Infrared light comes on when camera is off causing rapid battery drain

[Shammy]

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

[NetBox]

I sadly bought my systems in the UK from Maplin who have gone bust so no chance here.

However I do think Netgear can fix this, just not sure how long it will take or why it is causing them so much trouble or why they don't roll back to working firmware etc. All the things we have said before.

Only they know and it seems the forum mods are not at liberty to divulge this info or do not know themselves.

[secaz]

BTW - many of us here purchased Arlo over a year ago or longer... when the system worked as advertised... and worked well and we were happy with it... so even customers who bought at Costco a year or more ago, these customers can't return their systems anyway based on Costco's policy.  Its the EARLY adopters of the Arlo system that have been left holding the bag.  Anyone who buys it NOW, while there are multiple issues and poor performance and reliablity, these customers will notice quickly and can return in 30 day window if they bought their systems from places like Amaozn, etc.  Early adopters don't have this luxury... and returning the system isn't an option for people like me.  We can probably sell on eBay but won't get anywhere near the amount we invested... so we are basically stuck, waiting for Arlo to get their sh** together... which isn't happening any time soon... about now I wish some blackhat hackers would do a real number on Netgear's Arlo servers, mess up primary and redundant servers beyond all repair, anihiltate all backups local and remote, hit their code repos and so render all our systems (even more) useless then they already are.  That's probably the only way that Netgar will do anything about it.  Even then I'd have my doubts, lol.

[Wklovelace3]

They say they are looking into it but that is just false hope. They wont end up doing anything about it. You're right were just stuck with junk. I find it comical that they go back n forth with "were looking into it" and " its the users fault". I only have 400 bucks invested so switching brands not a huge problem for me

[secaz]

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@Wklovelace3 wrote:
They say they are looking into it but that is just false hope. They wont end up doing anything about it. You're right were just stuck with junk. I find it comical that they go back n forth with "were looking into it" and " its the users fault". I only have 400 bucks invested so switching brands not a huge problem for me

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Lucky you!

Yeah - everything Netgear says is just rhetoric and bullc**p designed to mollify us into thinking they care... which they clearly don't...

Any WHY after they semi-fixed the fubarred May firmwar push did they go and mess with the firmware AGAIN?  Breaking Arlo even further?  And everytime they touch ANYTHING, they wind up knocking customers' cams offline and leaving them vulnerable, when customers bought the system to feel secure, and how wonderful it must feel to be away from home and try to do a live feed with your cams only to see they are OFFLINE.  Great security system - NOT...

My best bet is to hit the the animal shelter and find a sizable dog who would love a good home... doesn't even have to be a terrifying dog, just a big one... evildoers are less likely to mess with a house that has a big, barking dog... they have no idea if the dog is going to bite them or lick them to death... lol...

[EdRand]

Ok as I posted before. Arlo Pro 2 works fine. The problem is Arlo Pro or earlier models. I Have since cleaned out an Arlo Pro can by taking out the battery, cleaning the charge contacts with a clean cloth and full recharge at room temperature. That cam has been fine for 4 days now. Try that. The others are still carp so will do the same this wkn.

[Wklovelace3]

Thats not why are batteries are draining faster than usual. I do regular maintenance on my outdoor cameras including cleaning the lense and battery contacts. Its the firmware plain and simple. Glad yours is working fine. After the may update mine was fine. Then they did 2 more and thats when i and others started having issues again. Ive had these cameras long enough to know that is nothing i can fix. Ive been thru this many times. Its on arlos end

[Wklovelace3]

5% per 20 videos is not acceptable. I used to lose 3% for all day 70+ videos 10 seconds each. And how is it that some days it wont even pick me up walking up my driveway. It used to get the mailman everyday. Not now. But yet theres mai in the mailbox. And how do we explain the man icon lighting up orange for no reason. Sometimes for hours while disarmed even. Also getting double videos in my library. Same video just twice. Theres something wrong its just too bad they dont know what it is

[petedude]

I just ran across this huge thread (having just posted on one of several other "battery drain" threads). Looks like everyone is having the same issue - cameras working almost flawlessly up until a couple of months ago, then starting to drain their batteries ridiculously quickly.

