Battery life is way too short in cold weather with an Arlo Pro - 1 week

[rickengle]

With temps in the teens, an Arlo Pro I mounted outside on my roof only lasted a week before the battery was depleted.  Aftre hearing before I bought that battery life lasted months, that's a very short time for a camera that I can only reach via a ladder and when there is no snow on the roof.  

Is that unusual, is battery life really that bad?   I switched from optimized to low battery ussage to increase it's life but I hate sacrificing the better camera resolution.

I really wish there was a good wired option for power for cameras mounted outside.

Thanks,

  Rick

[brh]

There are several things that affect battery life. One of them is, as you mentioned, is very cold weather. Another is whether the camera is mounted in a high or low traffic area. Another is how often the cameras are being used to record videos and how long the video clips were.

I believe that Arlo had an outside power adapter, but it was recalled because of safety issues. I am sure that they will soon have a replacement.

Personally, I am using the new Arlo solar pane; and it is working great for me. Even though the cameras are mounted in high traffic areas outside. I do not arm them that often, so usually I only lose two to three percent of battery life daily. If the temperature is below 32 degrees F or on a very overcast day the battery may not get charged, but on a sunny day in slightly warmer weather my battery charges to 100% in about and hour.

I don't know how long the battery will last if no charging occurs and usage is minimal, but they should last several months. Heavier usage would cause the battery to drain quicker. 

Yes, these temps lately have been terrible for many of us.

Brian

[steve_t]

Unfortunately, that's the same for any battery operated device. The cold affects them adversely.

My advice is that any camera that isn't permanently AC powered or perhaps on a solar panel, should not be placed somewhere that is difficult to access. Your safety is paramount and nobody wants to hear of users slipping off the roof or falling off a ladder because they were trying to get their camera down to recharge it. I have most of my cameras just on magnetic mounts and some around face height. At most, I have to stand on a chair to grab it down. It's been over 2 years now and not even a hint that someone might steal one