Gen 2 essential solar panel

[Markwboyd]

I have an essential gen2 camera and the solar panel, genuine, will not keep it charged, it has minimal triggers causing recording. The icon shows that it is charging. But has since gone flat.

My Gen 1 had a bigger solar panel which had no issues.

The current setting is optimized 

[JamesC]

Markwboyd,

Are you using activity zones? How much activity is the camera seeing?

JamesC

[Markwboyd]

Hello

No not using activity zones. And very few triggers of recording. Under 10 per day.

[Swirl3]

These Solar panels just don't have enough wattage to charge batteries unless you have direct sun all day.  Any slight angle from the sun seems to not have enough wattage to charge the batteries.  Poor charging design.  I'm ready to remove and return.  I am happy with the quality of the 2k, its what I expected and the most I needed.    

[AtomA]

I have to pull out the usb c and replug it back in sometimes for the camera to charge via a solar panel. And I only use 1 activity zone which picks up stuff few times a day but not picking up road traffic which is good.

It's been almost a week and was down to 90% on the battery which was in blue on the app and only started charging today after reinserting the solar panels usb.

So far if you find yourself seeing a camera down on charge all of a sudden I've notice an app problem with push notifications or in feed in the app. Noticed it's been activating my camera and keeping it running. Took me a while to figure it out as I usually have the volume down on my phone but had the volume up one day n heard my dog barking through it with no recording playing from feed and not activating the camera from dashboard but happens after getting notifications of something. Unknowingly had a camera on all night which went from 90ish to 15% in 10 hours just streaming from the app.

[jguerdat]

---

@AtomA wrote:

I have to pull out the usb c and replug it back in sometimes for the camera to charge via a solar panel. And I only use 1 activity zone which picks up stuff few times a day but not picking up road traffic which is good.

---

Activity zones still require recordings so the servers can decide whether or not to delete a recording according to your settings. To get a true account of recordings, delete any zones and total up the number of minutes per day of the complete set of recordings. >5 minutes per day is the spec for battery life but numbers well above that can still deplete the battery since the solar panel is just a trickle charger (and doesn't work at night).

[AtomA]

I gather solar panels don't charge at night. But don't self activate during the day is the problem having to unplug and replug.

[jguerdat]

I agree about the issue of having to unplug the panel to get it working. Plug it into a different camera (swap cameras around to make it easier) to verify that it's the panel or camera.

What about the zones and total recording times?

[AtomA]

1 zone to cover front but just under the road level to not pick up cars. Record times are default. I've turned the light off for night time also so it's not colour night recordings when the camera night vision is active. Sofar just need to make sure the app isn't auto activating live feed when I open the app on my Android mobile.

[StephenB]

---

@AtomA wrote:

1 zone to cover front but just under the road level to not pick up cars. 

---

Activity zones don't improve battery life.  That is because the cameras trigger on all motion (in or out of zone).  Video is then streamed to the Arlo Cloud, and the cloud supresses recordings and notifications for out-of-zone motion.

So it is quite possible that the camera is streaming so much video that the panel cannot keep up.  Try deleting the zone as a test, so you can get an accurate estimate of how many minutes of video streaming is actually happening every day.

[Swirl3]

I think that could be the case if the camera had power but in my case the solar panel can't even charge enough to power it on.  

[AtomA]

Ok. The app needs work. That is the cause of my camera battery drain. Already said it previously. Notifications get sent to the phone and when you open it it auto streams. If you don't stop it it will go all night. The solar panel works and charges. Otherwise now I have moved the solar panel but still need to unplug and replug. 

[agaribay1]

I just purchased the system with four cameras and two solar panels. One solar panel works without issue, while the other requires me to restart the camera to charge. The firmware is up to date, and the Wi-Fi strength is at maximum. 

[jguerdat]

Have you swapped panels around to see what happens?

[agaribay1]

I have and it is isolated to that camera.

[jguerdat]

If possible, swap at the store. Otherwise, use the app to go to Settings, Support and choose your camera. Scroll down to Contacts to see what official support may offer, including an RMA.

[arlouser120924]

the solar panel Arlo sells for GEN 2…..SUCK

they are only 1.2 Watts, they don’t charge at all

they are useless

[jguerdat]

---

@arlouser120924 wrote:

the solar panel Arlo sells for GEN 2…..SUCK

they are only 1.2 Watts, they don’t charge at all

they are useless

---

Not only was there another exact post like this but your addition here is useless.