Why isn't my CCTV system recording?
A wider diagnostic route for shops, warehouses and offices
Discovering there is no footage exactly when you need it, after a theft, a dispute or an insurance claim, is one of the worst moments a business owner can have with a CCTV system. There are several distinct reasons a system can stop recording, and they rarely announce themselves clearly on the screen, so a methodical check is worth far more than guesswork.
This guide takes a broader view than a single fault fix, walking through the whole recording chain from schedule settings and motion detection through to hard drive health and storage capacity, because in our experience the cause is often a setting rather than a hardware failure. If you have already confirmed the recorder shows no video at all for a specific camera or time period, our dedicated cctv not recording guide covers that narrower scenario in more depth.
For a business, the stakes are higher than for a domestic system, since missing footage can affect an insurance claim, a staff disciplinary process or a police investigation. We would rather you spend fifteen minutes working through this list than assume the worst and pay for an emergency call out that turns out to be a schedule setting.
Signs You Are Looking At This Fault
Footage gone missing?
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The Usual Culprits
Recording schedule gaps
Many recorders ship with a default schedule that only records on motion during certain hours, which can silently exclude the exact window a business later needs footage from.
Motion detection set too low
Sensitivity and detection zones that were fine when installed can become ineffective as seasons change light levels, or as shelving, stock or vehicles alter what the camera actually sees.
Hard drive failure or wear
Hard drives inside recorders run continuously and have a finite lifespan, typically two to five years of constant recording before failures become more likely.
Insufficient storage for the number of cameras
Adding extra cameras or higher resolution without upgrading the drive can mean footage is overwritten within days rather than the weeks a business actually needs.
Camera not properly registered to the recorder
A camera that displays on a monitor via a direct connection may not be assigned to a recording channel at all, especially after a partial reinstall or replacement.
Try These Before You Book Anyone
Check the recording schedule for each camera
Open the recorder's schedule settings and confirm recording is set to continuous, or to a motion schedule that actually covers the hours in question, for every camera you rely on.
Test motion detection sensitivity
Walk into a camera's field of view during the day and check whether it flags motion on screen. If sensitivity is set too low, genuine incidents can be missed entirely.
Confirm the camera is properly added to the recorder
In the device or channel list, check the camera in question is actually registered to a channel rather than just appearing on a spare monitor output.
Check hard drive health and free space
Look in the storage or HDD menu for a health status and remaining capacity. A drive shown as abnormal or nearly full is a strong lead.
Review the overwrite settings
Confirm whether the system is set to overwrite the oldest footage automatically. If overwrite is off and the drive fills up, recording can simply stop rather than looping.
Check the recorder's date and time
An incorrect clock, often after a power cut, can make footage appear to be missing when it has actually been recorded under the wrong timestamp.
Look for a recent firmware or configuration change
If a colleague or IT contractor made changes recently, ask what was altered, since accidental schedule or motion changes are a common and easily reversed cause.
The Point Where It Needs an Engineer
Keeping it from coming back
Build a quick weekly habit of checking that playback exists for the last 24 hours across every camera, rather than only discovering a gap after an incident. Book an annual CCTV service to check hard drive health, storage headroom and camera assignment before they become a problem when you actually need footage.
Questions We Get Asked About This
Why isn't my CCTV system recording?: common questions
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