topic Re: Amber indicator light stays on in Arlo Essential Wire-Free Cameras

Amber indicator light stays on

Joopnoordzij — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 18:10:09 GMT

The amber indicator light on the camera stays on in a sort of low output mode, it does not blink. I already reset the device several times to no avail. The light drains the battery, so how do I get it off?

Re: Amber indicator light stays on

jguerdat — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 15:39:19 GMT

This post is in the Essential camera series section but you indicate that it's an original wirefree camera which has 4 CR123 batteries. This can't be reset by anything other than opening and closing the battery door. Verify the camera model so we can be accurate in responses.

Re: Amber indicator light stays on

Joopnoordzij — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 19:07:26 GMT

It seems to be an essential spotlight camera with onboard non-removable batteries.

Re: Amber indicator light stays on

StephenB — Wed, 09 Mar 2022 13:40:39 GMT

@Joopnoordzij wrote:
It seems to be an essential spotlight camera with onboard non-removable batteries.

The four LED patterns in the user guide are

Slow blinking blue. The camera is in the process of pairing to a WiFi network.
Fast blinking blue. The camera paired with a WiFi network.
Blinking amber. The camera is out of range, a connection error occurred during pairing, or
the camera battery charge is low (15% or less).
Alternating blue and amber. A firmware update is in process.

So solid amber isn't listed.

Is the camera operating normally (other than the fast battery drain)?

How often are you needing to recharge it?

Re: Amber indicator light stays on

Joopnoordzij — Wed, 09 Mar 2022 14:49:15 GMT

Hi Stephen,
The camera seems to be operating normally. The battery drains at about 3 percent per day on standby, so it will probably not last a month. It used to last about four months.

Re: Amber indicator light stays on

StephenB — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 11:21:35 GMT

@Joopnoordzij wrote:
The camera seems to be operating normally. The battery drains at about 3 percent per day on standby, so it will probably not last a month. It used to last about four months.

Is it still under warranty?

I am wondering if the drain is reduced (or the LED status changes) if you bring the camera closer to the base (or router).

Drain does depend on temperature - all batteries are much less efficient at low temps.

Re: Amber indicator light stays on

Joopnoordzij — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 11:51:55 GMT

It’s about ten months old, so I guess it is still under warranty. Maybe I should send it back?
I have two of those cameras beside one another so they cover the entire back of the house. They are both only 15 feet from the router/ WIFI transmitter.
Should I contact Arlo?

Re: Amber indicator light stays on

StephenB — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 12:30:17 GMT

@Joopnoordzij wrote:
It’s about ten months old, so I guess it is still under warranty. Maybe I should send it back?
I have two of those cameras beside one another so they cover the entire back of the house. They are both only 15 feet from the router/ WIFI transmitter.
Should I contact Arlo?

You could try swapping the two (switching their fields of view), and see if that changes the battery drain.

But since you are seeing the strange LED status on one camera (but not the other), you could just contact Arlo and ask for an RMA. Use the support options in the app (googling for support usually lands you on a scam site).