Arlo Android App drains phone battery when in geofencing mode

[Retired_Member]

I was so happy when Netgear finally solved the issue with the persistant notification "Geofencing is enabled". Now, we can just block this message from appearing without impacting other notifications from Arlo that we still need. Nevertheless, since then I noticed that the Arlo App is heavily draining my phones battery as long as geofencing is enabled.

Even if the app is running in the background and is not actively being used (means not checking notifications or watch recordings) it drains up to 20% of my phones battery in just 4 hours. This cannot be normal. After switching to schedule mode, the battery drain stops. It is clearly related to geofencing mode.

Phones tested: OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 6 (same issue)

Android Version: 9

[Nathanial]

Samsung Galaxy S10+ (T-Mobile) android application issue. The application drains battery way more than it should. Looking at battery usage it is showing Arlo as active the entire time not running in the background. I only had the app open for all of 5 minutes but it showed Arlo active for 10 hours with 12% battery usage. It wasn't t even open in task manager so the application is just glitched. For now I'm forcing the application to go to sleep any time it's not open to prevent this. This negatively effects the Geofencing option for my Arlo though as I manually have to open the app to get it to see I'm not home.

[jguerdat]

Have you rebooted the phone and reinstalled the app? I don't have your phone but I'm not seeing any drain on multiple devices.

[Nathanial]

I will give it a shot a report back with some additional testing. My thoughts are it's an Android specific issue as my wife as an iPhone 8+ and doesn't see any battery drain issues.

[jguerdat]

Mine are all Android - no iOS in the house. No battery drain here on 4 devices running a variety of Android versions from 8 to 9 with one on LineageOS. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 is the closest to your phone yet doesn't have the problem.

[Nathanial]

If you look at your battery usage, does it show Arlo running as active or background? Like I mentioned originally, it showed it only have 2 background minutes but over 8 hours of active like I had it open the entire time..

[jguerdat]

Arlo is 8 minutes, 2% on my Samsung tablet.

[Nathanial]

Must be a problem with the Android 9 version. Reinstalled and restarted my phone and tested today. I only opened the Arlo app twice, used it for all of two minutes and it's used more battery than anything else today by far. See attached screenshot.

[jguerdat]

I've got 3 phones on 9 - Pixel 2, Pixel 3 XL and an old Nexus 6 on LineageOS 16 (Android 9). None have the problem.

[TomMac]

Remember that the Geozones also require that the GPS be active....

Have you checked the power drain re the active gps alone vs the arlo app?

[Retired_Member]

I never deactivate GPS. Nowadays, GPS does not drain battery unless apps are actually using it. I guess Arlo has to use it from time to time to check if I am at home but battery usage was not this heavy in the past. Battery usage in Android settings shows the Arlo app on top with the highest percentage.

[Nathanial]

Must be specific to the Galaxy S10 then. I'll wait for an updated app and try again but right now the battery usage is ridiculous. And the fact that it runs active in the background, you know it's a problem app.

[jguerdat]

Open a case with support to help provide details to engineering:

https://www.arlo.com/en-us/support/contact.aspx

It might also be worth a reset of your phone since I don't think anyone else has reported this, although the number of S10s with Arlo is likely small.

[arlochris89]

Hello,

I can report I have the same exact problem. Battery usage is ridiculous and shows app is active all the time and 0 minutes in background.

I am using a galaxy s10+. Was using a pixel 3 with no issues at all.

This must be specific to the s10.

Please fix this Arlo. I am switching the app off until fixed.

Thank you

[jguerdat]

Did you open a case to raise awareness? Complaining here only goes so far.

https://www.arlo.com/en-us/support/contact.aspx

[Nathanial]

I'm not seeing an option to open a trouble ticket online. You can only live chat or call them. Those are inconvenient for people who just want to supply the details and let them work it. Even after multiple restarts, application removal, reinstall, system updates, the app is still trash. Why in the hell does it need to run ACTIVE all the time and drain battery like I'm sitting there watching it all day? This is one of the biggest flagship phones of 2019 running Android 9.0. No excuse for such application.

[Retired_Member]

I can't believe that my wife and I are the only ones who have noticed this issue. For now, we are using schedule mode as this mode does not cause the Arlo app to drain the phone battery.

[ShayneS]

HI @Retired_Member

What version of the Arlo Mobile App are you using? When did this issue first occur? 

[Retired_Member]

The issue occured with the Arlo app update that was fixing the persistant notification "Geofencing is enabled". Before this update you could not swipe away the notification and if you blocked it, it blocked all Arlo notifications. After the update we can block only the "Geofencing is enabled" message. We were really happy about the update but noticed that our phones lose battery way quicker than usual.

 After charging the phone and after some time has passed away from home, the Android battery monitor clearly shows that the Arlo app is using a lot of battery even though it is not even used in foreground. It might be constantly checking our locations and using energy this way.

My phone: One Plus 5

My wife's phone: One Plus 6

Both are on Android 9

Both are always running the latest Arlo app (currently 2.7.7_25575)

[ShayneS]

Just to double check, you have tried rebooting your base station? Also, is there any other troubleshootings steps you previously performed?

[Retired_Member]

I have read through the troubleshooting sections of the Arlo website and found nothing relevant. I took your advice and rebooted the Arlo base station yesterday evening. I also rebooted my phone. It did not help. Please see the uploaded screenshot. The Arlo app used 19 % of my battery in just half a day while staying in the background with geofencing turned on.

[ShayneS]

Can you test the new Arlo Mobile App Version 2.7.8 and see if you have any positive results.

[JessicaP]

Hi @Nathanial,

Let me help create a case for you. I'll reach out to you via private message to gather some information from you.

[Nathanial]

For situational awareness, I was able to open a case last night #40821247. Thanks for the assist though. After doing some additional testing, I'm almost postive the issue is tied to Geofencing. 

[Retired_Member]

I installed the new app. Haven't used my phone since and the only app showing up in the battery usage is the Arlo app. So, it does not help.