Battery drains very quickly even when camera is off - Arlo VMS4330

[Shammy]

Why does my camera night infrared come on when I have the camera set to off?

[mookie60]

Thanks for offering to include me in the f/w testing, but unable to check/test as needed right now.  And thanks for investigating the issue. 

[hlpj]

I would like to participate.  I have approximately 22 Arlo pro cameras on a network.  The power drain has increased with every recharge to that it is ridiculous changing and charging batteries.  The whole purpose is for the system is lost with this problem.

[jgarland]

I'd also like to participate in the field trial. Like others, I've been experiencing increased battery drain since mid-May.

@DawnM, @JamesC

[Wklovelace3]

How does a battery % go up? Anyone having this happen? Was 58 this am now 65????????????????

[R_Robinson]

Thank you for your reply, Tom.

All my Arlo equipment is a month out of warranty.

Reading other support messages here it looks like Netgear provides no repairs for out of warranty equipment. Am I right in assuming this camera is past service life if the next update doesn't fix the battery drain issue?  

[R_Robinson]

Thanks for the info, Luminary.

My one camera has already eaten $20 worth of CR123 batteries the past month. I'm not putting any more batteries in it until I see an update available.

I'm kinda disheartening with the poor level of service from Netgear after reading through other threads here. I was hoping for some sort of refund for the batteries and a replacement camera before reading through the knowledgebase. Especially since I paid over $500 for my 4 camera system at Best Buy.

[secaz]

Wklovelace3 - its just totally foobarred... I do know the cams Ihave that are hardware version H11 seem to have more issues and drain much more quickly...

[R_Robinson]

It looks like I'm protected by Massachusetts consumer law. I can return the entire kit to Best Buy if Netgear refuses to fix it. Products sold in Massachusetts have an implied warranty - "warranty of merchantability" for 4 years. Which means that the product will do what it is supposed to unless expressly sold "as is". Mass state law also protects me from warranties that try to limit the implied warranty period.

[Wklovelace3]

Mine are h8. There funky too. Went from 58 to 65 this morning. Im exhasuted by the whole thing. Done trying to diagnose it fix it etc. Even if we knew what was wrong we couldnt fix it probably. Basically waiting on them.

[secaz]

And performance with the Android app is SO BAD I don't even bother looking at the videos when I get a notification.  The library page just spins and spins and chokes and chokes... I just don't bother, unless the dogs bark bloody murde, THEN I go and sit down at workstation and try to view the videos from there - loads slower than molasses again, but at least with the website it eventually loads... but whatever caused my dogs to bark is long, long gone by the time I am finally, FINALLY, able to view the video.

[Shaeaustin]

I'm considering ditching the whole system. I spent over $2k setting it all up. My house was broken into twice. All they caught was the back of them walking away. Nothing the cops could use. The lag is horrible and distance is greatly reduced on night vision. When they got about 15-18 ft from camera it no longer sensed his motion and stopped recording. He walked past twice within 15 feet and it never even saw him at all. (Set on 90%) Half the time when night comes, the IR never activates so I get pitch black videos or feed. Tried all the troubleshooting. Even replaced that camera and still did it.
So with all the "new" issues... I'm fed up. IR is constantly coming on when cameras are off. Batteries lasting 5-6 days now. All my $2k investment gave me was notifications that the mail truck came. Seriously.
Ive already gotten rid of 5 of them and cancelled my subscription. What a waste of my time and money.
Any suggestions on a new system that ACTUALLY works and does what it's supposed to?

[JPC]

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@secaz wrote:

Hackers have control and are running riot.  That's my take.  It's like Netgear is chasing them, running around stomping out their brushfires...

When something breaks, it breaks - but to change the nature of what is broken, and when, and the degree?  That's human intervention.

---

The hacking is coming from Arlo's Talented Engineers(Employees) or anyone on their End for that matter who has access and complete control of the Server/Application.. It's nearly impossible for anyone from the outside of Arlo/Netgear environment can get a hold of hacking our systems... Let me put it this way.. The email we create alone for the account on our system is a ticket for an Arlo Employee(EngineerLevel2-3) to gain access whether a password is created or not... If you have called support and gave them your email account where you setup your Arlo is enough for them to gain access.. or they can just pick an account randomly from their Server for testing/diagnosing purposes and have a tier2 group somewhere overseas doing the work.. Who knows..  That's why I highly encourage to create a new account when you suspect a strange activity.... Since Arlo is not disclosing any of these.. Of course, it ends up just a speculation but highly possible.. 

[secaz]

Shaeaustin - you are right, doesn't work worth a damn... although when I first got Arlo, it was amazing what the cams caught at night.  I live in a dark sky community (no street lights, and hardly anyone leaves coach lights on, and if they do, they have to use dim bulbs) and when I first got my system last spring, I was capturing all kinds of things at night, lots of it wildlife, but now?  By the time one of my street cams catches someone walking by at night, that person is already on the way out of frame... I get a video of a leg or a heel...  

