A shed camera always seems to stop working at the worst time. In the middle of calving or lambing, or on a wet winter night, a blank screen means pulling the boots on and going out to look.
We repair farm camera systems across Northern Ireland, including ones fitted by someone else. Calving cameras, lambing cameras, yard cameras, the wireless link out to the sheds and the recorder in the house. If it’s part of the system, we’ll take a look.
New to shed cameras? See our calving, lambing and foaling cameras page.
Common farm camera faults we fix
Here are the problems we’re called out to most, what usually causes them and what we do about them.
Point-to-point wireless link dropping out
Most farm systems use a point-to-point wireless link to carry the camera signal from the house to the sheds. If the picture comes and goes, or every camera in one shed drops at once, the link is the usual suspect.
What usually causes it: the two units have been knocked slightly out of line by wind, a bracket has worked loose, something has grown or been built in the way, or a power supply is on its way out.
What we do: check the signal between the two ends, realign the units, tighten or replace mounts, and replace a faulty unit or power supply if needed. If the link is in a poor spot, we’ll tell you and suggest a better one.
Lost access to the camera app
The cameras might be working fine, but you can’t see them on your phone. This often happens after a new phone, a new broadband router, or a forgotten password.
What usually causes it: the app login has been lost, the recorder has lost its connection to the internet, or the settings changed when the router was swapped.
What we do: get you back into the system, reconnect it to the internet and set the app up on your phone again. We’ll make sure you have the login written down this time. For Hikvision recorders we can also do password resets, as we’re a Hikvision partner. See our CCTV repairs and Hikvision resets page.
Cameras offline
One camera, or several, shows “offline” or a black box in the app.
What usually causes it: a damaged cable (rats, machinery and livestock all play their part), water in a connection, a failed network switch or power supply, or the wireless link to that shed being down.
What we do: work back from the camera to find where the fault is, then repair the cable or connection, or replace the part that’s failed.
Recorder (NVR) not recording
You go to look back at footage from last night and there’s nothing there.
What usually causes it: the hard drive in the recorder has failed or is full and not overwriting, the recording schedule has been changed, or the recorder has been restarting because of a power problem.
What we do: check the hard drive and replace it if needed, check the recording settings for each camera, and make sure the recorder is on a steady power supply.
Night vision not working
The picture is fine by day but black, washed out or blurry at night.
What usually causes it: dust and cobwebs on the lens (spiders love the warmth of the infrared lights), a light nearby confusing the camera, a camera aimed badly, or the infrared lights failing.
What we do: clean the camera, check the settings, adjust the position, and replace the camera if the night vision has failed.
PTZ calving camera not moving
You press the arrows in the app and the camera doesn’t pan, tilt or zoom.
What usually causes it: a power supply that can’t keep up, a setting change after an update, dirt in the housing, or the motor itself failing.
What we do: check the power and settings first, as that’s often all it is. If the motor has gone, we’ll talk to you about repairing or replacing the camera.
Other faults
If your problem isn’t on the list, get in touch anyway. Fuzzy pictures, no sound on two-way audio, motion alerts that won’t stop (or won’t start), cameras that freeze: if it’s on your farm camera system, we’re happy to have a look.
We tell you the cost before we start
Every farm and every fault is different, so we don’t list prices. Once we know what’s wrong, we tell you what it will cost before we do the work. No surprises.
We stand behind our work
If something we fitted goes wrong, we come back and sort it. Equipment we install comes with a 2-year hardware guarantee.
Yearly farm camera checkup
Farms are hard on cameras. Dust, damp, cobwebs, livestock rubbing against things and strong winds all take their toll, and small problems tend to build up quietly until the night you need the camera most.
A yearly checkup, booked a few weeks before your calving or lambing starts, means you go into the busy season knowing everything works.
The checkup covers:
- Cleaning every camera lens and housing, and checking the night vision
- Checking and realigning the point-to-point wireless links
- Checking the recorder, hard drive and that footage is being saved
- Making sure the app works on your phone (and anyone else’s who needs it)
- Installing updates on the cameras and recorder where needed
- Checking cables, mounts and power supplies for wear or damage
If we find anything that needs fixing, we’ll tell you what it is and what it costs before we go ahead. Get in touch to ask about a checkup. We’re happy to check systems we didn’t fit, too.
Send us a photo
A photo is a big help. A picture of the camera, the recorder, the wireless link on the shed or the error message on your phone helps us work out what’s wrong. It also lets us give you a more accurate quote before we come out.
- WhatsApp: 07304 049585
- Phone: 02894 334054
- Email: info@asbinstallations.com
Or use the form on our contact page. We’re open Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm.
Farm camera repair questions
Can you fix a camera another installer fitted?
Yes. We repair farm camera systems whoever fitted them, including Hikvision, Dahua, Reolink, Ruralview and TP-Link VIGI. A photo of the camera or recorder on WhatsApp helps us see what you have.
Why does my shed camera drop out in the wind?
Usually because the wireless link or the camera mount is moving. Even a small movement can knock a point-to-point link out of line. We realign the units and fix them firmly so they stay put.
Can you get my app access back?
In most cases, yes. We get you back into the system, reconnect it to the internet and set the app up on your phone. If it’s a Hikvision recorder, we can reset the password as a Hikvision partner.
My cameras worked last season. Why have they stopped?
Things change between seasons. A hard drive fails, a new broadband router changes the settings, a cable gets damaged, or cobwebs and dust build up on the lens. A yearly checkup before the busy season catches most of these.
Do I need to replace the whole system?
Not usually. Most faults come down to one part, like a link, a hard drive, a power supply or a single camera. We’ll tell you honestly whether a repair makes sense or whether something is worth replacing.
Do you cover my area?
We cover all of Northern Ireland from our base in Antrim. We’re often out on farms around Ballymena, Ballymoney, Coleraine, Magherafelt, Cookstown and Randalstown, and we’ll come to you wherever you are in NI.
More answers on our FAQ page.
