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...

[Paul_FCCL]

---

TomMac wrote:

---

Paul_FCCL wrote:

Last installed set started with a 97% Arlo reading, after three days use (~ 3.5 min.) it's now @78%.

Pretty quick discharge.....normal or just a bad batch?

---

That's in spec use... sounds like it should be a bit higher.  Of all my 3 types I prob avg about 50 days normal use, the Nitecores seem to work best for me.

Whats your days for spec use if you know? ( and is it across all the cameras or just one ? )

---

It must be a bad set or a couple of bad units, after 8 days of light use it's showing a 41% left !!!

Don't think they will last more than 12 days max.

I'll just replace them with another set and throw them away.

[TomMac]

---

Paul_FCCL wrote:Don't think they will last more than 12 days max.

I'll just replace them with another set and throw them away.

---

It could just be ONE bad cell, don't know what charger you have but some run drainage tests...or a voltmeter to see if it's one bad cell.

[gfla5]

I started trying to sift through all of these pages and come up with a common answer, and I can't do it.  Price aside, what are the best batteries and charger to buy for the Arlos?  It sounds like the Nitecore D4 is the undisputed charger (?).. what about the batteries?  Should I get the Nitecore batteries...or are someone elses the same/better?  Is there only 1 type of CR123A rechargeable?  Thanks!

[TomMac]

Read the last ten pages where most of the newer info is....

I think the most common in use now are the following;

• NiteCore
• EagleTac
• Olight

I use the Nitecore, but think in the long run I don't think there's much diff among the three

Notes to remember;

1) OEM primary cells are 3v as listed , but in real world they read 3.2v when new

2) Rechargeable 123/16340 cells come in 3v and 3.6 and 3.7 v as listed.  The ones listed here as common use are 3.7v cells that read 4.2v off charge

The 3v rechargeables have been used but don't works as well as the 3.7v... matter of fact a while back (2015), the battery algorithm was optimized for the OEM primary cells and 3.7v li-ion rechargeables

Also be aware that some rechargeables also limit their current output as another safety factor..these special type cells don't run well in the Arlo ... nor do for some reason the LiFePo4 cells

[Vallorie]

No one answered my question - do you think I will be OK using the Edison Rechargeable batteries -- also I have one outside camera that is hard to connect - now if is offline - what do I do?

Vallorie

[BrianDX]

Hi All,

I am a long time reader. Just signed in to answer Vallorie's question.

Hi Vallorie, if you are referring to Edisonbright EBR65 rechargeable batteries, I have been using them for almost 3 months. They are doing a good job. I bought a bundle of 16 batteries with Nitecore D4 charger. I had no problems.

When I received them I tested capacity. They are marked 650mAh. My tests showed all of them between 670mAh to 695mAh.

So far so good. I will post again if any significant events occur in future.

[Pet1700]

Just an update on my eagletecs batteries... They are now showing 100% after full charge with the nitecore i4 charger in arlo cameras... This did not happen after the first time they were fully charged.

[Itbehook]

I've been using my Arlos for a year or more now. Since the original non rechargeable batteries went bad, I've used Eagletac rechargeables and have been pleased with them. After reading a few new reviews I decided to try the EASTSHINE rechargeables. I received them from Amazon a few days ago and was pleased with the price, quality of the battery and quality of the packaging. I charged them in my D4 charger and that's when the issues began. The mah reading was instantly 375. After a full charge that didn't change. Off the charger they showed 4.19V. I took them off, charged them to full again, and it still reads the same... 375mah/4.19V. I pulled them out and let them settle a bit. After four hours I put them in the camera. They installed at 98% and the next day with 6 minutes of recording they are reading 88%. My eagletac batteries with the same 6 minute usage are showing 96% and at install they were 100%. At this rate, I'm going to return the EASTSHINE batteries.

[MichaelRogers]

The Nitecore D4 charger does not measure the mAh.  I have one of those along with several NiteCore i4s, a Foxnova (8 battery holder) and an Opus Charger.  The D4 only measures/shows "mA" which is a rate of charge or discharge rather than a battery's capacity.  You need to get an Opus charger or something of the like to measure "mAh," and that process involves draining a fully charged battery to empty (and can take several hours).  

My Eastshines have consisently had a statistically meaningfully higher mAh measurement than both my EagleTacs and NightCores.

I've test 48 different EagleTac batteries, and they have an average mAh of 674 (st dev of 16).  I've tested 16 EastShines and they have an Average mAh of 686 (st. dev. of 13).  I've tested 12 NiteCores and they have an average mAh of 641 (st. dev. of 33).  Note: The Standard Deviation of the NItecores is heavily skewed by one dud that came in around 550.

That Opus charger allows you to test individual batteries and figure out which one (or more) of the 4 is a dud if you're getting poor performance.  

