Pro 5S 2K -- Loses connection when charger is on.

[rguthrie000]

*Note* this is a follow-up to case 43268117.  (When I try to respond through the Support site, I get 'Page Unavailable'.)

Arlo Pro 5S 2K installs normally either to my WiFi or to a VMB4540 SmartHub.  Motion Detection with reporting and alerts works normally. But if the wired charger is powered, whether or not the Pro 5S battery is fully charged, functionality will be lost in a short period of time -- about 15 to 20 minutes -- and the Pro 5S no longer motion-detects. 

In this state, I see different behaviors at different times:

1) camera is offline (rare)

2) camera is shown in Arlo Secure, but can't get a Live Feed.

3) camera shows status and will record manually through Arlo Secure, but no detect/record/alert (most common).

I have tried many factory reset / re-installs, a different battery, and re-positioning the SmartHub to try to get better signal at the Pro 5S location.  But the results are the same -- the only 'active' variable is whether there is power available at the Pro 5S terminals.  This means either removing the charger from the Pro 5S or unplugging the Arlo 25' charger cable at the wall.  Either way, I lose Pro 5S connectivity in short order.  Then if I restore power at the Pro 5S by plugging the charger back in at the wall or re-attaching at the therminals, connectivity with detect/record/alert resumes.

So there's a relationship between available power at the charge terminals and camera/image processing functionality.  Which is weird.  And it only happens at some point after an okay installation.  Is it possible that there is internal signal interference from the power lines/charger circuit causing the camera connection to become poor (says Strong on Install), resulting in the camera not motion-detecting?

As mentioned, this behavior also occurs when attached to WiFi.  In this case, there's an eero Pro router about 12 feet from the Pro 5S, so I don't think the basic issue is poor signal strength.

Thanks,

rguthrie000

(two SmartHubs attaching 8 active devices including arlo Doorbell, 2 Pro 3 floods, 2 Pro 4s, 2 Pro 3s,  1 Pro 5S)

[JamesC]

rguthrie000,

I'm looking into this issue with the dev team. Just to clarify, you don't experience any connectivity issue while the charging cable is removed? This only occurs when the charging cable is attached and the camera is being powered?

JamesC

[rguthrie000]

Hi JamesC, thanks for your response! 

For clarity, I think there is a distinction to be made between 'connectivity' and 'full functionality'.  If I can record manually, there is a connection, even if the motion detection, automatic recording, and event notification functions are not occurring.

With that distinction, there is no functionality issue while the charging cable is removed, and further, there is no functionality issue when the cable is attached but not powered.  It only occurs when the camera is being powered via the external charging cable.

rguthrie000 

[rguthrie000]

Case 43268117 update, 20221229

A change of the RF environment has allowed the Pro 5S to work normally with the charging cable attached and powered for 3+ days now. I consider the case closed, as the RF change is 'permanent'.

For your future reference, the RF change was to remove eero beacons from the eero network which is in the same physical domain as the Arlo network.  The beacons had been causing local ownership issues on the eero network; there were areas in the domain where the WiFi connection on either of two Verizon/Galaxy Note20 Ultra/Android 13 smartphones would cycle connection continually.  The network was upgraded by removing 3 eero beacons and adding 3 eero Pro 6E routers; there are an additional 3 eero Pro routers and a tp-link point-point bridge. The bridge also broadcasts on 2.4 GHz. The smartphone connections are now stable (and faster), and the Pro 5S can now be operated as intended with continuous charging.

Thanks for your attention.  I understand this is a 'corner-case' which may not add value for others.  I will inform the eero folks of my issues with the eero beacons.