Battery Life

[Steve2233]

My system has five (exterior) cameras, all are set to 50% motion, 10 second recording and "max battery life settings"

I have had the system for 2 weeks and it has worked well so far, but now the batteries are reported dead in three of the cameras ???? (got the email from Arlo telling me my batteries nly have 15% left...)

Some days the cameras were triggered a lot by motion from wind moving things - but even so the suggested battery life was supposed to be "months" but in reality - even with these modest settings it resulted in 2 weeks.... i have not been streaming the cameras "live" for hours on end, in fact hardly ever becuae i am concious of the battery power...

This what I feared most from a battey driven system - does anyone else have this problem ? is anyone aware of recharageable versions of these batteries as I think i will be changing batteries on a weekly basis - and I cannto afford that... Or.... how about an AC adapter ?

thanks

Steve

[TomMac]

Steve there is a thread on the site about rechargables... it's interesting to read.

[Steve2233]

Thanks Tom, i found it - interesting indeed....

[R_Lowe]

This is precisely what I meant when I've written on a couple of occasions that the battery situation is Arlo's biggest Achilles Heel.  I think Netgear was playing fast and loose with the 4-month longetivity figure...  But in fairness, some people claim they're getting several months' worth of service (although they seem few and far between).  Still, by their inherent nature, batteries begin depleting on first use (or earlier!) and continually lose power... anemic!

I thought of rechargeables too -- early on -- but those seem to come w/their own problems (first off, they're mAH power levels are generally lower than optimal).  At the moment, I'm thinking of purchasing some moderately inexpensive standard CR123 batteries (I posted the link probably in the thread above-mentioned).  I'm hoping they last three months.  Swapping out four cameras (16 batteries) four times a year will keep the cost at a tad below $100/yr.  Of course it's all predicated on the actual battery life. 

I LOVE Arlo's un-wired flexibility and certain other features; battery operation of most anything however, I absolutely loathe, particularly when you have to constantly swap them out and climb ladders to do so as if you're a slave to them.

Achilles Heel.  Bigtime.  But I'll reluctantly BE a slave.  I like Arlo.

[TomMac]

I've broken the 3 month mark on batteries ( started with Arlo in Oct as a beta tester )... 

IMO, the major problem is usage above the normal when the units are new. I did the same thing back when I got Vuezone units. As a new 'toy' I burned thru batteries. Once the newness wore off and I really started to properly use ( and had learned how to ) the system, this slowed down to normal battery drain/time.

Right now the "new" batteries in 3 cameras are going on two months and the forth cam testing rechargeables... mind that most of the time they are indoors so not talking about cold glich re batteries. 

In all honesty I know there have been some bugs in s/w now and then , but as a whole its a pretty stable system for me and batteries seem to be holding up.

[Len]

I have had my system up and drunning for 3 days. Batteries on three of four cameras are at 15%. Not sure what happened but I need to purchase batteries.

I can't find any in the small town I'm in where can I purchase them? Any ideas?

[jguerdat]

Amazon or other online retailer. Check out the threads on rechargeables - the TangsFire 1000mAh look good!

BTW, the first battery sets tend to go fast because of the aiming, setting schedules and sensitivity, etc., etc. It should stabilize as you gain experience and don't activate the camera nearly as much.

[Heritage]

Google batteries online don't buy them at a retail store search "40 pack CR123A".  

[beakin]

feeling awfully foolish and trapped right now - just went to Wal Mart for new batteries for one of 4 cameras, first time needed - $24.00 for 2 batteries !!

so 200.00 every cycle for the 4 cameras.  estimate 400.00 a year at best, maybe worse.

Will be writing off as my mistake and abandoning the program.

[jguerdat]

Have you read the past several messages as well as the rechargeable threads in Buying Options and Tips? While Netgear specifically disavows use of rechargeable batteries, many of us are using them. Even if you choose to use the nonrechargeables a quick Google should lead you to batteries that cost $1.50-1.75.