Arlo Doorbell Battery Life is disappointing. Dies in about 3 months.

[skingspan]

I bought two Arlo Doorbells to pair with my Arlo Cameras right when they came out.  I like the product but the battery life is pretty dissapointing.  Both of my doorbell's batteries died after about 3 months.  I think there are two issues with the product.   In cold climates the batteries that come with the doorbell die very quickly.  One of my doorbells was at 50% battery and after a couple days of sub zero temperatures it was dead.  I think Arlo needs to start shipping Lithium Ion batteries with the camera to get customers closer to the 1 year battery life they claim.

The second issue is the LED ring around the button that lights when motion is detected.  This is what is really killing the battery.  I think there is another thread where someone suggested putting electrical tape over the sensor which is a great hack.  I do like the LED ring, but it is really only necessary at night.  It lights up during the day when you can't really even see it.  I think If there was a light sensor in the doorbell or if the doorbell could use the camera's light sensor to turn off the doorbell LED during the day when the LED isn't really necessary that would go a long way toward extending the battery life.

Maybe this functionality is already built in and I am missing it?

[jguerdat]

LEDs take very little current - it's unlikely that the flashing is wearing down the battery. Activation of the doorbell is another issue, whether by pressing the doorbell or motion detection.

I'm using lithium batteries in mine right now and the cold and activations seem to be ok. I'm not sure how long they've been in there - a month? Down to 92%. At one point they read lower but I was putzing with the doorbell and removed the batteries. After reinstalling, the level came up - a power cycle was needed? A firmware update? I don't recall now but a fairly low usage doorbell is holding up well with the batteries.