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?

[secaz]

Good ideas - all my cams are outside, though... and I have them spit up between two basestations... I suppose I could add a third base station for the backyard cams and disarm when I am outside, and although I'm all about workarounds, it seems not right that we should have to go through conniptions with an expensive system to work around the things Netgear broke, and keeps breaking.  Curiously, Netgear closed my case about the IR... did not get a notice, either, that I can find that  indicated it they were going to close it...

Their silence speaks volumes, in this and other issues...

Does Netgear have nothing to say other than "we're investigating"?  This has IR bug has been bugging us for quite some time now.  Can't they just REVERT BACK to the PREVIOUS FIRMWARE which WORKED AS EXPECTED?   Or would that make too much sense, and make too many customers happy?

[Manole831]

@JamesC

This is serious - you have to classify this as a Sev 1 ticket and should be all hands on deck to address and provide frequent updates on progress. Also, roll back of the firmware ASAP should be strongly considered.

Please give us more details on what engineering has found and is planning on doing.

[pc2k17]

@secaz

As long as the cameras remain on, you can use any mode you like. The issue only happens when the cameras are tuned off.

I use the Armed mode when I'm away from the house. I have rules in the Armed mode for all my cameras so that they are all on and armed when I'm away.

When I come home I don't want the interior cameras to detect motion or record, but I do want my garage camera to detect motion and record. So I created a custom mode that has a rule for only the garage camera. This keeps the garage camera armed and since the interior cameras are not setup in the custom mode they automatically default to disarmed (but they are still on and you can keep night vision on as well). When disarmed they won't detect motion or record or turn the IR lights on, and battery usage will be normal. So when I come home I simply switch from Armed mode to my custom mode.

And to add after reading your last post.......... if all your cameras are outside and you want only one disarmed (off), then create a custom mode that includes all the cameras except the one you want disarmed. You can create as many custom modes as you want. One mode could arm back yard cams if your not in the back yard, which would disarm front yard cams, or one could arm front yard cams and disarm back yard if your in the back.... ect.

[Manole831]

Too many people rely on the disabling of each camera not through modes including Arlo’s own SmartThings integration. Bottom line the workaround is not acceptable for many folks.

[pc2k17]

I hear ya and agree. I use smartthings and used to have smarthings turn the cameras on/off. Now I have to manually go into the arlo app and change the mode. Geofencing is not an option for me because I live in the country and there aren't 3 towers close enough to me to get an accurate location. It's a PITA to not be able to have smartthings turn the cameras on/off, but we essentially have 3 options right now.....

1) Turn the cameras off and charge the batteries every couple of days

2) Use a custom mode to disarm cameras and get normal battery usage

3) Throw the system in the trash

I choose the custom mode method.

[secaz]

Thanks for the suggestions - i have 6 cams in the back yard, and don't need to turn all off at once, just a group here and there, depending on where I am working... but setting up custom modes to disarm, I again ask, why should we need to do this when it was simple to just TURN OFF the cams?

It was dirt easy to turn off cams as in COMPLETELY OFF while working in the yard... if I mosied over to the far side of the house to work over there instead, I'd just whip out my phone and turn off the cam where I would now be working for a while, and just turn back on the cam or cams where I had previously been.  I employ a schedule for cams, and have had issues with schedules blowing up on me, so once I have a schedule with modes that WORKS, as in flawlessy changes modes on schedule, and doesn't blow up, I tend to NOT want to touch it, you know?  Or switch from schedule to another mode, or edit any of the modes being used in the schedule.  So turning off cams was easiest, and simple, and worked as intended.

What is Netgear's resoning behind the new IR "feature"?  I mean, someone actively coded this as a new feature, so why was it done?  What purpose does it serve?

And why would Netgear just arbitrarily CLOSE tickets?  Without so much as a word?  I cannot ever imagine ignoring my clients when they call me with an issue... I'd be a seriously awful consultant, and would not have any clients.  I too have to provide my clients with work arounds until the softare authors can fix an issue.  So, I know what its like to be on both ends, but I assuredly keep in touch with MY clients and let them know the status, and often just to check to make sure they are doing ok with a workaround... I don't blow them off.  That's PROFESSIONAL SUICIDE.

There's a bigger issue here with Netgear than their unintended features (read:  BUGS) - we all know bugs are a part of this world, but how these issues are addressed and how quickly they are resolved, and how angry customers are treated, can make or break a company.  A little GOOD service goes a LONG WAY, Netgear, and I'm sick of having to deal with airheads when I contact your support staff... and please educate your staff that there is an operating system called GNU/Linux and that Microsoft Windows is not the ONLY OS out there...

Netgear built their empire on Linux and open source... and they are giving both a BAD REPUTATION... honestly...

[pc2k17]

I agree, turning off is much simplier, especially if you use schdules like you do, and we shouldn't have to have 6 custom modes to accomplish what was once an on/off switch that worked correctly.

I think someone either coded something, or made some server side changes and didn't test what happens when the cameras are off. It's clearly a bug and a huge mistake. My guess is they don't know where they introduced the bug and that's why it's taking so long to track down and fix. Either way it's a major fail.

