Essential Spotlight not charging?

[beezle]

I just got a new Essential Spotlight camera.  It came about 50% charged so I tried it out last night and it was working fine.  This morning it indicates the charge is down to 4% so I have been trying to charge it, but it does not seem to be charging.  I have used the provided cable and plugged it into a USB on my computer, tried plugging it into a phone charger,  tried a different cable, etc.  The charge still shows 4% and NEVER has shown the lightning bolt on the battery indicator on the app or online to indicate it is actually charging.  Am I doing something wrong?

[beezle]

OK so here is an update.  I decided to try restarting the camera as it was still stuck at 4% and not showing that it was charging.  After the restart, it showed 100% charged and the lightning bolt on the battery display was showing.  Not sure what that was all about, but if it does it again, I will try a restart.

[beezle]

And even more info to add.....  After I restarted the camera and placed it back outdoors, the battery indicator both on the app and on the web still show it as charging when it is no longer plugged in.  

[beezle]

I chatted with Arlo support and they told me some useless things to try (like deleting and reinstalling the app, logging out and back in).  Latest thing they said to try was to let it run down completely, then charge for 2 to 3 hours.  I cannot tell when the battery runs down, other than it will stop working, so I will wait for that and see what happens.

[JamesC]

The development team is currently investigating this issue. We hope to have a fix available soon. I will provide an update once we have more information.

JamesC

[beezle]

Thank you for the update JamesC.  I noticed that if I restart the camera, usually it updates the percentage with the latest information, but then it never adjusts it again unless I do another restart.

[JamesC · Accepted solution]

A new firmware update for Essential cameras has been released resolving this issue.

For more information, take a look here: 

Arlo Essential Spotlight Camera VMC2030 - 1.080.23.2_20_76711bde - 30th November 2020

Arlo Essential Camera VMC2020 - 1.080.23.2_20_76711bde - 30th November 2020

JamesC

[beezle]

Any idea when the firmware update will be available?    My camera is still on 1.080.23.1_13_45a26bb0.

[JamesC]

This firmware is available now. Make sure your camera has good signal strength and is sufficiently charged so that it will receive the update overnight.

JamesC

[beezle]

It did not receive the update overnight, even with it right by my wifi router, and charged at 86%.  I used the reset button to sync it again and it received the update finally.