Batteries Arlo Pro Drained Fast

[Andersonsecure]

We just purchased an Arlo Pro a week ago.  We were told the batteries would last 3 - 4 months.  Ours drained in 5 days.  I saw a thread from earlier this year that was closed and marked solved.  Obviously it isn't.  What is the fix?  I went back to the store and they told me I could bring back the entire system and exchange it but I couldn't just exchange the batteries as they all had the same serial numbers.  (Which didn't make sense to me since you can add more camera's to the system).  At any rate - what do we do?

[jguerdat]

Read the FAQs here on best camera positioning pratices. Note that the batteries will last the spec life if you use <5 minutes total recording and live viewing per day, on average. That's where positioning comes in because improper positioning may be causing far too many recordings.

Another possibility is the signal strength between the base and cameras. This can be caused by the number of walls and floors the signal has to pass through as well as ductwork in the walls, mirrors or other metallic objecs in the path and even house construction. And then there's 2.4GHz interference from other wireless devices such as cordless phones, etc.

Tell us about your usage and start exploring the possible issues, one at a time, to see what's happening.

[Andersonsecure]

Good information, thank you.  I'm surprised at the using less than 5 minutes of live viewing time per day.  That seems like an awful short viewing time.  We have people coming into our home when we are gone (dog sitters, etc) and will most likely use more than 5 minutes a day.  The walls shouldn't be an issue but possibly other devices such as the cordless phone etc are having an impact.  I'm a bit disappointed in the capabilities of this product right now.  We'll see how it goes.

[NetBox]

@jguerdat

I am really sorry but your statement that the Arlo camera's batteries will last the stated time if used correctly is totally false.

I would have totally agreed with you before May last year and was very happy with both my Arlo HD cameras and my Arlo Pro.

However since that May 2017 update the cameras are constantly having problems and the batteries draining for no apparent reason.

The Arlo Pro cameras do not last anywhere near the stated time Arlo say and can dive bomb overnight.

The actual amount of recordings doesn't seem to affect the battery too much, that is not the issue. But there certainly is some issue as the batteries are fine one day and have good Wi-Fi connection with high battery percentage, then next time you look they have lost 50% or more of their charge. It is not a problem with the actual batteries themselves as I have drain tested them. It's a camera/base station firmware issue.

For me they seem ok for a while then for no reason just drop like a stone.

I personally wish I had never bought Arlo and spent over £1000 on them. I know the Arlo system and how it used to work. Something is wrong and needs fixing. Nothing has changed at my end other than my frustration.

My advice, if you can return your Arlo system, do it now!

[NetBox]

FYI my batteries ALL dropped severely in the last 24 hours. Dropped at least 30-50% for no reason.

Its both HD cameras and Pro cameras, all were well charged yesterday, now very low percent charged and will need charging again in a week or so. Got 2 different base stations too HD original and Pro so its not specific to one base station either.

[PatUse]

Camera installed August 2017.  Batteries drain within five days, what is the solution?  This camera is costing a bundle to operate.  Is it the camera or is there a replacement?

[jguerdat]

First, my batteries are lasting as long as ever in a variety of Pro and Pro 2 cameras. Some are close to the base, others are 50 feet away. I don't have magic sauce keeping them going. While it's hard to know what's going on both from afar as well as by not having a baseline, I would guess that something is happening, perhaps near the base, that's causing an issue with the connection between the base and cameras since it seems to be affecting all cameras. New wireless (not necessarily WiFi) devices near the base that use the 2.4GHz band can cause interference and/or other new or repositioned things may be causing a blockage. Are all your firmware versions up to date? WHat have you tried? Have you moved the base further from the router since some folks find that to help? A reposition of the base may be all that's needed.

Secondly, for @PatUse, why is it costing you a bundle to operate? The batteries are rechargeable. There's no way for us to tell what's going on in your situation so you need to provide details such as how many total minutes per day of recording and live viewing is going on, where the cameras are located, what the house construction is, whether you've tried different locations for the cameras, including close to the base, are all cameras affected, etc., etc.

