Arlo Pro 2 with Mobile Router Nighthawk M1 (MR1100r0): batteries drained in <24h

[NeuFred]

I'm using 2 Arlo Pro 2 with the Netgear Mobile Router MR1000 (also called Netgear Nighthawk M1) which has an internal Arlo Base Station. The recent installation and sync worked fine and I can watch the monitored scenes. My big problem ist concerning the batteries which are draining within <24h. I rebooted the router and recharged the Arlo 2-3 times during a whole night and can not notice any increase in the autonomy of the batteries. The cameras are less than 10 meteres distance from the router and the signal is strong. I also checked the latest firmwares on router and Alro ... I set the battery optimization to "optimized" ... nothing helped so far ...

In comparison I also have another installation in a second home with the Arlo Base-Station (VMB4000) and one Arlo Pro 2 and this works fine, sufficient autonomy ... nothing to complain about.

My theory : is the Mobile Router the source of my problem ? Has anybody experienced Arlo with this Netgear Mobile Router with Arlo Station integrated ? Shall I activate the warranty of the 2 draining cameras batteries ?

Thanks for any suggestion or advice !

Cheers, Rick

[TomMac]

First question I always ask.... How much live viewing/recording are you doing??

Spec is about 5 min per day

[AncientGeek]

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@NeuFred wrote:

I'm using 2 Arlo Pro 2 with the Netgear Mobile Router MR1000 (also called Netgear Nighthawk M1) which has an internal Arlo Base Station. The recent installation and sync worked fine and I can watch the monitored scenes. My big problem ist concerning the batteries which are draining within <24h. I rebooted the router and recharged the Arlo 2-3 times during a whole night and can not notice any increase in the autonomy of the batteries. The cameras are less than 10 meteres distance from the router and the signal is strong. I also checked the latest firmwares on router and Alro ... I set the battery optimization to "optimized" ... nothing helped so far ...

In comparison I also have another installation in a second home with the Arlo Base-Station (VMB4000) and one Arlo Pro 2 and this works fine, sufficient autonomy ... nothing to complain about.

My theory : is the Mobile Router the source of my problem ? Has anybody experienced Arlo with this Netgear Mobile Router with Arlo Station integrated ? Shall I activate the warranty of the 2 draining cameras batteries ?

Thanks for any suggestion or advice !

Cheers, Rick

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Several months ago, another poster reported the same experience as you.  I don’t recall if he resolved it or not.  I bought an MR1100, but have not used it enough to know if I have the same issue.  I ran my router connected to Ethernet so I didn’t use my data plan during testing.  That could also be a difference.

Be sure you are running the latest version of the firmware on both devices.

[TomMac]

Along those line of it being the mobile router, the unit and the cameras may be overly pinging each other... that does drain faster

Other than that unknown here, not many have gone that route

[jguerdat]

It may also be that the Arlo side of the firmware is outdated relative to that used by a base. A recurring issue is that the M11 gets its updates with less frequency than the base so there may be a big mismatch in versions. I don't know that you can compare versions between the M1 and a base - I'd bet that the version numbers are different. The date may give a clue, though.  

[NeuFred]

Both devices (mobile router + arlo) are running with latest firmwares and were rebooted afterwards. Live viewing less than 5 minutes a day. 

[NeuFred]

Less than 5 minutes daily

[NeuFred]

Therefore you suggest me to buy an additional base ? That means if using a base (instead of activating the built in Arlo base) could solve my issue ? ... but Netgear is supposed to guarantee the compability/functionality as described in the product description ... hmmm ... that keeps me perplex ?

[jguerdat]

A base would likely solve the issues bit I'd call support for guidance. Dunno if you should start with Netgear for the M1 or Arlo for the built-in base part.

[AncientGeek]

I set up my MR1100 again this morning.  I have had it on for six hours now and the camera battery is still reporting 100%.  It is worth noting, the camera and MR1100 are only about eight feet apart and I’ve only triggered three or four recordings as I walk past them in my dining area.  I’ll leave them setup overnight to see how the camera battery holds up.

I also added a second camera to this configuration, so I can see how that works.  I bought the MR1100 to use as a travel Arlo system, so I’m eager to see if it will work as I hope it will.

One interesting discovery for me today...I went to add the second camera the the MR1100 and forgot that my MR1100 is owned by the Arlo account I have on my iPhone and shared with the account on my iPad.  I tried adding the new camera to the MR1100 from my iPad and the app allowed me to go through all of the steps, but it never synced up.  While the wheel was spinning, it occurred to me what I had done and I started the add process on my iPhone.  That worked just fine.  I’m surprised the app allowed me to try syncing the new device to that MR1100 since it is only shared...though, I do have admin (limited as they are) rights to the shared devices...one would think the app would only allow what would actually work, so either it should have worked, or I should not have been walked through the steps to add the device to a base I didn’t own.  

