Battery equipped security cameras have made setting up our home security as convenient as it can get. But there’s a small catch. The batteries may die without you knowing. This results in you failing to monitor your properties using your security camera/system.
Imagine this. Your batteries have gone out of power. You’re not aware. Your house got robbed. When you investigate why your camera didn’t record anything, you find the battery is dead.
This is why you should be aware of how long wireless security camera batteries last.
This article will give you a general idea about wireless security camera battery life. I will also dive into the details of brand-specific wireless camera models.
Let’s get started.
Wireless Security Camera Battery Life
Wireless Security Camera batteries can last from 3 months to up to 3 years until they become unusable. In a more common scenario, the batteries can last from 1 to 3 years.
This can, of course, depend on your usage, the brand, and even the various models of the same brand.
Let’s look at some company-specific wireless camera battery life
Blink
Blink promises a solid 2-year battery life for many of its products. For the Video Doorbell, XT2, and Gen 2 cameras, are based on-
For Gen 1 Indoor and XT cameras, these 2 years are calculated based on 40,000 seconds of Live View and Motion Clips.
In CNET’s experiment of Blink XT2, they found the security camera battery still going strong after 1 year.
Reolink
Reolink states their security camera batteries can last from 2 to 6 months. Another battery life calculation they use is 500 charge cycles.
They also mention the single-charge battery life of some of their models.
Eufy
Most of Eufy’s camera batteries last for one year. The only exceptions they mention are eufyCam 2C and eufyCam 2C Pro, which have a battery life of half a year.
Their Video Doorbell 2K can last for 180 days for a full charge.
The usage conditions include –
Arlo
Arlo wire-free camera batteries can go for 3 – 6 months with normal use. The Arlo Go camera batteries can run out a bit earlier and last for 2 – 3 months with regular use.
This battery life is intended for optimized or best battery life settings. Arlo also assumes that you can record for about five minutes per day.
Kami
Kami says you can get up to 6 weeks of battery life on their Wire-Free outdoor camera, depending on how much you use the cam. Then you need to charge it.
This depends on-
Wyze
Wyze mentions their wireless camera battery life as 3 – 6 months, after which, you will need to recharge it again. This is specifically stated for the Wyze cam outdoor.
How Do Wireless Security Cameras Get Power?
Wireless security cameras can receive power mainly in 3 ways –
Factors That Determine A Wireless Camera’s Battery Life
All this time, you may have asked yourself about the reasons why the battery life varies so much and why they can be reduced. Let’s find out about some of the main components that affect a camera’s battery life –
1. Battery Capacity
Your camera battery life solely depends on its capacity. So what is the battery capacity? It’s the amount of charge contained in the battery.
When buying a wireless cam, you can check the battery capacity in the Power specifications.
Wireless Camera Battery Capacity
Battery capacity is measured with the mAh or milliampere-hour unit. If the batteries have more capacity, they will naturally last longer.
2. Usage
How and how much you use the camera can drastically improve or harm its battery life.
If you’ve maxed out all the settings, are continuously recording, constantly using the live view, then your battery will die rather sooner.
Using extreme configurations instead of stable and optimized ones can reduce the battery life from months to weeks or even hours.
3. Temperature
Every security camera has an operating temperature level. If the temperature of the area where you’re living is too low or too high than that, this can cause a faster battery drain.
Temperature is one of the controllers of chemical reactions. This means that temperature can either boost or hinder the battery’s performance.
4. Signal Strength
Wireless security cameras transmit data through waves. If there is a long distance between the receiver and your camera, then your camera will require more power to send data.
This is why it is very important that when you’re setting up your camera system, you keep the receiver close enough to the camera. Also, try to remove any kind of obstacles between the two devices.
5. Night Mode
You might have noticed from the battery life comparisons that cameras last shorter at night.
Because of the low light environment, the IR sensors of your security camera needs to work harder to detect object and motion. This drains more battery out of your camera than it does in the daytime.
Tips For Saving Wireless Security Camera Battery Life
We won’t leave you without sharing some valuable tips that you can use to save your wireless security camera’s battery life
- Buy high battery capacity cameras.
- Try to go for rechargeable battery cameras.
- Place your camera near the router for easy data transmission.
- Avoid high-traffic areas unless it’s necessary.
- Optimize recording settings to minimize battery drain.
- Use the battery-saving mode.
- Keep the surroundings of your camera well-lit at night.
- Keep the security system firmware up to date.
FAQs
Most battery-powered cameras operate on lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries are quite stable. They are good for fast charging and lasting a long period. High power density causes the battery life to extend well.
This heavily depends on your usage and the power capacity of the battery. As I’ve mentioned earlier, some brands offer rechargeable batteries that can go 3 months or more if you use them moderately. In fact, you may not want to recharge the batteries too often as it may ruin their health.
If your wireless security camera is using rechargeable batteries, then yes, they need charging. On the other hand, you never need to if your camera has batteries, these are not rechargeable.
Rechargeable battery powered cameras are a great choice if you want to have a long battery life in the long run. Many cameras with rechargeable batteries have an alert function. If the battery is too low, it will notify you for charging.
Final Thoughts
Now that you have a clear idea about your wireless security camera’s batteries and how long they last, you can take corrective measures to keep them healthier and make them live longer.
Proper maintenance of your surveillance cameras and their parts will make sure they serve you right. If you’re buying a new wireless cam, you can use this article as a guide to get a camera with the best battery features.
If I missed anything or you have any suggestions for us, feel free to let us know. And take care of your camera’s batteries.
