Arlo Baby Alexa and Night Vision?

[dorsanty]

I have an Arlo Baby which I want to used with an Echo Show and Fire TV

The setup of the camera via the Arlo Alexa skill was quick and easy. However the Night vision doesn't appear to be triggered when viewing the camera. Is this a known issue?

I have loaded the camera multiple times from each Alexa device and only 1/10+ times did the Fire TV show the camera with night vision and 0/10+ times did the Echo Show show the camera with night vision. Of course the native Arlo app and Website use Night Vision as expected when used seconds later.

Which device is meant to be triggering night vision, the camera or the apps that view the camera? I would have expected the camera to be making the decision.

P.S. I can't seem to select the Arlo Baby 'ABC1000' as a model number in this form. So selecting something that autocompletes to make this post.

[JamesC · Accepted solution]

dorsanty,

Night Vision should activate whenever the camera sense low light conditions and is streaming or detecting motion. The app used to stream should not make a difference.

How dark was it in the room when you were testing this? If you put the camera in a completely dark environment, such as a closed drawer with absolutely no light, do you see the same results?

JamesC

[dorsanty]

Thanks for recommending placing in a pitch black environment, this led me to run a number of tests.

So the Fire TV and Echo Show both will use night vision in pitch black environments. The Arlo web app and iOS app though appear to enable night vision at a different sensitivity and one that I'd consider more appropriate.

The light source that seemed to keep the Arlo Baby camera from using night vision with the Echo Show and Fire TV was the power indicator of the ceiling smoke detector in the room. It is a small light source (http://www.easyfiresafety.co.uk/images/P/KF20-01.JPG) but apparently enough to make the difference.

When the camera no longer has the detector in view the night vision triggers reliably in the room. So ultimately I know what I need to make this work when I need it.

I do think it would be an improvement if the sensitivity can be adjusted for clients of the Arlo Alexa Skill to match more closely the Web and App experience.

Thanks!!