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?

[MadMatt1971]

Noticed this last couple of weeks, had these cameras for 6 months and was looking to upgrade to the HD. However will take back to the shop as i find this unacceptable...

Disgusting..

[secaz]

It really is unacceptable - negligent on the part of Netgear.

I just my schedules blow up AGAIN.  It did this LAST Monday as well... Monday time slot in schedules  between 12 am and 7:30 am, JUST MONDAY, when I look at ALL THREE SCHEDULES (have 3 basestations) that time slot is DISABLED.  Last week I had only TWO basestations hooked up, yesterday hooked up a third because of signal strenth... and did not get any videos last night after 12 am... pulled up Arlo and all three basestations reported DISARMED.  I had to go into each schedule and RE-ADD Monday to the schedule for that time slot for each base station.  Every other day of the week was enabled EXCEPT MONDAY for that time slot.

I did all my schedules from the WEB INTERFACE... adjusted all my settings with the web interface... so can't blame this on Android app...

Also - IR still coming on when camera status is off, I did a couple of cams this morning and nothing has changed... or its only HALF changed, since IR isn't coming on after I pop out the battery and reinsert with cam off... so, that's something, but still after turning cam BACK ON, then turning OFF AGAIN, IR lights come on when movement detected... so... if they fixed anything, its HALF-ASSED...

[secaz]

I replaced batteries in two cams yesterday afternoon, they dropped by 2% overnight with a handful of videos at low res, 10 seconds each.

So - there are now other issues where people can't log in?  I got on Anroid a few time yesterday "Arlo is unavailable" but after trying again to log in was able to... was frustrating since I was adding new basestation and syncing cams to it.

Everything is so f***ed up and STILL not a peep from Netgear as to what is going on, what happened and what they are doing to fix it - or if this is just the "way things are" now and we need to just shut up and DEAL...

[CameraMan19]

I’m giving this issue one more day and if by tomorrow we still don’t have any real talk with promises to implement 2fa and account access logs from Netgear I will be trying to return this system.

[secaz]

Thanks for posting- the more people who post, the better - even if Netgear really doesn't care about a handful out of millions of customers...

They make me feel like I'm an annoyance, for expecting things to work right and be reliable... to me, its false advertising, when you get right down to it... a security system should be secure and reliable, and Arlo is neither at this point...

And if their intent is to ADD or REMOVE features, they really need to notify their customers beforehand... but, then again, they tell us nothing at all period even when there are grave issues, and that push notification to have us change our passwords was only a CYOA measure, prompted by their legal counsel, I'm certain...

[Nancy_L]

At this point if Netgear won't respond to Tech support calls or this forum then maybe posting the issues to the review section of the store that you bought the system from.  Posting on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram might also work.  I really want Arlo to work like it did when I bought it because it really was a good system but this has gotten ridiculous. 

[secaz]

I bought most of the stuff for my system from Amazon - but they are in bed with Netgear.  Netgear uses AWS for the Arlo site and services...

[secaz]

To be honest, I had my doubts before I even bought the system... but took a chance because it was ideal for my situation and budget, the flexibility with cameras and being wirefree were highly desirable features.  It was the lesser of all evils, and Arlo worked great the first few months I had it, but then all down hill from there...

It is not reliable, is fraught with bugs and quirks... and it takes so... long... to activate a live feed from Anroid app now, or most times even get a video clip to play via the same without my phone screen timing out, that whatever was going on and whoever it was causing trouble is long gone.

The lack of communication is disturbing... and disheartening... it says Netgear doesn't care about its customers, they are only in it for the sales.  Once sold, you are on your own.  This usually doesn't bother me, because I am a techie... as long as its based on open source code, I can always find resources to help me fix things or find viable workarounds... but there's so much about Arlo that the a geek just can't touch or has no control over... and there is just so much that is wrong with the system these days... and although I am able to tolerate A LOT... its gone beyond that.  Arlo is just a *visual aid* now - when it decides to work right... and at least I get some funny wildlife videos out of it... but cannot trust it to help keep me secure... can't count how many times my dogs barked bloody murder and I either could not log into Arlo, or when I did it took forever to do a live feed to see what had the pups on high alert... its pretty much useless half the time...

I'm going to have to go back to manually setting modes now, too, using pop up reminders on my phone to tell me when to go change mode from Day to Night, since when running schedule Arlo just arbitrarily decides to disarm time slots in schedules whenever it feels like it.  So - back to manual setting of modes I guess...