[AncientGeek]

I've had two Pro 2 cameras hooked up to my MR1100 now for over 24 hours and both still show 100% battery.  I have intentionally not triggered recording more than a few times, in order to see if it was some sort of heartbeat that was dragging down batteries in this configuration.  So far, that does not appear to be the case with my system.

I also noticed the second Pro 2 has an older firmware version than the first Pro 2 I hooked up (months ago), but the system has not updated the firmware on that second camera.  I thought after 24 hours, it would download and update the firmware.

[jguerdat]

Although ti would seem to have already been done, reboot the M1 and reinsert the camera battery to see if that forces the update. If not, remove the camera from Settings, My Devices and resync - that should cause the update to happen.

[AncientGeek]

Thanks.  I thought it was odd because the camera was new, straight out of the box and I just installed it yesterday.

[NeuFred]

@AncientGeek and @jguerdat : thank you so much for your precious advices !

In the meantime, I "de-registered" the Arlo-Base from the MR1100 and removed the batteries from both cameras for about 10 minutes. I re-inserted them afterwards and restarted with the registration process from the beginning. I've just done it an hour ago and therefore can not tell if the battery-life will be better ... i'll keep you posted tomorrow.

Just to make sure : my MR1100 is running without the battery since it is hooked on permanence on the wired electricity. I also join the firmware versions to compare with AncientGeek's experience. All devices tell me to be on the latest firmware ... I noticed that the Arlo P2 on the VMB4000 (my other Arlo Base) has a more recent FW that the one hooked on the MR1100 ...

[NeuFred]

Since I couldn't find out how to insert multiple screenshots I write down the FW versions:

MR1100r0 on Netgear= 1.9.8.0_16666

Netgear itself = NTG9X50C_12.04.02.00 (could not find any indication of a date of release)

Arlo Pro 2 H3 = 1.124.0.0_14570 (2x)

my other installation (without battery issue):

VMB4000r3 = 1.12.0.0_27099

Arlo Pro 2 H3 = 1.125.11.3_26229 (1x)

[AncientGeek]

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@NeuFred wrote:

Since I couldn't find out how to insert multiple screenshots I write down the FW versions:

MR1100r0 on Netgear= 1.9.8.0_16666

Netgear itself = NTG9X50C_12.04.02.00 (could not find any indication of a date of release)

Arlo Pro 2 H3 = 1.124.0.0_14570 (2x)

my other installation (without battery issue):

VMB4000r3 = 1.12.0.0_27099

Arlo Pro 2 H3 = 1.125.11.3_26229 (1x)

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My Pro 2 cameras are at 1.125.8.0.19174 and 1.124.0.0.14570.  Rebooting the base and pulling out the battery did not help initiate a firmware upgrade.  I may try tethering the MR1100 to see if that makes a difference.  Cameras are still at 100 battery.

[jguerdat]

The camera firmware versions are tied to the base version, AFAIK. Since the M1 uses a different version of firmware from the base (unless they've managed to coordinate them), the camera version would be different from those connected to the base.

[AncientGeek]

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@jguerdat wrote:

The camera firmware versions are tied to the base version, AFAIK. Since the M1 uses a different version of firmware from the base (unless they've managed to coordinate them), the camera version would be different from those connected to the base.

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Ok.  That could explain my different versions.  I believe I originally connected the camera with the newer version of firmware to a standard Arlo base and then connected it to the MR1100.  The camera with the older version was connected to the MR1100 immediately after the camera came out of the box for a four camera kit about month ago.  Perhaps the old version is the current version for the MR1100, but the new version works anyway.

[NeuFred]

I confirm ! Even after de-registering and re-initiating the sync of cameras, one through the iOS-app and once through web-based from computer, the result is the same ... my cameras are drained within less than 24h !!! That is usless for me and very disappointing ... I guess I tried everything your hints suggested so far. What shall I do next guys ?

I will take my 2 cameras with me and hook them on my other installation (with a dedicated Arlo Base) and observe if they drain as fast ... if so, it may be a problem of the battery. If not, I might buy an additional dedicated Arlo Base to hook behind my MR1100 (even it's supposed to be built in ...). Other advice welcome ...

