Arlo|Smart Home Security|Wireless HD Security Cameras
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hoop0040
Star
Star

Hello -

 

I am the proud owner of a new 3 Camera Arlo Pro system which I set up on this past Sunday 12/3. I spent months researching reviews on the Arlo before finally pulling the trigger on Cyber Monday. So far I am very impressed with the system out of the box.

 

As I did my research, the main item that concerned me was how the battery life would perfrom in the cold weather months. I am located in Central MN so during the months Jan and Feb, we can have sub-zero temperatures registering fairly consistently during an average year. It seemed like there were definitely some owners that were having challenges in the cold weather with battery life and the camera's staying on, but others that were not seeing the same level of performance drop off. Some of the posts I read were from late 2016/early 2017, so I'm wondering if anyone has any hacks or tips they can share in terms of maxmizing battery life in cold weather. I have read all of the knowledge articles and understand what to expect. I also understand that there operating temperature range is clearly called out in the specs, so one shouldn't expect these cameras to perform well past those ranges, but just thought there might be some creative things that can be done with the settings to maximize longevity in a cold environment. At the end of the day, Netgear is selling alot of these cameras at the big box stores (Costco and Bestbuy) in this Market so I would hope the installations here are going beyond just interior applications.

 

After 2 days of having the camera's installed, I would say I'm averaging only 3-4 recorded events per day on both cameras, so not a ton of activity. Our temperature here has been in the 45-55 F range for the past 2 days, but dropped down to 15 this morning. One of my 2 camera's dropped down to 90% battery life while the other still shows 97%. Hoping the drain that I'm seeing on the camera that had the 10 point drop off in battery % yesterday stabilizes, but I am keeping an eye on it.

 

Thanks for your help and advice in advance!

 

 

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jguerdat
Guru Guru
Guru

If you remove the battery and run off AC power, it will work fine down to the -4F camera shutdown. If you leave the battery in, charging will stop at 32F but will otherwise be fine, again down to -4F.

stgermain
Tutor
Tutor

Bought one of these for my business.  Mounted it outside, on the back of our building.  When installed outside the battery was at 97% and stopped working overnight...with a low of 18F. 

 

So, I called customer service and they recomended plugging the USB charging cable in to power the camera.  This involved drilling through our cinder block wall in order to run the power cable from an outlet to the camera.  All this at a 15 foot height...not fun but we got it done.

 

I left the battery in because the customer service rep said it was fine and also I've read that on the forum and website for the Arlo Pro.  Anyways, the camera stopped working over night.  Another 18f evening.

 

So...I called customer serice again.  They kept asking me questions about information I had already given them.  They then had me take down the camera and bring it inside.  Once it warmed up, it came back on line.  They then had me erase the camera from the system and resynch it and told me to reinstall it outside the way I had it before; with the battery in.  And monitor it for a couple days.

 

Having read around on the forum and website, there was documentation that states that once the temperature gets below freezing the camera stops charging the battery in order to protect the battery.

 

I made the exective decision to mount the camera with the battery installed, made sure it was connected to the power source, and online, and then took the battery out.

The camera continued operating and the battery symbol changed from an outline of a battery to what looks like a two pronged wall plug.  When I came in this morning the camera had stayed online and operating.  We had a low of 19f last night.

 

My guess is, with the battery still in and plugged into the charger, the camera operates as if it's running on battery and then stops charging at 32f...effectively cutting power to the camera from the chord.  Then the battery is subject to the effects of the cold draining it.

 

The power chord is also an issue since it's not weatherproof.  The first time I called, the rep apologized that they didn't have a solution to this yet and also suggested I buy one of the aftermarket chords availible.  I've also read of people using silicone to seal the connection area.  I ended up using this: Gardner Bender Duct Seal (DS-130).  It's a putty, which I've seen used by electricians to seal up conduit and boxes from moisture.  It can be easily molded and isn't permenant.  I just rolled a small bit up and pushed it around the connction real good.  I know most people won't have this on hand...you can get it a most big box hardware stores and elecrical or plumbling places.  It's an option if you dont want to use silicone and it's also easily removable.

 

If I have any problems with the camera shutting down, I'll report back.

Paul_FCCL
Prodigy
Prodigy

stgermain wrote:

“I ended up using this: Gardner Bender Duct Seal (DS-130)”.......

 

Looks like it says “not for use outdoors”?

 

stgermain
Tutor
Tutor
That’s a good point.
Frankly didn’t read the description.
I’ve seen it used outside by contractors.
I’ll have to rethink this though.
steve_t
Master Master
Master

How exposed is it? If it's under a soffit, it's probably going to be fine (though not officially supported or endorsed). If it's exposed to direct rain, it's probably not a good solution

stgermain
Tutor
Tutor

Yeah...it's under a soffet....probably will be fine.  I've used the putty outside before and it works fine.  We will see.  Thank you for responding.