I was asked by friends, isn't it a pain to run around and change batteries and clean lenses... at my age, and with athritis in my hands and back... but I didn't mind, because with arthritis you need to keep moving or you'll just seize up, and my profession is a decidedly sedentary one.  So didn't mind going out a few times a week to do cam maintenance, but now I'm chasing betteries all the time, and I'm up on a ladder WAY more than I want to be... and way more than is healthy, or wise, for someone my age with my afflictions.  That really ticks me off... but, oh, well... nothing stays the same, everything changes, and Arlo has certainly changed for the worse.  

Granted, it is nothing that CAN'T be fixed, its just GREAT hardware right now with BAD firmware, but Netgear either can't, or won't, fix it... and so...

[secaz]

Well, my mail server is getting hit every couple of seconds from a multitude of IP addresses... I use fail2ban, but that doesn't do much good when the origin IP addresses of the hacks changes constantly...

Funny thing, though - now that I think about hacking... not long ago, I saw in my logs one point of origin was from an AWS server... interesting because Netgear uses AWS for Arlo... huh... and given the *suspicious activity* Arlo reported, gotta wonder...

[Scrocks]

I fixed the problem qitj my cameras by creating new modes for each one of my set ups, if I am home and only need front door and deiveway on I created the Home mode and only added the front door and driveway, the other 2 inside now don’t turn on the night vision, even if I manually turn on the camera while in Home mode that I created, I created an Away mode and added all 4 cameras , now when I pick that mode all of them turn on when there is motion and record video, So there it is , create a custom mode for each one of your set ups, add o ly the cameras you want to turn on while in that mode and the o es you leave out will remain completwly off, you can turn them on manually and stream live video, but motion will not trigger the camera, for that you need to create another mode that includes that camera.

[Scrocks]

I fixed the problem with my cameras by creating new modes for each one of my set ups, if I am home and only need front door and deiveway on I created the Home mode and only added the front door and driveway, the other 2 inside now don’t turn on the night vision, even if I manually turn on the camera while in Home mode that I created, I created an Away mode and added all 4 cameras , now when I pick that mode all of them turn on when there is motion and record video, So there it is , create a custom mode for each one of your set ups, add only the cameras you want to turn on while in that mode and the o es you leave out will remain completwly off, you can turn them on manually and stream live video, but motion will not trigger the camera, for that you need to create another mode that includes that camera.

[Scrocks]

I fixed the problem with my cameras by creating new modes for each one of my set ups, if I am home and only need front door and deiveway on I created the Home mode and only added the front door and driveway, the other 2 inside now don’t turn on the night vision, even if I manually turn on the camera while in Home mode that I created, I created an Away mode and added all 4 cameras , now when I pick that mode all of them turn on when there is motion and record video, So there it is , create a custom mode for each one of your set ups, add only the cameras you want to turn on while in that mode and the o es you leave out will remain completwly off, you can turn them on manually and stream live video, but motion will not trigger the camera, for that you need to create another mode that includes that camera.

[pc2k17]

I switched to using a custom mode a couple of weeks ago as a workaround for this issue, but I still want a real fix so I can go back to turning the cameras off from smartthings.

[ysu]

Thanks for sharing the custom workaround. 

Question: is it possible to use this custom workaround if I want all cameras off when home? When I create a mode it asks me to choose at least one camera as trigger. What if I want none?

also, all my 5 cameras are fully in sync —all off when home, all on when away or night. But they drain at different speed. Some still at 60-70% which is roughly normal battery life expectation. But 3 of them dropped to 10-15% really fast. And all camera areas have similar number of motion events. It’s not that some of them are in busier areas. Any idea why?

(Last time they were all fully charged at the same time. And all cameras have same settings as far as I can tell)

[Scrocks]

That seems to be battery related, try swaping the cameras, the ones that retain the charge put them in the spot of the ones that discharge faster, if the ones that discharge fast keep doing it even after swaping them qith the ones that retainthe charge then your batteries are reaching the end of their life, and yes, when creating a custom mode for when you are home and want them all off, just add the camera that gets the least traffic and then choose do nothing when it detects motion, only that camera, leave all of the others out and that will do it, but first check your batteries like I told you.

