Help with your camera

1. 4G cameras: check you’ve chosen a data plan and haven’t used up this month’s data. The SIM is fitted, but it won’t connect without data. A new plan goes live within minutes.

2. Turn the camera off, wait 30 seconds, then turn it back on. Give it a few minutes to reconnect.

3. Check your phone gets 4G where the camera is. Metal sheds, cladding and thick stone walls block signal, so try the camera outside or by an open door.

4. Solar 360: a red light beside the lens means it hasn’t reached 4G yet. Charge it over USB-C and try again by a window or outdoors.

5. Still offline after all that? The camera’s 4G settings may need a small change. WhatsApp us with the camera next to you and we’ll sort it in a couple of minutes.

As long as it has power, the camera keeps recording to its memory card while it’s offline. The footage is there when it reconnects.

Choose a data plan

1. This is nearly always data. If you haven’t chosen a plan yet, the starter data on the SIM runs out within a few hours. Choose a plan and it’s back within minutes.

2. Already on a plan? You may have used this month’s data. Watching live is what uses it, especially for long spells.

3. WhatsApp us with your order number and we’ll get the camera back online, usually the same day.

4. If it keeps happening, move up a plan, or tap HD in the live view to switch to the sub-stream when you check in. It uses far less data.

If the app counts up to 99% and then shows network anomaly, the camera can’t get online. It carries on recording to its memory card in the meantime.

Choose a data plan

1. Solar 360: wait for the blue light beside the lens. It won’t pair while the light is red.

2. Wipe the label, find good light and hold your phone about a hand’s width away.

3. If it still won’t scan, move your phone a little further away from the QR code.

1. Give it a few minutes after switching it on. The light turns blue once the camera is connected to 4G.

2. Check you’ve chosen a data plan and haven’t used up this month’s data. The SIM won’t connect without data, and a new plan goes live within minutes.

3. Charge it over USB-C. A low battery can stop it connecting.

4. Turn it off, wait 30 seconds and turn it back on.

5. Try it outdoors, or wherever your phone gets 4G. Metal sheds and thick stone walls block the signal.

6. Still red after all that? WhatsApp us with the camera next to you. Its 4G settings may need a small change.

A red light, steady or flashing, means the camera hasn’t reached 4G yet. It’s almost always the plan, the battery or the signal, not a fault. A flashing blue light is fine: carry on with setup.

Choose a data plan

1. Flashing blue is fine. It means the camera is on and connecting. Carry on with setup as normal.

2. The app asks you to confirm the light is solid blue. You don’t need to wait for that.

3. The tick box can look greyed out, as if you can’t press it. Tick it anyway and carry on.

4. Finish adding the camera. The light turns solid blue once it’s connected.

Only a red light means it can’t connect yet.

1. The app is called CamHi Pro and it’s free. Search for CamHi Pro in the App Store or Google Play.

2. Some look-alike apps have similar names and charge a subscription. If an app asks you to pay, it’s the wrong one. Delete it and cancel the subscription in your App Store or Google Play account.

3. Paid by mistake? Ask Apple or Google Play for a refund from your account.

4. Still stuck? WhatsApp us and we’ll send you the right link.

You never need to pay for the app. The only monthly cost is your camera’s data plan, and that’s with us.

1. WhatsApp or email us with your order number and we’ll send you the camera’s password.

2. Passwords are case sensitive, so check for capital letters.

3. If you’ve changed it and can’t remember the new one, please don’t reset the camera. Message us and we’ll talk you through it.

4. Once you’re in, change the password to one of your own.

Talk to us

Talk to us

1. Tap HD in the live view to switch to the sub-stream. It needs far less signal and is fine for checking on stock. Tap it again to go back to HD.

2. Stand next to the camera and check how much signal your phone gets there.

3. If you can, move the camera a few metres, clear of metal roofs, cladding and tall hedges.

Whatever live view is doing, the camera keeps recording in full quality to its memory card.

1. Check your phone’s 4G at the exact spot. A few metres can make a real difference.

2. Try the camera higher up, or clear of metal roofs, cladding, thick walls and trees.

3. WhatsApp us the postcode and we’ll check which networks reach it.

4. If 4G won’t reach, a WiFi or PoE version can work better where there’s broadband or power nearby. We’ll talk you through the options.

A weak signal usually shows up as live view freezing or loading, even when the camera says it’s online.

WhatsApp your postcode

1. Do the setup next to your router, then move the camera once it’s working.

2. During setup, connect your phone to your 2.4GHz WiFi network. If your router shows two network names, pick the one without 5G in it.

