What happens when a wireless home security camera loses its Internet connection?

One of the main concerns for people with wireless home security cameras is the connection. As you know, Internet connections can sometimes drop, and at the most inopportune times too. One of the most common searches online is: my camera keeps losing connection. The biggest question people have is what happens next, once the connection is re-established. Well, the answer to that depends on your cameras, settings, and the reliability of your internet connection in general.

When the connection drops

Different security cameras have different alert functions. If in doubt, check the alert options in the user guide. If you haven’t purchased your security cameras yet, read on. There are a few things you might want to be aware of if you are notified of certain events that violate your security preferences. One of them is to send an alert when the Internet connection is lost.

Common camera alerts can include the following three options:

1. Motion detection activated by movement (motion) in the field of view (FOV) of the camera

2. Loss of power – the camera should continue to run on its backup batteries

3. The downstream internet camera should continue recording to its internal memory (microSD card)

As for that last point, the camera will only keep recording with a device that has a continuous recording setting. In all of the above scenarios, your camera security system should send you a push notification alert to inform you of these events.

Follow up alerts

With power loss and internet connections dropping, there should be a second alert. This time, they let you know when the power and internet are back up and your system status returns to “up”. However, not all cameras offer the same features, so it is important to check. With most security cameras, you can also customize the settings to suit your needs. You may have the option to turn alerts on and off, along with other things, so be sure to check your user manual for guidance.

WiFi cameras that keep losing connection

It’s frustrating when a WiFi security camera keeps losing its connection. Alerts will not only bombard your SMS or email inbox, but you will also feel helpless because your settings are not working as they should. When reviewing your cameras, you may see a status similar to the following:

• Connecting…

• could not connect

• Connection timed out

• Other similar status updates

All modern security cameras have a built-in feature that should try to reconnect your cameras at regular intervals. Your camera should continue recording to its internal memory if it has continued recording. If you don’t, there will be gaps in the recording between the drop and reconnects.

Why does my internet keep dropping?

A lot of times it’s not the actual internet that’s going down. It could be that your security camera is disconnecting from the network even though the Internet is active.

There are several potential causes for this.

• Camera firmware is outdated and needs updating

• The camera has inadequate hardware that fails to maintain a good connection

• WiFi signal is too weak, at least at the camera end

It’s worth noting that a security camera needs a stronger signal to work than, for example, home PCs, laptops and tablets, etc. At first glance, the signal strength may seem strong, but it’s actually not strong enough to maintain a constant connection to your cameras.

The solutions

Although each situation is unique, here are two possible solutions to these common problems:

1. Download and install the latest camera firmware and try again.

2. Connect your cameras with the Ethernet cable (included) and try again

If the firmware update doesn’t fix the problem, it’s time for plan B. This time, connect your camera to the network using the Ethernet cable. If this fixes the problem, you have a weak WiFi signal at the camera end. If the problem persists even with the Ethernet cable, then the camera hardware is likely the cause. If the camera is under warranty, you’ll want to inform the manufacturer of your diagnosis.

A weak Wi-Fi signal

If you’ve identified a weak WiFi signal, here are some things you can try:

• Place your router higher if you can, such as on a shelf or on top of a cabinet

• Try moving the camera closer to the router or vice versa

• Move the camera away from electrical devices such as a microwave or cordless phone

• Change the channel of the router to the one that is furthest from the current channel

• Add a repeater or router that has a stronger signal

For all these common problems there are solutions. The key here is to diagnose your problems using the removal process above.