Should I invest in Arlo Pro 5?

[Newtonhill]

We have an Arlo Pro 3 base station which currently has three Pro 3 cameras and three Pro 2 cameras connected. One of our Pro 2 cameras has died and we are looking at alternative options. We’ve been very disappointed with our Pro 3 cameras as none of them will charge on the magnetic charger. We found a workaround on this forum a year or so ago to charge them by removing the camera and battery from the housing then try to get the terminals aligned with the charger to get the battery to take a charge.

I see the Pro 5 has the same charging system but would like to hear if anyone has had charging problems with the Pro 5 or any other issues before we commit. If there are issues with the Pro 5 we may just look at replacing the complete system with another providers system. Thanks in advance for any comments/advice. 

[jguerdat]

FWIW, I've never had issues with either the Pro 3 or 5 when charging. However, sometimes the contacts need to be cleaned with isopropyl alcohol. You could also consider the external charging station with an extra battery which you can have fully charged so all you have to do is swap batteries.

https://www.arlo.com/en-us/accessories/VMA5400C-100NAS.html

https://www.arlo.com/en-us/accessories/VMA5400-10000S.html

[StephenB]

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@jguerdat wrote:

FWIW, I've never had issues with either the Pro 3 or 5 when charging. However, sometimes the contacts need to be cleaned with isopropyl alcohol. You could also consider the external charging station with an extra battery which you can have fully charged so all you have to do is swap batteries.

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Personally I like the external charger.  I have some spare batteries, so I can easily swap batteries with no down time.

If the issue is the connection on the housing, then you could also just replace the housing.

• https://www.arlo.com/en-us/accessories/VMA5202H-10000S.html

[Newtonhill]

Thanks for that. I did try isopropyl alcohol but that made no difference. Arlo were pretty adamant it was faulty charge cables and sent two over a period of several months. They eventually agreed there was an issue with connections but by the time they decided this they told me the guarantee period was up and I’d have to buy new cameras. Needless to say I was not impressed by the customer service. Appreciate the advice for external charger. 

[StephenB]

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@Newtonhill wrote:

Arlo were pretty adamant it was faulty charge cables 

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Well, I have no idea how they could isolate it to the cable, and the fact that replacing the cable didn't help suggests they were wrong.

[Newtonhill]

Absolutely, I just got the impression they were fobbing me off with the lowest cost “fix” for them

[StephenB]

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@Newtonhill wrote:

Absolutely, I just got the impression they were fobbing me off with the lowest cost “fix” for them

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The fact that you were able to charge the cameras w/o the housing suggests the housing is the issue.  BUT it does seem odd that this would have failed on all three cameras.  And equally odd that three different cables had the same problem.

Did they ever charge properly?

[Newtonhill]

No. I can only charge by taking the camera out of the housing. The external charger sounds like a solution but just a bit wary buying more Arlo cameras with the issues we’ve had. 

[StephenB]

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@Newtonhill wrote:

No. I can only charge by taking the camera out of the housing. 

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All three Pro 3 cameras have exactly the same issue?  With three different cables?

Are you using the same charger when you take the cameras out of their housings that you used with the camera in the housings?  And the same outlet?

[Newtonhill]

Yes.

[StephenB]

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@Newtonhill wrote:

Yes.

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If you have an electric meter, you could check the three connections between the inside and outside of the housings.

The only other thing I can think of is that the wire connections on the camera are pushed in (so the springs aren't making a solid connection to the housing).