topic Re: Cold weather performance of Arlo Pro vs original Arlo in Arlo Pro

Cold weather performance of Arlo Pro vs original Arlo

DBMN — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 15:58:51 GMT

As a resident of Minnesota, is there any indication of how the new Arlo Pro camera will perform in very cold weather compared to the original Arlo. Not an expert at reading battery stats and not sure if Netgear has done any real world testing in this regard. A friend runs a number of the original cameras outside and they work but obviously go through batteries pretty quick. Any chance the Pro will hold up a bit better in terms of cold weather battery performance?

Re: Cold weather performance of Arlo Pro vs original Arlo

TomMac — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 17:01:58 GMT

Any chance the Pro will hold up a bit better in terms of cold weather battery performance?

TBMK, In the real world, prob so close it won't make any difference. Be it Lithium primary or Li-ion rechargeables down around -20f the chemistry start to slow down... this lowers the amount of power you can draw from the cells. Doesn't mean they are bad... just don't work as well when cold.

Think of your car battery ( lead-acid ) when below freezing, they loose about 50% power.

One thing to remember tho...DON'T charge the Li-ion cells when they are below 10f ... if they are cold, let them warm a bit before charging.

Cold temperatures will lower the discharge capacity of Lithium Ion laptop batteries (Co based), about 20% at -10C, when discharged at C/5 (i.e. normal) [1]. If the discharge rate is high (C vs C/5) then the low temperature capacity performance seriously collapses - by 50% and more - but only for the duration of the cold temperature operation. The reason for this is the temperature sensitivity of the electrolyte conductivity. Cold temperature discharge does not notably degrade the long term, cycle lifetime of the battery.

Reference https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/effect-of-freezing-on-lithium-ion-batteries.345524/

Re: Cold weather performance of Arlo Pro vs original Arlo

AncientGeek — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 21:31:23 GMT

I'm hoping for parity. Though not as cold as Minnesota, I managed to get about four months on the disposable batteries through the past NH winter.

Re: Cold weather performance of Arlo Pro vs original Arlo

JamesC — Mon, 24 Oct 2016 17:40:27 GMT

Operating temperature for Arlo Pro cameras is -4° to 113° F (-20° C to 45° C). For more information, take a look at this article: Are Arlo Pro Wire-Free cameras weatherproof?

JamesC

Re: Cold weather performance of Arlo Pro vs original Arlo

ltrain — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 16:41:34 GMT

I have the new Arlo Pro camera -
My cameras were all reading 99-100% - then the temperature hit about 30 degrees and that jumped down to 95%. Since then it's been stable. The cameras also give off the error - Charging Paused - Camera's battery temperature is too low.

I didn't have the original camera - so I can't really compare the two.

Re: Cold weather performance of Arlo Pro vs original Arlo

jguerdat — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 21:10:00 GMT

The cold temp message should be gone, at least if you're using the latest Android app. The web site still has the message although you can clear it. Why the message is even there when the charger isn't connected is beyond me.

Re: Cold weather performance of Arlo Pro vs original Arlo

AncientGeek — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 21:28:07 GMT

I still have the low temp message on the iOS app.

Re: Cold weather performance of Arlo Pro vs original Arlo

ltrain — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 21:41:56 GMT

I am using IOS as well - I thought the error was odd.
1. The temperature is within the stated operating parameters of the camera.
2. Like you said it's not currently charging.

Re: Cold weather performance of Arlo Pro vs original Arlo

jguerdat — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 00:33:23 GMT

The issue is that you can't charge a cold battery. It has nothing to do with the operating parameters.

Re: Cold weather performance of Arlo Pro vs original Arlo

AncientGeek — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 00:47:13 GMT

jguerdat wrote:
The issue is that you can't charge a cold battery. It has nothing to do with the operating parameters.

That would be the issue, if we were indeed trying to charge the battery, but the message pops up purely based on the temperature. There appears to be nothing in the code that checks to see if the camera is actually charging or just running on battery. (Or potentially whatever hardware semaphore is supposed to indicate the charging status is failing) So it may not be related to "parameters", but it is related operating "conditions" ... and a message of "Charging Paused" SHOULD be related to whether or not the camera is actually being charged.

Re: Cold weather performance of Arlo Pro vs original Arlo

ltrain — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 11:09:03 GMT

What AncientGreek said is correct - the battery isn't connected to a charger.

The camera isn't supposed to be hooked up to a charger in outdoor mode. This is a bad error message.

1. I shouldn't be getting any temperature warnings when the camera is currently running within the stated tolerances.

2. I shouldn't be getting warnings about charging issues when the camera is running off of battery power.

Re: Cold weather performance of Arlo Pro vs original Arlo

jguerdat — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 13:17:57 GMT

I'm fully aware of the fact that we're not charging and still get that message. I was replying to the post about operating parameters, which I referred to.

