Arlo Pro Charging Station

[armsil1234]

What's going on with availability on the pro charging station? Anybody have luck buying it?

Seems like it can only be pre-ordered right now at a few places (amazon, frys, insight), but they keep pushing out the expected available date. What's the hold up? I don't think netgear should allow a pre order on something they don't know when they will provide. Is there an engineering or manufacturing problem with it?

[ryanr256]

According to the tracking info the one I purchased from NFM is out for delivery. I expect it to be on the doorstep when I get home tonight.

I have not followed up with Lowes. I may be able to do that in person tonight but I will definitely be able to tomorrow evening. I am fully expecting to have to cancel the order.

-Bob

[weebs]

Lowes made it seem like they have it, but they don't: Lowes said that it shipped, but it never did.  I have to go through Credit card dispute to get my $ back, since Lowes marked it as shipped, but it never left 'the vendor'.  In a matter of fact: Lowes does not even have the correct phone number for 'the vendor'.  Sound like some form of drop shipment arrangement

Live chatted netgear: here is the response:

Netgear:"We have already raised this concern, XXX, however, we haven't received any feedback yet as to when the new stocks will become available again"

me:I'm sorry- I'm confused, you said: "We still manufacture..." yet you cannot tell me when you are manufacturing?

Netgear: I'm sorry for the confusion, XXX. What I was trying to say is that NETGEAR will not discontinue the Arlo Pro Charging station but we haven't received any updates yet as to when the exact release date for the new stocks.

So they don't exist

Bad bad bad Netgear: your going to lose customers...

[ryanr256]

I was aware of the issues with Lowes when I placed the order. That's why I did a store pickup. On Mondays and Thursdays I work down the street from the store. I stop in before going to my part time job.

If the charging station isn't ready for pickup tomorrow I will cancel the order. I don't expect an issue with cancelling because the store never received it for me to pick up.

If there's an issue, I will dispute the charge. I hate to do that but it may be the only option.

-Bob

[ryanr256]

I stopped in Lowes this evening and ended up cancelling the order. The CS lady told me it was a special order and they have no delivery date. I told her that when I ordered it the website said I could pick it up the next day and when I checked on Monday I was told it would be available Tuesday.

She offered no resistance when I said I want to cancel.

I did receive the one from NFM. I have a similar experience to those that have posted that it charges the batteries to a higher level. Battries that are "fully charged" with a camera take about 2 hours to change the light on the station from amber to green, indicating a full charge.

Now that I have the chargiing station I can install the remaining cameras in my kit. I was holding off because they were the chargers for the other, installed cameras. Ironic thing is that I got the 3 camera kit from Newegg when they offered a free battery. I didn't realize you couldn't charge the battery by just plugging the USB cable into it. The battery is marketed with a cable and "charger" but, unless you have a camera, there's no way to charge the battery. How hard would it be to put a USB port next to the battery terminals to allow direct charging?

-Bob

[oillogger]

ryanr256-Bob, So Lowe's is being deceptive about the availability and delivery date for the charging station.  At least the Lowe's worker was courteous.  The battery probably is just a battery without any electronics to control charging or a way to indicate charging level via a USB port added to it.  It always has been a real head scratcher for me why a charger is provided with every extra battery.  The charger and the battery should be sold separately.  Very few chargers would ever be sold.  It appears NFM was true to their word for you.  Thanks for telling us your experience with the charging station.

[weebs]

Who/what is nfm? So they have the units? Thanks.

[oillogger]

NFM - Nebraska Furniture Mart

[ryanr256]

Yeah, Nebraska Furniture Mart. Their website indicates they are out of stock but are expecting more on 4/20.

Lowes' website still says in stock, available for next day pickup.

-Bob

[weebs]

i never understood the charger/battery thing myself...

Thanks for the NFM lead...  I will check on the 21st!

[Trag]

Well its April 19 2017 and still out of stock. I wish I had returned my cameras when I could. Ridiculous having to bring in camera to charge battery. I have one outside camera not mounted yet, so I can charge batteries from it, with a spare battery. I still Like VueZone cameras better. Better picture quality, and Zoom didn't blur out, like Arlo Pro does. What's the point of zoom, when its blurred.. I rest my case.

[Trag]

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tomncincy wrote:

Last time I checked it was late December, now it's the first of the year. My email to Netgear as follows.

I would like a etched in stone release date for the Arlo Pro Charging Station. I have 8 cameras & 16 batteries but I can't buy a damn charging station, what gives? If I can't purchase the charging stations I need before the return period is up, Best Buy is going to get all this equipment dumped back in their lap!

I have orders in with 4 different retailers, I even tried the buy now option from the Arlo website. It states that this item is available at 2 retailers but neither Fry's or Insight, who by the way is price gouging have any in stock.

Currently, I only have 5 of the 8 cameras online. I haven't bothered to put camera 6, 7 or  8 up because I can't get the charging stations I've ordered, so for now two of the cameras are being utilized as very expensive battery chargers but not for long because if I don't get the charging stations for them, I will be returning everything to Best Buy.

I've been using Netgear routers and range extenders for years, so I was excited when the Arlo Pro was released however, the continued inability to purchase the necessary chargers has left me seriously rethinking my recent Arlo Pro purchases.

The longer this product remains unavailable will only go to facilitate widespread price gouging because when this item is finaly released the demand will far exceed the availability thus allowing retailers like Insight to demand even higher prices for the charging stations than they are already charging.

