VMC2080 and VMA7600 charging

[veralet]

I have 2 newly installed Arlo VMC2080 cameras, each one connected to an Arlo VMA7600 solar panel.

I have noticed that the cameras only appears to start charging from the solar panels when the battery level falls below approximately 70%. Above this level, the solar panel does not charge the battery, even when there is sufficient sunlight. This also happens when the camera is inactive (and therefore there is no apparent battery consumption).

Could you please confirm whether the VMC2080/VMA7600 system is designed to have a charging threshold of around 70%, or whether the solar panel should normally charge the battery whenever sufficient solar power is available, regardless of the current battery percentage?

If this is not expected behaviour, could you please provide me with some troubleshooting steps to determine whether there is an issue with the camera, battery, solar panel, or connection between them? Please also let me know if there are any specific settings, firmware versions (I have the latest one installed), resets, or tests that I should check or perform.

Thank you in advance!

Arlo Essential Camera 

[StephenB · Accepted solution]

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@veralet wrote:

I have noticed that the cameras only appears to start charging from the solar panels when the battery level falls below approximately 70%. Above this level, the solar panel does not charge the battery, even when there is sufficient sunlight. This also happens when the camera is inactive (and therefore there is no apparent battery consumption).

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The newer Essential cameras (including your 3rd gen Essential) have a recharge threshold of about 65%.  Then the battery level falls below the threshold, the camera will trickle-charge until the battery level reaches about 80%.  This is intended to maximize the battery life.  Here's a post from a mod for the 2K 3rd gen model (very similar).

• https://community.arlo.com/t5/Arlo-Home-Security-System/Pairing-Essential-Camera-3rd-Gen-VMC3080-wit...

They should communicate this more effectively - in KB articles, the manual, and ideally an indicator or message in the app.