Arlo system uses too much data

[cthammer]

I am on satellite with limited 60gb per month data plan. the cameras are set for 15-20 sensitivity but still pick up any movement from shadows to clothes blowing in the wind. recently had geofencing set on my phone and my wife's phone. Due to some software error on Arlo, when I left it did not pick up that my wife was still home so cameras ran for a day and half using 48gb of data. All the videos were set off by shadows, clothes, dogs, etc. Some ran for 5 minutes. Not practical to set up a set time to record since the system is used as security so need to record the time of the event that set off the camera. Wanting to use a external drive to record and not use the cloud. any work arounds for this plan? 

[TomMac]

I would try to use the schedule to cut down on active times...

As to internet usage, You mention the Pro2 system... you could use a speed stick in the base ( about 64gb/ set up properly ) and then arm the system. After arming unplug the ethernet cable.

It is suppose to also record to the backup speed stick memory if internet is lost.

BUT, you will have no control of the system until re-plugged in

So, you can test this and see if it works well enough for you... but thats the only works around there is.

Also at this time, to view the mem card , you will have to plug the internet in again, eject the backup mem thru the program and then view on you computer.

[N4KHQ]

I think the Arlo App has to be running on your wife's phone for the geofencing to work with two devices. With geofencing I can go days with out a single video being recorded. If you are using street numbed addressing for geofencing you house location may not be correct. Be sure and use the GPS location. From the Arlo app tap Mode, You base station, Edit geofencing and the 2 by Enabled Mobile Devices. You can see which Device is in zone or out.

I would not think shadows, or cloths would would move enough to record. Bushes and trees blowing in the wind and even bugs at night will record. I have a camera in the carport and it does not have any problems. You might have a zone above your dog head and still protect you home when your are away.

[cthammer]

Thanks for the reply. Yes both phones have the app and sometimes it works as designed. But flakey enough that I will need to check it each time I depart and several times through the day. And I have many videos that appear to have been initiated from shadows, clothes and such.
I assume then that this system is only good if you have unlimited data. Otherwise it is tedious to work with.

[N4KHQ]

Do you leave the arlo app running on both phones when you leave. I have noticed when I go to geofencing to check if my wife's phone is in zone or out, if the app is not running on her phone it says her iPhone is unavailable. Other than about a day when the away and home got reverse, my Pro 2 has preformed the geofencing and detecting extremely well.

[StephenB]

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@N4KHQ wrote:

I would not think shadows, or clothes would would move enough to record. 

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Shadows definitely trigger recordings on my cameras - particularly shadows from trees. My guess is the clothes on a line would trigger also.

One thing that might help (though it might not be practical) is to power those camera(s) with an outdoor charger (not the solar panel).  Then you can use activity zones to help manage the amount of streaming.  This won't work with the cloud activity zones (which is why it requires AC power) - and it won't work on the original WireFree or Pro camera models either, as their hardware doesn't have support for local activity zones.  

If your area is quiet/rural, then you might be able to substitute sound detection for motion detection for the times when the shadows are creating unwanted motion events.  I don't think that will work with the clothes, and wind noise might also result in too many unwanted recordings.  So you'd need to experiment some.

[N4KHQ]

If wind moves the trees then yes but the sun is not going to move the shadow fast enough to record I don't think.  I would be surprised if a close line is part of the problem.

[StephenB]

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@N4KHQ wrote:

If wind moves the trees then yes but the sun is not going to move the shadow fast enough to record I don't think.  I would be surprised if a close line is part of the problem.

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Of course a static shadow won't trigger.  The wind is moving the tree branches.  In my case, it's not enough to trigger in the winter, but it will often trigger when leaves are on the trees.

Wind will move the clothes on the line too, so I don't understand why you find that surprising.

[N4KHQ]

Yes the camera is look for movement by comparing video frames. Most any movement will be recorded. I don't think shadows will record video unless they are moving shadows. Maybe I'm wrong but I don't think the original post was talking about cloths on a cloth line. 

[StephenB]

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@N4KHQ wrote:

Yes the camera is look for movement by comparing video frames.

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No, it doesn't do that.  The Pro2 camera detects movement using PIR (passive infrared) sensors.  It's not comparing frames or looking at the video at all.

If activity zones are enabled, then the video frames are used after motion detection to determine if the video is within the zone or not.  But the video does not trigger the motion detection.

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@N4KHQ wrote:

... but I don't think the original post was talking about cloths on a cloth line. 

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The post said "All the videos were set off by shadows, clothes, dogs, etc."  I assumed the clothes were on a clothes line,  if that's wrong hopefully @cthammer will clarify.

[cthammer]

Thank you again for the input and dialogue. Regarding the movement that activates the cams, three of the four cams point to outside access points that I want to “guard”. And there are trees in those areas that sway (we have regular heavy winds) so either branches or the shadows of said branches will activate the cam. The third cam points to windows but there are clothes on a line in view. Those clothes move in the wind and activate the cams.

[N4KHQ]

You are correct, I had no ideals the cameras were pointing outside. Sorry

[N4KHQ]

Yes uou need unlimited data if you point your cameras outside. Too much movement if pointed at anything the wind can move. Bugs at night are a big problem for what I call unwanted alarms. If you can point your cameras at your doors or in you house and use geofencing for the residents of you home, I think you will be a happy camper.

[StephenB]

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@cthammer wrote:
Thank you again for the input and dialogue. Regarding the movement that activates the cams, three of the four cams point to outside access points that I want to “guard”. And there are trees in those areas that sway (we have regular heavy winds) so either branches or the shadows of said branches will activate the cam. The third cam points to windows but there are clothes on a line in view. Those clothes move in the wind and activate the cams.

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Is it practical to power the cameras with the AC adapter? (there is an outdoor version available).

If that is practical, then you can set up local activity zones.  The camera itself will then only stream videos if the motion is inside the activity zone.  This would only be viable if you can set up activity zones that exclude the trees and clothes line.

There is a new feature called direct access to local storage - that would require you to upgrade your base, and set up it up to store the video to a microSD card instead of storing it in the cloud.  But I'm not sure how that would impact the data use - it depends on whether the app/web client can access the videos directly when you are home, or whether the video is always forwarded through the cloud when you are viewing it.  Perhaps @JamesC can provide some more info that could help you figure out if that's a reasonable option for you.