Why do my Arlo camera batteries turn flat soon even after they are fully charged?

[tonyling]

Some months ago I had bought two Arlo cameras, with Base VMB3500r4. There were four 3V batteries that came along with each camera. I checked them with a volt meter. They were 2.9V to 3.1V. After the cameras were switched to ‘Armed’ for several hours, the batteries in the 2 cameras became low. Then I bought rechargeable batteries which were 3.7V. Still, they became low after cameras had been turned to ‘Armed’ for some hours. So, now I have to recharge the batteries every 2-3 days. It is inefficient and annoying. I was wondering if it is just me? Or, the ones I had bought are faulty? Could sb tell me how long batteries in a Arlo Pro(or a Arlo Pro 2) should normally last for?

[TomMac · Accepted solution]

They were 2.9V to 3.1V

First, new 123 cells should read 3.2v when new. ( tho marked at 3v ).

The dropout point of these cells in the camera is just under 2.8v, so I can see why they would be showing low quickly.

As to rechargeable... 3.7v li-ion should read at about 4.2 off charge. ( since they do have ONLY 1/2 the capacity of non-rechargeables , you can expect to change them more often )

I have some Arlo HD cams that go 6 months with very low use on 123 cells and normally in spec use ( less than 5 min per day ) they run about 2+months.  Usage is the primary factor in draining of batteries ( live view and recording modes ) as armed mode uses very little power

I would check the brand of batteries your using first and make sure they are a name brand and not some fakes or old.

Also the LiFePO type cells just never really worked well in these cameras.

[tonyling]

Thanks a lotTomMAc