I can say with absolute certainty that I’m not the only person that feels this way, this situation is an inexcusable blunder by Netgear management and it needs to be corrected before customers like myself decide to return their Arlo Pro purchases.

Thankfully, retailers like Best Buy offer extended holiday return dates, so I’ll give it until 12/29/16, if I don’t have the charging stations I’ve ordered in my hands by then, I’ll be returning all my Arlo Pro equipment to Best Buy for a refund. 

With that said, I strongly urge Netgear to rectify their mistake of rushing a product to market before they were fully able to support it or risk more disgruntled customers possibly following suit.

Sincerely,

Tom

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[oillogger]

The natives(we) are restless so it sure would be nice and make plain ole good common customer relations horse sense if Netgear would step up to the plate providing some sort of update on both the charging station next approximate availability date as well as the solar charging panel approximate availability date with explanations. 

[DaveWoj]

This has been going on for months now.

Nobody from Netgear has been able to give you the information that you're looking for.

Honestly, everyone asking the same question 100 times isn't going to make a difference and James will NOT be able to give you the information you are looking for.

It may be time to move on and get another system since it is obvious that the accessories for the Arlo are not or may never be widely available.

[weebs]

Concur:

I don't understand why Arlo can't give us more information.  its a matter of transparency.  Don't they have a manufacturing schedule? is it a parts availability thing? is something failing?  all of that is OK, if they let us know to make a conscious decision on a path forward.  If arlo is using a supplier they should have insight into the suppliers problem.

Asking the question "a 100 times" is a way to get Arlo to look into the problem and do a deep dive versus the perpetual shoulder shrug.  If they don't know what the problem is: shame on them, if they do and not telling us, their customers, shame on them, if they have no clue: shame on them.  either way, they should, and can, do better

[DaveWoj]

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weebs wrote:

Concur:

I don't understand why Arlo can't give us more information.  its a matter of transparency.  Don't they have a manufacturing schedule? is it a parts availability thing? is something failing?  all of that is OK, if they let us know to make a conscious decision on a path forward.  If arlo is using a supplier they should have insight into the suppliers problem.

Asking the question "a 100 times" is a way to get Arlo to look into the problem and do a deep dive versus the perpetual shoulder shrug.  If they don't know what the problem is: shame on them, if they do and not telling us, their customers, shame on them, if they have no clue: shame on them.  either way, they should, and can, do better

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Unfortunately asking the question 100 times hasn't solved the problem.

There is no doubt that they know of the problem and that it is most likely one that you mentioned in your post above.

I feel that one of the main and biggest part of their problem is announcing and putting a product on their site, that doesn't exist. That is the marketing gimmick that everyone falls for and lures people to buy in hopes of enhancing or fixing a problem that exists with the system.

I hear too many stories of people on here, who are fully aware of the charging problem or not being able to power by AC outdoors, yet they still purchase the system in hopes of buying the accessories that don't exist and complain that "if they knew the accessories wouldn't be available they would have never purchased or would have returned the system"

[oillogger]

Potential off the shelf DIY solar panel charger.  Try at your own risk. Necessity, the mother of invention.  Will need to create your own mounting bracket.

Solar panel - Amazon B01NCAQO9O

Adapter cable - Ebay SKU: 51_J1000152001981

[Drake3287]

I'd almost be willing to try this but who wants a yellow solar panel mounted on there house? Strange they would even offer that.

[oillogger]

If I was really thinking about going this route I would suggest first to try it for a while then if happy with the performance I would paint the frame.  My chosen path is to first try the stainless frame solar panel I already have and the same adapter plug.  There are a few 9 volt solar panels available but most are too low in wattage, not in a frame, unknown required adapter, and/or the solar panel will have to be wired.

[weebs]

careful:

I think the battery charger starts and 9Vdc then drops to 5Vdc

[oillogger]

As stated on the battery the charging voltage is 8.4 volts.  Once you have the correct charging voltage you only need the wattage and daily available light to provide a little more amp hours than normally needed to operate camera each day so at least 80-90% of the days the solar panel will keep the battery fully charged.  

[TechyFred]

Lowe's screwed me over too, I was all excited and thought this vaporware of a product was actually shipping!!

A few days after it said delivered, NOPE!!  I come home and there's nothing there. No tracking number either.

I called Lowe's and they say the "vendor" has the details. Well it's my 2nd time on the phone with them and after 20mins of waiting I canceled the order.

Thanks alot netgear, I purchased an extra battery for $50 but you don't even bother to include a simple single battery charger.

I don't need a dual charger that doesn't exit, a simple charger would do so that it would save me the trouble of getting my ladder out and bringing down a camera so that I can plug it in for a half a day!

What a letdown!

[DaveWoj]

This may just be a rumor, but I believe I saw somewhere that Netgear will be including an 8 foot ladder with all Arlo Pro camera bundles effective immediately.

[oillogger]

Lowe's is not treating their customers right by the way they are selling the Arlo charging station.  All they are succeeding in doing is losing customer loyalty which cost them more in the long run.  

[oillogger]

DaveWoj, You only read part of the rumor.  It also states a Netgear tech will show up with an 8 foot ladder within 24 hours of an low battery indication and replace your Arlo Pro depleted battery with a full charged one. 

[DaveWoj]

That's the least they could do after this debacle