Lineageos System Requirements
Hugues Abidi
I have been running Samsung SM-T520 for many years with Arlo. A few months after purchase of my first Arlo product (Arlo Baby Monitor), you removed support for older Android OS; (my device was running Android 4.4 kitkat); As such, I used APK mirror to run an older version of the app for as long as possible.
Admittedly, our Samsung Tablet is very old, but it is completely functional! Running such an old version of Android operating system is (I agree) insecure. So it was time to wipe it and install Lineage OS. This works GREAT, gives me a later version of base Android (7.1), AND has some supported security updates (at least for the near future).
> "The Arlo app cannot be run because we cannot confirm that your device meets Arlo security standards. This may be because your device is rooted, has an unlocked bootloader or is running a custom ROM."
I am no longer able to access Arlo services! Please STOP THIS PRACTICE. Remove this check. It is absolutely unnecessary. _IF_ you want to present a warning to users, as a banner/message, fine/great! But DO NOT prevent me from using my PURCHASED $300 Arlo product.
I don't understand how or why you think every vendor must support every old OS - I don't know of ANY that do. While it's true that old devices can be still very useful, that doesn't mean you can expect software to be able to be compatible with every API change introduced.
As an aside, LineageOS is officially unsupported although I do use v17.1 (Android 10) on my Nexus 6. The Arlo app has an issue of crashing after viewing a few videos in the library. Oh, well, it's not supported so...
This is why I was glad I finally ripped my Arlos out (I had the original Arlo Pro for the last 4 years), and haven't liked how Arlo decides how they can just change stuff for the worst without notifying their customers. I've moved on to a competitor and couldn't be happier.
Text on my phone in Dutch (my native language): De Arlo-app kan niet worden uitgevoerd omdat we niet kunnen bevestigen dat je apparaat voldoet aan de Arlo-veiligheidsnormen. Dit kan komen doordat de apparaat is geroot, een niet-vergrendelde bootloader heeft of een aanpaste ROM uitvoert.
So, my smartfhone was to " old", unsafe or whatever to function with my Arlo Basestation VMB3000. I bought a new smartphone with Android 10: Xiaomi Redmi Note 9: one of the best budget smatphones at this moment. Guess what: it cannot find the base station! It seems to me Netgear/Arlo no longer provides any support for Android users.
@all, I think some of you have missed the point. Arlo has introduced a technical CHECK without giving its customers the option to disable or bypass it. This check prevents usage on a non-standard device. Certainly if Arlo doesn't want to support it, they don't have to; (read: if you call with problems, and you're running on LineageOS, OK I guess Arlo can say sorry we dont' support that) -- BUT -- here they're just explicitly checking and stopping the application from working. Forcing us into the endless hardware upgrade cycle that Android demands. Wasteful.
Hello, iI am waiting now for a respond for 10 days. To solve my problems I received this message from Netgear: An Arlo Support expert will review your query and respond within 1-2 business days. (frankly, that doesn't mean my problem is going to be solved...)
An additional problem is now that my Arlo base station no longer functions "Off Line" I can view recordings with a pc until a few days ago. Netgear what are you doing ??? Green light stays on for 10 seconds, then a few blinks, them on for 10 sweconds and so on????
To reset the base station, first remove it from your account by going to settings, select base station then "Remove device". Then take a pin and hold the reset button on the back of the base station for 30 seconds. When it has booted up and the left and middle LEDs are green, you can re-add it to your account.
The Arlo-app still doesn't function on my smartphone. I can see the camera captures on my home pc at home but that is quite stupid for a security camera. I want to see them when I am NOT at home: on my smartphone.
The Arlo-app on my phone keeps giving the message (Dutch): De Arlo-app kan niet worden uitgevoerd omdat we niet kunnen bevestigen dat je apparaat voldoet aan de Arlo-veiligheidsnormen. Dit kan komen doordat de apparaat is geroot, een niet-vergrendelde bootloader heeft of een aanpaste ROM uitvoert.
Translated this gives something like: The Arlo app cannot be run as we cannot confirm the device meets Arlo safety standards. This could be due to the device being rooted, an immersive boot loader attached to a pasted ROM that is running.
I can buy another smartphone, spend a few hundred euros, but who can guarantee that the Arlo app will work. Even netgear cannot guarantee this, unless Netgear publishes a list of compatible smartphones. They had even better published it before I made the purchase.
