I Give up, batteries drain too quickly

[guzpro]

I give up.  I am done with using the Arlo Wireless Cameras.  I have honestly tried to accept the oddities I have experienced since the purchase but I am done.  Once again for the 6th time since purchase the cameras chew through batteries almost daily.  My base station has been replaced, relocated it and gone through in the plural of hundreds now in batteries trying to make this work.  I worked with Netgear early on and eventually the cmaeras were stable and reliable.  but in the last 2 months after updates it has gone back to daily/weekly battery changes.  the cameras are in my office 1 7 feet, the other 12 feet from the base.  Heck for the last 2 weeks they have been on my desk sitting almost next to the base.  I have not changed the objects in my office so for months no interference issues or anything like that from other devices.  These things just go offline, no warning and by the time i realize, often within a a day, sometimes hours the batteries are chewed through.  I am a huge netgear fan but I can't take it anymore.  I have 2 dropcams and in the years since i have had them i have had zero issues.  They just run and run.  But I am done spending money on these things.  I come here and read thread after thread of people having battery issues and it seems like this si just something thats known and happens and seemingly never gets resolved.  I am sticking to wired camer'as and am now going to research new wired cameras to replace my 2 Arlo cameras.  What a waste of a great concept.

[jguerdat]

The canned a minimum voltage to be able to work. Don't forget that you're likely measuring the voltage with no load as opposed to with the camera operating which will lower the voltage. In any event, they're dead for these cameras at about that level.

[jguerdat]

Canned = cameras

[cher45]

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jguerdat wrote:

The warranty is with Netgear,not BB.  Open a case using the Contact Support link at the bottom here.

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i realize the warranty is with Netgear- but assume I need proof of purchase date.

[jguerdat]

You may be able to use a credit card statement or get something from BB. Open a case and see what they will allow.

[CarolB]

I am having the same problem that Cher and others have reported: my front camera (which actually sees far more motion than the back one) is at 77%; the back one is taking dozens of photos of NOTHING, and running itself down (now at 19%, and I only recently replaced the batteries!). I can understand when the wind ruffles through the plants and bushes back there--but I've spot-checked every third "detection" or so, and there isn't a grass blade stirring. It's not good, when multiple users who otherwise love the system get as frustrated as some of us are getting! Anyone at Netgear have a real fix???

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cher45 wrote:

After a couple months with only a quirk here and there- this evening had one camera suddenly at 12% battery. This camera is in the lowest traffic area. The higher traffic area camera still has 75% battery.Something is definitely wrong and needs to be addressed.

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[CarolB]

I have received 13 e-mails from that camera between 6:35 and 7:48 PM--and NOTHING is moving!!!

[CarolB]

I have received 13 e-mails from that camera between 6:35 and 7:48 PM--and NOTHING is moving!!!

[jguerdat]

The cameras detect on IR which can easily be reflected from leaves, cars, etc. since the sun is a huge IR source.  Which direction is your camera pointed?  Late afternoon can be a real issue if pointed more or less west. Post a screenshot with a description for suggestions.

[CarolB]

The camera faces north. As I said--I understand that it will detect motion if a bird or a squirrel comes into the line of sight, or even if the wind makes the leaves of the plants flutter--but I received over 500 photographs between last evening and this morning, and in most of them, everything is still!

https://arlo.netgear.com/#/viewShared/3E50886649EE0D34_201704

[jguerdat]

That is a ton. Still, there's the possibility of birds flying g through so they're not in view by the time the camera starts up or an insect that landed on the PIR. For sure, that's not to say there's not something else going on here, just some thoughts about what's happened to me. I never had anything approaching 500, though.

What is your sensitivity setting in the Mode tab for your modes? Maybe reducing it would be useful. Also, temporarily swap cameras around to see if the issue stays with the camera or the location.

[MikeO9927]

I agree, this is a terrible problem with the new Arlo cameras.  I love the way they work but cannot afford the batteries.  I have 4 cameras and find myself turning two of them off just to save on battery drain and that's not what I should have to do.  Like many I had the old Netgear system with 2 batteries and replaced them once a year.  It's sad that these new Arlo cameras have this problem.  I would like to see some sort of AC adaptor for these but unfortunately they are not designed with that in mind.  Eventually I will have to dump this sytem for another brand that has AC power of some type.

[manfredz]

have you checked to see if you can get the approved Tenergy 3.7v gold coloured rechargeable batteries in your country.

If not, people have posted other rechargeables that also work

[jguerdat]

And then there's the Pro cameras that come with rechargeable batteries.

[cher45]

Titanium Innovations from Battery Junction- seemed to solve my problem of short battery life. Even though one still uses battery power a little faster than the other, I have much better battery life. Using a fairly cheap battery-I think around $1.49 each- from Battery Junction website.