I miss the wildlife videos... use get get videos of javelina (hairy desert pigs) walking up my driveway and walkway... now, I know they are still out there, but cams don't pick them up at night anymore, even with 100% sensitivity.

[secaz]

JPC - famous last words before the ship goes down - didn't they say that about the titanic?  Or something to that affect.

"Nearly impossible" is NOT impossible - and I've been a Linux enthusiast for over 20 years now, use Linux heavily for my business's infrastructure... I KNOW what's possible...

I'm sorry, but any sysadmin who has ever said to me "we're impossible to hack (because we use Linux)" has proven him or herself a horrible sysadmin and a risk to their employers.  ANYTHING can be hacked, and most often it's SOCIAL ENGINEERING that tears down that impenetrable fortress companies think they have built, all because they are using Linux.  It is literally loose lips that sink these ships - and that is not a joke.  Are all of Netgear's tech and sysadmins tightlipped and incorruptible?  They all have top level security clearence, then, I take it?  you get the picture.  I'll wager not - and that's not to be mean, its just like that everywhere.  It's most often the well inentioned employees that are the weakest link.

Apparently, you have NO IDEA the power there is to be had at the Linux command line... but anyone who is out there hacking away sure the hell does, let me assure you...

The type of things I see going on with my Arlo system, I've seen stuff like this happeneing before, and there's always a troublemaking human involved somewhere - either a hacker, or a vengeful employee...

Of course, Netgear won't say boo so I'm free to speculate...

[RChobby]

Is there any chance that Arlo systems can be compromised, with hackers turning on cameras continuously without the owner knowing? That would result in rapid battery loss.

[Joeyy]

@JamesC 
Please deploy the field trial to me as soon as possible.

Thanks!

[JPC]

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@secaz wrote:

"Nearly impossible" is NOT impossible - and I've been a Linux enthusiast for over 20 years now, use Linux heavily for my business's infrastructure... I KNOW what's possible...

Apparently, you have NO IDEA the power there is to be had at the Linux command line... but anyone who is out there hacking away sure the hell does, let me assure you... 

---

I do have an idea.. just narrowing down a possible cenario where a high percentage of hacking takes place and that's usually from the inside job(client-server side/end-user) not so much from the outside world.. That's why it's "Nearly impossible".. There's no question an experienced hacker from outside can and will hack away if he/she intends to but that takes time and wants money for its purpose most of the time... Also, this hacker must be desperate for hacking someone's Arlo system? For what? Bragging rights? lol.. Just a waste of time for a professional hacker that is.. 

[AppleArlo]

Where does all this go next? No doubt it is totally unacceptable.

i see some vendors are backing out of Arlo products. It will still leave us with a bundle of useless junk.

is there a connection to the off-loading of the company, or just ineptitude?

..and Arlo keeps regaling the world with bright shiny videos of their wonderful products.

what next????

[Shaeaustin]

I am OFFICIALLY creeped out!!! I have realized after watching which ones are draining and which ones aren't that it's only the ones INSIDE my home. The outdoor cameras don't have this issue. I have switched some around from in to out and guess what? Only the inside ones drain. Why? I've changed the password and it still does it. Is someone at ARLO/Netgear casing my house and watching my family? I already removed the cameras from bedrooms as the IR was always coming on even when camera was turned off.
Way creepy!!! Fix this now ARLO/Netgear before you become an untrustworthy laughing stock like Facebook for trying to lie and cover it up.

[paddos]

All my drain issues are on 5 cams outside. Not an inside outside issue for me. Can confirm that even with IR turned off and cams disabled battery drain is still excessive. Guess issue could be caused by hacking live streaming activation. as well as IR activation.

[Wklovelace3]

Mine are draining outside too. The one i have inside is in window sill and set to audio only so when my dog barks it records front walkway/door area. The other camera is under eave covering whole front yard and sidewalk. There both draining at sa.me rate even though the window cam gets less action. It doesn't seem to matter now as the workaround of leaving them on and disarmed no longer works now. They drain no matter what

[Wklovelace3]

Another thing i am noticing is when i charge them there not taking nearly as long to full charge. So not sure if they really are draining or does the app say there draining. Has anybody with disposables with arlo used a volt meter? I plugged it in it was 49 and 20 minutes later its in the 80's. Usually it takes an hour to full charge

[paddos]

Could be. We know that the reading is part of the issue when it sticks at 100 ... or actually increases. So, can't really trust what the reading says. I have been leaving mine charge overnight to take that variable out of the equation.

[Wklovelace3]

Thats a great idea. Mine seem to drain the most overnight. Usually wake up to find its dropped 5% or more.

[secaz]

I am so done futzing with this system.  Got batteries draining like crazy again for no discernable reason...

And if batteries drain quicker inside with cams off than outside, that's becasue the IR lights come on all the time... even if you can't see them... but I would think even at night in a home, you'd see them coming on and off as you walk by.  My office is usually kind of dim, and I can see the IR lights coming on and off during the day on the odd occasion I plug on in to charge.  But I turn the camera to face the wall because I am not convinced they are off, not convinced they aren't streaming video elsewhere, without my knowledge or consent...