---

Itbehook wrote:
I've been using my Arlos for a year or more now. Since the original non rechargeable batteries went bad, I've used Eagletac rechargeables and have been pleased with them. After reading a few new reviews I decided to try the EASTSHINE rechargeables. I received them from Amazon a few days ago and was pleased with the price, quality of the battery and quality of the packaging. I charged them in my D4 charger and that's when the issues began. The mah reading was instantly 375. After a full charge that didn't change. Off the charger they showed 4.19V. I took them off, charged them to full again, and it still reads the same... 375mah/4.19V. I pulled them out and let them settle a bit. After four hours I put them in the camera. They installed at 98% and the next day with 6 minutes of recording they are reading 88%. My eagletac batteries with the same 6 minute usage are showing 96% and at install they were 100%. At this rate, I'm going to return the EASTSHINE batteries.

---

[CCNE37]

"I charged them in my D4 charger and that's when the issues began. The mah reading was instantly 375. After a full charge that didn't change. Off the charger they showed 4.19V. I took them off, charged them to full again, and it still reads the same... 375mah/4.19V."

As said above, the D4 charger does not display mAh. The 375 that you are seeing is the charge rate - it is 375mA of current, not 375mAh put back into the battery.

The charger always defaults to 375mA when charging 4 batteries, unless you tell it to do the slow charge, which I think is 150mA. Don't confuse current with capacity.

I am sure that your EagleTac batteries will display exactly the same thing on a D4 as the Eastshines, but you may not have noticed before. It is not uncommon for batteries not to read exactly 4.20V at the end of the charge - IMO anything above 4.17V is probably acceptable.

When I lasted changed my 4 sets of Nitecores, the cameras displayed 96%, 98%, 96% & 93% upon installing the new batteries (all charged at 150mA on my Nitecore D4 charger), so it is not an exact science. There is always going to be some variability.

I can't comment on your drop from 98% to 88% over one day and 6 minutes, but bear in mind that although device battery indicators are a lot better now than they were 20 years ago, they are not calibrated laboratory measuring devices, so their accuracy may well be within a few % ( a bit like different car speedos can vary by up to 10%).

Colin

[Vallorie]

Thank you so much for your reply regarding the Edisonbright rechargeable batteries.  I really appreciate your response

Vallorie

[kng323]

Has anyone tried these batteries?  I tried google the brand name but no hits.  I'm guess that these are generic batteries.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/20-Rechargeable-Batteries-Kit-Pack-for-Netgear-Arlo-Security-Camera-/22199334...

Thanks

[Pet1700]

Why waste everyone's time posting these cheap batteries? Take the time to read which batteries to buy. People put in extensive time and effort for the Arlo community, hence just stop trying to find other alternatives. Buy only the ones that were recommended and verified. Thank you.

[kng323]

@Pet1700    I'm not trying to discredit anyone's hard work on their research.  I'm new to this product and I've already spend quite a lot of time read this entire thread.  But is it wrong for me to post my question?  Why the attitude.  If you know that these are cheap knock-off batteries, just say "these are no good" and be contructive.  Remember, like most people I'm just an average consumer.  I'm not a battery expert like yourself.

To anyone:

Anyway, with my limited understand, to summarize what I've read, I should stick with these 3 brands of batteries, right?

Nitecore

Eagletac

Solarforce

Also, with rechargeable battery, I can only expect about 2-3 months of usage before recharging, rather than 4-6 months with non-rechargeable battery, correct?

[Pet1700]

Because wasting your time on cheap batteries on eBay which are probably all the same crap that could ruin or worse burn down your cameras... First read all that has been posted before posting comments and links to some batteries on eBay. Makes it seen like you are the seller trying to advertise garbage batteries to the group here. Otherwise, if that brand of batteries was not mentioned here, buy the batteries, and post a nice review of the batteries here for us to review and see if they are actually good batteries for the rest to consider as an option. That's all.

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Buying-Options-Tips/Please-read-re-rechargeables-possible-fire-cond...

[MichaelRogers]

My advice is to stick with NiteCore and/or EagleTac batteries right now if you definitely plan to use rechargeables.

Others including me have tried many other brands, but those two above are the most vetted and seemingly most reliable to date.  Eastshine and SolarForce have shown some early promise (especially in below spec use cameras), but more time and testing is needed there to get to the same level as NiteCore and EagleTacs.  I know Eastshines have a higher measured mAh than EagleTac, and EagleTacs have a higher measured mAh than Nitecores.  However, I seem to be getting slightly higher performance out of NiteCores than EagleTacs, but I don't have enough of a sample yet to know if that's persistent.  (Note: It's an extremely small difference that may make a difference in a day or so of use, so I'm not agonizing about it.)  

