Average battery life?

[ArloNewbie]

What is the average battery life for the Arlo cameras?

[ChristineT]

Hello ArloNewbie,

We estimate that a new set of batteries (4 batteries in each camera) should provide up to 4 - 6 months of power to the camera with normal usage. Normal usage is defined as 5 minutes of viewing or recording a day. Depending on your specific usage results may vary. Arlo cameras are qualified to work with CR123 lithium photo rated batteries or the rechargeable equivalent.

Thank you for your inquiry and interest in Arlo!

Christine - Arlo Team

[ibuyufo]

It depends on how long you set the recording once motion has been detected, how many times the cameras have been triggered by the motion sensor, the video recording quality, and how long the camera(s) have been used for live view.  I have mine set to 1 minute recording and have 2 cameras trigerred once motion has been detected by either one of cameras and the battery last me about 1.5 to 2 months.  Then again the cameras do get triggered very often so that's why it does not last as long as advertised.

[TomMac]

As mentioned.... if the camera is used more than normal, battery life will be less.

That said, there are two options that may help...

1) lower quality of video settings ( there are 3 levels )

2) go to rechargeable batteries of same type... you may get a little less time on the rechargables, but you will save on the cost long term.

( if on a fixed mount, the batteries can be changed out without removal from same )

((btw as a side note, I have batteries in the older system that went a full year because of less than average use... so it works both ways )

[loki2704]

The Arlo Camera is simply unusable under that term. Are you all serious- 5 MINUTES OF RECORDING A DAY? That literally means recording images 5 minutes out of 1440 possible minutes, or .34% of the time! Utterly unrealistic and simply not practical. I have had my Arlo under the garage easement for 24 hours, set on 50% motion and the batteries are already under 10% and headed to dead. I am returning the whole system because it is not of any use whatsoever.

Arlo people you MUST have a way to locally power these cameras or figure out battery life or no one with any sense of what is needed from a security camera will ever use the system.

[Mikeshop]

Finally someone else with my issue. I have my camera is set to only record for about 15 seconds. The batteries lasted about four days. Not even close to what was advertised. that's not a typo, four days not months.

[TomMac]

I don't know how much your camera is on, but as a beta tester, I know I ran ( as well as a hundred+ others ) my cameras very hard in usage during the 3weeks+ trials. Didn't have to change the batteries on 1 of 2 cameras till the very end of trial.

I was well exceding what it called normal use in the Arlo specs.

I don't think any other tester reported battery usage as little as your stating.

Possible it could be  1)defective, 2) not suited for full time streaming of video which may be what your doing. 3) out in cold weather (where specs call for battery usage less ) 4) high level of motion traffic

IMO if your looking for a full time streaming camera, this unit may not be suitable

[loki2704]

I am a 10+ year veteran of the video surveillance industry and I can tell you that this product is not a viable choice for anyone seeking to use video as a part of their home surveillance system. Even changing batteries once a MONTH is not acceptable- and, anyone who knows anything about motion detection will tell you that it is a very tricky thing to get right. Shadows. Treeds. Clouds. Any of these can trigger motion! I had my cameras set on 50% and it still ate the batteries.

The software is good. The reporting is good. The camera is useless unless the battery life is improved OR an option for local power is provided.

It's a crowded market and with this product as it is now it will not sell.

[Mikeshop]

Just to be clear, I do not use it for surveillance. I have the motion sensors set at approximately 40%, and the video record time at about 10 seconds. Under these circumstances the batteries only lasted about five days. That's for both sets of cameras. it has been very cold right now. I am sure that has something to do with it. However, these are outside cameras. Shouldn't they be able to handle the cold? Very disappointed with this product.

[TomMac]

< I am a 10+ year veteran of the video surveillance industry and I can tell you that this product is not a viable choice for anyone seeking to use video as a part of their home surveillance system. Even changing batteries once a MONTH is not acceptable- and, anyone who knows anything about motion detection will tell you that it is a very tricky thing to get right. Shadows. Treeds. Clouds. Any of these can trigger motion! I had my cameras set on 50% and it still ate the batteries...snip...>

I too have quite a few years in video/surveillance ... I am not employed by Netgear, BTW, was just a beta tester.

