Arlo Ultra cameras offline , Doorbell and Chime were online

[53Crusher]

I just spent four hours trying to figure out why my four ultra cameras reported as offline when I tried to use my phone or desktop to view live video. No recordings for the last two days. Doorbell and Chime were online. Smartbase had steady blue light. Tried a variety of resets on the base and even attempted new syncs. Nothing was working, and was getting ready to consider a factory reset. By accident, I took one of my cameras to the lone charging cord I have and it immediately connected with 1% battery life. Turns out all four camera batteries were completely dead in two days. Will have to individually charge all four cameras with my single charging cord to see what happens. 

As soon as the first camera got up to 3% it indicated a new firmware update from 1.060.33.5_32510 to a newer 1.060.33.7_32761 guess I will have to update each camera individually as they are connected to the charging cord. Was the earlier firmware release causing a massive battery drain? This hasn't happened to me in the last three months.

[del13r]

Just recieved my camera yesterday and set it up with the latest firmware available then.

I go to work today and lose connectivity with my camera. Remotely reboot the base station and then am advised that both cameras need another firmware update. I checked the date on the firmware and it said 30 March or similar?!?! My brand new camera and battery has dropped 10% battery in less than 24 hours. Hopefully the new firmware fixes that.

[JamesC]

A new camera firmware update was released last night.

Arlo Ultra VMC5040 - 1.060.33.7_32761 - 9th April 2019

What was the signal strength showing for your cameras? If the signal strength was low, it's possible the firmware update was attempted and failed, which could cause battery drain.

Please let me know if you continue to experience any issues with battery.

JamesC

[53Crusher]

Thanks James!

All four cameras have a signal strength of no less than 2 bars, but mostly all full. Batteries were in the mid 80% full. I've had the system do a number of firmward updates automatically with no problem over the past few months. Strange that all four cameras completely discharged in just a couple of days. Have updated the firmware for all four and am in the process of charging all the cameras. Will post an update if they drain quickly again.

[DamianR]

The latest FW update may have put the base offline for a while.
I have experienced high battery drain in this situation as the cameras are continually trying to reconnect, presumably at maximum transmission strength.