Arlo pro 3 flood light fails to activate at night

[Mogleem]

Hi community, i have an arlo pro 3 floodlight camera that constantly fails to activate the floodlight at night when motion is detected. I'm still able to activate the light manually within the app and can turn it on and off at will. I have removed/reset the device a number of times and reinstalled it within the app, the light will then activate along with the camera when movement is detected but after about a week or two the same issue appears and o light. I have the camera connected to constant power using the arlo external charging cable. It's becoming pretty frustrating. Has anyone else come across this issue before? I can only guess that it is a software issue as the light works fine when 1st set up, and when activated manually. Any help great fully received. Thanks

[StephenB]

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@Mogleem wrote:
Hi community, i have an arlo pro 3 floodlight camera that constantly fails to activate the floodlight at night when motion is detected. 

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Is the system recording (either to the Arlo Cloud with a subscription, or local storage set up on a base station)?

[Mogleem]

Hi thanks for replying. I have it recording to the arlo cloud system as part of my initial 3 month new user trial

[StephenB]

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@Mogleem wrote:
Hi thanks for replying. I have it recording to the arlo cloud system as part of my initial 3 month new user trial

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Check the rule for the camera, and see if "Turn floodlight on" is checked in the record video section.  https://kb.arlo.com/42/What-are-modes-and-rules-and-how-does-Arlo-use-them

[Mogleem]

Yes can confirm that the 'turn flood light on' function is set within the armed mode.

[StephenB]

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@Mogleem wrote:
Yes can confirm that the 'turn flood light on' function is set within the armed mode.

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Are you using geofencing or scheduling (just want to confirm that the camera is armed at night)?

Also, when you said earlier that you'd reset the camera - is this the procedure you followed? https://kb.arlo.com/000062438/How-do-I-factory-reset-my-Arlo-wire-free-camera

[Mogleem]

Not using geofencing or scheduling, the camera mode is set to 'armed'. Also yes i follow those steps to reset the device everytime. Ive had to reset it roughly 5 times since ive owned it for 2 months.

[StephenB]

Ok.

I am thinking that it might not be dark enough at the camera location.  There is a setting for the dawn-to-dusk sensor in the app - you could try adjusting that and see if it helps.

[Mogleem]

No wasn't the brightness it appears to be the arlo external charging cable/plug. I've disconnected that and reset the camera and it has been working ok since. This charging cable was an original arlo (very expensive for what it is) version, so don't know why that was causing problems. Its disappointing as i wanted the 3000 lumens that the light can output when connected to power. I will try another new cable when they are back in stock on the UK arlo site.

[SipasDad]

This seems like a common problem based on all the posts with similar issues. I have this problem, too. The issue is NOT the settings or modes as the camera works fine (detects motion, turns on the LEDs, turns on the flood light, records clips) -- until it doesn't. Sometimes it would record at night - but without the IR LEDs or floodlight on. So the picture was nearly completely black. Sometimes it would not turn on the flood light manually. It never fails to let me watch and record manually. 

I had success restarting it until now. I've had to restart it 5-6 times in the last month since I installed it. It goes into these harebrained states about once a week if not more often. Now restarting is not working.  I guess I'll get advised to pull the battery out for a few seconds, or remove and reconnect the camera from the app. But since I am 150 miles from the camera, these are not good solutions. Seems very likely to me that this is a firmware issue.

[Mogleem]

Mine turned out to be an issue with the external power cable, despite it being an arlo certified cable. Now that im using it purely on battery and reset it I've not had any issues. Are you using yours with a power cable?

[SipasDad]

I am running it off an Arlo power cable. Not an option for me to run it off a battery or solar panel.

[StephenB]

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@SipasDad wrote:
I am running it off an Arlo power cable. Not an option for me to run it off a battery or solar panel.

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Do you have a CVR subscription?  If not, you should be able to disconnect the power for a bit, and see if it behaves better.

[SipasDad]

I do not. I have just a regular subscription. But this camera is still in the 3-month trial phase.

I can try that next time I am at this property. But are you suggesting it as a diagnostic to see if it’s indeed the power cable (which would be bizarre) Or do you think that would clear up this issue and then I can go back to normal powered operation?

[StephenB]

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@SipasDad wrote:
 But are you suggesting it as a diagnostic to see if it’s indeed the power cable (which would be bizarre) Or do you think that would clear up this issue and then I can go back to normal powered operation?

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Removing the power would be a diagnostic - the camera does behave somewhat differently when powered (and some users have posted some strange symptoms when something is wrong with the power).

[JamesC]

Is the charging cable in discussion an officially branded Arlo Outdoor charging cable? https://www.arlo.com/en-us/accessories/VMA5601C-100NAS.html

JamesC

[SipasDad]

Yes it is.

[SipasDad]

Update: when in this state that won’t record and won’t turn on the light, the motion detection test does register motion appropriately. I unplugged the cable - still no worky. I restarted the cam with the cable out - still no worky. Pulling the battery out worked. The cam will record and turn in the light. But how long before it goes back into the harebrained state? I can’t drive 150 miles to pull the battery out every few days.

[SipasDad]

Well - within a couple of hours it went back to recording completely black videos. The neither the IR LEDs nor the floodlight came on when I was walking around right in front of the camera. It recorded - so it’s detecting motion, just not turning on the lights or LEDs. Restarting fixed the issue.

Need to get a fix for this. It’s not ready for release if this is happening.

[JamesC]

I've escalated this concern to the development team and these reports are currently being investigated. I will provide an update once I know more.

JamesC

[SipasDad]

Thank you, James. Looking forward to hearing what is learned.

[SipasDad]

Recorded more black videos last night. It properly detected a person walking in front of it . But the LEDs and light did not trigger. It had been working well for the last month since I pulled the battery out. But now it’s back to being non-functional.

James - what’s the update on this escalation? It’s not reasonable that hard resetting it once a month is part of expected customer experience. Maybe this unit is defective. Am I the only one having this persistent problem??

[SipasDad]

Hi James.
Any update on this? LEDs and floodlight are no longer turning on despite detecting motion. This problem has been ongoing. I’m 150 miles from the camera and can’t just pull the battery out to reset when it gets into this state - which happens every few weeks.

[JamesC]

SipasDad,

I've not seen widespread reports of this issue internally. If you continue to experience this issue, I encourage you to reach out to the support team within the Arlo mobile app to further investigate. Please let me know if you need further assistance.

JamesC

[Abow2012]

Has this been resolved yet? I've disconnected the cable, pulled the battery, and fiddled with this thing more than I should have to and it still isn't recording motion. I've connected it to the base station, totally deleted it and not connected it to the base station rather to the wi-fi directly, adjust motion sensor, etc. NOTHING has worked. When I first got it it was working fine but killed the battery. Now it detects no motion (even when I'm sitting on a ladder infront of it or standing 3 ft away on the ground waving my arms) and the light doesn't trigger. REFUND PLEASE