Your security camera footage is too dark to see anything
The camera needs night vision turned on, or the brightness and exposure settings are too low. Go into the camera settings and turn on night vision if it's available, then adjust the brightness slider all the way up. This fixes it for most people.
Security cameras need light to see clearly. At night or in dark areas, the camera switches to night vision mode which shows the world in grayscale. If your footage is too dark, night vision can be off, or the brightness and exposure settings are too low. We'll walk through turning on night vision and adjusting the camera settings to get you clear footage.
Fix-IT-Bot will walk you through each step — just tap, no typing needed.
Skip — I just want a technicianCommon mistakes to avoid
- Assuming the camera is broken when night vision just needs to be turned on
- Cranking brightness all the way up, which makes the image washed out and useless — aim for 70-80 percent instead
- Not realizing that a dirty lens can make footage look as bad as a hardware problem
Signs you need professional help
- Night vision is on, brightness is at maximum, the lens is clean, and footage is still dark — the camera can have a sensor issue
- Only part of the image is dark while the rest is clear — the camera can have a problem with uneven exposure
- The camera worked fine before and suddenly went dark with no changes to your settings
Book a technician
We can fix most issues remotely in 15 minutes. Weekend appointments — book your slot and we handle the rest.
Can't fix it yourself?
Most issues are resolved remotely in 15 minutes. Weekend appointments only — no parts, no in-home visit needed.