Is Your Mobotix Camera Failing to Record?
A security camera that doesn't record is a critical failure of your surveillance system. Mobotix cameras are renowned for their decentralized architecture and robust, professional-grade performance, but recording failures can still occur due to issues with storage, configuration, or connectivity. When a camera stops recording, you lose the ability to review incidents, which can have serious security implications.
This guide is designed to help you systematically troubleshoot the most common causes of recording failures on Mobotix cameras. By following these steps, you can diagnose the problem and get your camera back to reliably capturing crucial footage.
Common Causes for Mobotix Recording Failures
Recording issues on Mobotix cameras almost always fall into one of three categories:
- Storage Problems: The destination for the recordings (internal MicroSD card, NAS, or MxFFS archive) is full, disconnected, corrupted, or has a permissions issue.
- Configuration Errors: The recording schedule, event triggers (like motion detection), or recording settings are incorrectly configured, so the camera never receives the command to start recording.
- Network Issues: If recording to a network-attached storage (NAS) device, a network failure can prevent the camera from accessing its storage target.
Symptoms of a Recording Failure
- No new recordings: When you access the camera's player, there is no footage available for recent time periods.
- Storage error messages: The camera's live view or system messages show alerts like "Storage Failure" or "SD Card Error."
- Event list is empty: You can see live video, but no new events are being logged in the event list.
- Red 'R' icon is missing: The 'R' icon, which often indicates recording in the live view, is not present or is greyed out.
A Step-by-Step Guide to Fixing Mobotix Recording Issues
Log in to your Mobotix camera's web interface with administrator rights to perform these checks.
1. Check the Storage Status
The first and most important step is to verify the health and status of your storage target.
- Navigate to the Admin Menu.
- Go to Storage > Storage Check.
- Here, the camera will display its configured storage targets (e.g., SD Card, NAS).
- Check the Status: Look at the status indicator. It should show "OK" or provide information about the available space. If it shows "Failed," "Not Mounted," or "Full," you have found your problem.
- If Full: You need to enable automatic overwriting or manually clear old data.
- If Failed/Corrupt (for SD Cards): The card may have reached the end of its life or the file system could be damaged. A good first step is to back up any retrievable data and then use the "Format" function within this menu to reformat the card. This will erase everything but will prepare the card with the correct file structure for the camera.
2. Verify Your Recording Settings
If the storage is healthy, the next step is to ensure the camera is actually being told to record.
- Go to the Admin Menu.
- Navigate to Recording > Recording Settings (MxPEG).
- At the top, look at the "General Settings". Ensure that the "Recording" mode is enabled.
- Check the Triggering Event: In the "Event-Controlled Recording" section, you must have an event selected to trigger the recording. A common setup is to have "Video Motion (VM)" or "Periodic Event (PE)" enabled. If no event is selected, the camera has no reason to start recording.
- Check the Arming/Schedule: Go to Setup Menu > General Event Settings. This master switch, often called "Arming," must be enabled for any events to be processed. Additionally, check any time tables or schedules you have set up to ensure they are configured for the times you expect the camera to be recording.
3. Test Network Connectivity (for NAS Recording)
If you are recording to a NAS (Network Attached Storage) drive, the camera must have a stable network path to it.
- Go to Admin Menu > Storage > MxFFS & CIFS/NFS Mount.
- Select your NAS target and click "Edit".
- Double-check that the IP address of the NAS, the share name, and the username/password credentials are all correct.
- Use the "Test" or "Check Mount" function to see if the camera can successfully connect to the NAS share. If it fails, the problem lies with the network connection, the NAS device itself, or the login credentials.
By methodically checking your storage, configuration, and network settings, you can pinpoint the reason for the recording failure and restore your Mobotix camera's full functionality.