Ultra charging options?

[carlsone24]

I have Arlo ultra cameras, I’m wondering what my options are besides taking the battery out and placing it on a charging station every time it’s low. Do solar panels work in very cold weather? Is there any options besides solar panels that will always keep the batteries charged while the cameras are in place on the building?
Thanks!

[StephenB]

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@carlsone24 wrote:
I have Arlo ultra cameras, I’m wondering what my options are besides taking the battery out and placing it on a charging station every time it’s low. Do solar panels work in very cold weather? 

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The cameras won't charge no matter what if the temperature is below freezing - that's a battery safety thing.  The solar panels might still be enough (depending on your climate), since often the temps are above freezing in the middle of the day.

The other option is the outdoor charging cable, which requires running power to the camera (and of course a weatherproof AC outlet).  Then the camera will run on AC power, and only use the battery when the power fails or is disconnected.

The XL battery upgrade kit could also be useful to you - the XL battery has ~2.5x more capacity than the standard Ultra battery, so it will run a lot longer than a stock Ultra.  The XL battery can be charged using the Ultra battery charger.

[AGOTCHAGIRL]

This company is misleading people. We bought expensive Arlo cameras with soot lights which worked fine till i stupidly decided to do a trial subscription. The minute it ended so did the use of my cameras. Will not turn my spotlight on or record to my base station SD card which it said it would do.

[carlsone24]

Thanks,
Just to clarify, the outdoor charging cable still won’t work if temps are below freezing? I’m the case of extreme cold, then the battery would kick in?

[carlsone24]

Also is there a difference between the outdoor charging cable you mention & the charging cable that comes with the cameras?

[StephenB]

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@carlsone24 wrote:
Just to clarify, the outdoor charging cable still won’t work if temps are below freezing? I’m the case of extreme cold, then the battery would kick in?

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The charging cable will power the cameras even w/o a battery inserted.  It will work until the camera itself decides it is too cold to operate.  The camera's environmental specs say it will run down to -4°F (-20°C).  However, I believe some have found it will run below that temp if the battery is removed.  But it's not cold enough in my area for me to have personal knowledge of that.

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@carlsone24 wrote:
Also is there a difference between the outdoor charging cable you mention & the charging cable that comes with the cameras?

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The outdoor charger is integrated with the cable (not detachable) and is 25 ft long.  The cable itself is heavier than the indoor cable that came in the box, and is of course rated for outdoor use.  The charger uses 9 volts (instead of the usual 5) - that reduces the voltage drop/power loss that you'd otherwise have in the longer cable.  The part number is VMA5600C.

There are some third-party charging cables out there - Arlo doesn't support them though.  Some users have had success with them, but others haven't.

[StephenB]

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@AGOTCHAGIRL wrote:
This company is misleading people. We bought expensive Arlo cameras with spot lights which worked fine till i stupidly decided to do a trial subscription. The minute it ended so did the use of my cameras. Will not turn my spotlight on or record to my base station SD card which it said it would do.

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Not sure why you posted this on this thread, since you have a very different issue from the original poster.

While I do have a subscription, I also use local storage on my VMB4540 and VMB5000 smarthubs.  Direct Access to that storage via the app does work.  Is direct access to local storage enabled in the base?  Also, have you gone into the "Armed" mode in the base, and see if you re-enable recording in the camera rules?  https://kb.arlo.com/42/What-are-modes-and-rules-and-how-does-Arlo-use-them

Also, the microSD card needs to be at least 16 GB.

[carlsone24]

Thanks so much!