Night Owl Camera Won’t Connect? – Learn How to Fix

Wondering why your Night Owl camera won’t connect? Stay with us to learn why!

Using the Night Owl mobile app, you can operate your cameras as you want.

Additionally, you can also watch live streaming playback recordings on your smartphone by connecting it with the Night Owl DVR.

However, what do we do when the camera won’t connect?

The Night Owl camera cannot connect to the DVR because the cable BNC connector is not plugged in properly or the SDI cable is interrupted. The camera’s playback will only be sent to the DVR when the camera is turned ON and properly connected.

Let’s learn how to fix the Night Owl camera connectivity problem!

How To Fix Night Owl Camera Won’t Connect?

It’s important to identify the nature of the Night Owl camera problem.

• The camera can’t connect to the DVR or to the mobile app?

In the guide below, we’ll cover ALL possibilities so let’s jump right in!

Solution #1 Power Cycle Night Owl Camera!

When the Night Owl camera is not connecting to the DVR the very first step is to perform a power cycle on both instances involved.

This is one of the best methods to refresh the connection, wireless or wired so it’s worth the try.

Here is how you can do a power cycle to Night Owl cameras!

1. Unplug the camera from the power socket. 
2. For wireless units, remove the rechargeable battery.
3. Wait for 2-3 minutes. 
4. Connect the power cable to the camera. 
5. Plug in the cable to the power outlet. 

In addition, unplug the DVR from the power as well, and upon turning the device ON, the camera’s footage should appear on your TV screen.

If the issue is still there, proceed.

Tip: Connect the DVR to a standalone power outlet, without using a divider!

Solution #2 Reconnect Camera to DVR!

The second most important step is to reconnect the camera to the DVR and make sure that the connection is secure.

We’re going to review both connections with wired and wireless cameras!

Wired Night Owl Camera:

1. Connect the “To Camera” (yellow BNC) to the gray camera SDI cable.
2. Push, twist and rotate to securely connect the cable.
3. The red male power cable goes into the gray power camera cable.
4. The other end of the BNC cable “To DVR” connects to an open DVR channel.
5. The power splitter connects to the female end of the BCN.
6. The camera’s power adapter goes into the power splitter as well.
7. The camera’s power adapter connects to the power.

Wireless Night Owl Camera:

1. Plug the camera into power and turn ON the unit.
2. In the DVR menu, go to the Camera’s Menu.
3. From there select Add Camera.
4. Select the camera from the “Not yet paired” menu.

Now when the Night Owl camera is properly connected to the DVR, the stream should immediately pop up on the screen.

It’s extremely important that your DVR is connected to the router via an Ethernet cable so the device is on the network. Otherwise, the process fails.

Solution #3 Use Only The Official App!

When Night Owl cameras won’t connect to app, you’re probably doing something wrong.

Since there are quite a few different Night Owl applications, with different purposes, you need to acquire one, based on your intentions.

Here is how you can install the correct Night Owl app:

1. Visit Night Owl Support. 
2. Check which app is compatible with your cameras!
3. Go to the App Store or Play Store. 
4. Search for the Night Owl app. 
5. Download the app. 
6. Set up the app with your cameras and DVR. 

If the connection still fails, there is one more extremely important thing. Let’s jump forward.

Solution #4 Use The Same Network!

Having the same network on the recorder and your mobile is mandatory to enable the link between the devices.

So, if you have multiple networks at your home, then ensure that both devices are connected to the same router and the same WiFi frequency.

Here is how you can connect both devices to the same network:

1. For Smartphones, go to mobile Settings and then go to WiFi.
2. For the Recorder, enable the recorder in Pairing Mode from the app. 
3. Then switch to your device’s Wi-Fi settings and click on the NOIP network. 
4. Return to the app, select your Wi-Fi name from the pop-up list and enter your password.
5. Tap Connect to finish the process. 

Tip: Restart your router for network refresh, in case of internet issues.

Solution #5 Update/Reinstall Night Owl App

An outdated app version may be the reason why your cameras are not connecting to the mobile application.

In case you haven’t updated the application on your device for a long time, now would be the best moment to do so.

Here is how you can update the Night Owl app in easy steps!

• For android phones, Navigate to the Play Store, search for the Night Owl app from the search bar, and click on the Update option to start the update process. 
• For the iPhone, go to the App Store, search for the Night Owl mobile app and click on update if available.

When the application has been cleanly installed, you can retry to connect the camera.

In case the process continues to fail, let’s update your Night Owl DVR as well in the next solution!

Note: You can also reinstall the app, which guarantees that the latest version will be installed.

Solution #6 Upgrade Night Owl Firmware

If still, your Night Owl cameras are unable to connect to the app after trying all the above solutions, then your cameras need an upgrade.

Keep in mind that the recorder has to be connected to the internet to perform the update!

Here is how you can upgrade the Night Owl camera firmware:

1. Login to the Night Owl DVR from the monitor. 
2. Right-click on the monitor and a Menu bar appears. 
3. Tap on the Tool > System Info. 
4. Select About and look for Firmware Version. 
5. Tap on the Click To Check For New Firmware.
6. The recorder will automatically start searching for the latest version.
7. As the latest version is detected, the recorder will upgrade.

Note: The update will take time-based on your internet speed and the device’s performance!

My Night Owl Camera Won’t Connect Still…

The most common reason for your Night Owl camera not connecting to the app is a poor internet connection.

In that set of thoughts, before drawing any conclusions, double-check your internet speed by performing a free online test. 

In addition, you could test downloading the Night Owl Protect app on a different device to check whether this will help.

In case nothing manages to help, maybe you’ll need some assistance.

Need Help?

When you’re out of ideas and your camera still won’t connect, feel free to seek some help from professionals.

Go to Contact Night Owl and reach out to technical support. Also, share what you’ve already tried in our guide to save both instances time. Good Luck!

Let’s next recap what we’ve learned in this guide!

Quick Recap:

Thus, the Night Owl camera can’t connect to the DVR because the BNC connectors are not properly connected or the device’s battery is low. We’ve also learned that we need to update the Night Owl system firmware and use the same network for the DVR and app!

Wrapping Up:

We have learned how you can handle Night Owl camera won’t connect problems using quick methods.

In this guide, we’ve explained the essentials of the Night Owl setup and how to avoid issues with your camera’s connections.

We hope you find this post helpful to you. For more relevant content check our blog!