Battery Drain

[repats2000]

Is there a reason the Arlo batteries went from 85% to 24% on one of the cameras that's placed outside when the the temperature drops into the teens? Is this a glitch or normal?  I reset the system and doing that drained the camera to 12%. All the other cameras have remained in the 80-85% all of which are also outside. I've had the system for 3 months and have all cameras set on a schedule with minimal recording on the camera that has drained to 12%. 

[TomMac · Accepted solution]

Put new battereies in the 'bad' camera and swap it with another to see if it's the location.

Keep an eye on the battery level, if it does it again, contact Netgear Support as the camera may have a problem.

[Hitch]

Yeah....they told me to put fresh batteries in and not to push them down, but let the battery cover push them down as you shut it..........like it's a contact problem.......how is that draining my batteries ??

[manfredz]

its not that your batteries are draining faster, but, because the batteries actually operate in 2x 2 batteries in parallel, if one of the 4 contacts is not being made, the camera will work but the battery indicator level will be based on only 2 batteries

[Hitch]

Thanks manfredz, went out and opened the battery compartment and one battery was sitting lower than the other 3, it seems the 2 batteries by the magnet are being pulled down by the magnet, maybe it needs a stiffer spring for the batteries ?
I reinserTed the battery carefully, shut the lid and battery power was back up to 99%.
Now wonderin how many good batteries I replaced.
Thanks again.

[manfredz]

i'm lucky 3 of my 4 cameras are very easily accessible.  Whenever I notice one having dropped battery level faster than it should I open door and reinsert.  Doesn't happen often, but does a few times

[Hitch]

Is the bad camera on a magnetic mount, instead of the hardware mount ?

[Hitch]

Do I need to get rid of the magnetic mount and get another hardware mount ?
I have switched cameras on the magnetic mount it it did the same, where as the one I took off the magnetic mount is doing fine on the hard mount.

[manfredz]

I have 3 of my 4 cams on the magnetic mount and they drain no faster than the one that isn't

[jguerdat]

It very much sounds like a positioning issue.  If two cameras in the same location do the same thing, it's likely the camera is having issues maintaining a connection to the base.  A different location, perhps mere inches or many feet, should solve the problem.

[JamesC]

Hitch,

The half-ball mount included with Arlo Wire-free cameras is not magnetic. The magnet is in the camera, not the mount, and doesn't have any impact on the battery. I agree with jguerdat's post above, it sounds like something else (possibly due to positioning) is causing this issue.

JamesC