Recording problems with Arlo cameras are more common than most people realize. The camera appears online, the LED light behaves normally, yet when you need to review footage, there’s absolutely nothing saved.
This happens for a few specific reasons, and most of them are easier to fix than you’d think. No technical background needed. No expensive repairs either.
What you’re about to learn: why recording stops working, what’s actually causing the problem in your case, and how to fix it yourself in under 30 minutes.
What’s Really Happening When Your Camera Won’t Record
Your Arlo camera relies on several things working together smoothly. It needs a strong internet connection, proper settings in your app, enough battery power, and an active subscription or storage plan. When even one of these pieces falls out of place, your camera might still appear online but fail to capture footage.
Think of it like a chain reaction. Your camera detects motion and sends a signal to start recording. That recording needs somewhere to go, whether that’s cloud storage or a local device. The whole process happens in seconds, and any hiccup along the way means no video gets saved.
Sometimes your camera actually does record, but the files don’t sync properly with your account. You might have footage sitting on the device itself that never made it to your phone. Other times, the motion detection settings are too picky or too relaxed, so your camera either misses events or drains its battery recording everything that moves.
The tricky part is that your camera’s LED light might look normal, your app might show the device as connected, and everything seems fine until you actually need to review footage. That’s when you discover the recordings aren’t there.
Arlo Camera Not Recording: Likely Causes
Several factors can prevent your Arlo camera from recording properly, and identifying the right one saves you time and frustration. Let’s look at what typically goes wrong and why it matters for your specific situation.
1. Subscription or Storage Plan Issues
Your Arlo camera needs somewhere to store recordings. If your subscription expired or you never set one up, your camera can’t save footage even when it detects motion perfectly.
Basic Arlo plans include limited cloud storage, but many models require an active Arlo Secure subscription to record anything at all. You might have bought a camera thinking it would just work out of the box, only to find out that recording features are locked behind a subscription wall.
Even if you had a subscription before, payment failures or expired credit cards can silently stop your service. Your camera stays connected and looks functional, but the recording feature gets disabled automatically. Check your account status in the Arlo app under Settings and Subscription to see if this is your problem.
2. Motion Detection Settings Are Off or Misconfigured
Your camera only records what it’s told to notice. If motion detection is turned off or the sensitivity is set too low, your camera will sit there like a paperweight while everything happens right in front of it.
Maybe you adjusted the settings weeks ago to reduce false alerts from passing cars or swaying trees. Those changes might have worked too well, and now your camera ignores real events you actually want to capture. The motion zones might be positioned wrong, or the detection mode could be set to something that doesn’t match your needs.
3. Weak Wi-Fi Signal or Connectivity Problems
Recording requires your camera to maintain a steady connection with your router and the Arlo cloud servers. When your Wi-Fi signal is weak or unstable, your camera might detect motion but fail to upload the video.
Distance matters more than you’d expect. If your camera is too far from your router, or if there are thick walls and metal objects in between, the signal strength drops. Your camera shows as “connected” because it can ping the network occasionally, but it can’t sustain the bandwidth needed to upload video files. This is especially common with outdoor cameras placed at the edges of your property where Wi-Fi barely reaches.
4. Dead or Low Battery
Battery-powered Arlo cameras need enough juice to both record and transmit video files. When your battery runs low, the camera often prioritizes staying connected over actually recording anything.
You might see a battery indicator in your app showing 20% or 30% remaining, but that’s not always enough for reliable recording. Cold weather drains batteries faster, and older batteries lose capacity over time. Your camera might work fine during the day when temperatures are mild but fail to record overnight when it gets cold and the battery struggles.
5. Outdated Firmware or App Version
Software updates fix bugs and improve recording reliability, but your camera and app won’t update themselves if you’re not paying attention. Running old firmware can cause recording failures that seem random and impossible to predict.
Sometimes an update rolls out for either your camera or the Arlo app, and the two versions don’t communicate properly until both are updated. You might experience gaps in recordings, failed uploads, or videos that start recording but cut off after a few seconds. These issues often disappear completely after updating everything to the latest version.
Arlo Camera Not Recording: How to Fix
Getting your recordings back doesn’t always require technical expertise or expensive fixes. Try these solutions in order, and you’ll likely solve the problem without spending hours on troubleshooting.
1. Verify Your Subscription Status and Storage
Open your Arlo app and head to Settings, then tap on Subscription. This shows whether your plan is active and what features you have access to. If your subscription shows as expired or inactive, you’ll need to renew it before your camera can record again.
Compare what you see here with what your camera model actually requires. Some older Arlo cameras include seven days of free cloud storage, while newer models need a paid subscription from day one. If you’re not sure what you have, look up your specific camera model on Arlo’s website.
Assuming you need a subscription, choose a plan that fits your needs and add your payment method. The Arlo Secure plan starts at a few dollars per month and covers basic recording features for one camera. After activating or renewing your subscription, give it about 15 minutes for the changes to sync with your camera, then test the motion detection to confirm recordings are working.
