cameras often lose connection

[JG-]

All 4 cameras have lost connection. This seems to happen pretty often. Is it necessary to resync the cameras to the base every time this happens. Or will the cameras reconnect with the base over time or if it is restarted? It's such a hassle since the cameras are placed and replaced every time. Also, why does the connection fail? Is this something I will have to keep doing? I've had this system for about 5 weeks, and I feel it's so much work.

[jguerdat]

Normally, there should be no issue with maintaining the cameras' connection to the base.  However, there are various possibilities that could cause this.  One is a brief power outage that may leave the base in a confused state.  The best solution to this is to use a UPS in the 750-1000VA size to connect all your networking equipment to so you fly through even extended (to some degree) power outages. Another possibility is wireless interference, perhaps near the base, that causes the cameras to not be able to "get through" to the base. This could be a microwave oven, cordless phones or any other wireless device that uses the same 2.4GHz frequency.  Also, don't discount a potentially faulty base that causes the issue.  You'd need to create a trouble ticket for a possible RMA for that scenario.

[JG-]

I had a faulty base before and this is a new set. This one definitely worked right out of the box compared to the first. So it could be interference as there is a cordless telephone within about 4 ft (moved out from 1 ft distance - set it farther and did factory reset to reconnect cameras - worked for 2 days until the disconnect yesterday) and 3 ft from my wireless router. When you say "near" - how many feet would you say that is? 3-5 ft? Farther? I am limited with the LAN provided. Please give me some reference as "near" is vague. Also, the UPS is something I am looking at too. However, I know there was no power issue in this case as everything else on the line is fine. If it continues with these issues after moving farther and UPS - I will proceed with RMA. Is there a way to restart the base and have the cameras reconnect automatically? It is such a hassle to have to gather all the cameras to sync with the base everytime this happens. (I feel I fiddle with this thing at least 3 times a week). Also, what is one to do if you are away (i.e. for days/weeks) and cannot manually resync the cameras to the base? There has to be a better way!

[jguerdat]

Can't tell you what "near" is - it depends on a bunch of things, none of which are visible to the eye. You'd need a spectrum analyzer of some sort to figure out what, if anything, is interfering and how to minimize it. You're left with trying things, such as repositioning the base, perhaps using a long Ethernet cable or using a WiFi extender, creating a trouble ticket for official troubleshooting, using at least a WiFi app to see if other routers are crowding your signal, etc. There's no magic bullet here - it's potentially an artifact of the crowded 2.4GHz band.

Also, just because other devices are working isn't definitive that there wasn't a power loss that affected the base.

 Finally, the only way for the cameras to automatically reconnect after a base reset is based on the definition of "reset". Sometimes it refers to a power cycle which should result in the cameras reconnecting while a true reset is the factory reset which requires you to start over.