Tips and tricks for charging 2nd gen Essential

[chuck21]

We have a lot of Essential cameras and unfortunately solar is not good enough to charge them with the limited sun we get. One thing I have found is it can be really tricky to get the cameras to charge via USB, too! Some of the units are very picky about the power source or USB cable, even though they're all the same hardware revision.

One thing I have realized is it takes some time for the cameras to realize they are not plugged into a solar panel anymore. If you immediately swap from a solar panel to a power bank or similar, it will draw 2W maximum (usually just 1W, doesn't show up as charging in the app). I've found that you must unplug the solar panel and wait a few minutes. After that, it should draw almost 9W (depending on charge level -- it'll taper off as it fills).

I was curious if other people had any quirks they've found with theirs.