Arlo stopped working here too. It went silent two days ago when the notifications suddenly stopped. I checked the device yesterday and the cute little message cited above appeared. All devices but one (a Nokia 6.1 with Android 10 but without any Arlo app installed) in this household are incompatible - all of a sudden. We are talking three smartphones that just quit working simply because Arlo decided to suddenly change the rule of the game by implementing SafetyNet checks.
We bought the first Arlo system (Arlo Pro) before SafetyNet had become a thing (Android 5.1 and 6.0 were the only games in town) and the original app (later named Arlo Legacy and discontinued) worked fine. No issues whatsoever and the decision was made to add more cameras and even a complete system for another location, entirely based on the decent reliability at the time.
The new Arlo app worked well until December since it didn't use SafetyNet and the only way out has been to downgrade but the probability is 100% that there will be a date when a message to the effect of "Arlo can't run because it has to be updated. Please update..." followed by "Arlo can't run because of root/unlocked bootloader/custom ROM" thus making two systems completely useless.
Those users that defend Arlo by arguing about "old devices" and whatever the excuse may be miss the point. It would be one thing if a NEW Arlo system would require a new app that only runs on Android [insert whatever new version] and that could be understandable but we are not talking about such a case here. We are talking about existing Arlo systems that stop working for artificial reasons. Suddenly implementing SafetyNet is an artificial restriction, which literally means that Arlo is opinionated about the system configuration of a client device (it is similar to an application that would stop running on a computer because of an Administrator account being present).
The same applies to a future scenario when Arlo disable apps and thus effectively bricking systems that have been working for years by attempting to force the user to install an update, which in turn require a new device. I.e. "You need to buy a new smartphone/tablet in order to continue to use the Arlo system you bought five years ago".
It is also interesting that Arlo require the use of an ad infested version of Android and also one with carrier installed "value added applications" (also called bloatware) by attempting to block the app from running on devices with custom ROMs (such as LineageOS), unlocked bootloader and/or root. The thought hit me that Arlo want to sell user data as an extra revenue source, which is a practice that PrivacyGuard in LineageOS prevent (a major reason to block LineageOS from using the app since the ROM in question is a lethal threat to that particular revenue stream). The so called "secure" Android (i.e. locked bootloader, stock ROM and no root) that Arlo is talking about is way less secure and a serious privacy intrusion due to data mining and forced ads not to mention aforementioned bloatware (installed by the manufacturer and/or carrier depending on device and source).
The current condition where Arlo put up artificial restrictions is a major reason to stay clear of the system. It is completely unacceptable to have a "security" system that stop working all of a sudden or one that require constant hardware upgrades or the purchase of dedicated devices just because of artificial "checks" that break the app just because some arbitrary conditions "aren't met" - conditions and requirements that didn't exist when the system was bought in the first place.
What Arlo must do is the following:
1. Remove SafetyNet from the app - there is no valid excuse or reason for an app to use this feature (SafetyNet is a serious violation of user rights and can be considered an anti-user feature).
2. Don't implement artificial blocks on "old" Arlo app versions. Arlo apps "from the system release" should be allowed to work (i.e. no forced updates just to keep using the system). I.e. an Arlo Pro bought in 2016 should be able to function with a smartphone from the same time (there are no reason why an Arlo system purchased when Marshmallow were the latest would stop working under that Android version). If new Arlo systems require a new app with new version requirements - fine and OK but artificially "bricking" older systems is not.
3. Never express opinions with artificial blocks about "bootloaders", "root" or "custom ROM" - it is not the business of Arlo to have an opinion about whether I did unlock my BL, installed Magisk (root) or flashed the device. It is as unacceptable as if Arlo would have opinions about my computer (such as running Insider builds of Windows, using an Administrator account, disable disk encryption on the C: drive and so on). Arlo should provide a simple app without any other "checks" than those related to minimum and targeted versions of Android (such as minimum 5.0 Lollipop, targeted version 10 Q).
4. If an "old" Arlo app is depreciated and a "new" app is replacing it - allow the "old" app to work "as is" with old systems and roll out the new app for new systems only. It is unacceptable that an Arlo system that did work fine for the last five years with a specific smartphone suddenly turn into a paper weight because of "legacy" app being disabled.
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