Recently switched to direct power on a EufyCam E40.
Charges fine to 100%, then after around 6 hours, stops charging and drains (around 5%/hour). I’ve let it disharge to 60% but no signs of charging again, so unplug and replug charger and it recharges back to 100% for a while.
Can see a report on reddit saying same - any others tried direct power on Eufycam E40?
It’s bad enough that this was a replacement unit which original E40 couldn’t even hold a charge with an external solar panel (unlike the S300 it replaced).
Hello, my friend. If your device is experiencing battery life issues, you might want to check out this post to improve your device’s performance. https://inspire.eufy.com/web/topic/3439649
That was probably my post on reddit you saw. My E40’s worked fantastic for about two weeks until roughly 11/28 and then started experiencing the exact same issue. They finally sent me a replacement after over a month of back and forth with support. I issue still seems to persist despite the replacement.
Yeah, I was asked to turn down the sensitivty, but the behaviour is still the same…so I’m going to try altering different settings (continuous record, battery source etc.) to see if anything alters it. At the minute, my smart plug switching off for 1 minute every 6 hours keeps it running fine as a temporary solution. I also see the operating range is something like -30C but the charging range is 0C, though now local temperatures are up, it hasn’t made a difference.
I’ve replaced the charging block, and the cables on my cameras and still face the exact same issue. In my specific case, two of my cameras worked perfectly for about two weeks and then suddenly both had the issue at the exact same time. Both of them using different types/brands of cables. The fact that they both have the same issue that started at the same time leads me to believe it’s a firmware bug.
Great minds think alike. I figured out unplugging and plugging back in will fix the issue temporarily, but didn’t want to have to constantly do that myself. I bought smart plugs and have them on a schedule to turn off, and then back on to get the cameras charging properly again. For anyone who reads this and is curious, the issue started before the smart plugs.
It doesn’t shutdown, and still shows connected to direct power. It will continue to perform continuous recording until it gets below 50%. At that point, it will switch to battery working mode and no longer record 24/7. Unplugging and plugging back in usually makes the camera realize it has a direct power source and start charging the camera. It will charge to 100% and the cycle starts all over again.
Yeah, I’m just testing different settings at the moment to spot if it ever stays at 100%. e.g.
[Max Sensitivity, direct power, 4 secs pre-record = stops recharging]
[Min Sensitivity, direct power, 4 secs pre-record = stops recharging]
[Max Sensitivity, battery power = testing now, staying at 100% I think - though might have dipped to 99% then recharged]
[Min Sensitivity, direct power, pre-record off? = TO DO if lets me]
I just had a camera show 100%, drop down to 99 and it started to show it was actively charging. The only difference between that camera and my others are that one that is charging had an event detected every 30 minutes or so. I wonder if the cameras go into a some sort of idle state if it doesn’t detect anything for X amount of time. I expanded my activity zone, and set it to the highest sensitivity to test this out. We’ll see what happens in a few hours.
Nice theory, though I’m sure mine forgets to charge during the day when more events are recorded, but will keep an eye on the correlation to events. For the record, my version is showing 1.0.4.4 / 0.0.2.0.
So two more tests (second one going to continue for a few more hours)…
[Max Sensitivity, battery power setting = 100%, recharged normally when 99%]
[Max Sensitivity, direct power, 4 sec pre-record off = stops recharging]
And previous testing:
[Max Sensitivity, direct power, 4 secs pre-record = stops recharging]
[Min Sensitivity, direct power, 4 secs pre-record = stops recharging]
XXX So this afternoon I’ll switch 4 secs pre-record back on and see if that stalls the normal recharging again - currently disabled the smart plug 6 hourly reset while testing. XXX - pre-record on or off makes no difference. Only difference is battery mode vs direct mode I think.
In a way it’s almost a desirable feature that it begins to discharge as I think that helps lithium batteries? It just seems to be uncontrolled and discharges too much.
So summary:
EufyCam E40 v 1.0.4.4 / 0.0.2.0 plugged to a power source with direct mode switched on, charges to 100% then after a while begins a very rapid discharge (until below 50% where modes switch, notifications given and recharges).
Removing power source then re-applying after a few seconds commences recharge OK.
Sensitivty high/low makes no diference.
Pre-record on/off makes no difference.
Continuous record off.
Events frequency not noticed to make a difference.
Battery mode vs direct mode is the only identified difference so far.
You would think operationally, battery mode would be the same as direct mode with pre-record and continuous record off - through once discharge starts, it’s much faster than purely battery mode discharge with no power feed.
It does ‘feel’ to me that the software throws exception on something in direct mode, causing a tight loop with no recharge and so drains the battery quicker(?)
Current work around is a smart plug on the power source which cycles off 1 min then on, every 6 hours temporarily keeps the unit charged.
@Home8667 I commend you on all the troubleshooting research you have done, I would be exhausted and dizzy.
So it sounds like it’s the power mode selection that’s the issue?
Sounds as though a firmware update is needed to correct that.
If you put it in battery mode while still connected to power does the pre-record function and also the 24/7 recording work or are the options greyed out?
Yeah, you don’t get access to pre-record in battery mode. I’ve passed current status on to support and see what they can come up with (other than returning the unit which they’ve already virtually said shouldn’t be needed).
The camera is really good for the money otherwise, and it’s always frustrating not being able to monitor the logs myself (spent many an hour trawling own stuff in the past) - so best I can do is lay out some sceanrios in the hope a human actually investigates, which is not necessarily cost effective in reality unless enough people encounter issues.