POE CAT6 Tests OK Yet No Camera Connectivity

[BlaineBug]

Good afternoon,

A little over a year ago I installed a REOLINK 6 POE camera (camera model number B800) with 8 port NVR on my home. I ran CAT6 solid core cable myself and everything has been working flawlessly up until last week when I saw that one of my cameras was not functioning. I was able to go down to the NVR and unplug the camera, in which case it would still work for a random amount of time, normally for just a few hours though. I could reset the camera indefinitely unplugging it and plugging it back in. Since it was under warranty, I contacted REOLINK and they promptly shipped me a replacement camera, model number RLC-810. I installed this camera yesterday on Sunday and all was well, or so I thought. Later that evening I logged back in to my camera system and noticed that the same channel was dead once again. There was absolutely zero connectivity between the NVR and the camera as the light on the ethernet port was not lighting at all, and also unplugging and plugging the camera back into the NVR would not bring it back unlike the other camera. As per the recording history I could see that this camera only functioned for LESS THAN 2.5 hours, from the time it was installed until the time where no recordings were able to be viewed. I believe it worked from approximately 2:00 PM until around 4:17 PM. I also noticed that, while this camera was not functional, that the NVR would produce a very quiet high pitched whine that would stop when I unplugged this particular camera in question. And it didn't matter which of the 8 ethernet ports on the NVR I connected it to, the symptoms were exactly the same.

Today I go back up and remove the camera and use my basic ethernet cable connectivity tool to ensure continuity of the cable, which shows that all of the 8 wires in the 4 pairs are showing connectivity. Now my tool is just a simple blinking light and not the precise instruments that most technicians use. So, I believe my cable is still functioning correctly.

However just for one final test, I take the camera directly to my NVR and use a short ethernet cable to test it. And wouldn't you know, the camera powers up! One thing I did NOT test this morning was to plug the camera back in via the ethernet cable to test it if it would give a signal this morning with the camera still installed on my home.

I'm at a loss here. I "somewhat" believe this replacement camera is faulty, but before I go and complain to REOLINK once again I'd like to hear your input here. How should I proceed or what else can I test further to rule out the possibility that my wiring is at fault?

If all else fails and my wiring is deemed to be at fault, I wouldn't re-run the cable. It is the longest run and it is a very complex run. If that is the case I'll likely make due with 5 cameras instead of 6 as it would be too much of a pain in the butt to replace.

 

[mat200]

Good afternoon,

A little over a year ago I installed a REOLINK 6 POE camera (camera model number B800) with 8 port NVR on my home. I ran CAT6 solid core cable myself and everything has been working flawlessly up until last week when I saw that one of my cameras was not functioning. I was able to go down to the NVR and unplug the camera, in which case it would still work for a random amount of time, normally for just a few hours though. I could reset the camera indefinitely unplugging it and plugging it back in. Since it was under warranty, I contacted REOLINK and they promptly shipped me a replacement camera, model number RLC-810. I installed this camera yesterday on Sunday and all was well, or so I thought. Later that evening I logged back in to my camera system and noticed that the same channel was dead once again. There was absolutely zero connectivity between the NVR and the camera as the light on the ethernet port was not lighting at all, and also unplugging and plugging the camera back into the NVR would not bring it back unlike the other camera. As per the recording history I could see that this camera only functioned for LESS THAN 2.5 hours, from the time it was installed until the time where no recordings were able to be viewed. I believe it worked from approximately 2:00 PM until around 4:17 PM. I also noticed that, while this camera was not functional, that the NVR would produce a very quiet high pitched whine that would stop when I unplugged this particular camera in question. And it didn't matter which of the 8 ethernet ports on the NVR I connected it to, the symptoms were exactly the same.

Today I go back up and remove the camera and use my basic ethernet cable connectivity tool to ensure continuity of the cable, which shows that all of the 8 wires in the 4 pairs are showing connectivity. Now my tool is just a simple blinking light and not the precise instruments that most technicians use. So, I believe my cable is still functioning correctly.

However just for one final test, I take the camera directly to my NVR and use a short ethernet cable to test it. And wouldn't you know, the camera powers up! One thing I did NOT test this morning was to plug the camera back in via the ethernet cable to test it if it would give a signal this morning with the camera still installed on my home.

I'm at a loss here. I "somewhat" believe this replacement camera is faulty, but before I go and complain to REOLINK once again I'd like to hear your input here. How should I proceed or what else can I test further to rule out the possibility that my wiring is at fault?

