Night vision not working

[Sammy69]

Night vision not working.  Red LEDS illuminate but image remains dark.  Camera makes clicking noises.  Works fine in daylight and in lighted area/room.   I have reset the camera, turned on and off night vision setting.  Changed batteries.  Any ideas, suggestions? Has my camera failed?

[brh]

Before we can help you, which camera model did you purchase that isn't working?

Brian

[Sammy69]

Thanks for responding, It’s the original Arlo camera, VCM3030.  

[brh]

I've been looking at posts others have had. This clicking noise seems to be a very common problem with the Pros and the Pro2s but not so much on your model. Since you are also having issues with the night vision, I would definately contact Support. The link is at the bottom of this page.

Brian

[jguerdat]

The clicking should be the IR filter moving into or out of the optical path. However, that shouldn't affect the brightness, at least by much. Can you post a screenshot of the daytime view?  It may simply be that you're trying to see a distance that is out of a battery-operated cameras illumination range.

[Sammy69]

Thanks Jguerdat,

Support at Netgear suggested I delete and resync the camera.  I’ll know more tonight if it works. I changed out the camera with another and the IR lights worked fine and I could see a small distance with the replacement.  With the misbehaving camera it was pitch black even if I could see the IR lights come on the camera.  I found it strange that even with the IR lights the camera didn’t see anything even though daylight or room lights were excellent... it has been rather cold here (14-17 night time).  I attached a daylight pic...

[jguerdat]

I don't see any attachment...

[Sammy69]

Day pic

[Sammy69]

Night pi

Night

[Sammy69]

Do you know if Netgear has a repair service?  I’m pretty sure my camera is out of warranty.  Or is it best t9 just buy another camera?

[steve_t]

I'd definitely recommend buying an Arlo Pro add on camera before spending any money repairing an old Arlo HD camera

[Sammy69]

That’s probably where this will lead.  Camera is daylight only it seems.  

[jguerdat]

We can't see the pics yet sincee they have to be approved by a mod. 

I know of no repair service, only warranty replacement.

[steve_t]

Do you have another camera you can swap to this position? It looks like there's is almost nothing in the FOV that the IR illumination can reflect off. The Arlo Pro is better with night vision but not sure if that's going to work well either given the lack of light and lack of reflective surfaces. At night, can you put a chair or table or something poolside on the near side of the camera?

[steve_t]

Actually, check that. The wall on the right of the image should be visible. I guess the camera is probably faulty

[brh]

From what I have seen from other night images posted by others I would think that whole area around the pool should show up.

Have you tried turning the camera upside down as suggested elsewhere and reversing the picture in the app to see if the filter moves int place.

Anyway, even if you replace the camera, don't toss it. It could be used indoors, especially if you have some lights that turn on when motioon is detected. Or later if you purchase the soon to be released lights or those by another manufacturer, there might be enough light to take a decent, although not perfect, video.

Still, I would be interested to see the night image with the night vision turned off.

Brian

[Sammy69]

Brian,

i tried reversing the image, toggling it back an forth several times, turning the camera upside down, including turning night vision on and off several times.  Interesting note that it will not even reset the image now in the settings view.  I’m thinking the camera is “kaput”.  At least for night vision.  I did note that the image changes tone when I turn the night vision off in a lighted room, but will not work in darkness.  I guess it’s a day, lights on, use indoor camera now. It’s an expensive proposition replacing an Arlo camera ($159 retail).   Not looking forward to it.  I wish there was a way to refurbish/repair these cameras.  

[Sammy69]

I forgot to mention, the night image with the night vision turned of is totally black...nothing can be seen or even a hint of an image.  Total black!

[brh]

I feel for you as I know these cameras are expensive. I think if you replace it I would go ahead and purchase the Pro model. It will still work with your base station. The tint in daylight images is another indicator of a stuck IR filter. The Pro models do not use a mechanical filter. As a last resort, at the risk of completely ruining the ruining the camera, have you tapped on the camera to see if you can dislodge the filter?

Brian

[Sammy69]

Yes, when I read “stuck” I tapped the camera several times but to no avail.  Maybe it’ll come loose eventually. I think the clicking noises I heard were it trying to free itself. I haven’t heard them since though. Thanks for the suggestions.