topic Charging led indicator in Arlo Pro

Charging led indicator

Streak2 — Sun, 20 Nov 2016 02:41:18 GMT

I am busy trying to charge the camera batteries on my 4 pro cameras for the first time.

On one of them as I insert the usb cable the led flashes orange for a few seconds and then goes out, on another the led flashed blue then goes out.

There does not appear to be an indicator to show that the batteries are charging.

Instructions say to wait for a solid blue light to show full charge but they don't talk about what the flashing means as the usb cable is plugged in.

Is all of this the way it should be?

Re: Charging led indicator

jguerdat — Sun, 20 Nov 2016 13:40:41 GMT

I've only charge mine once and I believe the LED flashed blue. Use the app or web and check the display in Settings, My Devices, your cameras and verify that 1) they show to be charging (lightning bolt in the icon) and 2) the percentage changes.

It's possile that the USB connector wasn't fully seated in that one camera so try again.

Re: Charging led indicator

TomMac — Sun, 20 Nov 2016 15:32:11 GMT

PS...

Yes, when first plugged in the led will flash BLUE one time

When full charged the led will stay blue IF the setting is toggled on in settings.

Re: Charging led indicator

Streak2 — Sun, 20 Nov 2016 22:23:44 GMT

So here are my findings after trying different chargers to charge the 4 cameras.

If the correct charger is used, the blue led flashes rapidly as the usb cable is plugged into the camera.

The battery in the camera then starts charging at voltage of 7.5v at 1 amp (I have usb measuring equipment).

Depending on how flat the battery is this continues for a few hours after which the current starts reducing all the way down to 0 at which time the blue battery full led comes on.

If you plug in a charger that is not dual voltage then the orange led flashes rapidly but battery charging will not take place.

The dual voltage Samsung charger that came with my S7 edge works to charge the Arlo Pro.

My only observation is that once the Netgear charger says the battery is full, if you disconnect and wait a few minutes and then plug the charger back in it will continue to charge at reduced current of abot 100ma eventually reducing to 0 after about 10 minutes. Using the Samsung charger , the led will turn blue within a minute of plugging it in. It could be that the Netgear chargers's output voltage is slightly higher.

Now to see how long the batteries last afte their first charge. Our of the box the life was not good at all but then there was a lot more than 5 minutes of recording per day on some of the cameras. I have reduced the motion sensitivity (don't think it will make much difference) and reduced the video image quality which hopefully will make a difference.

Re: Charging led indicator

jguerdat — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 13:41:00 GMT

Semi-interestingly, my batteries took a dive shortly afte recharging but have flattened out the discharge rate. Bad batteries? Phase of the moon?

Re: Charging led indicator

Streak2 — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 16:09:19 GMT

Of the 4 I charged fully yesterday, 2 are already at 98% after only a couple of activations. This despite reducing video quality to improve battery life.

This does not leave me with a lot of confidence.

Let's see how the week goes.

Re: Charging led indicator

jguerdat — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 21:04:14 GMT

I wouldn't worry about 2% - while the Pro cameras seem to generally not drop initially like rechargeables in the wireless cameras. Obviously, we need to get a feel for real life usage over time.