Arlo wired doorbell going offline daily during heat of the day

[Peter-Texas]

Arlo wired doorbell on south side of house; partial shade from trees.   I replaced an existing Arlo wired doorbell with a brand new one... BOTH doorbells failing the same way.

For the last couple of months the (new and old) doorbell will consistently go offline around 2pm; will come back online later in the evening -- nothing in the environment/configuration changed other than the ambient temperature dropped. 

While the doorbell was off-line I checked the temperature of the doorbell casing ... it registered approximately 121F.   Ambient temperature was in the 90'sF.

Initial configuration was connection via Arlo hub (three Arlo cameras also connected to hub; no failures).  Arlo support suggested changing the connection to WiFi.  Reconfigured connection.  Same failure ever day when temperature was over 90F (in Houston, Texas -- it's been 90+F for the last couple of months!).

Arlo support is asking that I test WiFi speeds/bandwidth etc.   I am considering re-configuring back to the hub to remove any  WiFi aspect from the configuration!   I don't believe it is a WiFi speed/bandwidth issue... it's a heat issue. 

Might as well take the product off the market if it only works six months of the year in the south!

[jguerdat]

Specs listed for the doorbell are up to 45 degrees C which converts to 113 F. 

https://www.arlo.com/en-us/doorbell/video/arlo-wired-video-doorbell.html (scroll down nearly to the bottom for specs)

Not much you can do other than to shade the doorbell completely. Ambient temps are fine, it's the sun heating it. I suppose connecting to a base/hub could help reduce temps some, depending on the internal components used, but I wouldn't think it would be much.

[Peter-Texas]

Does limit the market if you want a door bell/camera to work in the south. The Arlo cameras (most in direct sun) work without an issue.
So options to make the doorbell work… build porch over front door; move to different house/location or switch vendor.

[Peter-Texas]

adding troubleshooting that I have done to-date:

1. Replaced original doorbell (out of warranty) that was going off-line with new doorbell (that goes off-line.

2. At the request of Arlo support reconfigured doorbell to use WiFi connection (still goes off-line).  Installation of both the original and the new doorbells detected the Arlo hub and defaulted to hub connection.  WiFi connection looses the local storage option.

3. Replace doorbell transformer with a newer version in case the original transformer wasnt delivering enough voltage.

4. Measured the doorbell housing during off-line failure.

[Peter-Texas]

I would bet that there is a strong correlation between the failure (going off-line then coming back on-line within a 24hr period) and the summer heat.   Select failure and plot against location ... A quarter of the U.S. will fall inside an extreme heat belt. Here are the states in the red zone.  

[Peter-Texas]

[Peter-Texas]

In a related case (with same failure) JamesCCommunity Manager noted that a beta firmware version was pushed out to a doorbell for testing (‎2022-06-08 01:12 PM).   What it the version number of the current production version and what is the beta version?  My firmware version is the same ...   1.14.0.0_1189_4e1d685_8173366

Link to other case.  Case is marked as solved so I can not add update that I have same issue.

[Peter-Texas]

Can someone at Arlo please check Case Number: 43099177... I have the same failure that JamesC addressed via beta firmware (see update for link to earlier community case).  

All I am getting from Arlo support are copy & paste of support script responses... do factory reset, check WiFi speed, etc, etc.  Failure is repeated EVER day with temperatures in the 90's.

[JamesC]

Peter-Texas,

This firmware has finished testing and we expect it to be released to all users very soon. I will provide you with an update as soon as this firmware has been released.

JamesC

[Peter-Texas]

look forward to getting the firmware update.  Thanks for updating the case.

/Peter

[Peter-Texas]

James -- FYI only.    Arlo Support just posted the following to my case:

"We will be endorsing this case for closure. No further actions are needed.

Sincerely,

Edwin   Arlo Support Expert"

Closing case without a solution does not make for a good customer engagement.  

Support generally will post a (repeated) script that doesn't reflect what is documented in the case history.  Very frustrating experience.

[pogwari]

My new doorbell worked for a couple of days and started over heating and then never came back to live. Bestbuy tell me to get in touch with the manufacture but seems there is limited ways to get to them other than posting stuff online. Just the worst support you can get.

[Peter-Texas]

James -- any update on the firmware roll-out?   My doorbell CONTINUES to go off-line EVERY afternoon during the heat of the day.

[Peter-Texas]

Any update on the firmware release?????

[JamesC]

A firmware update was just released late last week for AVD1001 that addresses some issues users were experiencing that resulted in the doorbell dropping offline. Keep in mind, this will not adjust the heat threshold for the doorbell. If the temperature goes beyond what the doorbell is designed to withstand, it will disable to prevent damaging the hardware.

JamesC

[AbeG]

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@Peter-Texas wrote:

James -- any update on the firmware roll-out?   My doorbell CONTINUES to go off-line EVERY afternoon during the heat of the day.

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This is interesting.  I am in Central FL where the temps EVERY afternoon since late April  is 90+ (although this week after IAN flew by temps have finally dropped off a bit to just below 90.  My home faces DUE WEST.  My metal framed storm door is OVER 140+ degrees as is the front door handle. We literally burn ourselves touching it so we use the garage entry.  😄

The interesting part is, I previously had a Nest wired doorbell and it would always shut down in the afternoon from the heat/direct sun.  I sold my Nest doorbell and camera and a month or so got the Arlo Ultra 2 and Arlo wired Doorbell. The doorbell (or the cam) has yet to go offline.  I did get a firmware update a few days ago for the doorbell but I have had no previous issue with it before the update.