Why is your Vivint Camera Offline?
If your Vivint Outdoor Camera indicates that it’s offline, you can need to take these measures outlined here to resolve the issue as soon as you can for your camera to continue its security operations.
- Power Problems
- SkyControl glitch
- Router errors
- Outdated firmware
- SkyControl glitch
Your Vivint Smart Home system or SkyControl is indeed the hub of your home. You can use it to arm and disarm your home, see your camera’s live feed, and even control devices like thermostats and door locks.
If your Vivint Camera is offline then maybe there has been an error in your Skycontrol or Panel.
Fix
Initiate a Panel (SkyControl) reboot.
This reboot typically takes anywhere from ten to fifteen minutes. It requires very low effort on your part and must be completed at home
1. The first step in starting a panel reboot is to disarm your system from the SkyControl(Panel). Here are the instructions for a SkyControl 3.0 Arm & Disarm procedure
To arm and disarm your system from your panel you must first note the following:
2. The home button of your SkyControl will be green if the system is ready to arm.
3. The home button of your SkyControl will be off if it’s not ready to arm.
4. The system is not ready to arm when there is a door or window open in the home.
go along with these steps to disarm
5. Go to home menu
The first screen background you encounter is orange in color.
On the left side are the words,” Everything looks good. Your home is secure while you are home. And at the bottom left is a button written “Quick exit without triggering an alarm.”
On the right side of the screen is round white toggle button with an icon of a person inside a shield. Under it are the words, “Armed Stay”
Below these toggle button at the bottom right is a list of unlocked Vivint devices which are armed.
There’s also a white status bar at the bottom with an icon of a person inside an orange shield, the temperature in degrees, a camera icon as well as other additional features
6. Drag the white toggle button down until it shows the word ‘Disarm’ and an X inside a shield icon.
The screen background turns black. On the right side of the screen is round white toggle button which can turn into a shield when touch activated. Above it you will find a directive that says, “Drag to disarm”
7. A number keypad and a password prompt page appears on the screen after the toggle is dragged down.
The screen background turns orange. The words “Hello! Please enter your PIN to disarm”. Underneath this mesage is the place to input PIN and below the PIN buttons is a CANCEL button. Type in your PIN using the number keypad on the left and proceed
8. The screen background turns green once it is disarmed
The words “Everything looks good. Your home is ready to arm.” pop up on the left side. On the top right side is a white toggle button with a white shield and an X instead it with the word ‘Disarmed’ written underneath it.
9. The second step in a panel reboot is to locate the device you wish to reboot in your panel settings
-
- From the home screen that is disarmed tap on the three dots icon …. This Menu icon in the bottom right corner indicates the presence of more features or additional settings
- This will direct you to the SMART HOME SETTINGS page
- Click on Devices option
- This will redirect you to a prompt page asking you to enter PIN for access. Input you PIN number on the keypad on the left and continue
- The PIN prompt page now returns to the Smart Home Settings page
- Now that you have disarmed the system and seen the available devices you now need to move to the third step which involves rebooting your panel from the Smart Home Settings Page
- Click on Displays,
- Then choose on the panel you want to reboot.
- Press Reboot
Here you will receive a confirmation message that entitled Reboot your Panel. It will ask,” You will be unable to access your Vivint system for approximately 10-20 minutes. Do you wish to continue?”
- Click Yes to confirm.
- You panel will start rebooting
2. Outdated Firmware
You have tried to fix your Vivint camera which is offline from the Skycontrol or panel but the screen on your panel not match these images and steps.
Then the problem of the offline camera is not arising from the panel but from your outdated firmware.
You should always keep your panel firmware up-to-date as ignoring or delaying updates can lead to system issues and connectivity problems.
Your camera is offline because you have antiquated firmware. You need to updated.
Fix
Here are the steps on how to fix your Vivint firmware that is out of date.
You can do update firmware from the panel itself or from your Vivint Smart Home App. It is easy and only takes 8-10 minutes. It must be done at home where the devices are located and cannot be conducted remptely.
- Go to home screen access the Panel and open your menu by pressing the 3 dots in the corner.
- Disarm your system if not yet done.
- Go back to the home screen that is disarmed tap on the three dots icon … or Menu icon in the bottom right corner which has more features or additional settings
- This will lead you back to the SMART HOME SETTINGS page
- Select General option
- Pin prompt page appears. Enter your PIN for access
- Check the information on the Software Update tab
If your panel is already on the latest update, the option will be grayed and say “Panel is up to date.”
If not, it will list the newest firmware option next to Software Update and allow you to select it.
