UNACCEPTABLE UPDATE TURNS OFF NON-ARLO CHARGERS!!! I HAVE 8 CAMERAS AND WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER!!!

[Zabo]

You have permanently lost my business!

Selling over-priced chargers is not your core competency - it's making cameras and software to make the cameras user friendly.

Your latest firmware update took a camera in a remote location which was plugged in and working perfectly, and effectively killed it. What part of this seems acceptable to you Arlo? Who is the person responsible for this horrible business decision?!

Don't bother deleting this post - I'll be posting it in many other locations outside of your website. Instead - why don't you address the problem and stop trying to nickle and dime loyal customers? You don't need to test your cameras with other vendor's chargers, but it's clear from the new firmware error message that you are specifically looking to make them not work. Again - this is not acceptable and probably the basis for a class action lawsuit...

[JamesC]

Zabo,

We do not recommend the use of third-party accessories as they are not designed by Arlo and can result in issues when used with Arlo devices. What firmware error message are you referring to? Are you able to provide a screenshot?

JamesC

[Zabo]

There is a difference between "not recommending" and actively writing your software to detect and disable 3rd party chargers - which is what you have done. My camera was working perfectly, you force a firmware update (as your app simply turns off the ability to do anything else with the camera other than update the firmware), and then you flash an error message that my charger is no longer compatible.

Your new firmware update then totally drained the camera's battery in less than 24 hours (The same model camera, in a different location, is at 54% after not being charged for 3 weeks).

After writing my initial post, two other cameras - thousands of miles away from me - showed the "update firmware" death message. They are plugged in, but as I don't know what charger they are using (your box of three cameras only includes one brick), updating the firmware could kill these cameras as well. Of course, you've already made these useless as they simply show that I must update the firmware and no longer work as the security cameras I purchased.

I will repeat - this is an unacceptable business practice.

[StephenB]

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@Zabo wrote:

There is a difference between "not recommending" and actively writing your software to detect and disable 3rd party chargers - which is what you have done.

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FWIW, I think you are mistaken here. I believe they are just checking the voltage/current delivered by the charger.  I've seen this message occasionally even with Arlo chargers.  Sometimes it's just a loose connection; sometimes switching to a different outlet has resolved it.  Part of the puzzle is that the camera is also detecting whether it is connected to a solar panel or to an AC charger.

The check does seem to be fragile, and perhaps buggy.    

[Zabo]

I will agree with you that the code is "buggy" and/or poorly tested.

Your hypothesis doesn't address why a nearly fully charged camera had complete battery drain in less than a day after the firmware update that detected a non-Arlo charger. It also doesn't address why if "they are just checking voltage/current" they would be able to tell that an Arlo charger wasn't being used: It's pretty easy to build a power brick that delivers the correct voltage and amps. If the power is correct (and my multimeter says it is), then there shouldn't be any "Compatible Arlo Charger" messages. So no, I maintain they are looking for an Arlo ID of some sort they've put in their bricks.

In parallel with this thread, Arlo has been sending out firmware updates. Initially my Pro 4's were running at least two different versions. I did a hard reset on the camera that updated and died: it instantly updated itself yet again (just two days after the last update), and is now running 1.080.19.2-----be1 (as are all of the other cameras even though I didn't approve any firmware updates for them). It is plugged into the exact same non-Arlo brick, says it is charging, and is not throwing an error.

The previous firmware update killed the camera and required manual intervention to retrieve it, plug it into an Arlo charger as the firmware wouldn't let it charge on a different brick, do a hard reset which spawned another firmware update to be1, and now it is working again. It looks to me like Arlo did a rollback on their detection "feature."

And Arlo - I'm still very disappointed. This wasn't a bug that just slipped through testing - your error message and camera behavior demonstrates your intent. You have my email address - feel free to have your VP of product management reach out to me if you want to discuss features which will actually benefit your customers.