Pro 4 Camera goes offline frequently even with new battery and connected to charger

[mpav78738]

I have 4 Pro 4 cameras connected via wifi and all connected to chargers full time.  I frequently find that they go from 100% battery to offline overnight.  This is in a remote location that I visit about once per month so I can't just walk out and reset the camera.

I have checked the network usage on this camera and it uploaded about 40KB of content over the last 24 hours of it's life, so that's not very much.

How can a camera that has a fresh and fully charged battery and is connected to a charger go offline in 12 hours?  And, if there was a wifi issue wouldn't the other cameras also suffer the same fate? 

Camera details for all 4 cameras:
- Hardware: VMC4041PAerH4

- Firmware: 1.080.20.1_23_d50a19d

[jguerdat]

Define "charger" - AC power or a solar panel?

Are you using activity zones? You may need to remove them to see the true number of minutes of recordings per day. The general spec for battery life is <5 minutes per day of recording and live viewing. You do say that only about 40kB was used in a day so that doesn't seem to be a likely issue but it's worth trying. Activity zones are checked at the servers so the camera has to record everything and then the servers decide what to not display.

Another possible issue is the WiFi is being interfered with, causing the cameras to deplete the batteries trying to reconnect.

[mpav78738]

These cameras all use AC power adapters.  They are Arlo branded 5volt 2amp chargers.  Yes, there is one activity zone.  Once I can get access to the camera and get it back online I'll remove the activity zone to get a record of how often it triggers.

But, with a dedicated power adapter is it still possible for the camera to deplete its power and go offline?

There are other cameras close to this one and all are on the same WiFi network.  None suffer.the same fate and the neighbors WiFi network is over 100 feet away.

[jguerdat]

The only way I see for an AC-powered camera to have the battery go dead overnight is some combination of recording/loss of power/loss of connection. I'd start by looking at router logs to see if the router reboots daily (perhaps with no indication of shutting down) and perhaps add a UPS to your network (modem and router). However, other cameras continuing to work properly seems very strongly to negate that as an issue.

[mpav78738]

If there is a temporary network outage (at the cable modem for example) should the camera come online once connectivity is restored?  This is a Google WiFi network and it reported no outage.

[mpav78738]

Does the camera have logs to track battery state over time or other error conditions?  It's frustrating to chase hypothetical issues remotely.

[jguerdat]

A network outage doesn't disconnect the camera from the router. When the outage is over and the router is reconnected to the Internet, service should continue as before. If not, rebooting the router may help.

Logs are only available to official support so you'd have to use the app to go to Settings, Support. Select your camera and scroll down to Contacts to see what they may be able to tell you.

[mpav78738]

Ok, thanks.  I'll try my luck with the official support team

[mpav78738]

 I was able to power cycle this offline camera by unplugging the power adapter from the wall.  When I plugged it back in, the camera came back online with 1% battery.

So, it seems that:
- Even with a dedicated AC power supply it is possible for a camera to burn down all of it's power and shut down in the span of 12 hours.

- Once a camera goes offline, it will not come back online until power is cycled.

Both of these conditions make this camera suspect for use in a remote/security role.  The whole point of having a security camera is to be able to trust that it will work in locations that are not visited frequently.

[jguerdat]

Since you can purchase the CVR (continuous video recording) plan as long as the camera is plugged in, the external power will keep the battery charged and the camera always recording. What is the battery status now that it's been plugged in and working for a while?

[mpav78738]

The battery now shows 100% charged. 

All of my cameras have full time AC power and it's not usual to find one reporting 80% or less battery power.  Usually they will return to 100% charge on their own.  Once in a while one of the cameras will go offline.  My concern here is that an always powered camera will go offline of it's own accord and will not come back online without power cycling the camera.  

- This camera has always been full-time connected to an AC power source.

- This camera has a battery that holds a charge.

- This camera burned down it's power from 100% to going offline over the course of 12 hours while connected to the AC power source.

- While connected to the AC power source, the camera did no come back online.  Only after unplugging/plugging the AC adapter at the wall did the camera come back online.

I have removed all activity zones for these cameras to better understand what the camera might be doing when it looses it's charge.