So far, I've gotten the best below spec use (e.g., < 1 minute per day) out of Eastshines, but I haven't ridden an Eastshine all the way to dead yet.  It could be that they drop out fast once they hit two bars.  I just don't know.  Assuming its a linear dropout though, I have 4 different Eastshine batteries in use for 37 days, and they are on pace for 79, 84, 93 and 137 days each.  The 137 day (pace) batteries are in a camera that is hardly ever used.  The 79 day (pace) camera is used for less than a minute.  The other two cameras are somewhere in-between.  (Note: I believe another board poster once road a SolarForce to ~100 days in a below spec use camera, but he was not sure if that was a fluke or if it's more representative of what to expect.)

My experience with EagleTac, NiteCore (and even Eastshine) is to expect no longer than ~60 days of use for ~4 minutes per day on high quality recording (compared to maybe ~120 days for a quality non-rechargeable).  Note: I've only used the highest quality recording settings.

I've recorded my mAh tests of 48 EagleTac batteries, 16 Eastshine and 12 NiteCores, and the following is a summary of my data.  (Note:  There was one bad ~550 mAh NiteCore that skews that sample).  Note:  I had 16 other best performing Eastshines that were excluded from below because I hurried and plugged them into four cameras before writing down their test results.  However, those 16 were somewhere over 700 mAh but below ~725 mAh.    So I really tested 32 Eastshines, but only wrote down the results of the bottom half of the sample.  Note: As previously stated, mAh is not the only relavant factor but it seems to be the only objectively measurable factor (by me at least).

                                             EagleTac              Eastshine             NiteCore

count                                   48                          16                          12

average mAh                     674                       686                       641

median mAh                      671                       688                       644

mode mAh                         669                       706                       644

max mAh                            726                       706                       673

min mAh                             640                       668                       553

max-min mAh                    86                          38                          120

St. Dev.                               16                          13                          33

I think it was TomMac (who did a ton of early testing) who said somewhere in this long thread that it's seemingly a crap shoot about which one lasts longer (if you're using the better brands).  I'll let him comment on that if I misremembered it, but that's pretty much where my conclusion is at.  There's a lot of other factors (e.g., temperature, in shade, in sunlight, humidity level, indoor, outdoor, competing wi-fi noise/traffic, sporadicity of use, firmware updates, etc.) that are hard to capture or grasp.  Also, there are better EagleTacs and worse EagleTacs, better NiteCores and worse Nitecores, and so on and so forth, so it's somewhat individual battery dependent as well (and not just brand dependent).  I have several Opus chargers/testers that allows me to find and weed out the weaklings.

A few other random points to remember:

1) PPower batteries stink.  ~250 mAh even though they state 2,000 mAh.

2) Don't believe any of the mAh measures posted on the packaging.  

3) Only NiteCore and Eastshine seem to have accurate mAhs on their packaging of those I've tested.  Even Eagletac overstates their mAh.  (stated mAh of 750, but they're really closer to 675).

4) Any RCR123 battery stating greater than 700 mAh, I call BS!

5) I heard good things about Olights, but their circuit doesn't allow me to discharge them at 500 mA, so I couldn't test them.  That's neither bad nor good for life.

EDIT:

P.S. - Everything I've read and heard and all my newfound experience tells me to stay away from those GTF batteries linked like the plague.  Not only do you potentially have performance issues, but you have safety issues.  The RCR123 battery is inherently a difficult rechargeable to make (and somewhat unstable compared to other types), so only stick to the better brands.  You should probably stick the othe CR123 (non-rechargeable) OEMs if safety is your primary concern.  Lithium Ion batteries are no laughing matter when they go bad...  My cameras using (highest quality RCR123) rechargeables are largely in a place where a fire wouldn't ignite my house, but BEWARE.

---

kng323 wrote:

@Pet1700    I'm not trying to discredit anyone's hard work on their research.  I'm new to this product and I've already spend quite a lot of time read this entire thread.  But is it wrong for me to post my question?  Why the attitude.  If you know that these are cheap knock-off batteries, just say "these are no good" and be contructive.  Remember, like most people I'm just an average consumer.  I'm not a battery expert like yourself.

To anyone:

Anyway, with my limited understand, to summarize what I've read, I should stick with these 3 brands of batteries, right?

Nitecore

Eagletac

Solarforce

Also, with rechargeable battery, I can only expect about 2-3 months of usage before recharging, rather than 4-6 months with non-rechargeable battery, correct?

---

[kng323]

Thank you MichaelRogers.  That is very helpful.

The Eastshine looks promising.  I initially found this out from this review on Amazon.com.  This guy had done the measurement as well and the feedback was good.

https://www.amazon.com/review/RC1TZAJLRDF6B/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B01CI0HZ02&channel=detai...

