What to Do When a Camera Goes Offline in SSMS

Sooner or later, a camera stops showing a picture. Most causes are simple to fix. What matters is that you notice quickly, note the details, and get the right person to act. This guide gives operators and IT admins one clear routine.

What offline looks like

A camera is offline when SSMS cannot get its video. On the live wall, that camera shows no picture, or a picture that never changes. A frozen picture is easy to miss. If the camera shows the time in its image, check that the time is moving.

Offline matters for two reasons. You cannot watch that area live. And SSMS cannot record the camera while it is offline, so a gap appears in the recordings.

Step 1 — Note the details

Write these in the shift log straight away:

• The time you noticed the problem.
• The camera name and the site.
• What you see: no picture, or a frozen picture.
• Anything unusual nearby, such as a power cut or building work.

Step 2 — One camera, one site, or everything?

How many cameras are affected tells you where to look first.

Step 3 — Simple checks for operators

1. Call the site. Ask if there is power, and if anyone worked near the camera today.
2. Ask the site to look at the local NVR monitor, if they have one. If the camera shows there, the camera works. The problem is then likely the network path to SSMS.
3. Ask someone to check that the camera is still in place and not damaged.
4. Report what you found to IT.
5. Do not unplug or restart equipment yourself, unless your procedure says so.

Step 4 — Checks for IT admins

Three useful terms first:

• Ping: a basic test that shows whether a device answers on the network.
• PoE (Power over Ethernet): power delivered to the camera through its network cable.
• DHCP: a service that hands out IP addresses. If a camera gets a new address, the connection can break.

1. Ping the camera from the network where the SSMS server sits. No answer points to power, cable or network.
2. Check the PoE switch port or the power supply for that camera.
3. Check whether the camera's IP address changed. Fixed addresses for cameras prevent this.
4. Ask whether anyone changed the camera or NVR password. SSMS connects with the device login given during setup. If that password changed, SSMS cannot connect until the new login is entered in SSMS.
5. Check for a recent firmware update or NVR restart. Some devices come back with changed settings.
6. If a whole site is down, check that site's WAN or VPN link to the SSMS server.

Step 5 — After the fix

1. Confirm the camera shows live video on the live wall again.
2. Wait a few minutes. Then play back the recent recording to check that recording has restarted.
3. Use the timeline to find the gap: when recording stopped, and when it started again.
4. Write the gap in the shift log, with the cause if you know it.

The gap matters. If an incident happened in that period, everyone must know there is no recording. A short note now saves confusion later, especially when footage is needed as evidence.

When to contact Skyline support

Contact Skyline support if:

• every camera is offline, or the console itself does not work;
• a camera answers on the network but still does not show in SSMS;
• the problem started after a change to the SSMS server.

See what to send Skyline support, so your first message has everything they need.

Where to go next

• Daily SSMS operator checklist
• Weekly and monthly health checks
• Watching branches and remote sites from one console

Quick checklist

• I wrote the time, camera and site in the shift log.
• I checked whether one camera, one site or everything was affected.
• The right person knows: site team, IT or Skyline support.
• After the fix, live view and playback both work.
• The recording gap is written in the shift log.