Poor battery

[GJM70]

Disappointing product.
Camera frequently looses connection with router which is only two to three meters away..
But this is nothing compared to the battery quality, the camera is only three months old and takes all day to recharge and then needs recharging after around ten days. This was a problem recently while on holiday for two weeks as I had to shut the camera down during the day time so that the camera had enough charge to be switched on over night.

[Dannybear]

If the camera is covering a high traffic area then it would be draining the battery faster than usual.

The positioning of the camera is important to minimise unnecessary motion events.

Alternatively consider externally powering the the camera if reposition is not feasible.

The issue of camera loosing connection is more arlo support related so contact them through the arlo app under settings for options.

[GJM70]

Thank you for your help.
Do you have any info regarding recharging times?
I had the camera recharging for eight hours yesterday and only achieved 28%, surely this isn’t normal?

[Dannybear]

The expectation for charging the essential camera battery is between a few hours to overnight depending on the charger used. A 5v 2A adapter is recommended.
So it does suggest that either the battery is faulty or the adapter your using has low capacity.

https://kb.arlo.com/000062402/How-do-I-charge-my-Arlo-Essential-wire-free-camera

Also what is the arlo app interface your using, if the arlo web portal in pc browser then the web portal has an issue with reporting incorrect camera battery levels for quite a while now. Check using the mobile app instead.

[psrichmond]

I'm experiencing this as well.  

I believe it has to do with the cameras constantly trying to connect to the WiFi.  In my case the WiFi is off during most of the day.  If anyone has any advice on how resolve this, please let me know. 

Also the slow charging might have to do with your charger.  I tried using a 1amp iphone usb plug and it kept stopping at about 25% and got hot.  It is recommended that you use a 2amp usb charger. 

[Dannybear]

@psrichmond,

Regards the missing wifi during the day, the cameras are required to have constant wifi access, if it goes missing then the cameras will continuously attempt to reconnect which will drain battery. A good argument for the wifi to remain on.

If you’re after an alternative then suggest a base station so that the cameras will have continuous closed wifi connection which is not user accessible.

[GJM70]

Just tried using an iPad charger which I believe has a higher wattage, still painfully slow.

[StephenB]

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@GJM70 wrote:
Just tried using an iPad charger which I believe has a higher wattage, still painfully slow.

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The charger should have a label that gives the voltage+current.  There are several iPad chargers, max power varies between 10 and 20 watts.  I don't know if the camera will draw more than 10 watts though.

Are you disarming the camera when you charge it?  If it is still generating alerts, it will be using power - which will slow down the charging.