2. Adjust Motion Detection Settings
Go to your camera’s settings in the Arlo app and find the Motion Detection or Mode section. Make sure motion detection is actually turned on and that your camera is set to Armed mode. This sounds obvious, but it’s easy to accidentally leave your system in Standby or Disarmed mode without realizing it.
Check your motion sensitivity next. If it’s set to a low number, bump it up to medium or high and test again. Walk in front of your camera and see if it triggers a recording. If you’re getting too many false alerts from trees or cars, you can dial it back down slightly once you confirm the basic recording function works.
Take a close look at your activity zones if your camera supports them. These zones tell your camera which parts of the frame should trigger recordings. Maybe you accidentally excluded the area where you need coverage, or the zones are positioned for an old camera angle that doesn’t match where your camera points now. Redraw the zones to cover the areas that matter most, leaving out busy streets or neighbor’s yards that cause unwanted alerts.
3. Improve Your Wi-Fi Connection
Start by checking where your camera sits relative to your router. If it’s more than 50 feet away or separated by multiple walls, your signal might be too weak for reliable recording. The simplest fix is moving your router closer to the camera, but that’s not always practical.
A Wi-Fi extender or mesh network system can bridge the gap between your router and distant cameras. Place an extender halfway between your router and camera, making sure it gets a strong signal from the router itself. Once the extender is set up, reconnect your Arlo camera to the extended network name. This usually cuts through connection issues immediately.
You can also reduce interference by changing your router’s Wi-Fi channel. Other networks in your area might be crowded on the same channel your router uses, causing signal conflicts. Log into your router’s settings (usually through a web browser) and switch from channel 6 to channel 1 or 11. These channels don’t overlap as much and often provide cleaner connections.
4. Charge or Replace Your Camera Battery
Pull your camera down and check the battery level directly rather than trusting the app’s indicator. If the battery is removable, take it out and plug it into a charger until it reaches 100%. This can take several hours depending on how drained it is.
While the battery charges, clean the contacts with a dry cloth to remove any dirt or corrosion that might prevent proper charging. Dirty contacts can make your camera think the battery is fuller than it actually is, leading to unexpected shutdowns when you need recording most.
If your battery is several years old or won’t hold a charge for more than a few days, it’s probably time for a replacement. Arlo sells official replacement batteries, and they’re worth the investment over generic alternatives that might not deliver the same performance. Once you’ve got a fresh or fully charged battery, put it back in your camera and test the recording function before mounting everything back in place.
5. Update Camera Firmware and App
Open the Arlo app and look for any update notifications at the top of the screen. If you see one, follow the prompts to update your app first through your phone’s app store. This ensures you’re running the latest version before you start updating camera firmware.
For camera firmware updates, go to Settings, then My Devices, and select your camera. Scroll down to find Device Info and look for a Firmware Update option. If an update is available, start it and wait patiently. Don’t unplug your camera or close the app during this process, as interrupting a firmware update can cause serious problems.
Updates usually take 5 to 10 minutes to complete. Your camera might reboot once or twice, and the LED light will flash in different patterns. When everything finishes, your camera will reconnect automatically. Test your recording function after the update to make sure everything works smoothly.
6. Remove and Re-add Your Camera
Sometimes your camera gets stuck in a weird state that only a full reset can fix. Open the Arlo app, go to Settings, find your camera under My Devices, and select Remove Device. This disconnects the camera from your account without deleting your old recordings.
After removing the camera, physically reset it by holding down the sync button for 10 to 15 seconds until the LED blinks amber. This clears any saved settings and puts the camera back to factory defaults. Now you’re ready to add it back to your account fresh.
In the app, tap Add New Device and follow the setup process like you did when you first got the camera. Position your phone close to the camera during setup to ensure a strong connection. Once the camera is added back, reconfigure your motion detection zones, sensitivity, and recording schedules. This clean slate often resolves strange recording issues that don’t respond to simpler fixes.
7. Contact Arlo Support
If you’ve tried everything above and your camera still won’t record, something deeper is going on. Your camera might have a hardware defect, or there could be an account-level issue that only Arlo support can fix.
Reach out to Arlo’s customer service through their website or call their support line. Have your camera’s serial number ready, along with details about what you’ve already tried. Be specific about when the problem started and whether anything changed around that time, like a power outage or router replacement. Support technicians can run diagnostics on your account and camera remotely, and they’ll help determine if your camera needs replacement under warranty or if there’s another solution you haven’t considered yet.
Wrapping Up
Your Arlo camera is supposed to give you peace of mind, not another thing to worry about. When recordings stop working, it usually comes down to subscription issues, weak connections, low batteries, or settings that need adjustment. Most of these fixes take just a few minutes once you know where to look.
Start with the simple stuff like checking your subscription and battery, then work your way through the more involved solutions if needed. Your camera will be back to recording reliably before you know it, capturing all those moments you actually want to see.