If all else fails and my wiring is deemed to be at fault, I wouldn't re-run the cable. It is the longest run and it is a very complex run. If that is the case I'll likely make due with 5 cameras instead of 6 as it would be too much of a pain in the butt to replace.

View attachment 131908View attachment 131909

Camera probably OK then ..

Try to switch out the ports on the NVR ..

Try testing the camera on another NVR port and another good known cable .. just setup for testing, so no need to run the line out .. just test .. can be even a short 10 foot cat5e/6 cable and the camera indoors for now ..

 

[TonyR]

Today I go back up and remove the camera and use my basic ethernet cable connectivity tool to ensure continuity of the cable, which shows that all of the 8 wires in the 4 pairs are showing connectivity.

Is the tester lighting up the LED's in the proper order as 1 only, then 2 only, then 3 only, then 4 only, etc.?
Did you terminate both ends to either T-568B or both as T-568A ?

 

[BlaineBug]

Camera probably OK then ..

Try to switch out the ports on the NVR ..

Try testing the camera on another NVR port and another good known cable .. just setup for testing, so no need to run the line out .. just test .. can be even a short 10 foot cat5e/6 cable and the camera indoors for now ..

That's what I've got going now, camera is in my basement hooked up with a 5 or 6 foot CAT5 cable, working fine.

The OLD camera would work intermittently with the full-run length cable when it was attached to my home, every few hours if I unplugged the CAT6 cable from the NVR it would re-boot the camera and connectivity and picture would be restored. I was not able to do this with the NEW replacement camera, though.

Checked continuity in the CAT6 run with my basic tester (as see in the photographs) and all 8 wires in the CAT6 run are showing continuity.

I'm now confused. Everything worked fine for slightly over a full year up until last week. My initial thought was "heat" although both yesterday and today were cooler than it has been, and all of my 6 cameras are mounted in a similar fashion under the soffit of my home, well protected from the elements. I also opted for a high quality CAT6 solid copper cable for my installation.

 

[BlaineBug]

Is the tester lighting up the LED's in the proper order as 1 only, then 2 only, then 3 only, then 4 only, etc.?
Did you terminate both ends to either T-568B or both as T-568A ?

Yes, my basic tester is showing only 1 light at a time in sequential order from 1 through 8. Both ends are terminated T568B. My cameras have 12 T568B connections alone and my home computer and television network has probably another 10 T568B connections which were installed by me at the exact same time using the exact same CAT6 solid core wire. Installation was done around June 20th of 2021 or there about.

 

[TonyR]

You've watched the tester LEDs show the proper sequence at BOTH ends, at the transmitter and at the receiver?
Have you considered just re-terminating the RJ-45's?

 

[BlaineBug]

You've watched the tester LEDs show the proper sequence at BOTH ends, at the transmitter and at the receiver?
Have you considered just re-terminating the RJ-45's?

I have not watched the tester at both ends but my understanding is that it will be showing the exact same thing at both ends. One end of the tester has the 9 volt battery and the other end is the receiver. I've never looked at both ends before. Mind you this installation was done over a year ago, not recently, and the first connectivity problem was just last week.

I should note that I had another camera failure in October of 2021 less than 4 months after installation that Reolink also replaced for me in a different location, but once replacing that camera I never had another issue with it. That's unrelated, but if you were curious.

 

[TonyR]

I have not watched the tester at both ends but my understanding is that it will be showing the exact same thing at both ends. One end of the tester has the 9 volt battery and the other end is the receiver. I've never looked at both ends before. Mind you this installation was done over a year ago, not recently.

FWIW, mine can look good on one end and bad on the other.....
Understood that this is not recent.
Maybe a tree rat or mouse chewed your CAT cable...

 

[BlaineBug]

This is my tester when using it this morning.

I wasn't aware that it could be giving you a separate reading on the other end, but I can retest if necessary.

 

[TonyR]

This is my tester when using it this morning.

I wasn't aware that it could be giving you a separate reading on the other end, but I can retest if necessary.

View attachment 131918

Hey if it's been working a year something happened, maybe mechanical, maybe a squirrel or ???

 

[BlaineBug]

Any thoughts on why my NVR would be producing the quiet yet high pitched whine when the camera was plugged in to the hardwired CAT6 but not functional?? That's a weird one that I noticed last night when I was troubleshooting.

 

[BlaineBug]

Hey if it's been working a year something happened, maybe mechanical, maybe a squirrel or ???

