Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight (FB1001) - very dim light with motion trigger

[MNUser11]

I have an Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight (FB1001). When motion triggers the camera and floodlight to turn on, the light comes on but is very dim...looks to be at the lowest 5% level.  I don't know when exactly this started but it seems to be within the last month or two.  I know it used to go to what I have it set to which is at 70-80%.  I can intervene while it's recording, just touching the brightness slider in the iOS app and it will get brighter.  When manually turning on the floodlight in the app, it will turn on at the brighness I select.  Here's what I've tried for troubleshooting with no change.

-Tried all combinations of camera settings in the app that can be changed

-Tested it with and without the outdoor AC power cord (I typically always have it connected)

-Tested it inside near my Arlo base station

-Power cycled the camera (remove battery, wait a minute, re-installed)

-Power cycled the hub

-Removed the camera from my system and added it back

Camera Firmware: 1.080.30.3_42_3516c1d (camera info says "no updates available"), Hardware: H6. 

It's connected to my Arlo Base Station: VMB4000r3, Base Firmware: 1.26.0.0_4712_12a0681

Is there anything else I can do to fix this?

Is anyone else having the same experience or insight?

Does Arlo staff monitor these messages where they will try & help me?

[jmuniz45]

@BrookeN thank you so much it worked! I really appreciate your timely help! 

[BrookeN]

@jmuniz45 no problem at all. I hope you have a great rest of your week. 

[PerWiden]

Hi,

I have the same issue, very dim light when motion is detected. How can I get updated to the experimental build which seems to fix the problem?

Best regards,
Per

[BrookeN]

This is now moved over and should be working as expected. Can you please confirm?

[rwillis352]

Same problem here 

[BrookeN]

@rwillis352 I have moved this over. Please keep in mind that you will not see it until the morning. As the updates happen at night. 

[PerWiden]

Hi Brooke,

Still looks a bit dim but will do a few more tests.

Thanks,
Per

[BrookeN]

@PerWiden thank you for that update, please let me know if you are still seeing the same behavior after the tests. 

[PerWiden]

Hi @BrookeN ,

Sad to say it's still the same after some tests. It's as dim as before when it triggers for motion. 

Activating the floodlight manually gives me the full lumens though so the led's are working as they should. 

Best regards,
Per

[BrookeN]

Is both sides dim or just the one?

[GKCurtis]

@BrookeN ,

Looks like my reply might have been skipped. Can you please move my camera over to the experimental firmware build. I have the same problem. 

 

[PerWiden]

@BrookeN Both sides are equally dim. 

Best regards,

Per

[BrookeN]

@GKCurtis my apologies I did not see your post. I have reached out to the team to have this moved over. I will let you know as soon as it is done. 

@PerWiden the experimental build is for those with dimness on one side of the camera. Can you please remove the camera from the account, reset it and then add it back on. And see if the behavior is the same. 

[PerWiden]

@BrookeN Ok, I will have a swing at it tomorrow.

Thanks,

Per

[allBlacks]

Just as a heads up Arlo know about this and have done for endless months now. My floodlights broke back in February after an update. They have tried firmware updates on both the Arlo hub and floodlight, no difference.

you might be interested to know that they have confirmed it is an issue with the floodlights and their hub communication. Brilliant.

The work around? We’ll take your cameras down, reset and connect directly to WiFi. Yep, 100% light again but you will need one of their high priced smart subscription to see any recordings as obviously the SD card in their hub becomes useless. Odd that…

[BrookeN]

@GKCurtis It has been moved over to the exp build. Please keep in mind the update will go through in the middle of the night, so you will not see this change until tomorrow. 

[mpoor]

Can you shift mine to the experimental build please? I have one side dim (left when facing the camera)

[BrookeN]

@mpoor I sure can. I will let you know as soon as it is moved over. 

[BrookeN]

@mpoor it has been moved over. It happens in the middle of the night so you will not see the change until tomorrow. 

[pallepaf]

Would you please shift my two Floodlights to the experimental build? I have one side dim on both cameras.

[PerWiden]

@allBlacks Your tip solved it for me, remove it and add it back on WiFi instead of through the hub. 

Thank you! 

Best regards,
Per

[BrookeN]

@pallepaf it has been moved over. It happens in the middle of the night so you will not see the change until tomorrow. 

[mpoor]

Works great now, thank you.

[BrookeN]

@mpoor thank you for the update. Glad to hear it is working as expected. If you have any other questions please reach out. 

[allBlacks]

Yes I’ve a question. Given these floodlights started giving 5% light when recording since February, when is Arlo going to fix this problem? Having a WiFi ‘work around’ that requires smart subscription to see any recordings as my SD card becomes useless is no use to anyone who doesn’t wish to pay for smart notifications. Maybe given how long Arlo has known about this issue and not released a fix it’s an underhanded way to force people to pay for cloud recordings and off local storage.. Something stinks about this issue.