Camera views not loading

[amelendez]

I'm having issues viewing camera views, I'm getting a black screen or static image and spinning wheel.

This is the second time this has happened to me this week. I've tried from multiple browsers multiple computers. I've tried from same vlan, even a different network all together. I've tried rebooting my cameras.

Anyone else experiencing issues?

I do have a ticket open with Meraki TAC.

[Boulder38]

Hey,
What software version are you running on the cameras?
Are your cameras/network behind a firewall?
Luke

[amelendez]

FW: MV 3.30

Yes they are behind a firewall, they were working yesterday, No changes were made since then. Its just spotty. They are fine when they work. I can see that they are still recording, the motion search works, I can't pull up the video footage.

[Boulder38]

It’s worth checking all the firewall rules are correct with what’s up in the top right menu under help and the firewalls, Meraki May have added some more locations that you need to update with, we had similar issue

Have you tried updating to FW 3.33, that fixed some reliability issues for us 🙂

[amelendez]

I'll check the firmware for sure and report back. As far as the firewall we don't block outbound ports on the network the cameras are on. Per Meraki direction is outbound.

[amelendez]

I've just updated to 3.33, there is no change in performance.

[amelendez]

Cameras are now working again, I just would like some info about why this is happening.

[Boulder38]

I think you’re probably best ringing into support the next time it happens so they can troubleshoot in the live scenario for you.

Without access to the logs and running packet captures, which you could try, not sure where else to go I’m afraid

[PhilipDAth]

And I bet if you reboot the cameras it starts wokring?

I have had issues like this before.  I now use a Meraki switch port scheduled and give all cameras a daily power cycle.  It has made them more reliable for me.

[Boulder38]

To me that’s not making them more reliable, that’s hiding an issue

Our cameras are up 24x7 and are 99.9% stable now on the latest firmware 

[amelendez]

@PhilipDAth 

You bet wrong, during this issue nothing fixed the problem I was having. The cameras have been working solid since this issue, I have changed nothing.

[schasegleason]

I would open up a support case about this. 

I have seen this issue before where the Cameras are online (Green Status) but cannot load video. The first thing I would check in this case is to see if Direct Streaming works (if possible.) 

Assuming this works the issue is likely with the Cloud Proxy servers, I have seen issues in the recent past where support "Back End Cloud Proxy Servers" have had issues. 

[amelendez]

Spoke too soon, I'm experiencing the same issues today, packet capture showing dropped packets to Meraki. I'll update with case info.

[Boulder38]

Hey,
Are the cameras on multiple switches? Got a decent uplink internet link speed?
Beta firmware has come out at 3.34 so maybe worth a try?
What cameras have you got?
Luke

[amelendez]

@Boulder38 

Cameras are on multiple switches.

Speeds:

I'll try the firmware update. It didn't make a difference last time, but like you said worth a try.

I have 17 MV72 cameras.

[Boulder38]

I’m not sure if you’re upload is fast enough.... 😜

Worth a try, 3.33 made a big difference for us

The same as us, we’ve also got 2 32s and a 12W, all working 99% happily

When you got packet loss, was it just that? Or any associated errors? Have you F12’d to look at the source for any error codes in there?

[EJN]

@Boulder38 can you please elaborate on this?

"Have you F12’d to look at the source for any error codes in there?"

[Boulder38]

If you hit F12 in your browser, and select 'console' (Not source), It will show you any errors, Meraki Support used these errors to help with some issues I had. It can give you a clue as to why something is not loading correctly

Packet capture will also show where things are trying to get to, but maybe not getting a reply, showing where the issue is lying

[Boulder38]

Just an FYI, 3.36 has been pushed through to Stable, I only updated to 3.33 a few weeks ago, this may help solve a lot of issues!

[CCTV-GURU-RCCL]

Has there been any fix or update on this issue?   Our cameras are running 3.36 and we have issues all over the place with not being able to see some cameras live.  I have very little faith in Meraki support as every call into them has resulted in no results or we are told to wait for different revisions. 