The motion detect isn't effect by shadows, clouds as it is not a detect via the camera ( pixel change ) but in effect an IR detector like normal PIRs for alarm systems or out door flood lights.... But , yes some play of the motion detect level is needed to get it to work properly for what your trying to capture vs scene.

As to batteries, I have an Arlo camera running on the same set of batteries since  Oct 2014  ( inside, used for motion detect several times a week after running hard for the trial weeks , another camera that needed bateries at about 30 days of Heavy use during beta , inside and out )

IMO, the system will complement a security system, has quite a few uses for the average homeowner/business. It may not be suitable for all uses, in those cases a hard wired system may be needed.

[KenJohnsson]

Installed my system yesterday. One camera shows full charge. The other says less that 10%. Perhaps the batteries supplied with the cameras are not the freshest? 

[hokeysmoke]

CR123 batteries are often counterfeit (Panasonic claims for example that 80-90% of their branded CR123 batteries sold on eBay are not theirs).  Perhaps Netgear has a bad supplier.  Has anyone checked battery voltage before installing them?

[Obiwantoby]

Both of my cameras went down to '13%'. Is it reading it wrong, or did they really die that faster after a week. Probaby 2 minutes recorded each day (deliveries ... etc). There should be a tally of how much use these cameras get.

Supplied batteries are either awful, or the camera uses too much power. Definitely do not have that many videos. I find it odd that both sent 'tired' emails at '13%'.

[snip3rboy]

There was an announcment earlier (Thank you for your feedback and some news from the Arlo team ) which included something about the battery.

[ChristineT]

Good afternoon KenJohnson,

I hope this message finds you well! I just wanted to follow up with you to ensure you have seen the latest update with regard to the known battery mis-reporting issue. We hope to have a firmware update available very soon! We are currently testing the new build and are being very meticulous to ensure this fix is viable and comprehensive and not just a band-aide to the problem.

If you haven't already checked out our latest announcement click here:

Thank you for your feedback!

We will post an announcement once the firmware is available!

Thank you for our continued patience and understanding!

Best Regards,

Christine - Arlo Team 

[demilleh]

Do you use re-chargeable batteries???  Currently 4 batteries cost me $40+!!!!

HELP!!!!!!

[demilleh]

Are there re-chargeable batteries you can reccommend??  I am spending way too much $ for 2 cameras!!!!

HELP!!!!!!

[jguerdat]

A few of us have been using these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251452806142?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I have been making too many changes and tests to have anything useful to report but that's settling down.  TomMac seems to be having good results.  Cold temps, firmware updates, video recording lengths, sensitivity settings, etc. all interact so if you go this way, take the time to let things settle down before making decisions as to whether they're useful.  Lately my battery life has been increasing so they look like a keeper for my useage.

[KenJohnsson]

i bought these on Amazon. 12 batteries for $18

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000IXCO8K/ref=oh_aui_bia_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[TomMac]

---

jguerdat wrote:

A few of us have been using these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251452806142?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I have been making too many changes and tests to have anything useful to report but that's settling down.  TomMac seems to be having good results.  Cold temps, firmware updates, video recording lengths, sensitivity settings, etc. all interact so if you go this way, take the time to let things settle down before making decisions as to whether they're useful.  Lately my battery life has been increasing so they look like a keeper for my useage.

---

Yes... with the lastest SW update on the cameras ( v 1.2.2412 ) battery life and readings seem to be more stable now.

On the last SW v 1.1.2074 the battery levels were fine for regular 123 cells but not rechargeables.... and that seems to be fixed.

Last run of 16340 cells got me more than 3 weeks, but now running a new test on the latest SW and it only started on the 22nd(?) , so not enough time to time.

The biggest thing I see is users running the heck out of the system ( cause its new of course ) and then finding a short life on the batteries.  The specs IIR, are 4 mins usage a day to get stated life at the middle video rez settings...( *** I have always used the best video settings which cuts battery life *** )

30+ days is my goal on the rechargeables and I think it will get there this time.