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Troubleshooting and Replacing a Faulty MV

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There are some circumstances where a Cisco Meraki MV Camera will fail to function and requires a hardware replacement. An RMA is warranted if the device undergoes a hardware failure or any other failure state from which a camera is non-recoverable. 

However, there are many situations where a device's state looks like it warrants an RMA but is easily recoverable using the proper troubleshooting steps. This article is intended to help navigate such situations so that if a camera is recoverable, we can efficiently troubleshoot, recover and reduce the camera downtime drastically. This article outlines common symptoms and troubleshooting steps that we can follow to determine if the MV is failed and requires replacement.

RMA Process 

The following checks must be made when determining if a Cisco Meraki MV is faulty. Cisco Meraki can replace a defective device through the RMA process. Per the device's replacement warranty. However, to satisfy all stakeholders and minimize both downtime and cost, we must do troubleshooting to determine if an RMA is a correct path to follow. Follow the recommendations below to troubleshoot different types of issues. 

Common issues that indicate a failure

My camera is taking a long time for initial setup.

Cameras can take up to 20 minutes ( if not longer) for first-time setup due to firmware upgrade, format/partitioning, and encrypting of the storage. They are sensitive to power and network fluctuations during this time. It is suggested to pre-stage cameras before deployment to avoid troubleshooting when cameras are less inaccessible.

LED is not lit on the unit

  • Is the camera online?

    • If the LED does not light up on the MV and is not online on the dashboard, verify that the power source is functional (see the section below). If not, please open a support case for help in debugging the issue and performing an RMA if needed.

    • If the LED is off, it may be an LED issue, but the camera comes online on the dashboard.

  • Verifying the power & power source

    • While using a PoE injector, replace cabling between the MV and "out" jack and the cable from the "in" jack to the LAN. Ensure all Ethernet cabling is less than 100 meters in length.

    • If using a PoE switch, ensure the switch is IEEE 802.3af or IEEE 802.3at certified (dependent on the power requirements of the specific MV model in use). Ensure that the switch port that the MV is plugged into is enabled and has PoE enabled.

      • Replace cabling and ensure it is less than 100 meters in length.

      • Try another known working switch port that powers another MV.

      • Try another PoE switch that is known to be working.

      • Try various ports on the switch to rule out a potentially bad ASIC.

      • Please verify that the upstream switch is not over its PoE budget.

My camera is not online on the dashboard.

If the camera goes offline and never checks back into the dashboard, please verify the following: 

  • Make sure the camera is powered ON. Refer to the section above for the troubleshooting flow. 
  • If the camera is powered ON: 
    • Verify if the MV's IP address is ping-able via the LAN. 
    • Verify the upstream switch-port configuration and fix any potential configuration issues. 
    • MV's Dashboard connectivity traffic must be allowed upstream. Details are available at Help > Firewall Info. 
    • Verify if the camera generates any traffic by running an upstream port capture.
    • If not, open a support ticket to investigate further. 

I see "Potential hardware problem detected. Please contact Support."

The error message, "Potential hardware problem detected. Please contact support." is presented when the camera cannot mount its storage. Please open a support case.

There is a delay in my video stream.

Anything under ~10 seconds is expected behaviour; read the Video Streaming article.

I cannot stream video through my LAN (direct streaming)

Each MV camera will generate a unique domain name to allow for secured direct streaming functionality. These domain names resolve an A record for the private IP address of the camera. Any public recursive DNS server will resolve this domain.

If utilizing an on-site DNS server, please whitelist '*.devices.meraki.direct' or configure a conditional forwarder so that local domains are not appended to '*.devices.meraki.direct' and that these domain requests are forwarded to Google public DNS.

Why do I see "No Video"?

  • Double-check that you are not using scheduled recording or motion-based recording. If so, it is expected not to have video during certain times.

  • Also, double-check that the period is not beyond your maximum retention.

  • If the above is not applicable, open a support case.

My video quality is bad.

Please open a support case if the following suggestions do not resolve the issue,

  • Is your video feed all white / too bright?

    • Ensure that Night Mode (Camera > Settings > Night mode) is not set to 'Always On' if the camera is in a location with adequate lighting. This makes the camera much more sensitive to infrared light and can cause the picture to appear washed out.

  • Is your video feed all black / too dark?

    • Ensure that Night Mode is not set to 'Always Off' if the camera is in a location that experiences low lighting levels. Night Mode makes the camera much more sensitive to infrared light and can help improve visibility in low light conditions.

    • Try adjusting the Aperture setting to a wider setting (left on the Aperture slider). In low light situations an Aperture set to its smallest (far right) can produce a very dark or all black image.

IR illuminators are not working.

  • Verify night mode is turned on.

  • Check transition threshold to ensure there are at least 2 lux between night and day.

My camera is blinded at night / is blurry / has reflections

  • This is most likely an IR reflection issue. Please reference the Troubleshooting MV Image Quality article.

  • Another possible issue is the aperture % is not low enough, thus not allowing enough light into the sensor. Reducing aperture % can improve visibility in low lighting conditions.

I cannot connect wirelessly.

Ensure the steps in the MV Wireless Configuration Guide are followed. It is noted here that after your profiles are configured and applied to each camera, cameras should maintain a wired connection for 30 minutes after applying a wireless profile. In about 30 minutes, you will be ready to set up the camera wirelessly and verify the MV camera has associated with one of the wireless SSIDs configured. The LED should turn blue. You can check the status through the Network page or the nodes list page by exposing the respective columns.

Replacing Faulty MV's (RMA) 

If the tips outlined above have been followed and indicate that the unit requires an RMA, please contact Support to begin the RMA process. Please be prepared to outline the troubleshooting steps that have been taken so far, as well as provide a shipping address to help expedite the process.

Note: Support may recommend additional troubleshooting steps not outlined in this article, depending on the nature of the specific issue.

Please also reference our RMA documentation article for additional information about device replacement.

Resetting a Camera to Factory Defaults

Please review the article: Resetting Cisco Meraki Devices to Factory Defaults if you wish to reset your camera to factory defaults.

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  2. Tags
    1. hardware error
    2. LED
    3. MV
    4. rma
    5. troubleshooting