Troubleshooting Your Avigilon Base Station Connection
The Avigilon base station, or hub, is the central brain of your security system, connecting your cameras to the network and the cloud. When it fails to connect, your entire system can go offline, leaving your property unmonitored. This professional guide will help you diagnose and resolve connectivity issues with your Avigilon base station in a systematic way.
Understanding the Base Station's Role
The base station requires a stable, wired connection to your internet router via an Ethernet cable. It then creates its own secure wireless network to communicate with your Avigilon cameras. A problem with its connection to the router will prevent you from viewing live feeds, receiving notifications, or accessing recordings.
Step 1: Analyse the LED Status Indicator
Your first clue to the problem lies with the status light on the base station itself. The meaning of each colour and pattern can vary slightly by model, so consult your manual, but here are the general guidelines:
- Solid Green: Usually indicates a successful connection to the network and normal operation.
- Blinking Green: Often means the unit is booting up or attempting to establish a network connection.
- Solid or Blinking Amber/Orange: This typically signals an error. It could be a failure to get an IP address from the router, a hardware issue, or an inability to connect to the Avigilon cloud servers.
- No Light: The unit is not receiving power. Check the power adapter and the outlet.
Step 2: Perform a Full System Power Cycle
Restarting your network hardware can clear up many temporary glitches. It's crucial to do this in the correct order.
- Power Down: Unplug the power adapter from your Avigilon base station.
- Restart Network Gear: Unplug your modem and your router. Wait for 60 seconds.
- Power Up Sequentially: Plug the modem back in first and wait for its lights to become stable (usually 1-2 minutes). Then, plug in your router and wait for its lights to stabilise.
- Power Up Base Station: Finally, plug the power adapter back into the Avigilon base station. Give it at least 5-10 minutes to boot up and attempt to connect.
### Check Physical Connections
While waiting for the system to restart, verify all physical cable connections.
- Ethernet Cable: Ensure the Ethernet cable is securely clicked into the WAN/Internet port on the base station and a working LAN port on your router.
- Try a Different Cable/Port: A damaged Ethernet cable is a common point of failure. Swap it with a known good cable. Also, try plugging the cable into a different LAN port on your router.
- Power Adapter: Make sure the power adapter is securely connected to both the base station and a functioning electrical outlet.
Step 3: Investigate Your Network and Router
If the base station still won't connect after a power cycle and cable check, the issue may lie within your router's configuration.
- DHCP Service: The base station needs to get an IP address from your router via DHCP. Log into your router's admin panel and ensure the DHCP server is enabled and has available IP addresses to assign.
- Firewall and Port Blocking: Your router's firewall could be blocking the base station's communication with Avigilon's servers. The system typically requires outbound access on TCP port 443 (the standard for HTTPS traffic). Check your firewall settings to ensure this is not blocked.
- MAC Address Filtering: Some networks use MAC address filtering for security, only allowing pre-approved devices to connect. If this is enabled, you will need to add the base station's MAC address (usually found on a label on the bottom of the device) to the allowed list.
Step 4: Factory Reset as a Last Resort
If all else fails, you can perform a factory reset on the base station. Warning: This will erase all custom configurations and you will need to set up your system again from scratch.
- Find the reset button, which is usually recessed in a pinhole.
- With the base station powered on, use a paperclip to press and hold the reset button for 15-20 seconds.
- The LED lights should flash, indicating the reset is in progress.
- Allow the unit to restart and then attempt the setup process again.
If a factory reset does not solve the connection problem, it may indicate a hardware failure with the base station, and you should contact Avigilon support or your professional installer for further assistance.