Why does "Spotlight" mode automatically turn on "Night Vision" mode?

[salvaggio]

Purchased my first Pro 5S and currently have four (4) Pro 4 cameras in my installation.  I noticed that unlike the Pro 4, when I turn on the Spotlight mode under the "Light Settings" that the app then automatically turns on "Night Vison".  I would like the spotlight to turn on when motion is detected, however, I would like "Night Vison" not to be turned on at night as this drains the battery too quickly.

Is this possible with the Pro 5S as it was with the Pro 4?

[StephenB]

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@salvaggio wrote:

 I noticed that unlike the Pro 4, when I turn on the Spotlight mode under the "Light Settings" that the app then automatically turns on "Night Vison".  I would like the spotlight to turn on when motion is detected, however, I would like "Night Vison" not to be turned on at night as this drains the battery too quickly.

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Are you saying that you don't want any recordings at night?  You just want the spotlight to turn on?

Nightvision (IR recording) doesn't drain the battery more quickly than low-light color recording with the spotlight on.  And your setting combination should give you low-light color recordings at night, and not IR.  Are you getting IR recordings (which look black & white)?

[salvaggio]

I know this does sound a bit odd, however, that is what I am looking to do.

My situation has me away from the cameras for prolonged periods of time (sometimes a couple of months).  In the past, when "Night Vision" was enabled, the IR source was turned on when the light level in the room fell below a certain level which caused the battery to drain too quickly for my use case.  My solution was to have a small lamp on in the room overnight, turn "Night Vision" off, and when any motion was detected (using just the light from the small lamp), the Spotlight would come on and provide me with a good recording.

This setting combination was possible with the Pro 4 camera I was using.  The same setting combination is no longer possible with the Pro 5S that I recently replaced it with.

[jguerdat]

The IR LEDs shouldn't turn on except when motion is detected or when live viewing. It would appear to be a faulty camera although I would remove, reset and re-add the camera to the account before contacting official support via the app.

https://kb.arlo.com/000062880/How-do-I-factory-reset-and-re-sync-my-Arlo-camera-Arlo-Secure-4-0

[StephenB]

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@salvaggio wrote:

 In the past, when "Night Vision" was enabled, the IR source was turned on when the light level in the room fell below a certain level which caused the battery to drain too quickly for my use case.  

I suggest that you check this again with the current firmware before you do hard resets of the camera or take other measures.

As @jguerdat says, when the camera is on battery power, the IR LEDs should not turn on when dark unless the camera detects motion.

[salvaggio]

I would like to thank you all for the suggestions above.

All firmware was at the latest versions.  When changing the settings as I mentioned above on the older Pro 4 cameras, this linking between "Night Vision" and "Light Settings" now exists on all devices.  This must have been emplaced by a previous firmware update, but I had not adjusted any settings since.

Using my iPhone camera, I could confirm that the IR sources are not always on at nighttime light levels (the iPhone has some sensitivity in the near infrared and can see the sources).  So, I am hoping that all will behave as you have all describd above now, the IR sources only coming on in live view mode and the spotlight being triggered by motion.  This would be a great mode to operate in.

Thanks again!!!