Arlo Essential flashing but no video recording

[sbob]

I have an Essential outdoors and a Q indoors that target the same location. My indoor camera is detecting the outdoor light flashing at night through a window but the outdoor camera is not recording any activity. The outdoor camera works normally during the day.

[jguerdat]

Is it always about the same time? There seems to be a quirk where the cameras can turn their nighttime lighting on briefly, perhaps caused by checking for firmware updates or other backend interaction.

[StephenB]

---

@sbob wrote:

I have an Essential outdoors and a Q indoors that target the same location. My indoor camera is detecting the outdoor light flashing at night through a window but the outdoor camera is not recording any activity. 

---

The indoor camera uses pixel processing to detect motion - so it will detect a flashing light.  

The outdoor camera uses passive infrared (PIR) sensors.  The light might not be creating IR in the right part of the freqency band.  Does the outdoor camera detect motion when you walk in front of it?

[sbob]

The firmware update idea seems to make sense if true. My sense is that it happens right around midnight but I haven't kept track of timing; I will start doing that.

The outdoor (Essential) camera does detect motion during the daylight hours. I will check to see if it does tonight.

[sbob]

The outdoor camera has detected motion /recorded video at night. The light has come on on the following schedule but has not detected motion/recorded video:

1-8-2022 12:10 PM

1-11-2022 10:13 PM
1-12-2022 10:45 PM
1-16-2022 10:18 PM
1-16-2022 10:45 PM

Note that the outdoor camera schedule is set to start at 10 PM.

In the case of the 1-8 and 1-12 instances, the light flashed twice on a 1-secod interval.

[sbob]

Correction: the indoor camera that captures the occurrences of the outdoor camera light going on is set to begin capture at 10 PM...

[StephenB]

Are you using activity zones?

[sbob]

No.