I have an open case with support (do you?) about this. The latest Android app seems to have fixed the issue by not having a message at all. The web page still has it but at least allows you to dismiss it. I've queried whether that will be fixed. No idea about iOS but I expect that will be fixed soon since the Android one already has.

Re: Cold weather performance of Arlo Pro vs original Arlo

AncientGeek — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 13:28:24 GMT

Got it. Your first sentence led me to infer that you misunderstood the problem we were experiencing. If you had left that off, it would have been more clear.

Good point on the open case. Chatting here is not the same as opening a formal case that will be managed and tracked accordingly. I will do that. Everyone else should, too.

Re: Cold weather performance of Arlo Pro vs original Arlo

PapaB — Fri, 16 Dec 2016 12:33:32 GMT

I have just installed 2 of the Pro cameras within the last 2 weeks. It is -17C here this morning in Ontario and one camera is working, the other says it must warm up before using it. Had I known temperature was a factor I likely wouldn't have paid the big bucks for these to be wireless when they will be useless 3 months of the year in Canada. Anybody tried a heat trace wrapped around them?

Re: Cold weather performance of Arlo Pro vs original Arlo

AncientGeekVT — Fri, 16 Dec 2016 13:03:11 GMT

PapaB wrote:
I have just installed 2 of the Pro cameras within the last 2 weeks. It is -17C here this morning in Ontario and one camera is working, the other says it must warm up before using it. Had I known temperature was a factor I likely wouldn't have paid the big bucks for these to be wireless when they will be useless 3 months of the year in Canada. Anybody tried a heat trace wrapped around them?

I just checked my Arlo Pro cameras and found the same message. It is -4 F there. The message is "Your cameras needs to warm up before you can use it." The Arlo tech specs do clearly say the minimum operating temperature is 32. I had hoped that was pessimistic, but it apparently is not! indoor NestCams say the same thing, but work all winter since they are powered.

If if you have access to a power source for heat tape (if that is what you mean by "trace"), you should use a powered camera that is rated for the extreme cold. They have heaters built in. The new outdoor NestCams are rated for -4F (-20C) which is still not great for those of us up north here. Axis makes a new M20 line of cameras that is rated for -22F (-30C). Once I get my Cat-6 pulled, I'll be switching to those.

im the meantime, I will be moving back to my standard Arlo cameras with non rechargable batteries, they work fine in the cold temps. I have them interspersed with Pro cameras currently and the older cameras are up and running while the Pros are too cold to operate. Looks like the Pros will get moved indoors this week.

Re: Cold weather performance of Arlo Pro vs original Arlo

BellaMpls — Sun, 29 Jan 2017 00:43:23 GMT

Set-up my Arlo Wireless Today in MINNESOTA - 27 degrees outside. Started 8 hours ago with 97% battery life - NOW (SAME DAY) Indicating 17% Battery Life left. My Salesguy said these batteries would last a year before changing. (He had to been on crack!) Great product but if EVERY Day I need new batteries, this is NUTS

Re: Cold weather performance of Arlo Pro vs original Arlo

AncientGeekVT — Sun, 29 Jan 2017 00:58:14 GMT

Neither are reasonable. I get about four months out of my batteries...even at lower temperatures than 27. A year seems completely far fetched. That was a bogus promise. Your performance means you have a problem with the camera, its location or how it is being used.

1. Make sure your camera has good signal from the base station.

2. How often is the camera activated? If it sees a lot of motion or if you are viewing live video often, clearly that will drain the batteries.

If it has good signal and isn't overly active, it is either the batteries or the camera. If the batteries came new with the camera, it seems likely they were fine, so I'd question the camera hardware.

Re: Cold weather performance of Arlo Pro vs original Arlo

ltrain — Sun, 29 Jan 2017 02:28:12 GMT

Something is either wrong with your camera or they are recording continuously. With cold Michigan weather my cameras are tracking to about 4 months.

Re: Cold weather performance of Arlo Pro vs original Arlo

BellaMpls — Sun, 29 Jan 2017 02:30:06 GMT

Thanks for the responses. I checked with my local store too. Going back and exchanging it for a different one. It is on motion-only recording so not conitnuous and they agree, must be a hardware issue. I am hoping a new model will correct the problem.

Re: Cold weather performance of Arlo Pro vs original Arlo

Arloinwinnipeg — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 13:30:12 GMT

Brand new fully charged Arlo Pro. Cameras begin to fail at - 15 c in Winnipeg and completely fail at - 17. Won't turn on till they warm up.

Are there booties or warmers that can help. If not Arlo is pretty useless in Winnipeg which is predominately over - 15 with windchill for half the year