8. A prompt page asking “ Do you want to update to version? (latest version is indicated) appears.
You will be asked to confirm that you want to proceed with the software update.
9. Press Yes.
You panel will install the update. This may take several minutes, depending on how long it has been since you updated and your internet speed.
The second involves updating the firmware from the App
- From your Vivint Smart Home app, open your menu by pressing the three lines in the bottom left corner
- Choose Settings
- Under the Exploring Devices tab, Select your panel (Smart Hub or SkyControl).
If your panel firmware is up to date, it will tell you. If not, it will say Update Available and list the most current version.
4. Tap on the word Update written in green.
You will be prompted to confirm. The message will read like this, “Begin Update? Your system will reboot once download is complete.”
5. Press Update to continue.
It will confirm that your update has started and show the ongoing activity via progress bar. This may take several minutes, depending on how long it has been since you updated and your internet speed.
The message will read ” Updating . . . Update Initiated. You can close your app if you like
If this firmware update is not working then your panel is not connected to the internet. An offline panel cannot install a firmware or software update.
3. Poor wi-Fi connection
The reason your Vivint Camera is offline is due to inadequate Wi-Fi connection.
To troubleshoot a poor internet connection do this.
Fix
- Disarm your system
- From the home screen, tap the Menu icon in the bottom right corner
- Under SMART HOME SETTINGS, opt for General
- Enter your PIN.
- Go to the Wi-Fi settings
- Click on Connectivity,
- Select Wi-Fi,
- Choose your personal network (the line item directly above Info and diagnostics). Smart Hubs
- Connect to a 5Ghz network. Connect your panel to Wi-Fi
- Click on your Wi-Fi network name (SSID),
- Type in your Wi-Fi password.
Note that it could take as long as five (5) minutes for the panel to reconnect.
- If your network isn’t showing up scroll down and tap Refresh List for easier discovery.
- If it still doesn’t show up, tap Other and manually enter your network name and password then tap OK.
If your Wi-Fi connection is still not working confirm that the WiFi password is correctly entered in and your router is plugged into a working outlet.
If you have multiple routers or a separate modem, make sure they’re also plugged into working outlets.
Fix
You may need to refresh or restart your router to bring back Wi-Fi connectivity
- Unplug your router for 30 seconds,
- then plug it back in.
- If you have multiple routers or a separate modem, restart them as well.
Fix
You may need to restart your camera to reestablish the internet connection
How to restart your camera
- Unplug your camera for 30 seconds,
- Then plug it back in.
- If your camera is connected to a Wi-Fi bridge, unplug the camera’s Ethernet cord from the bridge usually located in an outlet near the camera) for 30 seconds then plug it back in.
Fix
You need to be certain that your Vivint camera has power. To do this :
- Make sure the camera is plugged into a working outlet.
- To test the outlet, unplug the camera and plug a different device into the same outlet.
- If the second also doesn’t receive power, try restoring power to the outlet.
- Your camera has no power
The Vivint Indoor Camera was previously known as the Ping Camera. The cause of your Vivint Indoor Camera being offline can be traced to no power
Fix
Make sure the Vivint Camera has power.
- Double check that the camera is plugged into a working outlet and the cord is securely plugged into the back of the camera.
- To test the outlet, unplug the camera and plug a different device into the same outlet. If it also doesn’t receive power, try restoring power to the outlet.
- Reboot your panel. See if there is any change
- Restart your camera. Look for whether Vivint camera is back online
- Restart your router and check whether Vivint Indoor Camera is still offline
Fix
You can also check for a switch controlling the outlet If power to the outlet can be regulated by flipping a switch on and off, make sure the switch that controls the outlet is in the on position.
Fix
Check for a GFCI outlet. The ground-fault circuit interrupter is a quick-acting circuit breaker intended to shut off electric power in the event of a ground-fault within as little as 1/40 of a second. It functions by comparing the amount of current going to and returning from equipment along the circuit conductors.
If your device is plugged into a GFCI outlet, press the RESET button to make sure the circuit isn’t tripped.
- Push the TEST button on the GFCI
- The GFCI should trip, stopping the flow of electricity to the camera.
- Note that the RESET button will pop-out.
- If the camera doesn’t turn off when the TEST button is pushed, the GFCI is not working properly and should be replaced immediately
GFCI can be tripped from other outlets it shares wiring with. Check for any other tripped outlets in the room.
Fix
Check your home breaker box
Make sure none of the circuit breakers in your home are tripped. If one isn’t in the ON position, flip the switch all the way off, then flip it back on.
Fix
You can also contact support for help if none of the fixes worked through the telephone number 801.377. Vivint is based in Utah.