Typical Dahua cameras failures?

M

Molbo

n3wb
Oct 13, 2019
29
12
Vancouver, Canada
Nothing is forever and everything fails sooner or later.
So, my question is to people who have more experience than I (almost zero :) )
What are typical Dahua camera failures? What is usually breaking first? Is there any way to keep cameras work longer?
 
There have been a bunch of reports where a camera wouldn't work on POE but still work when powered by the 12 volt input. I've had a couple of cameras fail. One became temperature sensitive, not working when cold (the opposite of most temp sensitive failures), and another started randomly working and not working. Both cameras worked perfectly for at least 2 years with outside temp ranging from -20 to +100.
 
Don't think that I've had any out of about 20 various Dahua cams that I've had fail.

The most common preventable 'failure' that I've seen here I'd say probably would be unprotected connectors. Use some dielectric grease and seal it well an/or otherwise protect it and you'll avoid that problem.

Anything internal to the cam you're unlikely to affect much by doing anything one way or another.

Actually, I take that back... Next most common probably would be bricking them when trying to do firmware changes. Don't do unnecessary updates and make sure that you have the correct version for that model/region/etc. if/when you do.

Most common actual failures that I've seen on various other cams would be some firmware corruption that I couldn't recover from and stuck IR filters. Neither of which you can do much to prevent.
 
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In one of mine the sound has either never worked or failed shortly after installing. It’s still under warranty with Andy but I’ve never bothered to do anything about it as the main video stream works fine.
 
Hi Molbo,

I'm using,

2x Dahua IPC-EW4431-ASW 4MP Fisheye (China firmware) and
3x Dahua IPC-HDW4433C-A 4MP domes (English firmware).

All camera's were purchased mid 2018 via Aliexpress and are expressly not to be upgraded.

My setup is an Asustor entry level NAS with Surveillance Centre software connecting via an Asus router and BV-Tech POE switch.
The cameras are communicating using ONVIF to the NAS software.

My first problem was updating my NAS firmware which disconnected all the cameras. I reverted to the old firmware and the issue went away.

The 2nd failure was motion detection for both the Fisheye's. They stopped detecting at the same time. Rebooting the camera did nothing, so I rebooted the NAS and this fixed it. I then scheduled a NAS reboot once a week to try and overcome this.

This morning, a courier threw a package at my window. I went to check the front camera and it stop recording around midnight. It has been 5 days since the NAS reboot trick. Perhaps I will try and reboot the NAS daily to see if this helps?

Although described as IP67 rated, I did have an issue with condensation (on one of the domes) when transferring the cameras from a humid climate to a dry one. The Dahua does have a nice feature (you must select it) to digitally attenuate the condensation behind the lens cover. The condensation eventually went away.

I have also noticed these camera's reach out to China IP addresses. I have therefore completely removed any internet connectivity (closed system only).

I am especially happy with the domes which have been rock solid for 2 years of 24/7 motion detect use.

Regards,

Mariner.
 
No problems with any of my dahua cameras in the two years I have had them, some were purchased from Andy and others from Aliexpress with hacked Chinese firmware. All my cameras are on a separate network and can not reach the internet. All cameras are turrets, and have survived the Houston Texas heat and rain. I now use the cameras to record continuously to BI, no other camera processing.
 
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I've had one fail that I can recall since my analog days of 2012. Pretty sure it was due to a lightning strike nearby. Well over over 100 cameras between my own and friends I've helped install. I have had firmware issues but have learned to be careful about updating firmware only when absolutely necessary.
 
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I've never had a Dahua camera fail yet, I have had a couple Sunba and Sricam brand cameras die way back before I knew about Dahua.
 
No failures here. I think my oldest 5231s are about three years old... I have killed the waterproof Ethernet connector on two, but that was 100% me and was fixable.
 
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Wow, thank you guys, this is really interesting feedback. It looks like Dahua cameras are pretty reliable in general.
Just to be more specific, my main concern is thermal cycling.
I'm trying to put my cameras out of direct sunlight, but in couple of spots I don't have any choice.
And my previous experience with trail cameras shows that many of them are failing after intense temperature cycling.
Do you have any comments on how Dahua cameras can handle such conditions?
 
Molbo said:
Wow, thank you guys, this is really interesting feedback. It looks like Dahua cameras are pretty reliable in general.
Just to be more specific, my main concern is thermal cycling.
I'm trying to put my cameras out of direct sunlight, but in couple of spots I don't have any choice.
And my previous experience with trail cameras shows that many of them are failing after intense temperature cycling.
Do you have any comments on how Dahua cameras can handle such conditions?
Click to expand...
My sd59225 is in direct sunlight 24/7 with 90° days then still auto tracking in winter -3° days.. solid
 
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I like PTZ cams, wanted few of them.
The reason why I didn't buy them was that no matter what the vendor is, I cannot trust moving parts to last long comparing to static cams.
 
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My IPC-HDW5231R-ZE, purchased from Empire Tech Andy in 2018, has failed. Failure began with intermittent loss of configuration, degrading to dropping off the network. Tried a different PoE supply, and 12V supply with no joy resulting. Opened it up on my bench, did the reset procedure, which results in the IR shutter clicking periodically, but no connection. Tested the capacitance across the electrolytic caps on the PoE daughter board, one of which is open (220uF 25V SMD), the other 47uF 63V cap reading 114uF using a DVM. Has anyone tried soldering new ones? Links to replacement boards would be welcome as well. A shame to bin such an otherwise nice camera.
 
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I did recently have an old 8231 finally give up from 2016. I think moisture got in it finally.
 
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@bigredfish Thanks for response. I did notice that the silica pack indicators were brown, IIRC they are blue when still able to absorb moisture. I didn't notice any obvious moisture problems, but the camera board (with the Ambarella chip) had a yellow pad that had a slight sheen of fluid. However, the pad is not electrically conductive, so I'm guessing its a heat-conductive pad between the Ambarella and the supporting alloy structure. Swapping out the 220uF cap had no effect, although the cam is taunting me by responding to pings, just not to configtool nor lan-local browser login. The Voltage from the PoE 802.3af leads max at 10V, which matches the discovery phase of the handshake protocol, fwiw. It should pop to 44V during operation.
 
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I have eight bought at various times since before 2014, I'm not sure how long, and have not had one fail. Having said that one of the original ones doesn't seem to have as sharp a picture as it did when new. In a way I wish they didn't last as long as they have so I can justify a new one or two! I have had to clean connection at the camera end a couple of times, not sure if that counts as a 'failure', the cameras came back online fine after cleaning.
 
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I just move the old ones to less critical duty. Always a good excuse for a new camera that way.
 
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rmalbers said:
I have eight bought at various times since before 2014, I'm not sure how long, and have not had one fail. Having said that one of the original ones doesn't seem to have as sharp a picture as it did when new. In a way I wish they didn't last as long as they have so I can justify a new one or two! I have had to clean connection at the camera end a couple of times, not sure if that counts as a 'failure', the cameras came back online fine after cleaning.
Click to expand...

It's just not as sharp because we have newer cams to compare it to LOL.

I am sure my 900TVL analog hasn't degraded, but wow did that image look impressive when I first got it and was the best resolution out there LOL.

Yep - 2nd the move an old cam to another area and upgrade! We can never have too many cameras LOL
 
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