Rechargeable batteries for use with Arlo cameras

[Coltsbro84]

I am looking for the best rechargeable CR123 batteries that I can find, for use with my Netgear Arlo four cam system. I bought the green stripe Tenergy that claim to have 750mah power. Six batteries with a charger run about $25. I'm not happy with these batteries, because when fully charged (only takes about an hour to charge with a 500mah charger, from what I understand, it exerts as much energy as it stores, so I'm thinking that these batteries are more like 200mah) but back to the story, when fully charged, these batteries only show the camera as being half charged, with a day's use putting it into the low battery icon, and only lasting about a week.

I have since then ordered four Nitecore batteries, rated at 3.7 volts and 650mah. Now the volts are 0.5 higher than what's to be used with the camera, I'm hoping that this does not affect the camera. 650mah is probably true from the reviews and the steep price tag they are asking of around $10 per battery. I'm hoping that they are quality batteries and worth it, and I purchased a Nitecore charger to go with it. I'll be able to test them out here in a few days and get back with everyone on performance.

I just want to know, has anyone tried the rechargeable batteries that I have mentioned? Or do you have other suggestions?


Tenergy (link here: http://www.amazon.com/Kits-RCR123A-LiFePO4-Rechargeable-Batteries/dp/B001EYHO9G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&a...

Nitecore (link here: : http://www.amazon.com/Nitecore-RCR123A-Protected-Rechargeable-Battery-Black/dp/B00D2OCQB2/ref=pd_sim...

Nitecore charger here http://www.amazon.com/Nitecore-IntelliCharger-i4-Battery-Charger/dp/B005UAI372/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&am...

[brh]

@gmking12345

I have had good luck with both the Duracell and Energizer Lithium CR123 batteries. If you buy them in 12 packs on Amazon or Walmart the cost per battery is slightly ove $1.50 each.

Brian

[jamiesenn]

https://www.amazon.com/Arlo-Certified-Rechargeable-Batteries-Wireless/dp/B076FDN3JV/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?...

[steve_t]

I have 5x sets of rechargeable RCR123A for 4 Arlo HD cameras. This means I only have to get the ladder out once. Check out the Tenergy range as certified by Netgear for Arlo

[mikeyy57]

I have purchased the Tenergy CR123 bateries along with the Tenrgy charger. The batteries last three days max on a full charge. I have never been so disappointed in a product as I have with ARLO Cameras. Non rechargeable batteries last much longer but even with these I am changing them out once a month. When the minimum cost is $1 per battery and my need is 16 batteries a month, you can see how the cost can explode. I have switched to wired cameras. They are more reliable and cost less in the long run.

[CCNE37]

Some possibilities;

1. Defective cameras

2. Defective batteries

3. Defective charger

4. Excessive detections - Arlo is not designed for 24/7 recording (or close to), so if you are recording hundreds of minutes a day, of course the batteries won't last

Often it takes a while to settle down new cameras because they are too sensitive and detect things that they shouldn't . I fiddled around with sensitivity etc for some time to get it right.

I have been using them for a couple of years now, and my batteries (Nitecore) last months, not days.

[FuzzyWolf]

I've been getting these randomly and so far, having my arlo system only happened 3 times. It was all good like 60-40% then suddenly drops to 2% or stopped working. I think it has to do with the base system, a glitch or something as this seem to happen when there's an internet interruption or restart of base station via the software. The weird thing is the camera does not have to be "armed" for it to drain even though when not in used. 

[mikeyy57]

Thank you for your input. I decided to test whether or not I had bad camera setting. So I turn the cameras off and the battery still die in two days three at the outside. I noticed in your post that you use a different battery and not the one that Arlo recommends.

[CCNE37]

What are your ambient temperatures ? Many batteries do not do well outdoors in low temps.

Yes, I do use different batteries because 2 years ago there was no recommendation for rechargeable batteries from Netgear, in fact, as I recall, they recommended not to use rechargeables at all. Just because Netgear recommends Ternegy, it does not mean that they are the best batteries around. Also, even if I wanted Ternegys, I do not believe that they are sold in Australia, so I don't think I could buy them even if I wanted them. Nitecores are very reputable and are well tested in Arlo cameras (read back a few dozen pages in this thread).

[FuzzyWolf]

Yeah, I'm using nitecore batteries. It's specifications seem identical to the Tenergy but I am using it because I could not find any tenergy in Australia. I do get that rather random battery drain on normal non-rechargeable Duracell/Panasonic CR123A batteries so I don't think its the batteries. So far it happened twice on a no-rechargeable battery and once on the nitecores. I still think it is linked to loss internet connection to base station. Been trying to replicate it but no luck and occuring at random. It would be great if they provide log that we can access from the base station to see what is happening.

@CCNE37Mine happened two days ago so weather was about 27C high and 16C low so normal temp and not extreme hot or cold.

