topic Re: Ultra 2 camera constant battery issue in Arlo Ultra 2

Ultra 2 camera constant battery issue

mrjamesm — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 23:02:57 GMT

I'll try to keep this brief (I could rant)

Ultra camera drains battery and won't recharge when outdoors. I've tried multiple batteries. I have two camera's, this is the one closest to the base station - literally the other side of the walll. Previously submitted a support ticket (Which I now can't find anywhere? How do you submit a support ticket?) but that contained a long list of troubleshooting steps and the ticket got closed. Ive brought the camera inside and it has started to charge but with two previous batteries it failed to charge even indoors. I previously thought it was because it was too far from the base station but I've added an additional router and moved the base station. The camera that's farther away appears to be coping ok. Any solution?

Re: Ultra 2 camera constant battery issue

jguerdat — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 16:04:52 GMT

Charging has nothing to do with location. However, I've found that a few times I've had to wipe the contacts on both the camera and magnetic connector on the cable to achieve a good connection.

Re: Ultra 2 camera constant battery issue

mrjamesm — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 16:48:35 GMT

I thought the rate of drain on the battery might be a factor - which is much more significant than the marketing material states by the way - so just wanted to eliminate that from the lengthy troubleshooting list.

So quick update - using the exact same charging cable I've brought the camera inside and it is now charged to 100% - this is from it being outside and connected all the time to the charging cable and it running down to zero. It's like it doesn't charge the battery when it gets cold (I'm in Boston, temps falling below 32 at night now)

Re: Ultra 2 camera constant battery issue

dcfox1 — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 18:54:46 GMT

@mrjamesm They do stop charging below freezing to protect the battery.

Re: Ultra 2 camera constant battery issue

mrjamesm — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 19:48:45 GMT

But we are above freezing during the day - and besides which I opened the case in September about this camera when we certainly weren't in freezing conditions - plus my second camera seems to be coping ok - and it worked during winter last year.

Can anyone point me to the link to open a ticket with support?

Re: Ultra 2 camera constant battery issue

dcfox1 — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 20:30:44 GMT

The contact support links below here or in the app in settings then select support there are options. If you have a subscription there should be a phone number there.

Re: Ultra 2 camera constant battery issue

StephenB — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 21:18:45 GMT

@mrjamesm wrote:

(I'm in Boston, temps falling below 32 at night now)

I'm also in Boston, and my various cameras (including three Ultras) work ok. I do generally take them indoors to charge, and if they happen to be very cold they need to heat up before charging.

Re: Ultra 2 camera constant battery issue

mrjamesm — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 21:21:13 GMT

I've been round and round the support link but can't find how to open a support ticket which I had previously done - I'm out of warranty now so the chat isn't helpful - is that why I can't open a ticket?

Re: Ultra 2 camera constant battery issue

mrjamesm — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 21:44:50 GMT

Thanks for replying Stephen - It's definitely a camera issue, its been problematic for months, I'm just trying to figure out if I can get help from Arlo or whether I'm going to have to (extremely) reluctantly buy a new camera.

Re: Ultra 2 camera constant battery issue

dcfox1 — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 21:47:37 GMT

@mrjamesm wrote:
I've been round and round the support link but can't find how to open a support ticket which I had previously done - I'm out of warranty now so the chat isn't helpful - is that why I can't open a ticket?

Do you have a subscription? If so have you tried the support setting in the App for a phone number to call them as I suggested?

Re: Ultra 2 camera constant battery issue

mrjamesm — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 14:35:02 GMT

I do not have a subscription. I brought a new Arlo battery for the camera a week ago, charged it, put it outside, it died within a few days. This is the second brand new battery I've tried with the same results. Brought it in a couple of days ago, charged it using exactly the same cable and put it outside yesterday at 1:15. At 9:25 am this morning it only has 40% battery left. Even without the charger the battery shouldn't be dying within a couple of days.

So - once again - can I open a support ticket for this, I can give the number of the previous support ticket affecting the same camera - can someone give me the link of where to open a support ticket or has that been removed?

Re: Ultra 2 camera constant battery issue

StephenB — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 15:02:51 GMT

@mrjamesm wrote:

So - once again - can I open a support ticket for this, I can give the number of the previous support ticket affecting the same camera - can someone give me the link of where to open a support ticket or has that been removed?

https://www.arlo.com/en-us/support/contact.aspx gives you the options. You could also post your older support ticket here, and tag a mod (for instance @JamesC ) and ask them to escalate.

FWIW, the battery life claims are in my opinion inflated - and depend on video streaming rates that often are unrealistic. This isn't unique to Arlo, other vendors are doing the same.

Things that hurt battery life:

Connection drops: The camera goes into a loop, trying to reconnect. That can use up battery pretty quickly if the camera can't connect.
Video streaming: The more the camera streams, the shorter the battery life. Note that activity zones don't improve battery life at all, since the processing is done in the Arlo cloud (so the camera streams the same amount, whether activity zones are in use or not). So if you want to get an idea of how much streaming the cameras are doing, you need to disable the activity zones.

The best techniques I've found to improve power are (in order)

position the camera to limit the number of unneeded recordings
changing the motion sensitivity

In my experience the power management settings (Best Video, Optimized, Best Battery Life) have little effect.

Re: Ultra 2 camera constant battery issue

mrjamesm — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 15:14:23 GMT

Thanks again Stephen - Couldn't agree more with the battery life claims, that was an initial disappointment when I brought them. That's why I brought a new Eero repeater to plug the base station in closer to the cameras, set the zones correctly, optimized cameras etc. etc. Wire free was the goal but quickly became obvious it was going to be more hassle than trailing a wire.

Here goes nothing - @JamesC - any chance you can look at and escalate this issue? Original ticket details are:

Case Number: 42702060
Subject: Existing support case 42686723
Created Date: 9/9/2021
Description: Existing support case 42686723

It may be horrendous user error or a support contract thing but I cannot find the link to open a support ticket! I see the 4 categories on the contact page but trying each one of those does not present the open a support ticket option 😞