[amelendez]

No fix, for my issue, two days ago my cameras stop loading events. one day later cameras are working fine. Seems to be a intermittent issue, since I can't pull stream from camera I have to just wait.

I've done nothing. I just lower my expectations and know sometimes these cameras are not reliable. I haven't lost any recordings, they are just not accessible for sometimes two days. This doesn't happen often, though it happens more frequently then I would expect.

[CCTV-GURU-RCCL]

Thanks for the reply, unfortunately lowering my expectations is not a valid solution.  My company has now deployed about 225 of these cameras with another 75 or so currently being planned.   😞 

[amelendez]

I'm not saying lowering expectations is my solution, I really don't have a solution. I've seen a number of other threads here about the same issue, and your post is verification that this problem isn't a rare occurrence. I also have Sony cameras that never have given me problems, albeit the camera topology is completely different.

[Priesty]

We experienced this problem on a recent project. We found for some reason that when the camera first connected to the meraki cloud and downloaded its config you have to give it extra time to settle in (I know right, sounds dumb), but every time we did this the problem would go away.

For cameras that already the problem, they had a firmware reset applied and then re-setup as per above. We also have seen a similar error when the microphone was enabled for recording, but in the v4.0 firmware this seems to have gone away so make sure they are fully updated as well.

[amelendez]

OK, I'll give it a try.

[Banfield75]

I had the same problem. The new version v4.0 solved the problem for me. But i only have three MV 72. If it keeps going after the update I would try to reset one camera and on another one schedule switch port to turn off/on once a day. This gives you more information when you open a supportcase.    

[YBerllan]

Hi All,

interesting feed. I have this issue also. Can someone give us clear help on this one. I am not able to see an image on the mobile app as well as the web site portal. Frustrating to be honest. The Camera is seen OK and does update the portal dashboard with status info etc. 

I have put a post up earlier today title MV72 on Boardband. 

Kind regards

John

[PhilipDAth]

If you are not running MV V4 upgrade to that first.

Are you saying even in your web browser you can't get any video to come up?

[YBerllan]

Hi

The Camera has V4 on it. All updated. 

Correct. No image in the browser. If we look at the portal on a PC on the site via a browser we get an image. But outside the side no image. Not sure if it knows the camera is local to send an image. Does it have any kind of permission based on IP address of the viewer? 

John

[mec92]

Same issue for me - any resolution? I'm all updated on the latest firmware too, but keep having this issue with video feeds not loading in the video wall or displaying in the frame. Seems intermittent.

[amelendez]

My issue was reported a while ago, its very interesting to see people still having the same issue. No I have not had a resolution. They seem to be working now, although I found they just may stop working if I'm always monitoring them. I never lose the recordings they are just inaccessible.

My first thought has always been there is something wrong on Meraki Cloud Storage for videos although everyone here and else were points to my environment, so there is no explanation for why they do work when I've made no changes.

[mec92]

yep - agreed - the local functionality works fine - it's just the "remote view" or the view in a video wall where I'll get most, just not all, video feeds. Weird - they were so reliable up until 6-8 months ago when various feeds would just not load. I've done firmware updates, I've done reboots, I've "whitelisted" and prioritized traffic on the network - but it must be something external with the proxied video feeds.

[DHAnderson]

I setup 3 MV22 cameras to set up their configuration before shipping them to the client.  I could see all 3 camera images and the Video wall I created.

They were just installed at the client's today.  The client can see the images, but I cannot see them.  I get No Video Available for all cameras on the wall, and when I try to view the cameras independently.  I am a Domain Admin for that company.

The cameras are running 4.0 firmware.

I tried rebooting one camera, but I that did not fix anything.

[PhilipDAth]

Might be best to create a new thread for this one @DHAnderson .

Not likely, but as a test try statically configuring the DNS on your computer you are using to view the cameras with Googles and tell me if that has any impact.

DNS is used as part of the system to determine how to stream the video.

[DHAnderson]

I think I figured out the issue. The client is at the office and on the same LAN as the cameras and he can see the images.  I am not on the same LAN.  There is a Cisco Router between the cameras and the outbound internet, and it is blocking most ports.