[CarolB]

Thanks! I've been using Duracell (pricey, needless to say), but I'm a bit afraid of "unknown" LiOn batteries, because of the problems they've caused with Samsung cellphones. Have you ever had any issues with them exploding or spontaneous combustion? (I know this is a couple of months later, and I really appreciate your response. I've had other . . . distractions .  . . that kept me from acknowledging your kind message.)

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cher45 wrote:

Titanium Innovations from Battery Junction- seemed to solve my problem of short battery life. Even though one still uses battery power a little faster than the other, I have much better battery life. Using a fairly cheap battery-I think around $1.49 each- from Battery Junction website.

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[CarolB]

I guess I'm in that boat, too. Even though I dropped motion detection to 50% on the one trained on the back gate (which borders on a wooded area, and is not lit by anything but moonlight--so it's where I need security most) activates when a bird flies by, or leaves rustle. The one in the front habitually detects and records "motion" that isn't there--by its own documentation--not a car going by, a leaf stirring, NOTHING. And since the update, I don't receive e-mail notifications from either one (not so important to me at the moment, since I'm "between assignments," and home most of the time), but I've spent a small fortune on batteries, and can't afford to keep replacing them every two weeks or so. I've left the back camera off (much against my better judgment) because we've had windy, rainy weather, and I knew it would be on constantly--but neither is detecting any motion at night, these days, and that's just not accurate. It's a shame that people post complaint after complaint on this subject, and NetGear ignores the issue. I've recommended the ARLO system to people in the past, but I've stopped doing so, in recent months.

[manfredz]

You can't really compare issues between Samsung Note 5 batteries fire with the RCR123A lith ion batteries.  The celll phone battery fires were apparently putting more capacity (3400mAh) into smaller batteries in ever increasing demands placed by the phones.

If you by the phoney chinese RCR123A claiming 1500-2000 MaH again you have fire risk as well as other potential issues.

But I have never heard of anyone having had a fire in their cams using the Tenergy or Nitecore or a few similar brands of RCR123A rechargeables.

[CarolB]

It's definitely the camera (I swapped them out the last time I put batteries into them), and setting the motion detection lower seems to have no effect whatsoever. As I said in another post--one detects and records motion that clearly isn't there, and the other records even the leaves rustling on the trees! I've about had it, at this point--which is a shame, because I loved the system when I first got it, and it was working properly.  😞  Thanks for your response, nonetheless.

[CarolB]

Cost is a factor for me, I'm afraid, Manfred, especially at the moment. I have no idea what a charger unit costs--but reachargeable batteries have always been expensive. (Thanks anyhow.)

[cher45]

Battery junction.com $1 each for titanium brand

[manfredz]

in canada 4 set of Tenergy gold 3.7V are Cdn$ 40 on amazon, with charger $60.-

since I'm a heavy user , 20-30x 120secper cam of my 4 cams  recordings per day, I got my money's worth out of them quickly

[CarolB]

Far too rich for my blood, at the moment (I'm semi-retired), and probably more expensive, here in the USA. Thanks all the same! I'm afraid these things are not designed for the people who need them most, and of course NetGear makes no distinction between senior citizens and those who are in better position to afford their wares.

[manfredz]

I hear you, fully retired byself on small pension.

Since they come from the US the Tenergys are actually cheaper in the US

$30 for 4 batteries https://www.amazon.com/Tenergy-Rechargeable-Battery-Security-Certified/dp/B01MRKGS4K/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_...

and $50 for 4 batteries plus charger   https://www.amazon.com/Tenergy-Rechargeable-Batteries-Wire-Free-Security/dp/B01N0DVFA7/ref=pd_bxgy_4...

but depends on how often you change batteries that will determine if worthwhile.  I intentionally record a very high traffic area of cats using the feeders I put out as well as raccoon and the occasional skunk so I get a few weeks battery use before recharging  (20=40x 120 sec recordings per day/night so for me very necessary.

[Joeype]

Www.batteryjunction.com $1.65 per battery, stop wasting your hard earned money folks!!!! And yes for Energizers and more.

[CarolB]

• Item #: TENERGY-30264-RCR123A-600
• Brand: Tenergy

 Click to Enlarge Image

$4.39            I don't know what batteries you're buying, but this is what I found for batteryjunction.com for the recommended Tenergy brand. I don't trust the off-brands, and think it's literally "playing with fire" to go for something no one's safety-tested. NetGear replaced one of my original two-battery cameras with a super-duper four-battery update--and I can't afford $36 a shot to replace them in my two cameras, @ $4.39 each for 8. I know everyone's trying to help, but I have to watch every penny at the moment, just to survive--so I guess security is something I'm going to have to consider a luxury until things improve. There are too many more urgent issues that have to be addressed.

 

Here's an example of the back camera detecting motion that doesn't exist: it does this dozens of times every day: https://arlo.netgear.com/hmsweb/users/library/share/link/212FEABA2110DB37_201708