Arlo Q extention USB cable

[Skouby]

Is it possible to use a USB extention cable with Arlo Q and to what maximum length?

[TomMac]

Yes, it's a standard usb cable with micro mini(?) usb at camera end... with a quality cable you can go 15 ft +

[jguerdat]

Micro. And the longest USB cable I've found is 15 feet, which is the maximum spec length.

[TomMac]

25 ft at staples...

http://www.staples.com/Insten-25-Type-A-to-Type-A-Male-Female-USB-2-0-Extension-Cable-Black/product_...

[jguerdat]

Whoa! The 15 footer I bought came with built-in amplifier for the signals. 25' might be OK for low speed data and charging if the wires are thick enough. At that price, I'm not sure that would be true. A cheap thing to test out, though.

[donttrustthem]

Just to be clear...  if we need to extend the distance of the Q/Q+ from the power outlet, then we can purchase and use a longer third party USB cable?

Is there any special specification? 

(a) I looked on Amazon and found some cables that say they are data transfer only and others that say power, but I can't see any external difference between those and ones that are labelled power cables. It is only when you read 'the fine print' that you learn there are differences. So longer USB cables someone might already have to connect to peripherals might not do the job.

(b) The current Arlo cable is USB 2.0.  Does it matter if I get a cable that is USB 3.0?

(c) Some cable descriptions talk about 'active' repeaters in the cable. Is this necessary for power delivery or are they referring to something thatis useful/necessary only for data transfer purposes? 

(d) Most importantly, it seems like some of the threads on this 'extension' topic are suggesting REPLACING the current 10 ft cable with a longer (15 ft or 20 ft) USB cable that is Type A male on one end and micro USB on the other.  Others seem to be suggesting EXTENDING the current cable so you are using the Arlo cable but plugging it into a USB Type A Female plug that has the standard Type A Male plug on the other end of the extension cable.

Is this correct?   Is there an advantage / disadvantage to one or the other method?

(e) Some have mentioned a 15 ft limit of some sort for USB (power or data delivery only?).  Is this 15 ft limit for the entire cable length? Or the limit of the 'extension' cable and not inclusive of the original cable?  Amazon has 20 ft cable for Nest that would be a replacement; there are also 50 ft cables but not clear from fine print if these are data only or can charge too.

Sorry if this has been covered but I looked for and read what I could find but still wanted to know more before I buy the wrong thing or something doomed to deliver poor performance.   

Thanks for the help.   

[jguerdat]

I'll try to answer briefly.

The 15 foot limit seems to be due to signal degradation.  It could also be an issue for power supply on cheaper cables that use small wires (28AWG) since those cables, even in short lengths, cause issues with fast charging which requires 1.5-2A current draw.  There's just too much resistance/voltage drop using those cables.  I recently bought short 20AWG cables (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RL68RNS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) which are charging-only which may be useful if you can find the right lengths.

USB3.0 uses a wider connection for extra pins - they won't fit.

I don't think the repeater is needed for powering a cable.  I'd guess it's for the data transfer.

The big thing to look for in long cables is the wire gauge.  Bigger is better (wire gauges use bigger number for smaller wires).

[donttrustthem]

Thanks for that info.

The link you gave would be a REPLACEMENT cable for the original (although not longer but I get what you are saying about cable thickness/quality).  The link TomMac posted in a thread was an EXTENSION cable.

So I'm guessing either method works and is equally okay.

If 15 feet is the total allowable USB distance for power cables then an extension type cable (Type A female one end and male the other) could not be longer than 5 feet.  Correct?

A replacement cable solution could be 15 feet long.

If that is correct I think I can find something over here that will fit one of those categories. Alas, no Amazon.

Thanks. 

[jguerdat]

The allowable distance by spec is relative to what the certifying body has spec'ed - doesn't mean things won't work, just that it may not.  Also, an extension cable has extra connectors to go through which can introduce extra resistance and/or noise into the overall connection.

All you can do is take your chances and try.  Shorter is better but how long is too long is the question that only testing would tell.

[fuzzypixel]

FWIW Amazon sells this 20' micro usb "power cable for Nest cameras" here .

[jguerdat]

Long lengths for power is more reasonable than for data although wire gauge is still important.

[fuzzypixel]

So I tried that 20" cable with Arlo pro and an aftermarket quick charge adapter with higher output than the stock one (tried with the stock Arlo charger as well).

The outcome is that it's very finicky. Initially the cameras reported as charging but then after a while showed the "can't charge" error.

In the end I removed the batteries and power them just by the cord, works fine.

I may try one of the 15" cords, see if it works better.

[jguerdat]

I suspect the issue is that the wire gauge is too small, leading to voltage drops and possibly overheating the wire. After several failed cables for phones, I've taken to ensuring that it's for quick charging since that will require thicker wires. Some cables will list the gauge - I pick those.

[GearNetRouter]

is 24 guage OK? 24 is for power. 

[jguerdat]

It may be adequate depending on the length of the cable.  The longer the cable, the bigger the wire should be to minimize voltage drop, just as with home extension cords.