Arlo Pro has connection problems in cold weather.

[booger_07]

Recently bought a 4 camera Arlo Pro setup (VMB4000r3, firmware 1.8.2.4_10232, H7 camera verison, firmware 1.090.0.0_9945).  It was the fall and temps were at the lowest 50 degrees F, and everything worked.  As the temperature dropped, one of the outside cameras started to disconnect from the base station at night.  During the day the camera would connect and at night it would disconnect again.  Temps at night were still in the low 40's.  At about 38 degrees the camera always disconnects.  Additionally, since we are now below freezing at night the battery in the morning shows an approximately 25% drop in reserves from the night before when I can get it to reconnect. Thinking that the battery is being discharged to try and re-connect to the base.  I have not had to charge any of the other camera batteries inside or out.  I have swapped the cameras, and the batteries and it appears to be range dependant.  That camera is the farthest from the base station, but only by about 10 feet..  I have two other outside cameras that are not affected.  I swap them to that position, and they disconnect almost immediately and batteries drain.  When I put the cameras in that location and check them out for position and connectivity, they have full batteries and full connectivity bars.  Then in sometimes just a few minutes it has disconnected again.  Is the Arlo Pro camera that sensitive to temperature?  Thinking either the battery can't support the power for the transmitter to maintain connection at the reduced temps, or the transmitter itself is adversely affect by low temp.  Does anybody know what is the actual operating temp and the maximum range for a stable connection at the low end of the scale?  I've read other threads that indicated that the motion detection and notification still worked, but that is not the case.  Additional, from the website view the camera shows 100% battery and full connectivity bars, but when try and view in realtime, the request times out or indicates that the device is not connected.

Any help would be appreciated.

Mike

[Slono]

Its possible temperature has a negative effect on these units.  I had connectivity issues with one of my units, and it was in the area of my backyard that wasn't shielded by wind.  The temperature without windchill here was -10 C (14 F).  The thing in my situation was that the camera that kept disconnecting was the CLOSEST by far.  I'm talking 20-25 feet vs 50 feet.

[TomMac]

Sorry but that was tough to read...

What I got was that ONE location has problems with the camera disconnecting, you swapped another camera and the same thing happened.  ??

Also you think it's temp related ??

OK, if that's it you may or may not have two problems at the same time....  First, it appears that THAT one location is a problem. Ten feet more don't make a diff UNLESS the signal has to travel thru building materials wifi doesn't like OR there is interference in that location. I've seen signals blocked by even large mirrors.

As to the temp of the cameras... the other cameras aren't effected by the temps, and when you move the camera it works ok, so it may be more location at a certain time over temp.... If you move the ONE camera to another location that is cold AND the problem still occurs then contact Netgear as the camera should work to below 0f.

[TomMac]

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Slono wrote:

Its possible temperature has a negative effect on these units.  I had connectivity issues with one of my units, and it was in the area of my backyard that wasn't shielded by wind.  The temperature without windchill here was -10 C (14 F).  The thing in my situation was that the camera that kept disconnecting was the CLOSEST by far.  I'm talking 20-25 feet vs 50 feet.

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Yes, it is possible as as you get closer to -4F, ( spec temp usage for camera ) there may be variances in the actual cameras to how they react to cold.

But if it as happening at that temp of 14F,  I would question more than  temps...So I would check battery AND signal more than temp.

The only way to be sure would be another location that is cold with a good signal.  Also check the level of the battery as li-ion cells do drop a bit when cold.

BTW, As a test, I put Pros in the freezer and found with a good signal, the cameras stopped functioning at almost exactly -4F... Another user has noted the same temp cut-off.  If you fing the camera gives you the messg " camera must warm up to function " ( or similar ), it's a cold level drop out.

[Abscons]

I am located in Canada with an Arlo Pro 2 camera setup and I get a similar cold weather error for one of my camera...

[Usmcvet]

I would like to point out windchill doesn't make a difference to camera's.

Have you tried moving base station if it seems to be the location as issue mostly?

[JamesC]

booger_07,

Arlo Pro Wire-Free cameras’ operating temperature is -4° to 113° F (-20° C to 45° C).

From what you describe, it sounds as though the issue is related to the location of the camera more than the temperature the camera is exposed to (you say you have other cameras outside that do not behave this way).