BTW I can't believe Netgear didn't proactively notify registered users of this problem - I've been wasting lot of time trying to troubleshoot my cameras.

Strongly suggest to Netgear that customers should have the right to roll back to a previous WORKING version of the firmware, and to have the option to block automatic updates. Many people rely heavily on these cameras. Your loyal customer base should not be treated as beta testers. Please test your software properly before rolling it out to everyone.

If the various issues are not fully resolved soon, perhaps disgruntled customers might consider posting reviews on Amazon and tech sites, warning off potential buyers.

[paddos]

@petedude

Yep ... 80 days plus, two firmware so called fixes, and batteries still draining 4X advertised life. You would think the right thing to do would be to simply roll back to pre May 14 firmware while the Engrs unravel their self created "hairball." But seems Arlo prefers to consistently make the Arlo Brand Experience one that totally disappoints. Something each of us should be actively communicating 100's of our closest friends.

[secaz]

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@EdRand wrote:
Ok as I posted before. Arlo Pro 2 works fine. The problem is Arlo Pro or earlier models. I Have since cleaned out an Arlo Pro can by taking out the battery, cleaning the charge contacts with a clean cloth and full recharge at room temperature. That cam has been fine for 4 days now. Try that. The others are still carp so will do the same this wkn.

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I have Arlo Pro and always pop out batteries and replace with fresh ones from Arlo charging station.  I never plug in the cams.  Having issues again after latest update.

[secaz]

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@Wklovelace3 wrote:
5% per 20 videos is not acceptable. I used to lose 3% for all day 70+ videos 10 seconds each. And how is it that some days it wont even pick me up walking up my driveway. It used to get the mailman everyday. Not now. But yet theres mai in the mailbox. And how do we explain the man icon lighting up orange for no reason. Sometimes for hours while disarmed even. Also getting double videos in my library. Same video just twice. Theres something wrong its just too bad they dont know what it is

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I've had that happen, too, with the motion icon lighting up but no recording... I'll actually SEE the motion icon activate and I'll wait for the video but there never is one...

[STES1979]

I bought a 4 camera system that worked great for almost five months.  Now, I'm having to constantly charge them every three weeks, which is rediculous.  I have replaced my 3 outside cameras with Ring Spotlight Cams.  Amazon Prime Day was very convenient to say the least.  Sure, I could have spent another $240 on Arlo solar panels (vs the $600+ on Ring Spotlight Cams + solar panels), but I refuse to give Netgear anymore money for a problem that their firmware created.  

I may have to use my CC's purchase protection to get a refund on the Arlo system.  Thank god for that.

[BGPunggol]

My battery drained from 100% to 7% from 8 July to today, 3 August. This seems to be the norm now for Arlo Pro with about less than 10 30sec video recorded per day, with NO night vision, NO speaker. Reset Base Station and camera done, freshly charged battery (on a charger, of cos) inserted into a single cam less than 10m from base to cam. 3 bars of wifi. Let's see how much it drains.
Hopefully Netgear could offer every disgruntled customer free cable? Still hoping.

[Wklovelace3]

I guess thats good considering mine is lasting about 2 weeks or less. When this system used to work it was great. 2 months + on a full charge. Not anymore. 2 weeks tops. Some days in drains and its not even on because im home. Also losing 5-7 % overnight while disarmed.

