3 pro 4 Model #VMC404 1P cameras rapid battery discharge

[Poseur]

Battery life on my fully charged pro 4s Model # VMC404 1P is about 1 week.  Been communicating via chat with support, sent them logs as requested, and nothing.  Their standard response is waiting on tech. Bought new batteries to determine if it was the battery or the camera.  New batteries discharged in a few days.  Have interacted with support more than a dozen times.  Have done all the trouble shooting they requested. Been going on for 2 months.  Currently have no functioning security cameras although I bought 3 outdoor nest cameras to use if I have to destroy the arlo cameras

The cameras are going to the firing range if not solved this week.  Will provide videos.

[jguerdat]

If you bring a camera indoors for testing, what happens to battery life? What is your house construction?

[Poseur]

When I bring it indoors they discharge completely in about 5 days.  I have gone through a series of protocols recommended by Arlo support to no avail.  There answer after every protocol failure is the same.  Tech is working on the problem. They have indicated that there is a problem with the cameras and are working on it, however in the meantime, I am without $1000+ worth or functional cameras.

Customer support sucks and I am sure they suck as a result of Arlo policy.  Their apparent tactic is to kick the can down the road in the hopes I will just go away rather than replace the cameras.  

[Poseur]

Arlo support has quit responding to my inquiries as to when my cameras would be fixed/replaced.

Their pat reply has been tech is "diligently working on the issue".  I have received that reply for a few months and now they have apparently thrown in the towel.  I spent over $1K for their product which only work a few days before the batteries discharge.  As mentioned before, I bought new batteries to test whether the issue was that or the cameras.  It isn't the batteries, it's their defective cameras.  They have admitted that there is a problem with the pro 3 and 4 yet do nothing to rectify.  

[lightingafire9]

I am dealing with the same issue with one of my cameras and just posted about it. I'm sorry that a new battery didn't work for you, but appreciate you sharing that so I don't spend my money trying that option. Fortunately, I purchased it through Costco so I can return it if necessary, but hopefully, Arlo customer service will step up and find a resolution. It is ridiculous that customer service is only available for anyone who purchased a plan, regardless of the money spent on their products.

[ShayneS]

Hi @lightingafire9 

May I ask which troubleshooting steps you have tried so far? I don't want to suggest anything you have previously performed.

[Poseur]

I have been through all the Arlo customer service recommended protocols none of which had any impact.  Additionally, I forwarded my logs.  Bottom line is they know the issue is faulty cameras and have no interest in providing a solution.  It makes no sense monetarily why they don't just replace the cameras.  They would be money ahead as I have now cancelled my subscription and will never use their product again.  I recently bought a different security camera system and will use that going forward.  So, in addition to not supporting their product, they apparently prefer to lose a permanently customer.  Bad business model.

[lightingafire9]

Hello! We have not made any changes to the settings or location of the camera, there have been no drastic weather changes, or any other external factors that might cause this to happen. The firmware is 1.080.20.1_23_d50a19d, and it says "no updates available" when selecting it. I tried restarting the hub (firmware 1.21.1.0_1399_9611cf3, also with no updates available), taking the battery out, putting one of the working cameras in the location of the one with the battery that died, and reconnecting the wifi.

[Poseur]

Go to customer support and explain your problem. They will send a series if fixes none of which will likely work. updating firmware is one of them along with remove device and reinstall. They will ask for your logs. You will do all of this and they will continue to tell you tech is diligently working on the issue. All of this will be a complete waste of time.

[ShayneS]

Hi @Poseur 

I escalated this for you and someone from Support will be reaching out to you as soon as possible.

[Poseur]

Thank you!

[Poseur]

Did arlo close my case?  It appears they have.   Last I heard was that you were going to escalate my case as I have not had functioning cameras for several month.

Please advise.

[ShayneS]

@Poseur 

Thank you for letting me know. I notified the support team, They will be following up soon. 

[Poseur]

Welp, we shall see.

[Poseur]

The math is quite simple.  I paid $481 for the cameras.  I had a subscription where I paid $49.99 a month.  The cost to replace my cameras would be significantly < than I paid for them, let's assume $300.  Using the cost to arlo assumption, had the cameras been replaced and I kept my subscription, the cameras would have been paid for in about 6 months. 

It amazes me that a public company with a 1.178 billion market cap doesn't have an accounting or sales department that can do simple math.  I am also amazed that arlo technologies stock has gone lower left to upper right over the last 5 years.  Maybe a good time to short the stock given arlo's inability to understand customer service and its potential impact on sales.

[Poseur]

I in no way am disparaging the site moderators as the do a good job addressing posts and assisting customer service.  My issues are with the company's customer service.

[StephenB]

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@Poseur wrote:

 I had a subscription where I paid $49.99 a month. 

That's more than current US prices - Arlo Secure for unlimited cameras at one location is $12.99.  What subscription did you have?

Did you try a factory reset of one of the cameras?

Is there any sign of a poor network connection (inability to livestream, corrupted video recordings, etc)?

[Poseur]

Thank you for your suggestions.

On multiple occasions I have gone through all the customer service protocols including the one you mentioned.  In addition, I forwarded CS the logs as requested.

If I had a day job, I would not have spent 10 minutes chasing this.  Call me obsessive..