Arlo Pro 2 and Arlo Pro charging fault (while using Arlo adapter)

[Raiyanb]

I have a Arlo Pro Base station which has 2 Arlo Pro cameras and 1 Arlo Pro 2 camera. It has never given me any issues with charging before in the year that I've owned it but the last time I tried to charge the Arlo Pro 2 camera it gave an error "A charging fault has been detected. Unplug and reconnect the charger from the camera side of the plug. If this error message persists, see KB article for Charging Faults".

I have tried the following, all to no avail

- Taken the battery out of camera for 30 seconds and replaced

- Rebooted the Arlo Base

- Used 2 different kinds of Arlo adapters and cables on the same camera as well as on one of the other Arlo Pro cameras but the same issue happened

Because this issue has happened with 2 different cameras using 2 different charger adapters and cables I can't imagine both cameras would be faulty or both chargers would be faulty. 

Please can anyone assist as this is an expensive issue to go wrong. I don't have any firmware updates available for either the base or any of the cameras and I last successfully charged the camera a few months ago.

[jguerdat]

Use the link at the bottom here to contact support. Sounds like a hardware problem.

[Raiyanb]

I've created a case with support also. Just wanted to see if anyone had a solution to this too. Surely a hardware fault wouldn't affect 2 different cameras and 2 different chargers?!

[Timload]

I am suddenly getting an incompatible charger report for my camera. I see several complaints about this on the Internet. Arlo is telling me my camera is out of warranty and I'm out of luck. This is obviously not a problem with my camera if it's happening to everyone all of the sudden. Yes I'm using the original charger, yes I removed and reinstalled the device, yes I switched out the batteries.

[frankstallone]

How did you solve this problem?  I am having this issue on several Arlo Pro 2 cameras and I am using Arlo cables, Arlo batteries and Arlo chargers.  And their support is terrible right now....I can't even open a ticket.

[frankstallone]

I have spent thousands of dollars on 24 Arlo Pro 2 cameras over the last year or two and for a while now 4 of these cameras are giving the "a charging fault has been detected" error.  I can't even open a support ticket because the website is giving some error.  This is by far the worst customer service experience I've ever had.  And the problem is consistent.  

I am using Arlo chargers, Arlo cables and Arlo batteries.  One of the cameras is even using an Arlo branded solar panel and still gets the charging fault errors.  The conclusion I came to is that Arlo doesn't stand behind their products and are literally unwilling to fix the issue with a firmware update or replace the hardware with actual working cameras.  I am extremely disappointed in the poor service and I have no other place to go but here to voice my opinion.

Shame on you guys for treating customers  this way, especially business-class customers!

[arlosp]

Can someone help answer this.  I have 2 Arlo Pro cameras, both fitted with batteries, and also connected by external power lead to the Arlo Power adaptors.  For several months in "settings" the camera would show percentage battery charge and the icon would have a zigzag line through it indicating it was receiving charge.

Now the battery (on both) always shows 100% and there is no charging zigzag line through the battery icon.  What should I infer from this?  Does it indicate that the battery is no longer being charged and the camera is running on the power lead only?

And an associated question - we don't suffer from power cuts, and is the Arlo advice that it would be better to remove the batteries and just run off the power leads? 

[ShayneS]

Arlo devices have a mechanism that prevents batteries from overcharging when an AC adapter is present. You can use either battery with AC power. Battery alone, or Ac power alone. There is no wrong right or wrong way to utilize this.  

[enigmaphoenix]

I have a very similar issue.  Was pulling my hair out.  I have a mixed system that has grown over time.  6 Arlo Pros, 1 Pro 2, 2 Ultras.

I tried 3 arlo supplied with system charge cords with two separate (again arlo supplied with box) power adapters.  Same symptoms, flash orange and display charge fault.  I found a third arlo official power adapter, and it worked.  So what was the difference here?  Well, looks like the arlo power adapter that worked has slightly different output.  The one that worked has a variable 5v -@1.8A or 9v @ 1.1A output.  The two that dont work, 5v @ 2A.  Funny thing is, all of these adapters worked with the Arlo Pro, well at least I'm pretty sure they did.  Memory is funny that way and it of course possible that I just now happened to use the 5v 2A..  But now only the variable power adapter works, that's for certain.

Did they adjust tolerances via a firmware update?  I don't know.  But it is highly suspicious that this just started happening.  Has this always been a thing and I'm going a little crazy.  Maybe.  If that's the case, why is this not listed anywhere?!  I can't find a single piece of information stating that the charge block is different between generations, just the cable (and that's pretty obvious)...

Can you take a look at the back of yours and let me know what the output is rated at?

See my photos for reference.  Working adapter on the right.

Ugh.  Frustrating!!!

