Click from the list below to navigate to that section of this guide for more information.
IMPORTANT: For more detailed information specific to your model or if you do not see your issue listed below, please see your camera’s support page for additional support material.
To access your camera's support page:
1. Visit Support.NightOwlSP.com and enter your Series into the Search bar. (the Series can be found on the sticker located on the camera)
Troubleshooting
- Not Receiving an Image or Video Signal
- Image is very Bright or Dark
- Bright Spot in Video when Viewing Camera at Night
- PIR False Alarms / Notifications
- Spotlight Issues
- Contacting Technical Support
NOTE: If you are still experiencing an issue after troubleshooting, please click on Contact Us from your product’s support page to reach our Technical Support Team via Live Chat or Phone.
1. Not Receiving an Image or Video Signal
If you are not receiving an image from your camera, please try the following:
- Make sure that you are tuned to the right HDMI port on your TV / Monitor.
- Ensure the camera power adapter is plugged in and that the outlet it is plugged into is receiving
NOTE: To check if the camera is receiving power, cover the light sensor with your hand. This causes the camera to activate Night Vision. If the camera is receiving power, the Night Vision LED's in the camera will glow red. You may hear a clicking sound in some cameras that have an IR Cut Filter. - If you have a wired BNC camera, try bypassing the camera splitter and connecting the camera directly to the camera power adapter. If this powers on the camera, then you may have a bad splitter or the camera may not be receiving enough power and you will need to buy a separate camera power adapter for that specific camera.
- For WIRED cameras:
- Ensure the video / power cable (analog cameras) or Ethernet cable (IP cameras) is connected to the camera.
- Ensure the cable is properly connected to the recorder (DVR / NVR).
- Try connecting the cable to a different video input port to see if the camera appears on another channel. This will let you know if you have a bad channel port.
- Make sure the channel you are connected to does not have Covert mode enabled.
- If none of this works, try connecting the camera using a working camera’s cable. This will let you know if you have a bad camera cable that needs to be replaced.
- If you have extended the camera further out from the recorder using extension cables, you may need to power the camera with its own camera power adapter. When extended further out, it may not be receiving enough of a power draw to activate Night Vision.
- For Wi-Fi IP cameras:
- Ensure you are within the signal range for your product. This is usually capped at 300 ft. with line of sight to the recorder / router.
- If there are obstacles between the camera and recorder / router, you may need to purchase our Wi-Fi Extender Antenna to help bypass the obstacle. Please visit the link here: https://nightowlsp.com/a-wnvr2-wfext.html
2. Image is Very Bright or Dark
If your camera image is too bright or dark, please try the following:
- Adjust the brightness and contrast settings by accessing the Image Settings menu for your camera within the recorder’s main menu from a TV / Monitor. Exact steps with imagery are included in your product’s manual on our support site.
- If this doesn’t help, there may be an environmental factor affecting the camera image. Trying to relocate the camera or adjust the viewing angle.
- Ensure the camera is not pointed directly at a source of light, such as the sun or a spotlight, as this will negatively impact the camera image.
- If your camera has one, try adjusting the sunshade or tilting the camera more to where the sunshade blocks a portion of the light shining into the camera. This is not an option with all cameras.
- If the image is in black and white, this is likely because the camera is not receiving enough light to produce a color image. All of our cameras switch to black and white for Night Vision. Try reangling or repositioning the camera so that it draws on available light to produce a color image.
3. Bright Spot in Video when Viewing Camera at Night
This occurs when a camera is pointed at a window to see outside, because the Night Vision LED's produce infrared light that reflects off the glass. Move the camera to a different location.
4. PIR False Alarm / Notification Issues
Night Owl’s PIR (Passive Infrared) cameras use dual sensors (heat and motion) to eliminate the number of false alarms you receive by up to 90%. So, when enabled, things like bugs, cobwebs, light reflections, branches blowing in the wind, etc… should not be detected. If you are receiving too many false alerts or having detection issues, please try the following:
- Make sure your system has PIR detection technology (system specs). If you want to get PIR cameras for your system, please ensure the cameras are compatible with your DVR / NVR. Click the link to check your Night Owl Camera Compatibility
- Make sure the PIR detection feature on your system is enabled for the desired cameras. For precise steps on achieving this, please refer to your product’s manual on your Series support page.
- Check the PIR camera position and orientation. For optimal detection, the cameras should be at least 7 ft. high and angled slightly down.
NOTE: PIR detection also works best with side to side movement, as opposed to movement directly to or away from the camera.
- Avoid mounting the camera near or directly pointing at a heat source like outside lamps or air conditioning machines. These areas can radiate direct heat over the PIR sensor causing abnormal behavior.
- Avoid mounting the camera pointing to the sun or sunlight reflected from bright surfaces like mirror windows.
- If there is a trouble area within your camera’s field of view, you may need to adjust the PIR Detection area. To do so, see the image below!
If your Night Owl cameras are equipped with our spotlight technology, you may wish to disable the spotlight for select cameras. For instance, if you have cameras installed indoors, you may not want the light to activate every time human motion is detected. The spotlight can be permanently turned off for a camera, by disabling it or turned ON / OFF in the moment.
- Disabling the Spotlight:
- To disable the spotlight, we strongly recommend you refer to your product’s manual on our support site. The manual will provide exact steps with images for achieving this. Below is an example from a recorder menu of what you may see when disabling the spotlight within the DVR / NVR menu from a TV / Monitor.
- To disable the spotlight, we strongly recommend you refer to your product’s manual on our support site. The manual will provide exact steps with images for achieving this. Below is an example from a recorder menu of what you may see when disabling the spotlight within the DVR / NVR menu from a TV / Monitor.
- Turning ON / OFF the Spotlight (in the moment):
- In addition to disabling the spotlight permanently, you can also turn ON / OFF the spotlight in the moment. To do so, simply click on the spotlight icon from your Live View screen. See below for an example of this within the app.
- In addition to disabling the spotlight permanently, you can also turn ON / OFF the spotlight in the moment. To do so, simply click on the spotlight icon from your Live View screen. See below for an example of this within the app.
6. Contacting Technical Support
If you isolate the issue while performing the included troubleshooting measures, or if you cannot find out what is wrong, you may need to contact our technical support team. You have the option of choosing from Live Chat or Phone Support. To make initial contact:
- Go to your product’s support page on our support site.
- Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the blue “Help” button.
Thank you for choosing Night Owl Security!