Battery level gauge

[carly]

The battery level gauge has three bars but skips the middle bar as battery drains.  The first camera batteries only lasted two months and went from three bars to one(red) and saying only 5% remains, this happened over night.  The second camera batteries lasted about four months and again went from three bars down to one bar over night, skipping the middle bar.  Both cameras are up to date with firmware. So, I have to guestions...

1) How come such short battry life with minimal useage and optimal settings? 

2) How come it jumps from three bars to one bar(over night) on battery level gauge?

[TomMac]

The only time I've seen it skip the middle bar (on the indicator ) was with an older version of camera s/w.

The cam should be 1.2.2545 which i believe is the latest full release.

As to you batteries lasting 2 months with one and 4 months with the other... 1 ) I would install new sets of batteries and swap the cameras to see if it's the location that triggers more recordings or the cams..

IMHO... 4 months is pretty good life

[DeannS]

Good morning carly,

I have pulled your system logs and sent them to our Escalation support team.

While we await the results of what they find, would you mind disclosing what type of batteries you are using?

Also, what type of device are you using to monitor you system?

Thanks,

DeannS

Arlo Team

[carly]

Good morning,

The batteries are the ones that came with the system(Energizer?).

I log into the system with either my IPhone or IMac.

Also, once it is in the red the camera will only work for about 24 hours.

So, it goes from showing full charge to compleley dead in about 24 hours.

This happened now with two different cameras.

Thank you

[RobertRosal]

I have seen the same thing, but only with non-rechargeables. It seems to happen when you have removed the batteries and reinsert them.

I now don't remove them and have followed suit withy rechargeables.

[DeannS]

Good morning carly,

Have you tried inserting brand new batteries in the camera? 

When you say you have tested these batteries on 2 different cameras, were you testing in the same location?

According to out data center report, it seems the Outside Camera batteries are critically low, as opposed to the other batteries in different locations.

For good measure, it would be a good idea to swap the batteries with the inside camera, if you have not already done so.

This will give us an idea of whether the motion detection is being triggered by something in that area, causing the batteries to drain rapidly. 

How many video clips are receiving for that individual camera per day?

I have created a support case for you in order to help further troubleshoot the issue you are experiencing. 

When you have an opportunity, please send me a Private Message with your address and phone number so that we can further process this Case.

Thank you for your time and patience.

I look forward to speaking with you.

Thanks,

DeannS

Arlo Team

[carly]

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carly wrote:

The battery level gauge has three bars but skips the middle bar as battery drains.  The first camera batteries only lasted two months and went from three bars to one(red) and saying only 5% remains, this happened over night.  The second camera batteries lasted about four months and again went from three bars down to one bar over night, skipping the middle bar.  Both cameras are up to date with firmware.

Third camera same thing.  Yesterday showed thee bars on the battery gauge and this morning the batteries are dead.  Very frustrating because these cameras are in a weekend home over an hour away.  We just left and the batteries showed full charge.  I would have changed them if they showed one or two bars while we where there. I did not record or view live video on this camera over night so I know that did not drain the batteries.  An issue hat needs to be fixed!

[TheRealDeal]

I noticed the same with mine. Went from full bars to battery depletion notice overnight. Why have three bars then? this happened on both cameras.

[jguerdat]

My cameras with the latest firmware show full, 2 bars, 1 bar, and none as they deplete.

[Showguy]

My camera batteries ( not rechargeable) never show gradual decline. Goes from full bars to 1-2 bars to dead. And normally once I see any low red bars the camera is dead very quickly after. 

[RobertRosal]

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jguerdat wrote:

My cameras with the latest firmware show full, 2 bars, 1 bar, and none as they deplete.

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Mine does the same but only on rechargeables.  For non-rechargeables, the following occurs.  Full, then 2 bars, then full again and then straight to batteries need to be replaced.

Just weird, but again only on non-rechargeables.

[jguerdat]

Hmmm. I wonder if the rechargeable batteries have a more steady decrease in voltage while the non-rechargeables hold a much more steady voltage. That could explain the difference.

[TomMac]

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jguerdat wrote:

Hmmm. I wonder if the rechargeable batteries have a more steady decrease in voltage while the non-rechargeable hold a much more steady voltage. That could explain the difference.

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I think it would be the opposite...

Once the li-ion are in the working area of voltage, their  voltage is pretty stable till the end and then a quick drop out.  Non-rechargeable tend to have a more steady decreasing curve

On another point for those interested... why you'll never see a 800mahr+ rechargeable has to do with the battery potential vs the weight of makeup

Basicly , you cant fit enough chemistry in that phyical size shell !

[jguerdat]

Aren't the oem batteries Li-ion?

[TomMac]

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jguerdat wrote:
Aren't the oem batteries Li-ion?

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To my knowledge just plain lithium ( base chemistry )  , non rechargeable 

[jguerdat]

Yeah, I figured that out last night. ..

[jguerdat]

Well, after being poked a couple of times, I figured that I ought to check discharge rates for li-ion vs. lithium batteries. Seems they're not too different with the plain lithium ones being somewhat superior for flatness of the curve. That said, it could change with load so I can't be completely sure the info is accurate. I'll give the nod the the no -rechargeable batteries having a flatter curve so the implication is that the battery gauge won't be as accurate since it would need to know which battery is inserted to be able to calibrate properly. It could use the starting voltage as a key but that would seem to be a hardware issue more than firmware.

In any event, I'd guess the reason for batteries seemingly going from full to flat in no time is due to the flatness of the lithium battery curve while the slope of the rechargeable batteries would lend itself to easier/better monitoring.

[JamesC]

We recently posted an article outlining best practices when it comes to batteries. For those involved in this discussion I encourage you to review the following article:

Remember these golden rules for your Arlo camera batteries

Thank you!

JamesC