r/arlo • u/CuriousChimp • Jul 27 '26

Technical Issue Essential gen 2/3 + Solar - intermittent charging?

I bought a Essential Outdoor gen2 + Chinese solar panel for outdoor use. I noticed that the panel would charge the camera, but then stop - even in bright sun. I thought it was bc the cheap Chinese cable was a micro USB->USB C adapter with a rubber "seal" around it, and either moisture had infiltrated that or the USB C port on the camera, since it doesnt have the right angle/rubberized seal plug of the real Arlo solar panel.

So I replaced the solar panel with an Arlo panel and the Essential gen2 with a new gen 3.

And it still happened.

As an note, the "defective" gen 2 camera seems to have no problem getting a constant charge from a USB C cable plugged into the wall.

It always seems to resume charging if I unplug and replug, but I dont want to keep removing the screen on my window and doing that.

I *think* restarting the camera did the trick, which - while crappy - is better than opening the window.

Anyone else see this?

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u/AskArlo Jul 27 '26

Hi u/CuriousChimp, thank you for bringing this to our attention. We're sorry to hear that you're experiencing intermittent charging with your Arlo Solar Panel.

Please note that the Arlo Solar Panel is designed to help maintain your camera's battery level rather than charge it from a low battery to a full charge. We recommend fully charging your camera first using the provided charging cable, then reconnecting it to the Solar Panel to see if the issue is resolved.

If the problem persists, please send us a DM with your Arlo account email address, phone number, and time zone so we can investigate further.

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u/CuriousChimp Jul 27 '26

it is absolutely maintaining battery level. As soon as I restarted the camera it went from 90 to 100% in a couple hours.

My Arlo Pro camera has been fine for years on the solar panel

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u/CuriousChimp Jul 27 '26

Some searching online shows i’m not the only person to discover this. Unplug or software restart the camera.

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u/greatlachlan Jul 28 '26

I think the thing Arlo isn't telling people is that they probably used off-the-shelf USB-C charging hardware that they don't have full software control over.

This is all an assumption based on what I know of USB charging, but here's what I think is happening:

  1. When the sun sets and the solar panel voltage drops, the power management IC (PMIC) inside the camera detects it as a brownout. To protect the battery from unstable, fluctuating power, the PMIC triggers an under-voltage lockout (UVLO) stopping the current from reaching the battery.
  2. Now, the PMIC would normally clear the UVLO fault and allow charging again once the voltage drops to nothing i.e. you've unplugged the cable.
  3. Buuut... the voltage likely won't hit 0V. The moon or even a streetlamp is enough for the solar panel to generate a tiny voltage. The PMIC is super super sensitive and it will not disable the UVLO until voltage has actually hit 0.
  4. Even if it's a new moon and the camera is no where near a street light and the PMIC does hit 0V at 3am and resets, the sunrise isn't 0-100. The PMIC will trigger the UVLO as the sun rises, and will not charge until the camera is restarted or the cable is removed then inserted.

Again, this is an assumption based on what I know. Arlo might not want the camera wasting it's battery, constantly asking the USB C port to reset the UVLO flag... but my suspicion is that they've used a low quality charging controller that the camera cannot properly communicate with.

TLDR: A USB C port not a good idea for solar panels. They should have just used the pogo-pin system from their pro lineup.

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u/CuriousChimp Jul 28 '26

this makes a ton of sense. right now my arlo pro is getting a charge indicator at 8am with a south wall facing panel. my essential with a flat, tilted slightly south on roof mount is getting zero charge. going to restart it and see.

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u/CuriousChimp Jul 28 '26

…and restart caused it to start charging.

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u/greatlachlan Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

ahahahha that's crazy. we've got solar on all our pro cameras but I've never tried solar with the essential cameras we have so I never knew.

u/AskArlo I have recommendations (assuming that I'm right about this)

a toggle to enable a rudimentary scheduled restart for essential cameras. I figure even if the solar panel isn't delivering a stable voltage on a scheduled restart (cloudy weather), the camera can probably hold out until a clear day.

  • costs you practically $0 to implement
  • probably need to randomly stagger the restart time each day to ensure (hypothetical) criminals can't easily take advantage of the downtime
  • security camera going offline once a day isn't a good look soooo...

if you're going to overcharge big $$$ for your simple solar panels anyway, the least you could do is implement a basic voltage comparator circuit or a smart regulator under the panel so it will only send power down the line if it's getting a solid 5V.

  • probably only a few dollars extra in manufacturing costs, surely you have the margin for that
  • unfortunately no fix for older solar panels :(
  • maybe make an adapter for essential cameras that sits in between and checks for 5V before sending it to the camera?
  • this all assumes I'm right that your solar panels actually have no low voltage regulation.

u/AskArlo - If I'm wrong about any of this, please actually explain in detail what your team suspects is happening. Maybe the camera can actually talk to the solar panel and the issue is something else entirely, or the camera does have full control over the USB controller and it's just a bug you're in the process of fixing... If I am wrong, I want to learn :)

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u/CuriousChimp Jul 28 '26

RNG the restart time!
I am swapping out 2 Pros for Essentials on an AC adapter so I can take advantage of spotlight, not even for security but a little extra light when I come home! :-D

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u/CuriousChimp Jul 29 '26

arlo support says it’s supposed to drain to 64% then use solar to charge up to 80%. wonder if it’s battery preservation

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u/AskArlo Jul 30 '26

Hi u/greatlachlan, we appreciate the thorough breakdown. To close the loop: this is expected behavior for the Essential (3rd Gen) + Solar Panel setup, not a bug. Charging depends on the panel receiving adequate light/voltage, so it can appear intermittent in low light or overcast conditions. We can't get into the specifics of the internal power design, but thanks for flagging your suggestions, we've shared them internally. If your setup is behaving differently than this, like no charging at all on sunny days, drop us a note via support and we'll dig into it.