Unable to see live video from a camera

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A user is likely to be unable to see live video due to a camera going offline. However, there are many possible causes and solutions that are discussed on this page. Common causes include:

The camera went offline. The user might see Failed to Connect instead of live video.
Poor Wi-Fi signal strength or bandwidth. The user might see Failed to Connect intermittently or a black screen.
Browser or phone settings. The user will often see a button, link, or blank color instead of the live video stream.

To determine the cause for no live video:

Power down the video device.
Wait for 1 minute.
Power on the video device.
Wait for the video device to power up fully, about 5 minutes.
Make note of the video device's LED color. For more information on video device LED patterns, see What does my camera's LED light mean?.
- If the video device's LED is solid red, the video device is disconnected. For more information, see Troubleshooting a disconnected or intermittent video device.
- For all other LED statuses, verify whether the camera is connected to Alarm.com.

To verify the video device's connection to Alarm.com:

Even if the video device's LED is solid green, it is important to verify its connection to Alarm.com to ensure it can stream video to the Alarm.com customer website or Alarm.com app.

Troubleshooting a disconnected or intermittent video device

Note: Some video devices have unique considerations. For more information and guides specific to the affected video device, see Video Devices and locate the device by model.

Verify the customer's wireless credentials.
Verify the customer's network meets the video device's requirements. For more information about those requirements, see What are the internet service and bandwidth requirements for Alarm.com video devices?.
If the customer is using a virtual private network (VPN) such as AT&T's ActiveArmor, have them turn it off temporarily to test the connection again. If the camera reconnects at this point, see Unable to view live video while connected to a VPN.
Attempt reconnecting the video device to the network using all methods (WPS, AP mode, Ethernet) available to the video device. For more information about the reconnection process, see Reconnect a camera to a wireless network if the router, equipment, or Wi-Fi settings change.
- For WPS and AP mode, move the video device close to the router (about 5 feet) to ensure the Wi-Fi signal is strong.
If the camera stays disconnected, power down the router.

Note: This will temporarily disconnect all devices on that network.
Power down the video device.
Wait 2 minutes.
Power on the router.
After the router's internet connection is reestablished, power on the video device.
Wait for the video device's LED to turn solid green, about 5 minutes.
If the LED does not turn solid green, factory reset the video device. For information about how to factory reset a video device, see the camera's reset guide in Video Devices.
Delete the video device from the account. For information about this process, see Delete a video device from a customer account.
Reconnect the video device to the network.
Once the LED turns solid green, reinstall the video device.

Browser errors and possible solutions

Error	Description	Possible solutions
Failed to Connect	The camera is not communicating with Alarm.com.	For more information about troubleshooting this error, see Troubleshooting a disconnected or intermittent video device.
Solid black screen	Information from the camera is being received, there may be audio present, but the video stream fails to appear.	It is likely that the network's bandwidth is too low to meet the video device's requirements. For more information about bandwidth requirements, see What are the internet service and bandwidth requirements for Alarm.com video devices?.
Solid blue screen with camera timestamp visible	Privacy mode is enabled.	Press the WPS button on the camera for 1 second to disable Privacy mode.
Solid grey or white screen in place of live video	There is an issue with the browser cache.	Try a different browser (e.g., use Firefox instead of Edge), or clear the current browser's cache. Also, verify the version of the browser is up to date.