[Keri1974]

Beyond frustrated with same issue. I have two tickets with arlo customer support. My battery went from 95% to 5% in a week. They did various tests. The only thing that worked was to disarm, but i want 2 on 1 (inside) off at intermittant times. Arlo said they would talk to the team to see if anyone else has the same problem. I encourage you to contact arlo! They apparently are not reading this forum with everyone having the same problem. Get a ticket #
I even went to a booth at a local event and complained to them. They said they had several firmware updates that were not fully tested and there were too many bugs.
For now, i have a sticky note over the camera and try to remember to take it off when i leave and turn on the camera. I’m beyind frustrated for 3 weeks!

[ysu]

---

@Scrocks wrote:
That seems to be battery related, try swaping the cameras, the ones that retain the charge put them in the spot of the ones that discharge faster, if the ones that discharge fast keep doing it even after swaping them qith the ones that retainthe charge then your batteries are reaching the end of their life, and yes, when creating a custom mode for when you are home and want them all off, just add the camera that gets the least traffic and then choose do nothing when it detects motion, only that camera, leave all of the others out and that will do it, but first check your batteries like I told you.

---

Thank you! It looks like I have to “sacrifice” one camera’s battery to setup custom mode.

Good point on battery specifics. I haven’t thought about it, and I did swap batteries but didn’t track them. I have a few cameras mounted low and easily reachable, and a few high, only reachable using ladders. What I usually do is to charge a low one, take out the full battery, then bring out the ladder and climb up to swap the battery of a high camera. This way I only climb once, not twice, for each high camera. Yesterday I recharged most of my cameras and will see how it works next few days.

[oshawn]

I am royally creeped out that I have turned off my cameras but they are still detecting motion (red infrared light is activating) and on, yet I am not receiving an email notification of motion. The batteries on all three cameras have all drained as a result because it is nonstop detecting motion. This is unacceptable because the batteries are ridiculously expensive. Is Netgear secretly peeping in on my home? Why is this happening? I need this resolved asap and assurance that Netgear does not have the ability to peep even when I've turned off my cameras.

[Keri1974]

Someone asked how long this has been going on.. approximately May 14, 2018. Today is 5/28/18

[Keri1974]

Tape paper over it when home

[oshawn]

Thanks. Does taping paper over actually work? You've tried this? Seems a ridiculous necessity. Netgear needs to fix the problem asap and reimburse us for battery loss caused by their bug.

[Scrocks]

No, you are not being spied on, just a bad update that makes the infrared LEDs on your camera turn on when it detects motion, no matter the time of the day, if thereis light or if it is pitch black and this is draining your battery life, no video is recorded but the infrared LEDs turn on, this means that if you have a camera in your living room and you have it off and have people over, well ...everytime they move the infrared LEDs will come on and use battery life.
To stop them from doing that so far the only thing you can do is create a custom mode, for example: if you are home and only want the cameras outside to record, create a mode that only includes this two cameras, set them to record video when motion is detected, you can still turn the cameras inside your house on manually in case you want to watch live video, but they won’t be triggered by motion and the infrareds won’t turn on.
Create another mode lets say for night time and include all of the cameras that you want on, leaving the ones you don’t want on out.
And then just create one for when you are not home and want every single camera on, add them all and you are good to go.
Other that that all we can do is wait until Arlo fixes the bad update.

[Keri1974]

Yes! It stops the motion activation! It doesn’t click on and off and the red light doesn’t illuminate. Saving battery and also peace of mind that no one is really watching.

[Scrocks]

Well you can put tape over the le se if you still think they are watching you, I don’t feel the necesity to do so, as for the batteries losing lifetime usability, yes I think Arlo should replace the batteries that die because of this bug, but it has been less than a month since this update was released, that is not enough time to kill the batteries, they have an average maximum number of charges before they start to fail, and 14 days is not enough to kill one of these batteries, unless yu are recharging 10 times a day. And that is still a low number.

[oshawn]

Thank you but I really don't have time to remember to constantly add and remove the paper to function daily and secure my home. I'm getting the following message: 

This camera is currently disabled and will not respond to mode changes

Netgear needs to fix the problem asap. I'm curious if they review the comments on here. They've got to know that there is a problem and the fact that it is going on two weeks and there's still a problem is unacceptable. I also need assurance that I'm not being spied on. Hello Netgear. Please resolve and assure your customers that you are not peeping on us.