Arlo has become one of the most trending companies today due to the top-notch and cutting edge home security products that they produce.
From their wide range of security cameras, all the way to their sophisticated doorbell, all of them are designed to enhance home security. However, most of them are battery-operated devices; these Arlo products still have a weakness, which is having a drained power source.
How long does an Arlo battery last? According to Arlo, the battery life of their battery-powered products depend on various factors. These factors include the device model, the environment where the device is installed, the signal strength of both Wi-Fi and LTE, and the length and quantity of video recording in the device stores.
Arlo also claimed that the batteries of all their wire-free cameras could last up to three to six months on average use. The battery of the Arlo Go can last from two to three months on average use, but again it will be dependent on the strength of the mobile signal.
Note: Average Use means that the devices are in the “optimized” battery use setting where the video settings are set to minimize battery use. This will also mean that the camera devices will only record up to five minutes per day.
In this article, we are going to discuss everything that you need to know about Arlo devices and focus on their batteries.
I will try to shed light on how long these batteries can last, what causes them to drain so fast, and anything in between. I will also try to cover the information with regards to extending their battery life. So, stay for a while and read on!
5 Factors Affecting the Battery Life of Arlo Batteries
To understand the lifespan of arlo battery, I thought learning about the factors involved will be a great thing.
So, in this part, I have listed all the factors that affect the amount of time an Arlo battery can last. Here, you will also learn about what components affect the battery life of specific devices.
1. The Model of the Arlo Device Affects the Battery Life
As mentioned earlier, one of the factors that affect the battery life of an Arlo device is the model. In this case, I categorized the Arlo devices into two; the first category is the wire-free cameras, and the other is the mobile.
To understand the longevity of these batteries, you can refer below:
● Wire-Free Cameras – The Arlo devices under this category are namely; Arlo, Ultra, Pro, Pro 2, and Pro 3. According to Arlo, the batteries used in these devices are expected to last for three months as the minimum and six months as the maximum, assuming that they are within the normal use.
● Mobile Cameras – On this particular category, there’s only one Arlo device, the Arlo Go, which is powered by LTE and requires the mobile plan. As claimed by Arlo, the battery of this device can last from two to three months. This is only if it operates within the average use, and it will be dependent on the strength of the mobile signal.
2. The Temperature Where the Devices are Installed
Another factor that can significantly affect the battery life of Arlo devices is the temperature within the area the devices are installed.
If the ambient temperature in the area is below 32°F or 0°C, the battery will drain a lot faster. This is because batteries produce less energy in cold temperatures, making them work harder to keep up with the power requirement of the devices.
3. Brightness or the Illumination of the Environment
The illumination of the environment around the Arlo cameras can also significantly affect battery life. Having these devices installed on low-light surroundings, where the lighting is dimmer or darker, requires them to use their infrared sensors more often.
These built-in sensors will be needed to work harder, and the more work they do, the more power they will consume, draining the battery a lot faster.
4. Connection of the Device to Its Base Station (Wire-Free Cameras)
For all wire-free camera devices of Arlo, another component that significantly affects the battery life is the strength of the connection of the devices with their base station.
This connection can be weakened by distance, Wi-Fi barriers, or even solid blockages in between. Weak connection forces the device to work harder to maintain its link with the base station, causing it to consume more power.
If the connection is consistently lost, the device will continuously search for the base station’s signal. This will require a lot more power, which will lead to more power demands, which will drain the battery faster.
5. Strength of the LTE Signal (Alro Go Only)
Like the connection of the wire-free cameras, Arlo Go needs a strong LTE signal to operate efficiently. Once this signal is weakened, the device will try harder to reach for that mobile signal.
If this happens, Arlo Go will consistently consume larger amounts of power that will drain its battery a lot faster.
Those are the main factors that affect the battery life of various Arlo devices. Keep in mind that I also mentioned that “Average Use” means the devices are set to optimize their battery life.
Meaning, the devices’ video settings are adjusted and configured to conserve battery life by consuming minimal energy.
In this setting, the devices should only record short clips summing up to five minutes a day. Increasing the video recording length and amount of videos stored will increase the rate of battery discharge.
Extending the Battery Life of Arlo Devices for More Run Time
Now that you’ve learned and understood all the factors that affect the run time of Arlo devices or their battery life.
We will now go to the cheesier part of the guide. The part where I am going to provide you the essential information needed to help you squeeze out more run time from Arlo batteries.
Here are the good practices that you have to keep in mind:
1. Only Use Official Arlo Batteries or Cells from Trusted Manufacturers
If you want to squeeze out more juice or run time from your Arlo Camera device, you have to make sure that you will only power them with official Arlo batteries that came with your package.
You have to keep in mind that the non-rechargeable batteries should only power the wire-free cameras of Arlo from Arlo or other trusted brands such as Duracell, Panasonic, or Energizer.
2. Make Sure that Your Device Has the Latest Firmware
Another thing that you have to keep in mind is that if you want your Arlo device to have a longer runtime, it should have the latest firmware. Firmware updates are seldom to occur, but these updates are essential because they fix bugs and optimize the system.
Most of the latest updates in the firmware allow the devices to be more energy-efficient, which will reduce its power consumption.
3. Configure the Device to Battery Optimized Setting
I already mentioned this earlier, but I think this is another good practice that will significantly increase an Arlo device’s run time. As I mentioned earlier, programming the device to a battery optimized setting will add more run time.
By reducing the duration of clips, the device will record, and the number of videos it will store will lessen the overall power consumption of the device, which will extend its run time.
4. Strengthen the Connection and LTE Signal of the Devices
Since one of the factors that significantly affect the battery life of Arlo devices is the strength of connection with the base stations or the mobile signal.
One way of reducing the power consumption of the devices is to make sure the connection between the device and base station or the LTE signal is strong.
You can do this by placing the devices on the right strategic positions. The placement of the base and the device are within 90 meters apart for wire-free devices or cameras. You also have to keep in mind that there should be no blockage in between.
On the other hand, Arlo Go should be placed in a position where it can receive the strongest LTE signal—positioning it on a location where it has a signal strength that is three bars at the least.
By doing all of these simple things, you are addressing the factors that can significantly reduce the runtime of Arlo devices.
As you apply each of these practices to your device, you are increasing its battery life by merely reducing your device’s power consumption. This allows it to have more power to allocate for the system to run smoothly.
Purchasing Authentic Batteries for Arlo Devices
In case you are wondering where you can get authentic battery replacements for your Arlo devices. The best place to go is to the Arlo website and look for the product or accessory page.
From there, you can order the right battery replacement for the specific device that you need. You may also order all kinds of accessories from that page, including charging stations, charging cables, wall mounts, and more!
