Arlo Pro 2 battery problems and customer service problems

[JSM16]

Just a quick rant for everyone to get a bit a insight before spending their money on an Arlo system.

We've had an Arlo Pro 2 system since December of last year.  I don't use geofencing or anything, just a schedule for arming/disarming.  Really don't watch too often or get too many alerts either.  Due to this, battery life has been stellar.  Like, 4-5 months/charge.  That's great IMO.

However, just last week I had an issue with my camera going offline and telling me the battery is at 0% even though just before it was at about 50-60%.  I would remove/reinsert the batter and recharge it for 15 minutes (it would then say about 70-80%) and it would do the same thing again overnight.  Did online tech support in which they to remove the camera and resync it.  I did, and also fully charged it.  That resolved it for a week.  Today I swapped batteries around and found that the battery was the culprit.

Contacted customer support and asked about warranty.  Gave them my previous case number, etc.  The customer service was absolutely awful.  I used to work at a call center, I know how it is and I empathize with those in the business.  This was something else.  I gave the case number and a solid 5 minutes later, she returned with something to the effect of 'bear with me while I look this up'.  No problem.  After another 8 minutes (time stamped), she asked if we were still connected.  Uh, yeah, I've been waiting for a response.  Another 10 minutes go by and I follow up several times.  I call in to tech support, talk to a technician who essentially tells me my battery needs replaced but they won't do it because it's 2 months out of warranty.  I voice my concern over online tech support in which he tells me that things are getting better because they're centralizing customer support to India whereas it was segmented globally.  I come back and literally 33 minutes after the last communication, after I spoke with the tech on the phone, the online service agent responds.

Honestly, I don't care that it's in India, I care that it was the worst customer service I've ever experienced in my life.

Oh, and to add to it, how bad do the batteries have to be to die with not more than 2 charge cycles on them?  I'll replace one battery at my own cost and if another goes down any time soon, I'll cut my losses and steer clear of Arlo/Netgear products going forward.

[jguerdat]

A totally dead battery needs a procedure to get it to charge properly. There's an FAQ here on how to do that. Perhaps that's your charging issue.

[JSM16]

It was never totally dead though. Both batteries drain at about the same rate. The both were in the 50-60% range, then the one just flakes out entirely. Sometimes it would show full, others dead. I’d be happy to try anything before shelling out $50 on a new battery though. Have a link?

[jguerdat]

Browsing through the FAQs is a worthwhile adventure. Simply go to the Support section here and venture forth.

https://kb.arlo.com/000052305/My-Arlo-Pro-or-Arlo-Pro-2-battery-is-dead-what-do-I-do

[JSM16]

So basically remove and reinstall the battery until it registers? Yeah I’ve done that more times than I can count. It’ll actually show it’s charging but still show 0%.

[jguerdat]

Swap batteries around to see if the issue stays with the battery or camera. That should give you ammunition for an RMA from support.

[JSM16]

I’ve swapped them and confirmed it’s the battery. I also told tech support the same thing. Essentially I was told that the battery warranty is 6 months, and I’ve had the system for 8 months, so I’m on my own.

It would be wonderful if they offered a replacement, but they refused.

[jguerdat]

Warranty is spelled out in the documentation that came with the system. Typically, its 1 year. AFAIK, the batteries do NOT have a shorter warranty period. @JamesC?

[JSM16]

I would love it if that were the case, but that was straight from the mouth of tech support when I called in last night.  As I stated in my first post though, the customer service is, by an exponential amount, the worst customer service I've ever experienced.

To be quite honest, had I known how monumentally awful it was, I would've never bought the system in the first place.

[JamesC]

JSM16,

Do you have a support case number I can reference to review and escalate as needed?

JamesC

[JSM16]

Sure do.  40349248

[JamesC]

JSM16,

I've escalated your case information to the management team. An agent will reach out to you with an update as soon as possible.

JamesC