Arlo Solar Panel not working

[616fun]

I picked this up from Amazon and installed it Thursday. I pulled the camera down and charged it to 100% before plugging it in. Everything looked great, the camera showed at 100% and charging.  The next morning I had a red exclaimation point and "The charging source connected to the camera cannot charge your battery. Please use an Arlo Pro power adapter" showing in my interface. Upon contacting help, they asked me to remove the panel and allow the camera to discharge to 50% before plugging it in again. I let them know that this wasn't at all helpful as it will take a few months to get to that point, and I cannot return the item after this long. I specifically asked if there was firmware that addressed the variable wattage input a solar panel will provide and they said that they would look into it and be in contact.  I'm underwhelmed with the help.  I pulled my other camera and the same message is provided (that camera was charged to 74%).  

Has anyone else tried the Arlo solar panel and had luckl?

[surfer1000]

My observations on the panel are that it definitely drains the battery quite considerably when its not getting any sun, my one panel fixed to a 100% charged camera is now at 89% within 1 week where without panel it would be about 96%.

My panel only gets a few hours of sun each day, but I didn't expect it to trickle drain it.

No errors reported

[skingspan]

I haven't seen any of the error messages that some on this forum have been experiencing but I do see some odd behavior with the panel.  When charging the camer shows it is at 100% but when the sun is gone for the day the charge indicator immediately drops to 98%.  So it appears the battery is nevr getting to 100% although it reports that it is while charging.  Not a huge issue as long as it doesn't start creeping lower than 98% 

[ice_man]

@surfer1000

Lol. I love the new feature you mentioned... "trickle drain" should be mentioned on the literature...

[steve_t]

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skingspan wrote:

I haven't seen any of the error messages that some on this forum have been experiencing but I do see some odd behavior with the panel.  When charging the camer shows it is at 100% but when the sun is gone for the day the charge indicator immediately drops to 98%.  So it appears the battery is nevr getting to 100% although it reports that it is while charging.  Not a huge issue as long as it doesn't start creeping lower than 98% 

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Chances are that they way the gauge is, if the battery is at 99.9%, it will read 98%. If it's 99%, it'll read 98% etc. The battery percentage is a bracketed range, not an absolute

[MUGS]

I am having all the same issues mentioned in this thread. I live in Florida and get a good amount of direct sun light to the panels. They seem to work when I install freshly charged batteries then begin displaying the red ! after a day or so. Being a Best Buy premier elite member I am fortunately within my 45 day return limit and will be returning these and giving a very negative review on them.

[Denice]

Same issue as others. Mine are on roof. Similar to others it's not easy to constantly troubleshoot in their location. The reason for having solar is because of location. I'm in sunny Az and the night mode is cloudy only on the cameras that are attached to the solar chargers. Cameras not on solar or plugged into outside outlet have crisp clear clear night vision. I had to recheck the protective films weren't left on.
Support is a nightmare, giving different responses depending on person contacted. I don't need them to read from prompted script. I can do that faster. Mine don't want to record motion as should either. Just all around unhappy with the product & ready to return the solar. Feeling like a tester working out kinks since purchasing a new product too soon.

[Pwnjuice]

I ordered 4 of these solar panels from bestbuy. I bought the 6 arlo pro camera pack. Also bought 5 outdoor camera mounts and a dual battery charger. $1,014.11 for the cameras, $85.35 for the 5 mounts, $51.23 for the dual charger and $341.56 for the solar chargers. That is $1492.25 I spent. That is atleast for me a lot of money. So that is the history of what I have. When I received these 4 solar panels factory sealed from Bestbuy 1 of them had a factory sealed damaged USB clip that goes to the panel. That was the only one. Once I installed them I received the error everyone here is getting On all 4 panels. All four! I seen this post and Tried everything people suggested. I then contacted support VIA chat. I will not post it all for you unless you request it but here are some highlights.

This is Bill with Expert ID 46284 and I will be doing a follow up email.