[AncientGeek]

Wow.  I just checked my camera battery levels and both cameras attached to my MR1100 are at 100%.  They are in my dining room and only gget triggered when we happen to walk past them, so...rarely...but they have been attached to the MR1100 for several days now...perhaps close to a week?  Also, my Arlo Q Plus in the kitchen catches theses cameras doing an IR flash from time to time.  I have reported previously here that I see an IR flash from my Pro/Pro 2 cameras every time I log into the mobile app.  It seems to be part of the “getting status” routine.  The best way to see it is to have two cameras more or less facing each other or at lease positioned such that camera A can detect a flash from camera B in the dark.  But I digress.

[NeuFred]

After 5 hrs online, both cameras report a battery level between 60 and 70% down already !? Both were positionned less than 2 feet from router ... something is really misterious. I'm lost ...

I also notice, that the IR goes on when I walk by, but on my "other" installation it is similar and I didn't recharge the battery since more than 2 month ...

I believe, that the compatibility of my MR1100 and the 2 Arlo Pro 2 might be the source of my problems ... I will test to add the 2 on my "other" house with the dedicated Alro Base Station (not integrated in MR1100) and see if that's the pbm ... Any other advice is welcome ... other question : does "Arlo Support" read this forum and supply some support ? 

[AncientGeek]

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@NeuFred wrote:

After 5 hrs online, both cameras report a battery level between 60 and 70% down already !? Both were positionned less than 2 feet from router ... something is really misterious. I'm lost ...

I also notice, that the IR goes on when I walk by, but on my "other" installation it is similar and I didn't recharge the battery since more than 2 month ...

I believe, that the compatibility of my MR1100 and the 2 Arlo Pro 2 might be the source of my problems ... I will test to add the 2 on my "other" house with the dedicated Alro Base Station (not integrated in MR1100) and see if that's the pbm ... Any other advice is welcome ... other question : does "Arlo Support" read this forum and supply some support ? 

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From my experience, it appears it isn’t any inherent issue between the MR1100 and the Pro 2.  There is something else going on here.  My Pro 2 cameras are 12 feet from the MR1100 and battery is 100% after nearly a week.

[NeuFred]

I hooked the 2 cameras to my "other" Arlo-Installation which has a dedicated physical base-station and can confirm, that the batteries do not drain anymore ... they are on since nearly 24h and do still report 100% battery.

Therefore I can exclude the battery for beeing weak.

The combination of Nighthawk M1 (MR1100) serving as built-in Arlo-base does not work for me ... I do not have any clue why, since I tried it all as described and took your advice in consideration.

Enough of this experimentation as I will buy an additional physical base to hook "behind" my MR1100 without activation the built-in Arlo base ... what do you mean ? Its a workaround but I don't know any better ... will it work ?

[AncientGeek]

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@NeuFred wrote:

I hooked the 2 cameras to my "other" Arlo-Installation which has a dedicated physical base-station and can confirm, that the batteries do not drain anymore ... they are on since nearly 24h and do still report 100% battery.

Therefore I can exclude the battery for beeing weak.

The combination of Nighthawk M1 (MR1100) serving as built-in Arlo-base does not work for me ... I do not have any clue why, since I tried it all as described and took your advice in consideration.

Enough of this experimentation as I will buy an additional physical base to hook "behind" my MR1100 without activation the built-in Arlo base ... what do you mean ? Its a workaround but I don't know any better ... will it work ?

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I believe he means, don’t use the MR1100 as an Arlo base.  Just use it as an LTE router.  Hook your separate base station to the Ethernet port on the MR1100 (assuming you need LTE as your uplink) and connect your cameras to the base station as normal.  Assuming that Ethernet port can be used for client devices, that should work.  I know that port can be used to connect the MR1100 to a router to offload LTE traffic to a wired uplink.  I’ve never used it for a client device.  The manual should mention supported uses.

[AncientGeek]

I packed my MR1100 and three Pro 2 cameras and took them on a trip.  I connected the MR1100 up with an Ethernet offload, so I didn’t rack up a bunch of international data charges.  My first discovery was that the MR1100 was using the same DHCP scope as the base router, so I had to log into the web interface on the MR1100 and change the subnet.  After that I placed the cameras around the house where there was good signal and watched them.  After five days and 45 minutes of recording time, one camera was down to 8% battery.  The other two had much less recording time and still reported 100% battery on the UI.

If the battery life estimates of 2-3 months is based off 5 minutes or less recording per day, I’d say this configuration is falling short of the mark.  Since I have not tested a normal base station configuration this precisely, I don’t know how the MR1100 actually compares to a more typical configuration.  However, this is at least some additional data.  I’ll keep monitoring it.