3. Check the WiFi password. It’s case sensitive.

4. If WiFi doesn’t reach the spot reliably, a network cable (PoE) or the 4G version will be steadier. Ask us and we’ll talk it through.

Talk to us

1. Click in the live image

   

2. Swipe left

   

3. Ensure Intelligent tracking is enabled

   

1. Open the camera and tap the cog to open its settings.

   

2. Tap Time Settings.

   

3. Choose Europe/Dublin, which is UK time in this app, and turn on Daylight Saving Time.

   

4. Tap Saving Time Zone for Device. The camera may restart, and the time will hold.

If the clock is wrong, the playback timeline won’t line up with real events, so this one’s worth fixing straight away.

1. Open the camera in CamHi Pro so you can see the live picture.

2. Tap the playback icon.

   

3. Tap Time playback.

4. Pick the day. Days with footage are circled in blue on the calendar.

5. Scroll along the 24-hour timeline to the minute you want.

6. Save the footage to your phone, or take a screenshot. It’s ready to send to the police or your insurer.

Recording needs a memory card in the camera. If playback looks like separate still frames, or there’s nothing there at all, format the card from the camera’s settings. Cards are optional when you order, so check there’s one fitted.

1. Check there’s a memory card fitted. The camera takes a micro SD card, and cards are optional when you order.

2. The card goes in upside down, with the label facing down. Push it in until it clicks.

3. If the app shows the card with 0 - turn it off, wait 30 seconds and turn it back on.

4. Still not recording? Format the card from the camera’s settings.

Talk to us

1. All the time. Every camera records 24/7 to its memory card, not just when something moves.

2. When the card is full, it records over the oldest footage, so you never need to delete anything.

3. Alerts are separate. You only get an alert when it spots movement, but you can scroll back through everything either side of it.

4. There’s no cloud storage and no subscription for it. The footage stays on the camera’s memory card, and you watch it back in the app.

Recording needs a memory card in the camera. Cards are optional when you order, so check yours has one.

1. Open the camera so you can see the live picture.

2. Swipe left along the buttons under the picture for more controls.

3. Use the arrows to move the camera left, right, up and down.

4. Use the zoom buttons to zoom in and out.

5. For a bigger picture, turn your phone sideways. All the controls still work full screen.

1. Open the live picture, then swipe left along the buttons until you see Preset position. Tap it and a number keypad appears.

2. Each command is a number, then a button. On an iPhone the buttons are Setup and Call. On Android they’re Setting and Transfer.

3. Turn the camera to the view it should go back to after following someone. Enter 92 and tap Setup (Setting on Android) to save it.

4. Enter 92 again and tap Call (Transfer on Android) to switch that home position on.

5. To change how long it follows someone, enter 93 and tap Setup (Setting), then enter a number of seconds from 20 to 230 and tap Setup (Setting) again.

6. To turn people tracking off, enter 94 and tap Call (Transfer).

People tracking makes the camera follow anyone who walks into view, then go back to its home position.

Advanced settings guide (PDF)

1. Open the live picture, swipe left along the buttons to Preset position and tap it to bring up the keypad.

2. Turn the camera to the first spot you want it to check. Enter 1 and tap Setup (Setting on Android).

3. Turn it to the next spot, enter 2 and tap Setup (Setting). Carry on with 3, 4 and so on for each spot.

4. To start the patrol, enter 93 and tap Call (Transfer on Android). The camera moves between your spots on its own.

5. To clear the saved spots and start again, enter 155 and tap Call (Transfer), then enter 40 and tap Setup (Setting).

On an iPhone the keypad buttons are Setup and Call. On Android they’re Setting and Transfer.

Advanced settings guide (PDF)

1. Open the live picture, swipe left along the buttons to Preset position and tap it to bring up the keypad.

   

2. Enter 113 and tap Set (Setting on Android).

   

3. Enter a number from 1 to 60 and tap Set (Setting) again. Lower is slower, higher is faster.

1. Turn the motion sensitivity down in the camera’s alarm settings, so rain, shadows and moving branches stop setting it off.

2. Angle the camera so hedges, trees and the road are out of shot.

3. Only want alerts at certain times, like overnight? You can set alert hours. The steps are in the Advanced settings guide.

Spiders like a warm camera at night. A web across the lens sets off alerts on its own, so give it a wipe.

Advanced settings guide (PDF)

1. Tap the cog, then Alarm management and notification. Check Alarm capture to SD card and Alarm recording to SD card are both on.

2. Tap Advanced setting, then Quick editing to see the whole week.

3. Tick the days you want to change, then tap Empty all day to clear them.

4. Tap Add time domain, set the start and end times, then tap Add to.

Each day then shows your new times, and the camera only sends alerts during them. For overnight only, set 00:00 to 06:00.

