I have installed 2 solar panels for my eufycam 2c a couple of weeks ago, no problems and suddenly 1as 1% and the other turned off ‘low battery’.
Any thoughts?
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Ive noticed the same problem with one of my cameras, it started with decreasing the battery level, at first i thought that was a problem with the solar panel that wasnt properly aligned, it was correct and issue stayed the same, then checked the cable and if the connector was fine, no issues. Now im waiting for a usb power meter, so i can see if the problem is from the solar panel not working correctly or camera/software issue… Anybody out there with the same issues ?
I’ll be waiting for your prognosis also if you could please provide a photo of the USB meter while in use would be cool.
I don’t use a solar panel, but I believe in the app there is a setting that needs to be engaged if you are using a solar panel to charge the camera? Is this correct…
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As soon as i get it, ill do the test, and ill post the results, the hardware and how i did it. I have another camera with solar panel that i didnt had any issues for the time beeing, should be good to compare the two. Yes, in the App you have to set it in the camera settings on battery section, its easy to follow the instructions.
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I found this help link about the solar panel.
https://anker.force.com/s/article/eufy-Solar-Panel-Charger-FAQ?jump=2
Some brief reading on it it states the panel only puts out 500 milliamps inoptimal conditions. That’s only half of 1 Amp. I find that to be a bit low trying to keep a device charged up.
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Yes, indeed the power output is only 500mA, with a lot of triggers you could end up charging via USB from time to time… but under other conditions it is very handy not having to charge every single time…
Ive tested my panel, with a micro-usb female To usb-female adapter (from solar to power meter) a power meter from “Keweisi” and a usb-male to micro-usb male (from power meter To the camera). The results were a bit disappointing… in direct sun light, only had 150 mA, it was hot (temp. In the 34ish ºC) i did read somewere in the forum that the panel doesnt like very hot conditions… and since these past 3 weeks the temperatures are very high for this time of the year… i suspect that this is the issue… ill try to test it again when its cooler at the peak hour, and ill reply it here.
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Try putting a solar/light meter (free phone app) on the panel and see what you get. You might see better charging by changing the angle/direction of the panel. The temperature will probably still be an issue, but hopefully not as noticable. (The panel is hardly worth buying for that little output.)
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Thanks for the advice ! i did get an app as you said (quite handy by the way !)
I will align the solar panel once again with the help of the app, it should be no problem.
I suspect that maybe this panel as an issue… i wasn’t hoping to get such a low output from it… il try again this weekend, and ill check the end of the cable that comes from the panel itself, maybe there is too much stress on the connection, or could be the cable itself that is wind up in a way that is creating some kind of resistance that could make the power drop ( 4 meters of cable with a max of 500 mA…). Ill post as soon as i have news.
Pba72,
Take into consideration the state of battery percentage charged the camera had when you had tested it.
I have a few USB meter / testers that I use while I’m charging my phone or doorbell cam via an A/C USB charger.
Example: when I’m charging my doorbell cam with less than 15% of battery charge the USB meter will display the doorbell cam is drawing almost 1 Amp, as the battery begins to increase its percentage charge say to 75%, the amp draw will decrease to about 200mA.
This has to do with the charging circuitry in the doorbell cam. The USB meter/tester only shows what Amps it using/drawing while being charged.
Hope I explained that well?
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Good point !
Indeed, that’s a “thing” to consider in order to measure the current drawing vs availability from the solar panel.
I did test with the camera with 82% of power remaining, i thought that below 85% and over 80% should be the best threshold because with too low power could not give the right amount of current in order to trigger the charge circuit, and too much could just “cut-off” in order to not overcharge the battery.
One thing that had me “scratch my head” is that sometimes it just “cut-off” the meter, i thought that i could be shorted or something, but no, and a wiggled the cable a bit and came back… so that’s why i am wondering if it is a cable problem… Hope this weekend i could clarify this.
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Well you can rule out the meter if you are able to use it in another application.
Wiggling the cable and it causing it to cut in and cut out does sound like the cable it has a bad connection to the solar panel itself or the internal wires in the cable has a break / short in it.
I forgot to say earlier that if you want to test the mA output of the solar panel you should purchase a USB load tester that will plug into your USB meter. They’re relatively cheap which you can find on Amazon. They’re about 3 inches long and have the option of 1 Amp or 2 Amp draw.
Thanks for posting your information.
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Did you change the setting from battery power to solar power?
Sorry about the late reply, yes i did, and only after this latest App update (iOS) it began to behave as expected. Dont know why but its fixed now 
I bought a pair of these with the solar panels. 3 months ago i set them up on my farm away from power. Every time I check the power level it shows 100 percent. With that said you must choose solar panels or they don’t charge.
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In my case, both of my panels and configurations had been set since day one, just one of them was acting weird, with the latest App update (and homebase firmware) it just started to act as intended like the other one. So i dont have any clue what was the issue…