( 5m 17s ) Bill Nico L: Hi . Thank you for choosing NETGEAR.
( 5m 22s ) Bill Nico L: My name is Bill with Expert ID 46284. How may I help you today?
( 6m 7s ) Joe Winkler: I bought 4 Arlo solor panels for my 4 outdoor cameras and I'm getting this message on them.
The charging source connected to the camera cannot charge your battery. Please use an Arlo Pro power adapter
( 6m 25s ) Joe Winkler: I tried everything people said to try on https://community.netgear.com/t5/Arlo-Pro/Arlo-Solar-Panel-not-working/td-p/1328527

( 6m 32s ) Joe Winkler: but same issue.
( 7m 18s ) Bill Nico L: I see, can you provide the email address that is associated with your arlo account?
( 7m 31s ) Joe Winkler:EMAIL WAS HERE

( 10m 30s ) Bill Nico L: Can you try to charge the cameras using it's original charger?
( 11m 13s ) Joe Winkler: I have and they charge and when I plug in the solar charger it says its working correct but after a hour or so it gives me the errors again
( 12m 19s ) Bill Nico L: I see, let me discuss the issue with my team, I'll be back so kindly stay on the line.
( 12m 42s ) Joe Winkler: OK thank you
( 13m 27s ) Bill Nico L: Your welcome.

( 21m 40s ) Bill Nico L: Hi Joe, thank you so much for patiently waiting on the line. I would suggest that you return the solar panel charger to the store and have them replaced.
( 21m 59s ) Joe Winkler: all 4 of them?
( 22m 59s ) Bill Nico L: All solar panels are not working, correct?
( 23m 22s ) Joe Winkler: yes

( 24m 4s ) Joe Winkler: I am thinking its a software or firmware issue.
( 24m 56s ) Joe Winkler: if I unplug the chargers then charge the battery and drain the battery a little the plug in the solar charger it start working for a bit then I get that error
( 26m 38s ) Bill Nico L: I see, we are still working on the issue, hopefully we can produce working solar panels soon. Some of them are not working so kindly ask the store to have them replaced.
( 27m 49s ) Joe Winkler: So if I return them to the store I will 4 new broken ones again?
( 29m 32s ) Bill Nico L: Hopefully not, if ever you receive not working ones again, please contact us again and kindly state the name of the store so that we can report this to our engineering team.

( 31m 18s ) Joe Winkler: Is there anyway I can RMA them with you since I have already mounted them and no longer have the retail packaging. Last thing I want to do it remove all the mounts and way I managed the cables.
( 32m 7s ) Joe Winkler: I would be a lot easier if all I had to do was unscrew the panel itself.
( 34m 29s ) Bill Nico L: One moment please.
( 37m 36s ) Bill Nico L: May I ask what is the light behavior of the camera while the solar panel is plug in?
( 38m 21s ) Joe Winkler: 3 are exposed to the sun and one is not.
( 39m 9s ) Bill Nico L: What I meant was the led light of the camera while the solar panel charger is connected.
( 40m 47s ) Bill Nico L: Also, can you provide the screenshot of the error message?
( 41m 13s ) Bill Nico L: I'll be sending you a file transfer request.
( 41m 22s ) Joe Winkler: ok
Agent Bill Nico L requested a file transfer
( 41m 35s ) Bill Nico L: Please check your screen right now.
( 41m 44s ) Bill Nico L: Can you see the request.
File transfer succeeded.

I don't need to go more. He wanted me to return them all.  Then he said and I quote "I see, we are still working on the issue, hopefully we can produce working solar panels soon. Some of them are not working so kindly ask the store to have them replaced. "

Sorry to be blunt but I am pissed I spent almost $1500 on something and only mostly works give me a break. That his bull**bleep** and they want me to get the ladder out and remove the work I did to return it.

#SUMTINGWONG

[skavenuk]

I don't get the error message, however the battery is draining faster when it's connected to the solar panel. It's gone from 100% to around 60% in about a weeks worth of use. I barely ever see the charging status on there - and it's getting at least half a day's direct sunlight.

[surfer1000]

Yeah you would of thought the cable would only have a circuit one way not 2 way, definitely drains power

[skavenuk]

I'm about ready to send them back. Very dissapointed. I think when I eventually move house i'll be purchasing a wired solution from a different vendor, i'm sick of having to recharge these all the time and I was hoping the solar panels would fix that. My fault I guess for thinking I would only have to recharge them maybe once every couple of month's or so.

[banking]

I tried my Arlo solar panel plug in my camera on the ground first when it really hot and it worked, but when I placed my Arlo Solar panel back on the side of the house plugged into my Arlo Camera Pro it seems that it did not work. Why is this? I believe it depends on the temperature of the sun. Between 7am - 12pm the Sun rays are directed on the Arlo Solar panel but it is not that hot. The real heat comes between 12pm - 4pm, but since the Earth has rotated and the Sun is on directly on the Arlo Solar Panel, then the Arlo Solar Panel will not charge. I wish instead of using that short Arlo mount, I wish they would make some where the Arlo Solar Panel could be on the top of the roof. This is what you guys need to work better because even if the Earth rotates you will still get more Sun light.

