Is my extender breaking my Arlo Pro camera?

The short answer

Cameras often reconnect to the router rather than the extender after a battery change. Cheap extenders make a second network. Once your phone and the gadget end up on different halves of it, they can no longer find each other.

What's happening underneath

Talks mainly to the manufacturer's servers, so it survives strict routers well — but live view needs a steady upload, not just a good signal bar. An extender that makes its own network name puts your phone and the gadget on two different networks.

Source: Manufacturer documentation

Try these, in this order

• • Check the signal bars in the Arlo app at the camera's exact spot before moving anything else.
• • Move the base station or router higher and out of a cupboard.
• • Lower the video quality for the furthest camera — it needs far less signal.
• • Add a mesh box facing the garden instead of a plug-in extender.
• • Check the signal where the gadget actually lives, not where you're standing.
• • Move the router off the floor and out of any cupboard before buying anything.
• • Put the gadget and your phone on the same Wi-Fi name.

Setting it up again properly

• • Stand next to your router while you set it up, then move the gadget to where it lives.
• • Put your phone on the 2.4 GHz network name for the setup, or use one name for both bands so the phone can follow.
• • If your router splits bands into two names, turn the 5 GHz one off for five minutes rather than fighting it.
• • Turn mobile data off on your phone during setup — some apps quietly use it and never find the gadget.

When it's worth spending money

Only after you've tried lower video quality and a better router position. An outdoor-facing mesh box beats a new camera.