Arlo Pro 4 charging issue using socket faceplate USB

[aderb]

Hi,

I have been using the official Arlo charging adapter with my front driveway Arlo Pro 4 camera with no issues, but it occupies a 240v socket so decided to replace the double socket faceplate with one that has 2x USB sockets so I can plug into that instead and free up the 240v socket.

However this isn’t working well, the camera keeps switching between charging and not charging (there are three icons it switches between). The official charger has 5v 2A output, and my faceplate is rated at 5v 3.1A, so in theory should be powerful enough.

I’m wondering if the 3.1A is shared between the 2 USB sockets on the faceplate so I’ve ordered a double plug to single socket cable to see if that helps.

Is there any other reason than power capacity why using a USB faceplate wouldn’t work?

Thanks all.

[StephenB]

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@aderb wrote:

Is there any other reason than power capacity why using a USB faceplate wouldn’t work?

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Yes, and that is the cable.  There is a voltage drop in the cable that reduces the power actually delivered to the camera, and if you are using a long cable that might be enough to cause the misbehavior you are seeing.  

While the indoor Arlo charger for the Pro 4 delivers 2 amps at 5 volts, the outdoor charger delivers 1.1 amps at 9 volts.  That's the same power (10 watts either way), but the higher voltage reduces the loss in the longer cable used in the outdoor charger - so more power is delivered to the camera.

Are you using the Arlo supplied indoor cable?  Or are you using a third-party cable (or a USB extender cable of some kind)?

[aderb]

Thanks StephenB. The cable is about 3m or so and it’s a 3rd party cable from an Amazon seller.

I wondered the same, however when I plug that same cable into the Arlo charger that came with the cameras (5V 2A so must be indoor I guess), the camera charges correctly and when it reaches 100% the charging icon stays lit (green fill battery with green power symbol - assume this some kind of trickle charge mode?). If I switch it back to the USB faceplate (everything else is the same), it charges for a few seconds (green battery outline with white fill and green charging icon) then to the solid green charging icon as above a few seconds later, then back to grey no charging a few seconds later, then repeats. The blue lights on the front flash every few seconds also.

I also have a garden camera with a similar setup doing the same thing (though where my front camera has stopped working twice since I installed the USB faceplate charger hence the reason to investigate, the garden camera has at least kept working).

I also just tried using an Anker 521 high power charger with the garden camera and it started doing the same switching while at 99%/100% charge.

I just also tried something else, I charged both with the Arlo charger then switched to the faceplates and they are now stable (both 100% and steady solid green icon) for over 20 min, so seems ok for now at least.

Is there any comms sync or variable charging between the camera and Arlo charger that other chargers won’t have, or is it purely a DC supply?

[StephenB]

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@aderb wrote:

Is there any comms sync or variable charging between the camera and Arlo charger that other chargers won’t have, or is it purely a DC supply?

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Arlo hasn't said.  The cameras do detect whether they are being charged with a solar panel or with a charger, but I doubt that is just a voltage measurement.

[aderb]

Quick update: I think this charging mode switching issue is only apparent while near to 100% charge and it only seems to last until they reach 100%. I’ve had the 2 Pro 4 cameras powered by the USB faceplates for a few days now and it’s all been fine. I also allowed the front drive camera to discharge for a couple of days and then plugged it back in and it charged successfully. Fingers crossed it remains this way.