What to do? cameras are ALWAYS getting activated

[brizzo]

What to do? I love my new Arlo pro , 2 camera system. Only one problem... there are 5 of us living here and the cameras are ALWAYS getting activated. Sometimes losing 10-12% of battery life per day. We are always coming and going and always out in the yard. So, I have several choices. First, put in a permanent power cable. I’m not totally thrilled on this idea. Kind of defeats the beauty of this camera system. Second, I could turn on geofencing, but there are 5 of us. That’s not much of a help either. Or third option, I could put up a schedule. But what if something happens when the system is disarmed? Kind of pointless. I really don’t know how to handle this. Anyone have any suggestions that I haven’t considered? If I go the power cable route, what model # cables do I need to buy?

[steve_t]

There's currently no genuine Arlo outdoor power cable. The previous one was recalled. Hopefully a new one is released soon. You could try a solar panel if you have enough bright sun to compensate for the number of activations you have.

I'd probably look at a schedule rather than geofencing but nothing can change the fact that the more often the camera is activated, the faster the battery will deplete

[brizzo]

Yes, you are definitely right. By activating the cameras a whole bunch during every day, the batteries will need charging more frequently. I guess my only resolution is to just charge the cameras every couple weeks and live with it. No big deal I guess. I charge my cell phone every single day after all, it’s nothing to charge the camera every couple weeks. Hopefully I can think of a more practical solution. But until then I will just keep charging them. Thanks

[silverado44]

I dont know why you have your cameras active when your home and out in the yard. When I get up on a Saturday morning I disarm the system and as long as were home they stay disarmed,  on weekend nights I arm them and I repete on Sunday morning and night, it stays armed all week from Monday -Friday. I have no need to have the cameras active while were home untill the nights there active again. I treat it like a home alarm system.

Last time I charged the cameras was back in August and I get maybe 10-15 recordings and day during the week most are just squirrels and stuff and iam still at 40% battery on the cameras 

[Hunger22]

I think you need to define why you got the system. If you got the system simply for policing your home when you’re not in it then it would probably be best to install schedule to activate the cameras when nobody’s home. I got the system so I can have surveillance on my young children to make sure that they are playing in an appropriate way and for security. So I think if you are trying to see what’s going on with all the people in your family and you’re not home and you might be surprised at what you find if you monitor the recordings that happen but it sure can give you peace of mind when you can’t be home to see what’s going on at your house. With that said the price of having to frequently recharge your batteries might be worth it.

[brizzo]

I believe that you have mentioned the most practical answer. That if I want the footage to be available, I must be willing to charge the cameras every couple weeks. You are right, it is worth the price.

[brizzo]

The reason I got the system was that if anything ever happened at this house, 24-7, 365, I would have it on tape. I don’t ever watch the recordings, and I do not ever use it to “monitor“ my house in real time. I simply like to have a weeks worth of catalogued events on file to access, if anything ever were to happen. Shutting off the camera is unacceptable to me. Having the camera disarmed at anytime, is also unacceptable to my needs. However, charging the camera every couple weeks seems like the most realistic solution. That’s what I’ll do.