Night Owl Camera Night Vision Not Working [How to Fix]

Your Night Owl camera works perfectly during the day. But at night, the camera shows weird images or a black screen. There’s obviously something wrong with the camera’s night vision, and we’ll help you fix it in this article.

The easiest way to fix a Night Owl camera with a faulty night vision is to reboot it. You should also consider plugging the camera into a different power outlet.

If these solutions don’t fix your camera’s night vision, keep reading. We’ll share more fixes in the article.

Table of Contents

How to Fix Night Owl Camera Night Vision Issues

Reboot Your Camera

As your Night Owl camera records images, it may encounter minor functional errors. These errors may disable night vision and other features of the camera temporarily.

Luckily, you can quickly fix this problem by rebooting your Night Owl Camera. To reboot your camera, unplug the device from your power outlet. Then, wait for 10 seconds before plugging the camera back in.

Is the night vision working now? If not, move on to the next step.

Connect Your Camera to Another Power Outlet

If your Night Owl Camera’s night vision isn’t working, chances are the camera is connected to a faulty power outlet. The outlet may have slightly loosened from the connections in the wall, or it could be broken.

You might be wondering if it’s likely that your power outlet is faulty, when the camera doesn’t show any problems during the day. This scenario is possible because night vision requires more power to function than most of the features in the camera.

Disconnect your camera from its current power outlet and plug it into a functional outlet. If this doesn’t revive the night vision, change the power adapter linked to the camera and plug the device into the new outlet again.

Now, check if your Night Owl camera is displaying images clearly. If it isn’t, try the next tip.

Clean Your Camera Lens

Does your camera display images of large blots at night? If so, the camera lens might be dirty. These weird images are formed by the dust in the camera’s lens.

The dirt in the lens isn’t so evident during the day because of the bright light in the camera’s surroundings. But at night, the infrared light is too weak to overshadow the dust in the lens. This is why the dust and the images they form are so visible in the dark.

If your Night Owl Camera is displaying abnormal images on its screen, you’ll need to clean it. You can use a microfiber cloth, a soft artist’s brush or an air blower to wipe the camera’s lens until it is clean.

After cleaning the lens, recheck your camera’s footage. The camera should display the objects around it clearly.

Update Your Camera Firmware

When last did you update your Night Owl Camera firmware? If your camera firmware is over a year old, it could be the reason why the night vision is inactive.

Your camera firmware gets weaker with each addition of a new recording. If your camera firmware is weak, some of its features may lag, or even stop working entirely. Night vision might be one of the features that suffer this effect.

Consider updating your camera firmware to reactivate your camera’s night vision.

Follow these steps to update your Night Owl Camera firmware:

Connect your PC to the internet.
Using an ethernet cable, connect your Night Owl camera to Wi-Fi.
Next, open the browser on your PC and type Series Firmware into the search bar.
Tap the first page that appears on the search results.
You’ll see a list of all Night Owl devices ever made.
Search for your camera model on the list.
Then, click Manually Download to download the updated firmware version for your device.
After downloading the file, copy it to a detachable USB drive.
Make sure the USB drive is already formatted to FAT32 before you use it.
Now, disconnect the USB drive from your screen.
Turn on your camera and ensure it displays a live image on your monitor or TV.
Insert your USB drive into a USB port on the camera.
A pop-up will appear on your screen, asking you to enter your login credentials.
Input the necessary details.
Then, click on the menu icon to reveal the Main Menu.
Select Firmware Upgrade.
Tap Upgrade from USB.
Select a storage location for the new firmware on the camera.
Then, click on Submit or Upgrade to continue.
Your camera will start updating its firmware, and the update status will be displayed on a progress bar.
After completing the update, your camera will reboot.
You can now disconnect your USB drive from your camera.

Your camera’s night vision should be working properly now.

Adjust Your Camera Angle

Unlike natural lighting, your camera’s infrared lights only capture items within parallel sight of your lines. Any objects or people outside this area will not appear outside the camera. Your camera shows little or no images at night because there are only a few objects in its parallel view.

You can fix this issue by adjusting your camera angle. Loosen the elbow screws on your camera to change the angle of your camera. Ensure the new angle points to a high-traffic area, so the camera captures enough movement at night.

If you check your monitor now, you’ll see a live image on the screen.

Move the Camera Away from Glass Surfaces

Placing your Night Owl Camera near mirrors, windows, and other glass items will prevent the night vision from working.

The infrared light on your camera needs to work consistently to reflect images on the screen. If the light comes in contact with glass, it will break off, thus turning the camera’s screen pitch black.

Check your camera’s surroundings for glass objects. If you find any of these items around the camera, remove the device and place it in an area void of glass.

Your camera’s night vision should be back in order after this. However, if the night vision still isn’t working, move on to the next tip.

Change Your Camera Lens

Another culprit behind an inactive night vision in your Night Owl Camera is a broken camera lens. If none of the previous tips have fixed your night vision, you should consider the possibility that your camera is broken.

You can inspect the lens yourself to check if it is broken. Better still, ask a technician to examine the lens. The specialist will also replace the lens if it seems broken.

Factory Reset Your Camera

If your camera’s night vision is still malfunctioning, the device has a serious issue. But you don’t have to discard your camera yet.

There is one more solution that could fix your night vision: a factory reset. A factory reset will eliminate the functional issues in your camera that might have rendered the night vision inactive.

Take the following steps to factory reset your Night Owl Camera:

Remove the power cord from the back of your camera to turn off your device.
Also, slide the power button on the camera to the Off position.
Then, search for the Factory Reset button at the back of the device.
Press and hold the button for 10 seconds.
Finally, pull the power button to the On position and re-plug the power cord to the camera.
You have completed the factory reset.

Replace the Camera

If your camera’s night vision doesn’t work after the factory reset, you’ll have to replace the camera.

Related: Tapo Camera Night Vision Troubleshooting.

Wrapping Up

If your Night Owl Camera isn’t working, the tips above will help you revive the feature. After fixing the night vision, you need to follow some precautionary steps to prevent similar issues from recurring in your camera.

Make sure to clean your camera lens at least once every month. It’s also important to update your camera firmware on regular occasions.