Second battery to replace in 2 weeks. Tried using solar panel?

[RealGrynomics]

This is the second battery I have replaced in a period of two weeks that I have owned this product.  I have also bought the Solar panel and hooked up after the first week.   I have tweeked the settings etc and to no avail these batteries are not holding the charge.     So ....... Can the device still charge using the Solar panel if the device is off?   I just turned it off because I only have 10% battery life and I really don't want to go back and pull the device down to bring into the home again for charging.    Thanks,  and forgive my rant.

[jguerdat]

Yes, the solar panel will charge when off or on. However, remember that the panel is just a trickle charger that works only when sufficient light hits it and the ambient temp is above freezing (to protect the battery).

As for the batteries not holding a charge, while it's possible that the camera is causing this it's also possible that other things are causing it.  DIstance from the hub or router (depends on how it's connected) as well as 2.4GHz interference can cause this. What is the signal strength? ARe there any wireless devices of any sort near the floodlight, even inside the house? How many total minutes of recording and live viewing are you having, on average, per day? Do you get the charging icon for the camera (battery with lightning bolt)?

[Mashryock]

I have the same issue.  I didn't know about the below freezing thing though as it dropped overnight to 25 degrees.  What is strange is yesterday it had a charge of 84%.  I hooked up the solar charger and it showed charging on the app for the battery icon so I thought all was good.  This morning it was down to 14% with only about 2 minutes of recording overnight.  I still only got about a week out of a full charge with light use.  I don't really want to climb 12 feet up a later each week.  Could it be a bad battery?

[JamesC]

Mashryock,

Please contact the Arlo Support Team to further investigate this issue. You will find several options for contacting support in the provided link.

JamesC

[kr67mustang]

My second battery also and my solar panel/battery will NOT HOLD A CHARGE- Horrible

[jguerdat]

If you suspect a hardware problem, use the Contact Support link below here. If it's just a usability issue, we may be able to help. Remember that the solar panel is only a trickle charger and needs decent sunlight to recharge the battery. Also, the amount of recording and live viewing makes a difference since the panel can't keep up with heavy usage. Signal strength and quality can be issues, too.

[Mashryock]

I found this thread that mentions doing a factory reset after the last firmware update.  https://community.arlo.com/t5/Arlo-Pro-3-Floodlight/Floodlight-Cam-battery-drain/m-p/1773720  Here is the relevant part.  

"

"...

 it appears from the data they were able to collect your floodlight camera is stuck in a state that disables hibernation, meaning, the camera is always awake, not only when motion is being detected.

You should be able to resolve this by performing a factory reset and reclaiming the device. To factory reset following these steps:

-Remove the floodlight from your mobile app by navigating to Settings > My Devices > select your floodlight > Remove Device

-Press and hold the sync button until the amber LED flashes 3 times

-The camera will reboot and should then be ready again for installation.""

I am charging it now and will try it out.  My unit was at 0% this morning when it was 100% 3 days ago.  It has been cold and rainy here the last 2 days.  Last week it was fine with the sun out most of the day and the solar charger keeping it topped off.

[kr67mustang]

I have also replaced the battery and a new solar panel and battery still drains within 2-3 days. This is crazy. I think it is the camera itself. Why are so many people have this exact same issue with keeping a charge? James PLEASE HELP  ~~~~~

[JamesC]

kr67mustang,

If troubleshooting does not resolve the issue, I encourage you to reach out to the support team to further investigate: Arlo Support Team

JamesC

[kr67mustang]

James thank you for a quick response- I have opened tickets and still can’t get this resolved Arlo sent me a replacement battery and solar panel but still drains battery like crazy with out much recording- please help- I have trying to resolve this for months now- would hate to throw this out and get a ring or nest

[Mashryock]

Mine has been acting better lately but it may be because it is warmer out.  It has been staying topped off at 100% with the solar charger.  I think  cold weather really screws these things up.  Also, the factory reset didn't totally fix it.  Colder days the battery still dropped quickly.  I found if the battery starts to drop quickly, I open the app and restart the device.  It then acts better for a while.  I would guess there are times when it is triggered, it doesn't always go back to sleep properly.  The Wi-Fi chip doesn't draw much power so weak Wi-Fi may cause a 1 or 2% drop per day, but that would not explain dropping from 100% to dead in a couple of days.

[kr67mustang]

It is just crazy to me that replacing everything but the actual camera itself still draining battery without much recording- what is Arlo going to do about this. As I read here I am far from the only one with this problem

[Mashryock]

One option is to get the long ac magnetic charging cable.  It powers the camera even without the battery in it.  I may do that when  winter comes around again.  They really should have included that in  the box instead of the micro usb cable.  

[kr67mustang]

James- I have reached out to your technical support team with no luck in getting it resolved. Can you please look into this- My solar panel VMA5600 was working and charging with showing the lightning bolt through the battery icon but for the last 3-5 days there is no lightning bolt through battery icon and not charging and losing battery life while solar is connected and plenty of sunlight. We replaced this solar panel once before for not working properly. This one worked for a while then all of a sudden stopped- Is there an updated new solar panel for this camera FB1001? The VMA5600 solar panel cable does not disconnect from the panel itself only the magnetic end- Is there a solar panel that you can unplug both ends of the cable?