[MLS36]

I have arlo model VMB3000 cameras.  Documentation with camera says not to use rechargeable batteries.  Can I use the Tenergy rechargeable CR123 batteries?

[Streak2]

Yes. These are the ones that Netgear recommend.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N0DVFA7

[TomMac]

As mentioned, Tenergy 3.7v  li-ion are the only approved rechargables for the added safety features in the charger and cells....

Many 3.7v li-ion were tested in the past , some better than others, some junk ( esp from china ).... all will work but verify that they do have protections for over charge / over drain with a suitable charger. One or two brands were possibly a fire harzard.

If you do a good search, some of the findings are still listed.

Just a few hints if you choose rechargeables;

Tenergy are the only Netgear approved ( they work well )

No 123 rechargeable cell withh support more than about 700mahr ( cant phyically fit enough chems in that package )

Most ebay cells are junk

MOST IMPORTANT; that cells have a PCB to prevent over drain/ over charge

LiFepo4 123 cells tended NOT to work well in Arlo

Do not use 3.2v li-ion but use the 3.7v li-ion cells

[dusty62]

I've read several of these threads. I see that Netgear has approved the Tenergy batteries,but after scouring Amazon reviews,their were many,many issues with folks getting new batteries and having them not hold a charge. Sure,add in the variables listed in earlier threads,but still.

Keenstone appears to have better approval ratings by end users (not officially approved by Arlo). Has Netgear approved more than 1 battery? One would think...

[CCNE37]

Never heard of them. I think you would be well served to stick with the known brands already mentioned in this thread. I have no idea why Netgear chose Ternegy because they are not available in several countries where Arlo is sold (like Australai) - maybe got corporate kickbacks ?

Colin

[steve_t]

Not sure why they chose to partner with Tenergy? Maybe it's a local company to Netgear? But what I do know is there are many many batteries on eBay that tout things like 2500mAh capacity. There's no way a RCR123A battery is going to have that much capacity. I was even a bit skeptical about my Ultrafire ones having 880mAh but they have proven to be excellent.

Google counterfeit batteries and see that there are many on eBay etc that are just a tiny battery inside a CR123A body and the rest of it is full of sand or something equally useless in a battery

[madkiwi]

---

@dusty62 wrote:

I've read several of these threads. I see that Netgear has approved the Tenergy batteries,but after scouring Amazon reviews,their were many,many issues with folks getting new batteries and having them not hold a charge. Sure,add in the variables listed in earlier threads,but still.

Keenstone appears to have better approval ratings by end users (not officially approved by Arlo). Has Netgear approved more than 1 battery? One would think...

---

I purchased the Tenergy cells and charger at the end of January. My first set needed to be recharged in May, the last set was a week ago (in 4 cameras). So I got 3.5 months from one camera, 6 months on another. The other 2 were re-charged in June.

If I only read the negative reviews on Amazon I would not have purchased these. But I am extremely happy with them so far. I can't explain why some people have such poor results, but I have not had any problems at all.

[1nco]

Since you cannot buy batteries through here if you live in Canada????? And I have already bought 2 sets of counterfeit Tenergys online and a bag of other crap batteries ( and i know how to purchase online lol. ) Where do us left out Canadians aquire batteries that are legit??  Seems really ignorant and stupid for Arlo to not have that resource for customers outside the US. Not happy with this purchase at all.

[SteenJJ]

It is very difficult to compare battery capacities because there are factors that determine battery life.

Movement detection and length of record time both affect battery life.

A camera placed in a low movement area will have a better battery life than a camera placed in a high movement area.

Short record times of 10 seconds will also improve battery life. 

Most rechargeable batteries have a capacity of 650~700 mah and give the same results in the given enviroment.

[halfapizza]

I've been looking into batteries and battery life on the Arlo.  That said, my only comment is from a EE prospective.  I have experience with batteries of different chemistries.  LiMnO2/LiIon have a specific discharge charateristics.  The voltage drops fast to about 80%, sits there for a while and then drops to dead, below a threshold of 1.5 to 1.8V.  Capacity is measured in mAh/Ah or C-rate.  1C is the rated capacity of the battery.  In the CR123 family, that seems to be 1500mAh/1.5Ah.  This means it will be able to supply 1500mA at the rated voltage, nominally 3V, for 1 hour.  Higher  rates mean shorter time, lower then means longer time.

There are several manufacturers of this style battery.  i promote none of them.  I present here a link to tests done on several of them.  "Chose wisely" as the knight said in The Last Crusade.  😉

http://www.powerstream.com/cr123a-tests.htm

[ftesta]

I've been using Tenergy CR123A batteries in my 5 cameras for the last year; why are they not recommended?

[jguerdat]

They are approved. I suppose it's possible that Tenergy has a specific model that was tested but don't know that for a fact.