Now my next challenge is to find a reseller in Canada.  No luck so far with any of these brand, at a reasonable price.  sigh

Eventough I get only about 2 months per charge, I think it's still worth the hassle and avoid a $100 bill each year for non-rechargeable batteries.

in the meanwhile, I'll keep looking for reseller.

[MichaelRogers]

---

kng323 wrote:

Thank you MichaelRogers.  That is very helpful.

The Eastshine looks promising.  I initially found this out from this review on Amazon.com.  This guy had done the measurement as well and the feedback was good.

https://www.amazon.com/review/RC1TZAJLRDF6B/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B01CI0HZ02&channel=detai...

Now my next challenge is to find a reseller in Canada.  No luck so far with any of these brand, at a reasonable price.  sigh

Eventough I get only about 2 months per charge, I think it's still worth the hassle and avoid a $100 bill each year for non-rechargeable batteries.

in the meanwhile, I'll keep looking for reseller.

---

Kng,

You're welcome.  In the spirit of full disclosure, you should consider that Amazon review from the same source as the content in my post above.  That Amazon review was from over a month ago.  I've done more testing since.

FYI - MichaelRogers is the name of the Director of the NSA, which seeme appropriate for a security camera community.  Scott F. on Amazon may or may not be a play on the writer F. Scott Fitzergald's name...

However, my real name is Bruce Wayne. 😉

[TomMac]

To all new people thinking of using rechargeables....

First is to at least read the last ten pages of the main thread we're posting in now.... Most of the newer info is there.

As to everything else, it comes down to just a few tips;

Crap batteries are one of the reasons Netgear changed their minds about recommending rechargeables ( prob the most important reason ) in the Arlos.  To many china cells or counterfeit and/or many without circuit protection from over drain - over charge.  They don't want any major problem like possible fires, etc ( think of those roller things that were catching on fire or replacement batteries in phones in pockets overheating )

Basic rules:

1) Stay with the known tested KNOWN brands that have been tested by other users as there are size variances  allowed ( some may not fit )( there are 3-4 brands used/tested by most users ) In the real world the small differences can go one way or the other base on usage. These batteries have been well vetted.

Basicly stay away from china cells that are a bargin, cause they're not if a fire starts

2) any 123/16340 cell rated over 750mahr is to be suspect as you can't get more chems in that size package to produce more ( just plain don't fit )

3) the li-ion 3.7 v cells are the ones tested that work the best ( battery algorithm optimized for those and OEM 3.2 primary cells back in 2015 )

4) LifePO4 type cells for some reason don't work well, same with 3v rechargeable

5) MAKE SURE the cells contain a protection curcuit for over charge/discharge

6) make sure you use the proper charger

[Bilzer]

I am looking to obtain rechargeable batteries for my Arlo cameras and was wondering if anyone has had good luck with the EASTSHINE E07 700mAh RCR123A 3.7V Li-ion Rechargeable CR123A, the Eagletac and the Nitecor.

Of the three above, is there one that is the best for the arlo cameras? Also what is the suggested charger and source for the batteries?

[Bilzer]

Has anyone used the EASTSHINE E07 700mAh RCR123A 3.7V Li-ion Rechargeable CR123A and what were the results compared to the other batteries?

[TomMac]

---

Bilzer wrote:

I am looking to obtain rechargeable batteries for my Arlo cameras and was wondering if anyone has had good luck with the EASTSHINE E07 700mAh RCR123A 3.7V Li-ion Rechargeable CR123A, the Eagletac and the Nitecor.

---

All you have to do is go back about < 10 messgs in this thread to get info on the Eastshines.

There is lots of info on the latter two cells.... So Read a bit

As to charger, many here go with the Nitecore chargers but any good brand charger ( not the cheap travel ones ) will prob serve you well.

[MichaelRogers]

I've used Eastshines, Nitecores and Eagletacs. So far, all 3 have been pretty comparable.

I'm waiting to ride my Eastshines all the way to discharged before drawing a full conclusion, but it looks promising so far.

Search my prior posts on this thread as I've provided mAh testing results and other findings with Eastshines.

[patko715]

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1227021-REG/olight_16340_650mah_card_olight_rcr123a_li_ion_re...

$5.50 for the Olight RCR123A batteries from BH PHOTO.

[Paul_FCCL]

Confused by all the various specs/features..........what is "mA" or "mAh" ? I see these words used around here but still don't know what they mean or how significant they are. While charging batteries on a Nitecore D4 charger I see mA going up and down fron 10 to sometimes 750 for each battery in the charger. Also having problems with either bad batteries or bad camera....as I'm getting < 15 days life out of a set of EAGTAC even in a low/reasonable usage (~ 2 min. daily).

Thanks,

Paul