Cheers,

E

[arlosp]

ShayneS,

OK thanks. The other thing I should have mentioned is that when I open the app on my phone I get the message on both cameras: 

"A charging fault has been detected.  Unplug and reconnect the charger from the camera side of the plug.  If this message persists see KB article for Charging Faults."

I've no idea what the KB article is, but when I touch on the 'OK' box the message goes away.  I have to do this every time on both cameras - why is this?

[jguerdat]

Charging requires the 9v output so the 5v @ 2A would run the camera but not charge it. Also, some here have found that the Arlo chargers may supply slightly different voltages compared to "normal" chargers, leading to the incompatible charger message.

The wrong cable could also be an issue:

https://lifehacker.com/why-your-usb-cable-might-not-charge-your-android-smartp-1840462438

[Paul_Dawson]

I have 10 solar panels for 15 cameras over 3 locations and have been putting up with charging errors for way too long. If you reconnect and reinstall and the fault is still there the fault is the cord connected to the solar panel. The cord should be a recall for faulty design. I note the new cords have better weather protection at the connectors. I have 3 panels that now need replacing simply because of a fauly design. Arlo support would only replace the one inside of warranty. This is poor form from Arlo, anyone with the old cord should have them replaced at no charge or at a reasonable price without having to purcahse a whole new solar panel. Its a shame that your product support is not awesome because the product is awesome. 

[RFTurner]

I just went to recharge my camera's battery and received the same recharge error message.   I ended up taking all 3 cameras in and all 3 had the same error.   I bought the system in September and have had no problems recharging batteries before.   I can't find anything to show how it can be corrected.

[Sgodzina]

I'm also experiencing the same issues as you on our 9 Arlo Pro cameras that we had bought all at the same time (not cheap) and  had have for at least 3 years, are using the same charging cables that came with the cameras only they don't say Arlo on them but say Netgear who make the chargers for Arlo, and all chargers have the same Output V5 1.8A 9V 1.1A and one of my cameras is displaying the "charging fault... " error message.  What gives!?! Nothing has changed since our purchase so why would we have this problem now?  All other batteries are Arlo batteries and as far as I can tell the firmware updates are current . 

[ShayneS]

HI @Sgodzina Please contact the Support Team to further investigate this issue. You will find several options for contacting support in the provided link. Arlo Tech Support

[Fauz199]

Im having the same problem, a week ago I purchased 6 outdoor genuine Arlo charging cables, set them up and had no issues. 5 days later one cam gave the error message “a charging fault has been detected etc..” I unplugged the charger, connected to another, still getting the same message, took out the battery, cam powers up for about 2 seconds then shuts off with A/C adapter only. Cam will turn on with battery alone in it, but now not even detecting a charger connected to it. Happened to 2 of my cameras within 1 day from each other. I purchased this system for around 800 dollars over a year ago and now it’s out of warranty. If this isn’t resolved I will most likely be going with a different company that has strong customer support and a system I can leave my house and not have to worry about crashing as this is the second major problem I have had with this system over the last year or so.

[StephenB]

---

@Fauz199 wrote:
Cam will turn on with battery alone in it, but now not even detecting a charger connected to it. 

---

Did you try removing/reinserting the battery (to reboot the camera), and then check to see if the charger is detected?

[Fauz199]

Yes, I have removed batteries for 30 seconds, even reset the base as well as re-synced the cameras with the base station as well. No luck with any of this

[Sgodzina]

Mine is now working.  Was able to get thru to customer support and they walked me thru how to fix.  Error message is now cleared and cameras charged with no problems. 

[dcfox1]

What did support say to do that fixed it, to help other here that run into the problem. 

[Fauz199]

Okay guys so I was home today with a day off (finally) and was able to figure this out for myself. First thing I did was tested the chargers themselves (again). Both worked to charge an old phone I had laying around. Next I took both cameras inside, deleted each of them from the app and resynced them without a battery in them (a/c only) After I resynced them with the base I mounted them back outside without a battery in them and connected them to the outdoor chargers. Once I confirmed they powered up without a battery in them and was able to view them on the app I put both batteries back in each one of them. Now they are charging without that error and have no operational issues. I’ll post back in a week or so and let you know if it’s a long term fix, but as of now it is working.

[snomoatx]

I can confirm this. All the official power adapters that came with the box suddenly stopped working overnight. And only the newer variable output adapters can charge them now.

[suryabe2]

Hi,

My Arlo Pro2 wired camera with Arlo supplied adapter and wire has started giving error message as "A charging fault has been detected, .

I have disconnected and reconnected many times, but still this error message is appearing. My Adapter and Wire are genuine Arlo Supplied. 

 Please assist me in fixing this issue.

Regards,

Suriya

[StephenB]

Also try reconnecting to a different outlet - that sometimes helps.

[Carl_G]

suryabe2, did you ever find a solution?  I am getting the same message and am using an Arlo Solar Panel?