It could be interference or poor signal strength at that cameras location causing it to drop offline (also resulting in battery drain). You could try relocating your base station so that it is closer to the camera having the issue and see if you get the same results.

JamesC

[Abscons]

Ends up my battery was pretty down.

Would the sleeves help them stay less cold?

[GrizzlyBear]

I also have the 4 camera Arlo Pro system and have noted unusual cold weather behavior with one particular location.  I have 3 cameras outside and have only had issues with a camera positioned by the front door which is under a covered porch area.  My issue involves the camera suddenly losing power and disconnecting.  The camera seems to start working again by removing and reinserting the battery.  This has occurred with 2 different batteries and 2 different cameras.  Although in one instance the battery was completely depleted after only about 4 days,  the other times reinserting the battery showed around a 50% charge but the camera worked again.  Temperatures at night here range from single digits to teens when problems occur.  Indoors,  the cameras in question have had no issues.  I cannot explain why the other cameras out in the cold do not have issues.  Signal strength may play a role but one camera that is functioning without problems has worse signal strength from the base station -75 to - 80 dB vs - 60 to - 65 dB at the suspect location.  The only difference I find is the light level.  The problematic location is very dark so perhaps the cold's effect on the batteries and constant IR use is to blame.  

[jguerdat]

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Abscons wrote:
Ends up my battery was pretty down.

Would the sleeves help them stay less cold?

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No.  The cameras don't remain on long enough to generate useful heat.

[frumble]

windchill definitely make a difference. the camear I installed under the porch where it has shield of wind definitely last longer than the ones out in the backyard mounted on the tree.

[Usmcvet]

The only thing windchill does is cool an object faster. It gets no colder in wind then if there is no wind. Wind chill simply let's you know how cold it feels with wind factored in but does not actually make objects that cold.

[GrizzlyBear]

I had discussed the cold weather performance with support and it escalated to the "2nd level." They have been very patient and helpful. They were aware that temperatures on the nights disconnects occurred were not at - 4 F. 

Here is an excerpt of one of the responses:

"cold weather could be an issue with battery drain and disconnection of the camera."

Then perhaps much of the problem is lithium ion battery performance when it is cold as all battery performance degrades to some degree in the cold.  Perhaps if a refrigerator test was performed for a month with intermittent warming to simulate daytime temps one could replicate the problem? 

If anyone is interested, I also asked if the distance and signal strength were part of the issue and they advised against connecting the base station to a powerline adapter in order to move it closer to the camera. 

[TomMac]

"cold weather could be an issue with battery drain and disconnection of the camera."

Yes, depending on how cold it gets... but li-ion have an operational range down to at least the spec temp of camera ( -4f/-20c ). Below that even li-ion start to have problems. Also, you can see a voltage sag below like 10F. ( ** charging below 32F can damage cells BTW )

, I also asked if the distance and signal strength were part of the issue and they advised against connecting the base station to a powerline adapter in order to move it closer to the camera. 

This I find a bit strange...wifi extenders do allow you to centrally locate the base and work fine ( some just can't run cable ).  The only thing that I can think of as a possible downside is 1) thruput, tho most extenders can easily pass the min standard 2) possible interference if on a channel that cause collisons with data flow.

[booger_07]

Thanks to edverybody that responded, I've been out of town with limited internet access.  I've re-charged and re-syn'ed the cammera again and moved it ~12' closer to the base station.  Not optimal, since that location leaves me with a blind spot.  Everything has worked great since then, but the temps have been above 40 degress since it moved it.  I'll keep this thread posted once the temp drops again to let everybody know if the problem remains.

Many thanks again,

Mike

[frumble]

Actually all 4 battery died out when the temprature was constatly below -20C in Calgary Canada 2 weeks ago. I had to take them all back into the house and stayed warm all week. Mounted it outside a week ago when it warmed up and had no issues since.

[TomMac]

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frumble wrote:

Actually all 4 battery died out when the temprature was constatly below -20C in Calgary Canada 2 weeks ago. I had to take them all back into the house and stayed warm all week. Mounted it outside a week ago when it warmed up and had no issues since.

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Was it the battery or did the camera just shut down saying IT MUST WARM up before operating.