topic Re: UPS for VMB4540 in Arlo

UPS for VMB4540

wenklaw — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 09:46:10 GMT

Anyone know if the below will work with my VMB4540 base station? My concerns are will it provide enough power, looks to me like it would for up to around 4 hours as the VMB4540 seems to have a similar consumption to a router. My other concern is are the adapters going to fit?

APC Back-UPS Connect - CP12036LI

Im aware of the limitations, local video recording, lack of access remotely without internet connectivity etc etc etc of the VMB4540, this question is purely regarding the above UPS working with the base station.

Re: UPS for VMB4540

TomMac — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 13:28:16 GMT

I don't think it will run the unit for 4 hrs plus.... but it will for some of that.

I would go a bit higher in total wattage.

Knowing you would need a mem card in the base to record anything.. as if no internet there is no backup videos except on a mem card ( and the base does not back fill )

My unit is 1500w and runs the router, bases, cable modem for about 2-3 hours... That is enough for me as I do have a generator backup for the home

Re: UPS for VMB4540

wenklaw — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 17:01:34 GMT

I’m only looking for 1 to 2 hours of UPS backup just to cover any short power outages. Videos backed up to the local storage USB in the VMB4540 is fine. I’ve done further research and pretty sure this device will do what I want it to, will post when I receive it

Re: UPS for VMB4540

jguerdat — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 14:41:59 GMT

FWIW, I've been using a 750VA UPS for years. It flies through those short outages but doesn't last long enough for real outages. Normally, I'd start up my generator at that point so the shorter runtime isn't much of an issue.

Re: UPS for VMB4540

StephenB — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 16:01:17 GMT

@TomMac wrote:

I would go a bit higher in total wattage.

The DC power on the adapter is spec'd at 18W (12v * 1.5A). This particular UPS is delivering 12 volts directly, so it should be ok.

How long this will keep the just the smarthub running depends on the watt-hours, not the watts. This particular UPS provides about 28 Wh. That could discharge the lithium battery in about 80-90 minutes (longer if the base is using less power than the adapter label says). So I think this will work if you are only wanting to power the smarthub for about an hour or so.

But keeping everything running through a power failure also requires you to keep your router (and modem or ONT) powered. So you likely need 3x the watts to keep everything running (giving you remote access to your recordings if the power fails when you are away from home). A 750 VA UPS generally provides 80-100 watt hours, 1500VA would provide twice that. So they would provide a couple hours of runtime for all three devices.

The larger APC models have lead-acid batteries that are user-replaceable (unlike the CP12036LI).

Anyway, I recommend trying this out by disconnecting the UPS from your mains power after it is fully charged, and then see how long it takes to run down. You can ping the smarthub from a PC (ping -n 7200 will ping it once a second for two hours). You can then see when the pings stop working.

Re: UPS for VMB4540

wenklaw — Sun, 08 Feb 2026 08:03:07 GMT

Purchased and it’s working as I expected. Tested unplugged for just over an hour and the UPS still had 2 out the 4 battery indicators lit which suggests it’s good for at least 90 minutes which is more than what I was looking for.

Ideally I would like UPS that would provide my ONT, router and switch power durimg any outages but unfortunately due to my setup it’s not particularly viable in terms of cost, practicality and UPS units I would need, this solution enables storage of footage IF there is a brief power outage which is what I was after

Re: UPS for VMB4540

StephenB — Sun, 08 Feb 2026 12:43:14 GMT

@wenklaw wrote:

Ideally I would like UPS that would provide my ONT, router and switch power during any outages but unfortunately due to my setup it’s not particularly viable in terms of cost, practicality and UPS units I would need, this solution enables storage of footage IF there is a brief power outage which is what I was after

You could of course add more of these units over time. If you connect the smarthub to a router LAN port, you could leave the switches unprotected.

I do get what you mean on practicality, I have several 1500VA UPS systems to keep my my NAS and network running.