Security Cameras Not Working After a Power Outage: What to Check and in What Order

That's common, and it's usually fixable. The trick is to look before you touch anything, because the wrong restart can make it worse. Here's a short checklist.

What you need

• A phone with your camera app and login.
• Safe access to the router, the camera switch and the recorder, so you can see their lights.
• A note of which cameras you expect to see.
• Reach from the floor only. If a camera is out of reach, leave it and call us. Don't use a ladder.

Step by step

1. Wait. After a power loss, many devices take a while to start back up. Give the equipment a few minutes to start up. Don't power cycle anything while it's still starting.
2. Look at the lights. Start with the internet router or modem, then the camera switch, then the recorder or cloud bridge. A device with no lights at all may have no power. A device with lights but no network lights may have lost its connection. If equipment has no power at all, stop. Don't reset breakers or open any panel. Call us.
3. Check the internet. Connect a phone to the same network and open a web page. If the building has no internet, cloud cameras will show offline for that reason alone, even if the cameras are fine.
4. Open your camera app and see what's missing. Write down which cameras are offline. This is the most useful thing you can tell a technician.
   • All cameras offline: think internet, switch or recorder.
   • A few offline: think those cameras and their cables or switch ports. Don't move cables or switch ports yourself. Changing them can break how the recorder knows the camera.
5. Look at a camera's own lights, if it has them and you can reach it from the floor. An older Axis guide, for example, says that if the power light is off you should start with power, and if it's on you should check the network light next. Light patterns vary by model, so use your camera's own guide.
6. If you still have nothing after waiting, restart the internet equipment only. Follow your internet provider's instructions for the modem and router. If you have a combined modem and router, restart that one box. If it has no power button, you can unplug its power cord for about a minute and plug it back in. Then wait for its lights to settle.
   
   A few cautions:
   • If the modem has a backup battery and its lights stay on after you unplug it, don't open it. Call your provider or PAX.
   • Don't press any small recessed Reset button. A restart keeps settings, but a reset restores factory defaults.
   • Don't restart, power off or unplug the camera switch or the recorder yourself. Call PAX instead. A switch can also power phones or door hardware.
   • Don't open the recorder, the switch or any panel.
7. Check each camera again in the app. Open live view for every camera. Then look at recorded video, not just live view, to confirm it's recording.
8. Stop and call if the recorder or bridge doesn't come back, if cameras are still missing after the restart, or if the system has lost its settings. Eagle Eye Networks says an offline bridge always needs someone on site who can connect directly to it. That's a technician job.
   
   If you notice a burning smell, smoke, visible damage, water, or a device that's hot to the touch, keep away from the equipment. For smoke, fire, a burning smell or water near powered equipment, leave and call 911 or emergency services first. For other damage, call your building engineer or an electrician, then call PAX.

What the vendor guide skips

Vendor pages cover one camera or one box. A business has a router, a switch, a recorder and many cameras, all coming back at once.

• There's probably a gap in your footage. If the power was out, cameras and recorders without a battery backup weren't recording. Check the recorded video for the outage window before you promise anyone footage from those hours.
• Some systems record locally and catch up later. Eagle Eye says its Camera Direct cameras with an SD card installed record to the card during an internet outage and sync to the cloud once they're back online. SD cards aren't included with the camera. That covers an internet outage, not a power loss at the camera.
• A battery backup (UPS) is worth a conversation. It can keep the recorder or bridge, the switch and the router running through a short outage, or let them shut down in an orderly way. Ask us whether one makes sense for your setup. It's not something to improvise. Don't plug equipment into a different outlet or power strip on your own.
• Check the clock. If the time on live view looks wrong after the outage, tell us before you export anything for an insurer or the police.
• Door hardware and phones sometimes share a switch with the cameras. That's why the checklist above says to look before powering anything off.
• Fire alarm panels are different. If one is beeping or showing a trouble message, call your fire alarm company. Don't silence or reset it.
• Use the monthly walkthrough to catch an offline camera before the day you need the footage.

If you'd rather not do it yourself

If cameras are still offline after the steps above, the recorder or bridge won't come back, you can't reach a camera safely from the floor, you want to check for a gap in your footage, or you'd like to talk about battery backup, call PAX at (855) 440-5353 or email info@paxsecurity.com. You can also reach us through https://paxsecurity.com/contact-us.

Sources

• Eagle Eye Networks support, Local Troubleshooting (updated 2026-09-17): https://support.een.com/portal/en/kb/articles/local-troubleshooting
• Eagle Eye Networks support, Camera Direct FAQ: https://support.een.com/portal/en/kb/articles/camera-direct-faq
• Axis Communications, Troubleshooting Axis cameras (2014, varies by model): https://www.axis.com/files/feature_articles/ar_troubleshooting_axis_cameras_58070_en_1405_hi.pdf
• Microsoft Support, Fix Ethernet connection problems (modem and router restart steps): https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/experience/connectivity-networking/fix-ethernet-connection-problems-in-windows
• Reolink Support, Differences between Reset, Restore and Reboot: https://support.reolink.com/articles/14781673342361-Introduction-to-the-Differences-between-Reset-Restore-and-Reboot/
• Accessed 2026-10-31 and 2026-11-02. Vendor pages change, so check the current page before you follow a step.