Batteries dying quick

[Extremeties]

Forgive me if this topic has already been made 2885738 times but I felt the need to post anyway....

Today, my father purchased the Arlo pro set with 4 cameras. I installed them and have monitored them today via the app on my phone. One thing I’ve read many times and have heard from friends who own these is that the battery life is amazing, as in months per battery. Well all 4 batteries so far on these within less than 8 hrs have dropped from 100% to 93%. At this rate, they’ll be dead within the first week of use. This is not normal is it? I’m very much surprised by the quick drain so far within such a short time.

Secondly, the app on my iPhone seems to automatically close in the background when not in use which hinders my ability to receive notifications from the cameras that’s
Picking up movement. I’m pretty technically savvy but I can’t figure out how to change this. Any suggestions on how to keep the app up so I can receive notifications from the cameras?

Thank you for any help. Your time is much appreciated.

[steve_t]

The battery level apparently does work in brackets so 93% might be more than that but less than whatever the next level is. You'll just have to monitor the time between charges and look at how many minutes of recording time the camera does. The battery level will also read lower when it's cold.

Are you not getting notifications as you should? Sometimes there's a minor delay

[Extremeties]

No I do not get notifications sometimes because I think the OS is closing the Arlo app that’s running in the background.

As for the battery, when I first checked them before installing them they were at 100% earlier in the day. Checked them a few hours later and they dropped to the low 90’s. That to me doesn’t sound good at all and they may be going back if they’re going to drain that quick.

[steve_t]

Do you have Background App refresh turned on?

The months of recording is based off 5 minutes per day of use. This is recording, live streaming and even every time you log into the app, the base status gets updated and all of the cameras get polled. This uses up camera battery life. It is common for new users to log into the app and check things 100 times a day for the first few days.

But you're right, battery cameras will always be limited by virtue of being battery powered. If you are recording a high traffic area, you'd need a powered camera. Unfortunately the Arlo Pro outdoor AC power supply is currently unavailable after a recall and so there's no official way to get full time power to an outdoor Arlo Pro at this stage. The other option is a solar panel. I decided to try one out on a high traffic area camera that I was charging about once every 3-4 weeks but now it's 90-100% charged every day by the sun, even when it's not fully sunny outside

[Extremeties]

Yes background refresh is enabled. Still not sure why I’m not getting notifications 😞

[JamesC]

Extremeties,

If the app is being closed by your iOS device, this would definitely stop push notifications from being received. Check your iOS settings to be sure no features are enabled that would close the app when it is idle. Also be sure you're not running any battery saving applications.

JamesC