo Pro's so far. Spent half my day on the phone with support and messing with the cameras and just found another issue.

When logged into arlo.netgear.com from a PC and selecting a camera to watch Live, when I select the "record" circle I get a message that says timezone error.  It works from my android phone (Galaxy S6) and a Nexus7 Android tablet, but not either of the two PC's I've tried.  I have checked and the Arlo base is set to UTC -8, which is Pacific Standard Time, which is my time zone.  I checked both PC's and they are also both set to the same time zone.  It seems odd that the record function works fine from a phone and tablet and not a PC.  

I am also surprised that the phone app offers so much more functionality than the PC allows.  I seem to get constant messages of "your device appears to be offline" or something like that, even though the internet connection is good and in some cases the camera's were right by the base.  If I can't get the remote recording to work from a  PC and these things start working somewhat reliably I will be returning them. Less than impressed so far. 

[steve_t]

I've just tried mine from my PC and can click record while live streaming so it's not a functionality issue but a technical one with your system

If you think you're going to be spending a lot of time watching live streams and don't have the cameras inside and wired for power, perhaps you should return these for something else as you'll next likely be complaining about short battery life.

These cameras are really great for low traffic areas. They're rated as battery life 4-6 months if total usage for each camera is less than 5 minutes a day including live streaming time

[drysideshooter]

It's odd that the record function won't work on either the desktop computer I've tried it on, or on a laptop, and both give the "timzone_error" message.  I had a bunch of trouble just creating account yesterday as I kept getting the "arlo is currently busy. Try again later" type message.  I suspect there are still some bugs.

The one camera that I want to record streaming from is connected to power.  It's in a shop with 17 very expensive automobiles and motorcycles.  There are folks in there from time to time and when I get a notification that someone has entered the area I want to be able to record for longer than the 2 minute maximum that can be done upon motion detection. 

Is there a way to have a snapshot or pic of the video sent via text message like it does with regular email?  I use Verizon and get the text only notification via mycellnumber@vtext.com.  That format is apparaently only SMS, and not MMS, which allows pictures or video.  Is there a work-around for that?

[jguerdat]

You might want to try power cycling both the computers as well as the base, just to be sure that everything is working ok. Also, verify that there are no firmware updates for any Arlo device (Settings, My Devices, any red triangles there to denote available updates?) and that your computers and browsers are fully up-to-date.  WHat computers and OSes as well as what browser(s)?  Have you tried a different browser? Does the time displayed in the computers match that of your phone?

Edit: Oh, yeah, the text messages. The email notifications have a snapshot built into them but are sent after the video has been uploaded while the push notifications are immediate.  You could have the emails sent to vtext.com but there's still the delay.

[TomMac]

 I use Verizon and get the text only notification via mycellnumber@vtext.com.  That format is apparaently only SMS, and not MMS, which allows pictures or video.  Is there a work-around for that?

If you have a smart phone, you could turn on the PUSHES... with the pushes you will get a snapshot of the video. Pushes also come at the beginning of event not at the end like an email.

( I use verizon too and it works fine )

[drysideshooter]

I do get the pushes TomMac.  My only problem is that the pushes are the same tone as my text messages which appears to be what the Arlo app defaults to. I can't find a way to change the alert tone for the Arlo app.  I'm not sure if an app like Notifier Pro would make it possible to assign Arlo it's own alert tone?  It seems a bit more cumbersome now than it could be.  If I hear the tone and check I can see it's from Arlo, and open Arlo and see the snapshot, or go to library and look at the video from the cam the text message said alerted.  It's certainly not horrible, but it would be nice if Arlo could have it's own unique alert tone.  I am the CEO of a decent sized company and we utilize all Android smart phones.  On my phone I can assign a unique text or ring tone to each of my contacts, which I have done for some of my key contacts for years. I am wondering if there is a way to add Arlo to "contacts" so when a message comes from them it could have it's own unique tone?  I'm going to look at the address the alerts come from and add it to my contacts list and give it a unique tone. I'm thinking that may work?

[TomMac]

Ok.. the assigned tone would be from the phone. Good luck with changing tone.

On my older Android and my new S7, the pushes allow a drag from top of screen alert and snapshot... I don't have to open arlo app till after seeing the push snapshot if needed.

[MiCaz]

You can open the Arlo app and press the 3 dots in the upper right corner, go into the settings and choose "Notifications." The first option is the Notification Tone. Select that and you can change the tone to whatever you like.