My outdoor cams do not connect

I have two outdoor cams. One worked another one, which I could see real time but I could never have seen any events although I am a plus member for two. I do not remember but these cameras have not worked for at least two weeks. Cameras’ firmware is old so that I tried to install newest one but failed to connect. In addition, I cannot check the firmware version. I have paid over $100 and worked 6 months and I have no idea if I need to ask refund or give them up. The base station should be used but it fails to connect just 10 to 12 feet, they still claim it is better and do not allow us to connect them through my mash network. Could you please advise how to recover my system?