What to do if your DVR camera is not working?
Matthew Barrera
Published Feb 16, 2026
What to do if your DVR camera is not working?
If the troubled camera works and the camera that was working does not work, then you have a bad input port on your DVR. Use a Test Monitor If you have confirmed that your power supply is working properly and that the ports on your DVR are also working properly, the next step would be to determine if you have a bad power or video cable.
How to determine if your CCTV DVR hard drive hard failed?
CCTV Camera Pros created this page to show customers the steps taken when determining if a hard drive failure has occurred on iDVR-PRO surveillance DVRs. These same steps can be used for iDVR-E and other brand security camera DVRs as well. Here are a few examples of situations that may indicate your hard drive has failed.
What does it mean when your security camera is not working?
Your security camera is not in color, not clear, or not responding. You know how to check if a CCTV camera is working or not without ideas about the CCTV camera working principle. If any of the issues happen, you get stuck with your security camera not working complaint.
How can I tell if my DVR is offline?
You will know when your DVR (Digital Video Recorder) or NVR (Network Video Recorder) is offline because you will get an error when you try to view your cameras on your smartphone. It will say something like, connection failed, or the camera is offline. The DVR or NVR is unplugged.
Can a DVR camera not show a picture?
Either way, the end result is the same, your cameras don’t show any picture. These “no video” or “video loss” issues can happen to an analog DVR, HD DVR (such as an H.264 DVR, HD-TVI, HD-CVI, AHD), an NVR, IP cameras, IP systems, any type of CCTV security system you may have.
What to do if your CCTV camera is not showing pictures?
Try the following quick fixes if your CCTV security cameras is not showing images: Check if your security camera power supply is working properly. Test your security camera on a different DVR/NVR port. Swap the input cables to see if it makes a difference. Confirm if the video formats that your security cameras and DVRs/NVRs support are compatible.
CCTV Camera Pros created this page to show customers the steps taken when determining if a hard drive failure has occurred on iDVR-PRO surveillance DVRs. These same steps can be used for iDVR-E and other brand security camera DVRs as well. Here are a few examples of situations that may indicate your hard drive has failed.
Why is my security camera not recording 24 / 7?
24/7 recording is not working, it won’t start. Got Swann/Lorex common security camera problems. No WiFi signal, it’s so weak, my security camera can’t connect o WiFi. Your DVR system or NVR system has a green and red light flashing. Your security camera is not in color, not clear, or not responding.