I have the CAT6 cable running in my eaves, not really accessible to rodents except for the last 15 or so feet, but then again I don't have any rodents in my attic at all, and there are other camera wiring in the same run that would likely be affected as well. There are no trees nearby my house so rodents here are not a problem like in areas where there are trees touching or overhanging roofs.

 

[BlaineBug]

You've watched the tester LEDs show the proper sequence at BOTH ends, at the transmitter and at the receiver?
Have you considered just re-terminating the RJ-45's?

Re-terminating I could do if necessary but when on the hot roof it is a pain in the butt, I'd rather do that only as a last course of action, although if my tester is showing full continuity I'm not sure why that would be at fault either.

 

[sebastiantombs]

Corrosion can also cause problems like this. @looney2ns has a link for Deoxit which will clean it up if it's the RJ pins, either the male or female ends. If that is the case I'd suggest better weatherproofing than just the cable gland. Put the gland back, yes, but then wrap with a self amalgamating tape like Coax Seal extending onto both cables and another wrap of decent electrical tape like 3M 33+. Moisture from condensation from temperature changes and humidity can get into connections even in a soffit.

 

[BlaineBug]

Corrosion can also cause problems like this. @looney2ns has a link for Deoxit which will clean it up if it's the RJ pins, either the male or female ends. If that is the case I'd suggest better weatherproofing than just the cable gland. Put the gland back, yes, but then wrap with a self amalgamating tape like Coax Seal extending onto both cables and another wrap of decent electrical tape like 3M 33+. Moisture from condensation from temperature changes and humidity can get into connections even in a soffit.

Thanks for the suggestion, although I am not seeing any corrosion in the outdoor RJ45 plug (you can see it dangling there in the picture with my continuity tester attached.) Additionally the terminated end which is inside of the soffit is enclosed within Reolink's weatherproof connection. There was zero moisture within the weatherproof enclosure when I first opened it up yesterday after a full year of installation.

 

[BlaineBug]

Sorry to re-post this question but this is perhaps most baffling of all;

Any thoughts on why my NVR would be producing the quiet yet high pitched whine when the camera was plugged in to the hardwired CAT6 but not functional?? That's a weird one that I noticed last night when I was troubleshooting. This relatively quiet noise ONLY was audible when the non-working camera was plugged in, and it didn't matter which of the 8 ports I chose. If the camera wasn't functional this noise was heard, although NO blinking light on that particular ethernet port on the NVR illuminated, indicating that there was no signal between the camera and the NVR.

Additionally NO infrared light was visible on this camera last night as well, so it seems as though it wasn't getting power at all versus a signal issue. I've seen other cameras fail (not on my home but elsewhere) where they don't transmit a picture but the IR lights still illuminate at night.

 

[sebastiantombs]

To me, it sounds like an intermittent short on that cable. Any kinks, bends or work happen in the attic or soffit recently? The whine you're hearing could be a heavy load on the switching supply for PoE in the NVR.

 

[BlaineBug]

To me, it sounds like an intermittent short on that cable. Any kinks, bends or work happen in the attic or soffit recently? The whine you're hearing could be a heavy load on the switching supply for PoE in the NVT.

There are quite a few bends in this installation especially once the cable enters the PVC conduit and makes it's trip from the second floor soffit all of the way down to the basement where the cables enter just above the block foundation. Then again there are 6 wires for 6 cameras taking the same path. As far as I know there shouldn't be any kinks anywhere and there has definitely been no work on my roof or attic since installation so no new screws or nails that could be poking anywhere.

The only change is last week and/or the week before we had some temperatures reaching near 100, that's about the only difference which is why I thought the issue could have been heat related. Today it's only 74 and yesterday was only slightly warmer. None of the other 5 cameras have shown any signs of disconnecting though.

 

[BlaineBug]

If there IS a short in the POE power I was thinking I could do the "hack" as according to REOLINK specs they are only using 3 of the 4 pairs of wire in the cable. So ideally I could use the unused pair for POE power. But with my continuity tester showing all 8 wires as being connected I wouldn't even know which pair is having the issue! Which leads to my dilemma you see.

 

[sebastiantombs]

It is obvious that one of two things is going wrong.

1 - The camera is failing intermittently.
2 - The cable is failing intermittently.

If you eliminate one, like the camera, it has to be the other, the cable. No one can diagnose what went wrong over the internet. Just the act of removing the camera could easily remove the intermittent cable problem. If you had a TDR and could actually "look" at the conductors it might be possible to figure out where the problem is physically, but a continuity tester has no way to determine that.

Re-terminating the camera end of the cable would be my first step, and I've done, easily, hundreds while on a ladder.