Battery suddenly shows low

[tlernst]

Checked the status of my Arlo today around noon and everything looked good, including the battery status (it was black with 3 lines).  Later this afternoon, around 3 PM I checked again and the battery status was red with one line showing.  What will cause the battery to drain in a couple of hours? The camera was armed, but there was no activity. I have the latest firmware (Version 1.2.4941) and app update (2.0.4_12416).

[tlernst]

Again, good luck with that request!!!

[Schorschi]

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tlernst wrote:
Maybe cosmetic, maybe not. Whichever, it is not good, especially when you are away on a long trip like I was. It don't know if your system is going to keep running until you get home. The battery indicator needs to be linear. Its not useful if it goes from fully charged to almost depleted overnight. Arlo needs to fix this!

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The newest UI update (web and Android app) from a few hours ago has a percent battery indicator on a camera's Settings page.

[Escapaul]

I don't see that yet in the iis version...

[Justintime7410]

I AM HAVING THE EXACT SAME PROPERTY... 12 new batteries later in 3 cameras and they lasted 2 weeks.. I was using the lve chat support.. after waiting for 30 minutes and having a 30 minutes conversation (text) they disconnected..  now it says the wait is 49 minutes.. WOW..  It has to be on netgear's end.. evereything was working great since I have had the system for almost a year... I replaces all 32 batteries on May 1.. so there is no way they are dead.. I do not even have them on record only using them live.. WHEN I CAN connect to them..

[Zandian]

Talked to tech support.  They confirmed they are having some sort of trouble with battery life in some circumstances, in addition to problems with the proper reporting of battery life.  They asked me to do a reset of one of the cameras having trouble (remove batteries for awhile) and see if the battery continues to report low.  They said they can put me in the queue for their "Battery Protection Firmware".  I asked if this is a beta for a new release and whether this is planned to be a full release, or if this firmware stands on its own from production.  (Not sure why they would do that)  I didn't get a solid answer, but I did get a notice this morning that "the new firmware for the cameras will be released in a day or two."  I still don't know if this is a beta release for me since I've opted in, or whether this is a full production release.  I guess time will tell. 

But bottom line is, Netgear has recognized that there is a battery depletion problem separate from the normal factors of weather, usage, distance from base station, etc.--and hopefully their plan to deal with it works because it's very annoying. 

Z

[tlernst]

Still having issues. Several weeks ago one of my cameras was at 70% one day and the next day I received an alert that the battery was low, at 6%. I replaced those batteries and left for a trip.  My other Arlo was at 90% when I departed and when I checked it 2 days ago it was still at 90%.  Then, today I checked and it is at 25%. During the past 2 days the only activity for this camera was one alert due to a bird.  So, not sure what is going on, but ever since the last couple of firmware updates, I've been having battery life issues, which I didn't have up until then. 

I don't know if it is a battery life issue or a status reporting issue (or both), but this is very concerning to me because of my travel. I live in a retirement community with 4,500 households and we are always chatting on a community e-group and one of the most common questions asked is "what is a good security camera to keep watch on home when the residents are away," and I have always mentioned Arlo to the group. After what has gone on with my battery issues, I'm going to retract this indorsement. I don't feel right suggesting a system that we can't rely on. Until Netscape get this battery issue resolved, I won't feel comfortable when I leave home for an extended period of time. 

[hokeysmoke]

My experience is that the batteries seem to last as long as expected (4-6 months with normal use), but the battery meter sticks at unrealistic levels when it is getting close to the end of battery life.  So, unless you know how long ago you replaced your batteries, you can be surprised by sudden dead ones.  I suggest that until this issue is solved, if you plan to be off property for an extended period, replace any batteries that have been in use for more than a few months.  I have also been using the method others have suggested, where I append my camera name with the date of the last battery replacement.  That way I know exactly how old they are.

[tlernst]

I too use to get 4-6 months out of my  batteries,  but the ones that went from 90% to 25% in 2 days have only been in the unit for less than a month.  Netscape isn't a little fly-by-night company and you would think they could get their act together and fix this issue. Seems like they are all caught up in their new products and we users of the wire-free systems have taken a back seat when it comes to fixing our problems.  