[pc2k17]

When the system is used as intended the battery life is months. My busiest camera gets 20-30 minutes a day of recorded videos and lasts me almost 60 days. My least used camera lasts about 120 days. No battery powered camera system on the market is designed to run off the batteries and record non-stop.

Interference is almost always the culprit with draining batteries (at least ever since they fixed the firmware issue). There are many devices that can cause interference and just the other day, my buddy and myself discovered that some cheap LED bulbs throw off interference that can affect wifi, over air TV signals, and 2.4ghz signals such as the arlo base uses. Something you would have never thought is the interference issue just might be the problem. In our case, once we moved the LED bulbs farther away the interference stopped.

[JoeCymru]

Not to derail, but @pc2k17 has a really good point about 2.4GHz interference. For example, when I installed my Chamberlain garage door opener wifi control, I had problems with it obeying. Then I realized I had an LED bulb in the garage door opener. The hub is hard wired to the opener and of course power, and changing the location was not an option due to certain configuation requirements. I changed the LED bulb to a CFL, and the problem went away.

I have four Arlo Pro cameras. One interior camera - which is one of the least used - has battery drops somewhat faster than the other three in relation to the live views and recordings. It is in the same vicinity as an Orbi satellite (direct line perhaps 10 ft.), and an LED bulb (direct line perhaps 8ft.) that stays on most of the evening before bed. Since the drop is not that dramtic and my Orbi satellite and lamp position are where I want then, I let it happen.

For area wide dramatic battery drops, this too could be new and massive interference from a router. Perhaps a neighbor. Arlo follows your router 2.4GHz channel. Another strong overlapping signal in the 2.4GHz band will keep your Arlo system busy trying and failing to communicate status.

[NetBox]

Hi and thanks for all the input. I totally get the interference thing on the 2.4GHz frequency and have tried various scenarios in the past. None of which have made any significant difference either good or bad.

The main "problem" is my Arlo systems (I have original Arlo HD and Arlo Pro) worked fine for the first 5-6 months and I was very happy (with only the odd niggling bug now and then). The battery life on both systems was great and as described by Arlo 3-4 months approx depending on usage. Perfect.

The problem is that nothing has changed at my end or with my configuration. The only change is the Arlo updates.

When everyone was have battery drain issues back in May 2017 I actually wasn't and couldn't see any problem. It was a month or so after that my cameras started to get severe battery drain problems. I've tried all sorts to fix it and Arlo say the issue is now fixed.

My day to day battery drain is certainly worse than it was before May 2017, but it is not "severe" now on a day to day basis. However now my main issue is yes my batteries are draining slightly faster than before but they are acceptable, the problem is they are charged ok one day then when I look next they have suddenly dive bombed and lost nearly all charge. They typically lose between 30-50% in a day/hours. Not sure exactly as I can't see it happen real time, but there is some "issue" which causes this.

I personally think that either the base station locks up and causes the cameras to be in a state of searching for the base station or (as has been mentioned) maybe some interference which causes loss of connection.

I can't say I've seen any problems when looking or viewing in the app, but I have seen in the past that sometimes (but rarely) they show as offline, but it is rare. So there is some issue and it is causing me to have to keep climbing up and down ladders to charge the cameras.

I have now taken the drastic step of moving my base stations to other locations and rewiring network cables and power so the base stations can be within a 2 or 3 meters of the cameras. The Wi-Fi signal before to me was never a problem as they always worked fine and showed good signal, but now all my cameras are a full 3 bars for Wi-Fi so that eradicates any potential problem there. In truth I might as well just have a hard wired system if I've basically wired things up so close to the cameras anyway and that would solve any battery drain issues.

I will now wait to see what happens in the next few days/weeks. I just hope I'm not going to be having to be recharging batteries again over Christmas but we will see.

I have also purchased an outdoor charging cable so could have my Arlo Pro cameras constantly plugged in, but again why then do I need Arlo and not a simple wired system.