"Netgear" closes tickets because their "support" is outsourced to a big call center company who's "techs" read from scripts. More than likely they get paid by how many tickets they close. So they close them. Lots of big companies do this and IMHO, it's a huge mistake.

But that said, since Arlo puts up big numbers no matter what issues they have, I doubt anything will change anytime soon. From an July 2017 article I read.... Arlo revenue climbed 104% year over year to $78.7 million. I don't do social media, but for those who do, make your voices heard. Maybe it will affect the Arlo IPO (initial public offering) coming later this year. As Arlo spins off into it's own company I'm sure they are expecting a certain number from the IPO, if they don't get it, maybe they'll wake up. BTW - the new CEO of Arlo Technologies will be Matthew McRae. I guessing he has email or social media......

[secaz]

pc2k17 - thanks you for your info and insight.

Yes - tracking down just where the "glitch" is hiding takes time, this is a given.  However, my question would be, why not just roll back to the previous version?  Unless there was a must-have in the new firmware that supercedes whiny customers who will complain about battery drain... I thought it was odd when they started seilling long charging cables for the cams... that just defeats the purpose of a wireless system, unless they knew they were going to be implementing a change which would compromise battery life...

When I upgrade systems for client, to a new version, even though we test and test and test before go-live, often its not until go-live and real humans do real work in the sysem that we find something the client can't live with.  However, I ALWAYS make sure I can quickly, and easily, go back to the previous version.  It doesn't happen often, where a go-live goes that wrong, but its a must to be able to revert to prior system or version.  Now, you can't tell me that Netgear doesn't have this ability...

With software and hardware and all point in-between, it is give and take.  One nice change they made recently is camera renaming and the effect it has on modes and their rules.  I like it very much that now when I swap cameras, which means I rename cams A LOT, that the new camera name is applied to its the rule in which it is defined.  Kind of hard to explain. but before, when I would rename a cam, I would have to go to the rule in the mode and rename the rule to reflect the camera in the rule.  That was painful but I suffered it (with 10 cams gets tedious) because I was renaming cameras which I figured Netgear probably hadn't intended, or at least, hadn't thought that people did a whole lot so didn't bother to address it...

So, its refreshing that I no longer have to edit my rules when I swap and rename cams.

Still, the IR thing remains - and I'm sorry, but when something is turned off, it should be TURNED OFF.  And the IR coming on all the time means the camera is NOT turned off, at least in my book, anyway... and Netgear should have rolled back to prior version as soon as people started complaining about it... its not a minor issue...

[pc2k17]

I agree, they should have had a roll back plan inplace in case things went wrong. Anytime we roll out a new system or an update/upgrade or patches or new software we always have a plan in place to go back to a working system. The only thing I can think of is..... my camera off issue started the same day they rolled out the missing mode tab fix for the android app. Maybe the mode tab fix caused the camera off issue. So if they rolled back they'd be back to the missing mode tab issue. Sinced the missing mode tab probably affected more users they stay with the camera off issue. IDK, just speculatiing here.

And yes I agree when you turn something off, it should be off or at least all end user functionality should be inactive. Since these are wireless battery cameras and connect to a base unit they are never really fully off because even when off they have to talk to the base to get the turn on command. There's probably some "wake up" feature or part of the wireless connection feature that stays active even when off so it can get the on signal. Where they seem to have messed up is the features that should be inactive are remaining active when turned off. You're right, this is not a minor issue and I have no idea what's taking them so long to address and fix (except maybe there engineers aren't that good).

[secaz]

Yes - I experienced issues with the mode tab in Android app around same time as this mess with the IR started.

Have tried to divine a relationship between the mode tab issue in Android app with IR for cams.  Perhaps issues occur with modes/rules when the cams get fully turned off - except for wlan, of course, otherwise yeah - they can't broker a connection with basestation.  However, aside from it being a neat feature to make people think your cams are always on even if you have them turned off, can't really see the benefit of constant IR when cameras are turned off - especially given that battery life is an issue to begin with...

I went out to do yard work for about an hour this morning, turned backyard cams off, and for those cams battery consumption was about 2% to 3% for each battery by the time I was done...

[ysu]

On 5/14, Netgear released both firmware and iOS app update. There’s a separate thread about iOS app losing push notifications. But I think some of us are noticing a different issue from about the same time: battery drain.

I had Arlo Pro (5 cameras) for 1+ years. Before 5/14, battery life was consistent — it can last 4-5 months. From 5/14 firmware 1.092.0.13_19715, I have already lost 30+% battery on each camera in about 1.5 weeks, which is way too high compared to before. And I can confirm my environment hasn’t changed — same amount of motion.

After the push issue, can Netgear take a look at this? THanks.

[waynebaron]

I second this, I'm seeing similar quick battery drain after the latest update.