Advanced settings guide (PDF)

1. On your phone, check notifications are allowed for CamHi Pro.

2. Click the cog on the homepage

   

3. In the camera’s settings, open Alarm management and notification.

   

4. Check Receive alarm push and AI Alarm are both on

   

1. Wipe the lens. Dust, rain spots and spider webs show up badly at night, when the infrared light reflects off them.

2. Check nothing is close to the lens, like a wall, gutter or branch. Infrared bounces off close surfaces and can wash out or darken the rest of the picture.

3. Night vision only reaches so far, so anything well beyond it will look dark. Point the camera at what matters most.

4. If one camera is much darker than another in the same spot, send us a night photo from each. It may need looking at under warranty.

Talk to us

1. It depends on distance and angle. Point the camera at the spot where vehicles slow down or stop, like the gate, rather than across the whole yard.

2. The bigger the plate is in the picture, the easier it is to read. Mount the camera closer to the gate, or zoom in on it with a 360 camera.

3. Aim for vehicles coming towards the camera. Plates are hard to read side-on.

Plates are much easier to read in daylight. At night, headlights can glare the picture.

1. Put CamHi Pro on their phone. There’s no limit on how many phones can watch.

2. On your phone, click the cog

   

3. Click share

   

4. Send them the QR code that appears.

   

5. On their phone, they open CamHi Pro, tap Add sharing device and use the QR code to connect.

Talk to us

1. Yes. CamHi Pro works anywhere your phone has internet, so you can check in from holiday just like at home.

2. Alerts still reach your phone wherever you are, as long as it’s online.

3. Watching live uses the camera’s data plan as usual. Your phone’s own data or roaming charges apply to your phone, so hotel WiFi avoids those.

1. Check the panel faces south with clear sky above it. Trees, rooflines and even the shadow of a post cut charging a lot.

2. Give the panel a wipe. Dust and bird mess add up.

3. In the darker months, keep live viewing short. Watching live uses far more power than recording.

4. Top it up over USB-C from a cable or power bank if you need to.

A full battery runs for roughly 10 to 14 days with no sun at all. Don’t charge it while it’s below freezing. Let it warm up indoors first.

1. Check the socket works by plugging in something else.

2. Check the plug on the camera’s power lead is pushed fully home and is dry.

3. Use the power supply from the box. Other adapters may not give the camera the power it needs.

4. Keep outdoor joins out of the rain. A small weatherproof box does the job.

1. Live viewing is what uses data. Recording to the memory card uses none.

2. For quick checks, tap HD in the live view to switch to the sub-stream. It uses far less data.

3. Message us and we’ll top you up or move you to a bigger plan, whichever suits.

Talk to us

Manage my plan

1. A new plan goes live within minutes. If the camera shows as online in the app, your plan is active.

2. If your card won’t go through, message us and we’ll send you a payment link instead.

3. If a monthly payment fails, the SIM pauses and the camera goes offline. Message us and we’ll get it back on, or set you up on Direct Debit so it doesn’t happen again.

Talk to us

1. Each camera has its own SIM, so each one needs its own plan.

2. Running more than one? There’s a discount for several cameras, and for paying yearly. Message us and we’ll set it up.

Talk to us

1. Orders placed before 2:30pm go out the same day on Royal Mail Tracked 24. Your tracking link is in your dispatch email.

2. If tracking hasn’t moved, or it says delivered and it isn’t with you, message us with your order number and we’ll chase Royal Mail.

1. Check it against the list for your camera. Defender 360: camera, mounting arm, aerials, SIM card, 12V power supply, drill template, 4 screws and 2 RuralGuard signs. 5MP Bullet: camera, 2 aerials, SIM card, 12V power supply and drill template.

2. Check every bag and underneath the packaging. Small fixings often hide there.

3. The SIM card is already fitted inside the camera, and if you ordered a memory card it may be fitted in there too.

4. Still missing? Send us a photo of what came in the box and your order number, and we’ll send it out.

1. Everything you need is on this page. Start with Setting up a new camera at the top. It takes about ten minutes.

2. There’s a printable guide for each camera further down, under Guides for your camera.

3. Rather be talked through it? Ring or WhatsApp us and we’ll set it up with you over the phone.

Go to the setup steps

1. Check the fixes above first. Plenty of “faults” turn out to be signal, power or a setting, and we can usually fix those the same day over the phone.

2. Message us with your order number, which camera it is and what it’s doing. A short video helps. If it does need to come back, it’s covered by the 18-month warranty.

Talk to us