Arlo Pro 2: with rechargeable battery installed, can it safely run continuously on 9 volts.

[drrobins1]

I am putting Arlo Pro 2 cameras up in the eaves, too high to get cameras down for recharging. There is no AC outlet there, but I have 20 gauge low voltage wiring to each spot.

I know the Arlo power adapter is a 5v/9v QC 3.0 compatible unit.

What is not clear is, what voltage does the camera have at its input usually? Tech support was vague about it, telling me the camera adjusts the incoming power from the charger from 9v down to 5v as it's charged.

So, does the camera regulate the battery charging by changing the inout voltage, or is the battery charged regulated inside the camera? Perhaps it runs 9v when charging, then drops back to 5v, and only bumps it back up to 9v when the battery drops to a certain percentage? Don't know that it truly drops back to 5v, but if, what would be the reason? I understand the voltage negotiate is done at camera boot up.

Tech support would only tell me that I really must use the Arlo charger. And he couldn't give me more technical info because he didn't want to give me "false information". He told me I should not do what I am planning because of potential camera damage if the voltage is too high, etc.  I can't talk to a real technical person or an engineer as I would like to do. I'm an electrical engineer myself.

I want to run the cameras at a fixed voltage. Since it takes 9v to charge, I planned to run a DC-DC converter system, with about 20v at the low voltage cable inputs (about 200 ft round-trip from the furthest camera) to a buck converter that will regulate it down to 9v constant. This will account for any voltage drop in the cables. 

Will the 9v overcharge the battery, since the camera cannot down regulate the usual Arlo charger in this case?

[TomMac]

The battery packs charge up to 8.4 v … that’s why u need 9 v to charge.

but the camera can run on a lower voltage as you can test by pulling battery and running on a 5 v usb ( with enough current about 1.5 a ).

You may be better off running them without batteries, …

but as with all, you on your own and all warranty is out the window

[drrobins1]

But, still, can the camera be left on 9v to keep the battery recharged in case of a power loss or similar- without hurting anything?

[Dannybear]

I expect that the camera communication dictates the charger voltage by switching it between 5 and 9 volts.

Have you considered using a QC 3.0 car charger adapter at the end of each cable run for each camera that way you can quickly recharge the batteries after a long supply outage if installed.

Just be aware that loss of charger power will cause some functionality loss unless you have a subscription.

Remember to protect the supply cables in case of fault currents that may cause a house fire for those unaware.

[TomMac]

But, still, can the camera be left on 9v to keep the battery recharged in case of a power loss or similar- without hurting anything?

It is not designed to have constant 9v applied... so the answer is unknown.

Only way to find out is to do it, but since your out of the box already the only thing that will prob go bad is the batteries... at which point you take them out anyway.

[drrobins1]

I suppose this is best since TomMac answered that camera is not designed to run on 9v all the time. Using a QC 3.0 car charger should be functionally the same as the Arlo charger.