[MrSpock]

I had the same issue in one of the cameras and they said it was attributed to the previous Firmware, now i am on FW 1.2.4941. With this new FW suddenly 2 cameras have the issue now and i was monitoring the linear battery UI value that went from 87% to 9% in one cam and from 58% to 3% in the other cam. Video settings are set for best battery performance . Netgear will be getting a call from me today! This is a software issue for sure! Netgear folks u need to fix all of this ASAP this is a BAD BAD BAD user experience for a system that is so expensive.

[MrSpock]

By the way the singnal stregth is 80% so that is not the issue ether.

[Zandian]

Ask them to get you to 1.2.5699. I've seen much improvement at that firmware level. I believe it was when I got to 1.2.4941 is when I saw the problems start. Im not sure it was 4941, but it was the one released in March/April or so. 1.2.5699 has to be manually pushed out to you because I don't think it is yet a production release.

I still don't know if the battery meter was misreporting or the batteries were actually dying. I have no way to independently test these types of batteries.

But get to 1.2.5699, that should help.

[comlab]

Hi all
Since last week I have the same issues, it started with one Cam, battery level was above 70%, suddnely overnight, without any recording, the battery level moved down to 7%. I opend the battery compartment, removed all battiers, checked them with a battery meter and they were all still good. So added them in again and voilà, Arlo reportting back 67% and stable. All good until today, another cam suddenly moved down from 87% to 7%. So I decided to contact customer support to ask for 1.2.5699 firmware. They explaiend me that they can push that out without further investigations on the Cams, grmpf. I tried to explain to them that I don't think that this is a CAM issue and suspect the Firmware. Howerver they asked me to remove and add the batteries again. So I have to wait until I'm back at home. Do you know is there any other way to get the newer firmware?

[jguerdat]

Nope, it's a push-only.  No way for you to do it manually.

[Zandian]

As jguerdat says at this point it appears to be push only. You have to convince them you've sufficiently eliminated the alternative causes.

Z

[Zandian]

Btw, there are two potential problems. One is misreporting of the battery level, the other is actual rapid draining of the batteries.

Z

[comlab]

You say version 1.2.4941 also drains battery, or is this related to 1.2.5699?

[Zandian]

5699 is the fix

[tlernst]

It isn't a case where the battery is being drained, the firmware is reporting the battery level incorrectly.  I have firmware 1.2.4941.  I've opened the battery compartment and then, aftewr reclosing the compartment, the battery level went from 25% to 100%.  Very unreliable and not what you want if you travel a lot like I do.

[tlernst]

OK, how do I get it?

[tlernst]

I'm pretty sure its a firmware issue.  Three weeks ago, while I was away on a trip, one of my units suddenly went from 94% to 25%, with no activity happening around the unit.  I got home and decided to monitor the battery level and it has stayed at 25% until this morning.  Today, I opened the battery compartment and moved the batteries around and after closing the compartment, the level is now 100%.  This gives me a zero level of confidence in the battery reporting for these units.  Netscape isn't a mom and pop company, but they are acting like it...they need to fix this now.  If the new firmware update (which they haven't released) fixes this, they need to get moving and push this update.

[Zandian]

As I mentioned in a previous post, its not only a misreading of the level. In some cases there seems actually to be a rapid drain. Opening and closing did not work for me while on 1.2.4941. Only replacing the batteries brought the meter back up. It appears so far my problem has been resolved with 1.2.5966. To be fair I didn't have a meter to test to be absolutely sure but the only thing that worked was swapping batteries, not just opening and closing the door.

Z

[Zandian]

Whether a person has a true drain or a misreading both seem to be firmware related. I agree if they have a fix, which they appear to have, it should be released to the general public as soon as possible.

I also had an issue with one camera where the IR lights failed to shut off even when there was sufficient light. That may have been a light sensor hardware issue that showed the same battery drain symptoms where a firmware update may not have fixed it.

Z

[tlernst]

I didn't just open and close the compartment, I also swapped the batteries around to new positions.  Not sure this was necessary, but as I said, I'm now at 100% and that too worries me.  Even though the batteries haven't been in the unit a long time, I fairly sure they aren't at 100%.  Having accurate battery reporting is critical to all users and Netscape needs to resolve this NOW!!!

[Zandian]

I recommend politely and persistently asking for it to be pushed out to you.

They may be afraid to push it to everyone right now because it may not be fully baked. Im pretty sure the update bricked one of my cameras and I had to have it replaced. I recommend updating with full batteries and relatively close to the base unit.

Z

[Zandian]

I also removed mine and swapped them with a camera that was reading its batteries at full charge. They camera also read the batteries as dead.

Z