[secaz]

Ah!  Thank you for mentioning signal strength.  I have noticed the same, but so many things influence WiFi, and 2.4 GHz band is pretty cluttered and dirty most everywhere you live, I figured it was just more clutter on the band.  I have to futz with basestations and their positions for two camera locations where signal strength had previously never been an issue.  And I live where lot sizes for houses and the houses themselves are small.  Stone's throw pretty much to any cam from any base station... so am perplxed by signal strength issues as of late.  And I do not have 2.4 GHz enabled for any of my other devices - everything else is on 5 GHz band so I have the radio for 2.4 GHz turned off on my router.  If it was a Netgear router (NOT) I would think that turning off 2.4 GHz radio does not REALLY mean its off, and is still broadcasting, lol...

[JUGGAKNOTZZ]

I came to the forum this evening to see if anyone else is experiencing this issue since an update about a week ago or so; sure enough! I certainly hope that tech support is looking into a resolution for this issue.

-JUGG

[JUGGAKNOTZZ]

This is certainly the case. My cameras were disarmed prior to taking them down for charging and I was shocked to see that the infrared lights activated when I was taking them down.

[GMR79]

Not sure if this has been posted, but this is the response I received back from netgear in the issue. Have not tried yet.
A. Uninstall and Reinstall the Arlo App.

B. Powercycle the base station. Unplug the power cablae and the Ethernet Cable of the base station for 10 seconds.

C. Remove, powercycle, and re-sync the camera. Please follow the steps below to remove the camera:
1. Access your Arlo account.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Click on the camera's serial number having issue
4. Scroll down and click on Remove device.
5. Remove the battery of the camera for 10 seconds
6. Insert the battery
7 After that, move the cameras closer to the base station.
8. Press the sync button of the base station for 2 seconds and press the sync button of the camera for 2 seconds

D. Turn Off/On the Night Vision of the camera. Please follow the steps on the link below:
https://kb.arlo.com/1124555/How-do-I-turn-my-camera-s-night-vision-on-and-off-in-my-Arlo-app

[pc2k17]

That is nonsense and total BS. That is right from the script that their "tech support" people read from. It's what they say for every issue they have. Don't waste your time, this script reading support isn't fixing anything. The issue is on the Arlo side, most likely the back end systems.

[Manole831]

E. Pack cameras in box, drive to Best Buy, and demand a full refund even though you’re way past the return window citing pure negligence on their part for selling a product engineered by terrorists to drive people insane

[pc2k17]

Read this thread:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Arlo-Pro/Infrared-light-comes-on-when-camera-is-off/m-p/1574038#M37...

It has all the info you'll ever need on this issue.

In post #30 you'll see the trouble shooting I did and an explaination of the problem, but there is a ton of info from many forum members there as well. The forum moderator has escalated the issue to Arlo engineers.

[avalon94]

How has it been over 6 days and they haven't rolled back the firmware update?  Multiple threads created/combined into one, 5+ pages of replies from people with this issue.

[cledawg1]

I also noticed a much faster battery drain after the 5/14 update.  I've aleady had to recharge 2 of my 4 cameras and the next 2 are getting close.

[pc2k17]

While we wait for Arlo to fix the issue..... don't turn the cameras off. Instead leave them on and disarm them all when not needed, or create a custom mode to arm only the cameras you need, which will disarm the others. Battery usage will return to normal.

[Joeyy]

The cameras are totally useless.

Just thinking, if IFTTT could help out as a workaround. Seems to be IFTTT is able to "Arm" and "Disarm" the Arlo system (not only to switch a camera on and off, like Smartthings can do). It's only a workaround, but maybe for Smartthings user a way (using WebCORE and IFTTT) to arm and disarm Arlo.

As I said, only a workaround until Arlo send a firmware fix, but maybe better than replacing the battery every other day.

Will try it out later today!

[sniper222]

have been on with support, not that it was helpful, but was told the rep talked with tier 2 tech support and they believe some of the issues are related to the base so will be shipping me a new base.  Not sure I believe this but I was not able to directly talk with tier 2 support.

Still believe they are not sure what is going on with the battery drain.

[secaz]

Hey, folks - interesting things happening here.  Doing cam maint this morning (have to becasue of IR drain on battery) and I am sitting here with one cam in my dark office... it is OFF, not connected to charger, and IR is NOT coming on... also, have another camera in here that's charging and it is also off and the IR DOES NOT come on while connected to charger.  I connected the other cam to a charger as well and IR is not coming on... hum...

What have I done differently today?  This morning I deleted the last two of my custom modes which existed BEFORE this whole firmware mess and issue with Android app and mode tab started.

Yesterday I created a DAY mode instead of using the ARMED MODE for daytime slot in my schedule.  This morning I deleted NIGHT and WINDY and set up NIGHT clean (I use NIGHT as part of schedule with DAY) and added to my schedule for each base station.  Doubt that has anything to do with IR suddenly not coming on, though... but who knows...

I'll audition other cams as I do maint on them... if it was something as simple as DELETING modes which existed PRIOR to firmware update, I'll be not thrilled... they could have TOLD us that was the fix instead of making us bang our heads against the wall...