topic Re: Arlo pro battery life VMC4030 in Arlo Pro

Arlo pro battery life VMC4030

Sound_Pursuit — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 16:08:45 GMT

I have an Arlo Pro security system with the VMB4000 base and 2 wireless cameras. The camera batteries are VMC4030. The batteries died about 6 months ago. I could not find the charging cable, so I just bought a new one. However, neither camera battery will take a charge. They both operate as long as the charging cable is connected. Does this mean I need to buy new batteries? If so, what batteries are suggested?

Thank you!

Re: Arlo pro battery life VMC4030

brh — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 16:47:29 GMT

@Sound_Pursuit

What brand of charging cable did you buy? Are you using the original Arlo power adapter? The reason I ask is that the cameras will operate on 5 volts which is used on most phone chargers but the camera also needs 9 volts to charge the batteries. The original Arlo power adapter has this but most other ones don't. I believe the chargers for the Samsung phones do have the two voltages available.

See:

https://community.arlo.com/t5/Arlo-Pro/Power-Adapter-for-Arlo-Pro/td-p/1244850

Brian

Re: Arlo pro battery life VMC4030

Sound_Pursuit — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 17:14:48 GMT

Thanks for responding.

No, I didn't buy the Arlo power adapter.

I bought the cable and adapter from LANMU. It is made by Qualcomm.

On the power adapter it says:

Class 2 power supply.

Output:

3.6 - 6V -> 3A

6-9V -> 2A

9-12V -> 1.5A

Re: Arlo pro battery life VMC4030

brh — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 19:18:56 GMT

@Sound_Pursuit

Read and try the steps listed in this article by Arlo:

https://kb.arlo.com/000052305/My-Arlo-Pro-or-Arlo-Pro-2-battery-is-dead-what-do-I-do

Arlo only uses one battery for the Pro, Pro 2, Go and Lights. You can purchase this battery at Best Buy and it comes with an Arlo cable and Power Adapter.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/arlo-rechargeable-lithium-ion-battery-for-arlo-pro/5613855.p?skuId=5613855

If later you can get your batteries to charge, you will have spares. That is what I did. You can also purchase from Amazon, but you can run right out to Best Buy and pick one up today.

Brian

Re: Arlo pro battery life VMC4030

Sound_Pursuit — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 22:50:48 GMT

Thanks, Brian!

Really appreciate your advice.

I was able to get the lightning bold, but only for a minute. Then it said the battery needed to be charged. So I will head to Best Buy this evening.

Thanks again for your time and assistance.

Re: Arlo pro battery life VMC4030

Sound_Pursuit — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 19:18:22 GMT

UPDATE:

The 2 batteries that came with the cameras charged fine and worked fine. However, they both discharged completely after several months. After that, neither would take a charge. I purchased a new battery and Battery Charger adapter from Best Buy. The new battery took a charge (100%) and is working fine. However, neither of the old batteries will charge, even with the authorized adapter and cable.

I spoke with Customer Support. They said because my batteries are now out of warrany they cannot be replaced, even though they only worked for 1 life cycle.

So the lesson here is to NOT let your batteries completely discharge. -it was probably in the user manual. Otherwise you'll have to spend $50 per battery to replace them. I learned my lesson. Pay attention to the low battery notifications.

I hope this helps someone!