A possible fix for nighttime IPC-HFW5231E-Z12 autofocus issues

I'm glad the trick is working for you, too. I've gone several months now without any autofocus issues (knock on wood). If I make it through an entire year without any incidents, I'll consider the problem completely solved.
 
Pulled a little bit of zoom out and added more reflectors. Been over a month and is working great. Only worried about winter when they get covered with snow.
 
I'm having focus issues with my 5241 camera. Same issues - loses focus when it switches to night. I've heard of 3 solutions. 1) Run B/W 24/7. 2) Sunrise/sunset utility. 3) Tape or similar for the unit to focus on at night.

I don't have a Windows PC running 24/7, so I don't believe the sunrise/sunset utility will work for me, correct?

The tape is an interesting idea (I am only trying to cover an entrance to my circle driveway with my camera, so I assume I could lay some tape across it). Right now I have it in auto switchover mode from day to night - I'm not very excited about having to manually switch it over 30 minutes before sunset and 30 minutes after sunrise due to the changing times throughout the year. Anyone had any success with the tape and left the camera in auto switchover mode?

Perhaps leaving in B/W all the time is the easiest solution. I have over color cameras that are capturing the "big picture" of the same area. Seems silly though that there isn't firmware fix for this issue. Seems like its been around a few years. Not holding my breath at this point.

Chris
 
B&W full time is the best bet if it’s dedicated to LPR. I have good success with one using Schedule to switch 45 min before and after sunset/sunrise. Basically change it 2-3 times per year. Not a big deal.
 
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I use the same as @bigredfish, profile to switch before sunset and after sunrise, switch between IR & B&W on my 5231-Z12 & 5241-Z12 without issue 95% of the time and I’m almost at max zoom on the 5231 & absolute maximum on the 5241.

B&W full time is the best bet if it’s dedicated to LPR. I have good success with one using Schedule to switch 45 min before and after sunset/sunrise. Basically change it 2-3 times per year. Not a big deal.