[langrock]

Cleaning the contacts won't help with the firmware bugs;-) That sounds more like wishful thinking and some sort of voodoo than actual engineering. A short in the battery compartment won't cause the IR light to come on when the cameras are disabled ... that's what tipped people off, and I am pretty certain that drain issues observed are closely related to the state of the camera, meaning that a camera that is supposed to be in the disarmed state would normally use very little energy to maintain that state, while the current faulty firmware appears to always keep it active, with the motion sensor armed and the IR light coming on at all times. If the QA team at Netgear only tests the wired cameras, they may not have seen this issue, but one would hope that their team specializes in low-power operation since their product is based on batteries ... it isn't rocket science to monitor the power consumption of a battery-operated tool and the recent firmware shouldn't have been released when testing revealed and increased energy consumption.

[Fy27]

I LOL'd when I received this email today:

Dear Arlo Customer,

Today marks an incredibly special milestone for Arlo. As you might know from NETGEAR’s announcement in February, Arlo is on its way to spinning out as a standalone company, and as of this morning, Arlo has joined the New York Stock Exchange as a listed public company. For a glimpse of today’s activities at the NYSE, check out: https://www.nyse.com/bell

Today’s achievement and getting Arlo to where it is today was made possible by you and the millions of other Arlo users worldwide who joined the Arlo ecosystem in order to protect and connect with the people and places in their lives that matter most.

Since launching our first camera in December 2014, we have shipped more than 8.6 million smart connected devices to over 2.2 million registered users across more than 100 countries worldwide. We’re so proud to be a part of so many communities around the world. Arlo helps families like yours keep an eye on your homes and businesses, enables you to connect with your loved ones and protects you from criminals looking for their next victim.

That said, we’re only just getting started.

Looking ahead, Arlo remains dedicated to delivering peace-of-mind through our growing portfolio of smart home products and services. The easy DIY setup Arlo is known for, along with the quality and reliability established by NETGEAR as the market leader in networking, will continue to be key pillars of the Arlo brand. It is with immense gratitude towards everyone involved in bringing Arlo to this juncture. We are excited to continue to push the boundaries with all of the same excellence that NETGEAR instilled in creating Arlo.

Thank you for entrusting us to be a part of your lives. We couldn’t have reached this important milestone today without you.

Matt McRae, CEO, Arlo Technologies

[RaylanC]

Me too.   Y'all ready to ivest??!!

[langrock]

This might not be such a terrible thing. First, they'll concentrate on one thing, instead of being a small part of a larger company which may lose interest in playing with 'security' cameras; long-term support will likely be better. And secondly, they should show an increased desire to have satisfied customers by cranking up their QA department. Here's to hoping, but I won't be holding my breath. If it was easier to wire a house with cameras, I'd never have invested in wireless cameras, and that'll be true for a lot of users here.

[pc2k17]

From what I read earlier this year........ the reason Arlo was splitting off from Netgear is because Arlo was doing well revenue wise and Netgear lost 30 million last year mostly due to the new tax laws which made corporations pay their fair share. To isolate Arlo from the Netgear lose they decided to split off. But Netgear will still retain over 50% of a controlling stake so essentially they are still the parent company. Whether or not things get better is anyones guess.

[Wklovelace3]

Peace of mind? Yeah right. No peace of mind with my system. The only thing i can rely on is my doberman

[Wklovelace3]

I think if they knew how to fix it they would have by now. It doesnt appear that they know what they are doing.

[RaylanC]

I for one would be thrilled if they just once, accepted responsibility, admitted they screwed things up with their "upgrades" and just reverted back to the earlier versions when things were basically fine.  But, I am confident that will never happen.

[Wklovelace3]

I did the trial firmware back in may. That fixed my battery drain. But they have done 2 more updates (duds) and thats when i started having issues again. I think we are dealing with incompetence

[pc2k17]

Rolling back the firmware will most likely never happen simply because the issue(s) doesn't affect everyone. Rolling back has the potential to do more harm then good if it fixes the people with issues, but accentially breaks working users. Also older base firmware may not work with newer camera firmware, so cams might have to be rolled back too. They need to continue moving forward, just at a much faster pace. Months for bug fixes seems excessive.

[secaz]

Amen to that...