[ColinV]

I know this isn't typical for everyone, but I purchased a solar panel and installed it on my driveway camera and don't have any of the issues that people are expirencing.  My driveway faces northeast, and my camera is aligned to match the pitch of the roof (north west).  This is entirely the wrong direction based on the website suggestions, but it does receive some daylight in the afternoon.  Since the camera only uses about 2-3% per day, it's still enough to charge it back up to %100 every day.

I bought another one for the backyard camera (the only other camera that requires a ladder to reach) so I'll be able to see if my luck holds out on that one as well.

My purpose for this post is to let people know that some panels work great, even without direct sunlight.  If you have issues, there may be a batch or QC issue, so a replacement may be the best route.  If you can, set the panel up outside with a camera to test the panel a couple of days before you spend the time to mount it fully so you're not wasting time.

[Saint728]

I kept getting the red ! on my camera even after I charged it up 100%. It would work for a little while then all of a sudden it would get the red ! again. I tried different solar panels, power cords, moving them to different locations and they all did the same thing. A couple days ago I tried a different battery in one of the cameras I was getting the red ! on. As soon as I traded batteries it wasn't getting the red !, but it was just showing the battery level is full. The next morning it showed the charging symbol. It has been charging for the past 2 days now and no red ! at all. So now all 3 of my solar panels are working fine now. The problem was with the rechargeable batteries I had in them. Once I changed them out with different batteries they all work fine now.  

[FredPeng]

Hi All, 

I saw red ! on my device, but it goes away when re-plug the usb cable on my Arlo Pro, you might need to push harder to make it works, has anyone tried my way before ? Hope this can help.

[georgebalanchin]

I'm experiencing same issues with my Arlo Pro Security Camera and can't seem to find a solution.

[jguerdat]

You always have the option to open a case with support since it could be a hardware issue.

[FredPeng]

Did you try my solution?

[FredPeng]

I was sad to get into this situation, and then I try to find the solution by myself seems not an hardware issue just need to plug in properly.

[DWG521]

I had the same issue after installing solar panel.  Worked fine for a while then happened to check status and saw error message.  Followed advice from forum and submitted issue to support.   After back and forth support tried to say something wrong with camera or solar panel. Even directed them to this forum.   I ended up removing camera and chacon no if camera worked without battery in (it did).  Then charged two different batteries in camera to verify not battery. Synced camera to base station and reattached everything.  It has been a couple of days and so far working properly.    I believe the issue is that it is very difficult to get a good connection between the camera and the solar panel cable because the wheel that is used to tighten the camera to the outside mount interferes with the solar cable to the camera.  I believe the end of the cable connecting to the camera needs to be redesigned so it is thinner or flatter against the camera so it does not interfere with the mount wheel

[banking]

I do not know what it is, it could be when trying to plug the solar panel connection in the Arlo Camera, it is very difficult to plug in. I tried the camera and solar panel on the ground and it worked when I plugged it in, but when I place the camera and solar panel back on the side of the house it seems to not work, the solar panel is in direct sunlight.

[banking]

I agree the Solar Panels are discharging the battery, especially at night or when there is no direct sunlight. if you cannot get the solar panel to work I would disconnect it, until you solve this problem, because you will find yourself constantly charging the battery all the time

[migman_2001]

I guess I have been lucky with these panels.  I have two installed.  Over a month now, no error messages, no discharging.  

Regarding the outdoor camera mount, I just removed the plastic nut.  Mine are the completely round style.  No issues with securely mounting the camera.

This issue definitely sounds like a hardware issue either with the panel or the camera or both.

Based on the responses on this thread, really no common issue except that they don't work.  

[banking]

I 100% agree this is the issue connecting that darn Solan Panel Cable to the camera, it is very difficult. It is not the Solar Panel receiving sunlight rays, I have my Solar Panel right in front of the sun hot rays, it must be the connection cable between the Arlo Solar Panel and the Camera.

[jguerdat]

I've had issues with plugging the cable (both solar and outdoor power supply) myself. It IS difficult to do so the best you can hope for is to take your time and ensure full/proper seating.

[banking]

The issue is how you plug the Solar Panel connection to the camera, I had a difficult time. Here is what you need to do:

(1) When you plug the Arlo Solar Panel connection to the camera, make sure you rub the male connection against the TOP part of the back of the camera female connection and push in tight

(2) You will know when it is plugged in when it snaps in.

I tried it finally and it receive a charged, thank you, I hate climbing ladders too much and this camera definitely needs  the solar panel. I am glad I tried it one more time before taking it back. Now, I can go get one more for the other camera that needs, these are 2 trouble spots that must be monitored.