What Does Blinking Green Light On Security Cameras Mean?

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The blinking green light on a security camera indicates the camera is powered, connecting to a network, or actively recording. 

This isn’t always the case, as brands can use different patterns and colors to indicate these. Therefore, you should confirm the blinking light pattern using your camera’s user manual.

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Things to Know

  • The blinking green light on security cameras usually indicates that it’s trying to power on, establish a network connection, or is in recording mode.
  • However, different brands will indicate different statuses based on the color and blinking frequency. 
  • In case you can’t check the manual, you can fix the blinking light by troubleshooting the camera.
  • This involves checking the power supply, ensuring Wi-Fi connectivity, or updating the camera’s firmware.
  • If the camera works fine, except for the blinking light, you can just let it sit, or get help from a professional. 

What Does it Mean When There’s a Blinking Green Light in a Security Camera?

A blinking or solid green light on a security camera functions as a visual status indicator. As such, it helps users understand the camera’s current state. 

This light can have several meanings, depending on the camera model. Some of the most common are:

  • The camera is trying to connect to a Wi-Fi network.
  • The camera is powering up after a power outage.
  • The camera is trying to reconnect after losing internet access.
  • The camera is actively recording or detecting motion.
  • To notify the battery is charging or the solar panel is providing power (in the case of wire-free cameras).
  • The camera is performing a firmware update.

By the way, check out this guide if you’re looking to hide security cameras outdoors.

How to Solve Any Issues Indicated By a Blinking Green Light

In most cases, the blinking green light on a security camera will go away after a couple of minutes. 

However, in case it’s blinking indefinitely. You can try to diagnose the situation and see if you can spot any issues. Here’s how:

1. Waiting a Good 5-10 Minutes to Confirm

Usually, if the camera is starting up, rebooting, or updating the firmware, it will need a few minutes to return to its normal state. Therefore, make sure you don’t turn off the power to the camera and be patient. 

The situation might resolve itself. Therefore, give it a good 10 minutes before you decide to move on to other steps. 

2. Check the Manual

While waiting for the blinking light to go away, you can fish out the user guide and see if there’s any mention of what the blinking light means. 

Most guides will have a map or legend. Here, it will indicate each blinking pattern or color and mention what it’s trying to indicate. 

Additionally, you can check the user manual online. Make sure to include the model number and brand while doing so. 

3. Check the Footage

Sometimes, the blinking green light on your security camera might indicate recording status or power on.

So to make sure there aren’t any problems, you can try to check the camera footage. 

  1. First, try opening up the camera’s companion app or VMS software. 
  2. Then see if you can access the live-view of your security camera. If everything shows up okay and the app doesn’t indicate any errors, you can rest a bit easily.
  3. However, you should also check for other functions and see if they are working. This includes features such as motion detection, two-way communication, and remote viewing. 
  4. Confirm whether these functions are working as expected. Also, make sure the camera is responsive and displays quality footage without static or lag. 

Want to know how to set up security cameras for clear and readable footage? Check out this detailed guide on the DORI standard.

4. Check For Firmware Updates

If the above step didn’t highlight any issues, the blinking green light might be a simple indicator. In that case, you can check for any notifications in the app or consider updating the firmware. 

However, when updating the firmware, make sure not to disconnect the camera. Additionally, ensure the camera can connect to the internet and has a strong Wi-Fi signal. 

  1. Check Wi-Fi Signal Strength and Internet Access

If you notice the companion app or the live view to be a bit laggy, there might be an issue with the internet connection. 

  1. So first, check whether your Wi-Fi connection has enough bandwidth to spare. You can do this by carrying out a quick speed test. 
  2. If the speed test shows a high enough speed (usually, more than 2Mbps), internet access isn’t the issue. 
  3. However, if the speed is slow or you barely have access to the internet, you can try the following steps:
    • Check whether there are any other devices that are hogging up all the bandwidth.
    • Try disconnecting unnecessary devices from the Wi-Fi network
    • Contact your ISP and check whether there’s an internet blackout or if your internet plan has expired
    • Restart your Wi-Fi router (simply turn it on and off)
    • Check the server status of your security camera’s brand/service
  4. Apart from low bandwidth and lack of internet access, the security camera might have low signal strength. In that case:
    • Try repositioning the Wi-Fi router
    • Bridge the gap using Wi-Fi extenders
  5. Use a mobile hotspot and try connecting your security camera to this.

Also, check out this article on how far a wireless security camera can transmit to learn more tips. 

6. Restart or Power Cycle the Security Camera

If you suspect the blinking green light is indicating some sort of internal error or glitch, you can try to restart the camera. Then, see if the issue goes away:

  1. Simply unplug the camera from the wall outlet or DC jack. 
  2. Then, wait a couple of minutes and plug it back in.
  3. Wait 5-10 minutes for the camera to fully initialize
  4. Check if everything works as intended (similar to step 3).

However, if this doesn’t solve the issue, you can also perform a hard reset. Do note: this will default the camera.

7. Factory Reset the Camera or DVR

Only perform a factory reset as a last resort. 

So if the camera is working properly (according to step 3), I don’t recommend you follow through with this. Even if the blinking green light seems unusual or distracting.

That said, to factory reset the camera, look for reset instructions on the camera’s user guide. You can also google the specific brand and model to find a video or guide.

8. Get Help From a Professional

Finally, if you’ve exhausted all the above options, you can try contacting customer support for assistance. 

Verdict

The blinking green light on a security camera usually indicates that the device is recording or trying to connect to the internet.

However, this isn’t always the case, as brands use different patterns and colors to signal various statuses. As such, the best method is to check your specific user guide. 

Alternatively, check if the security camera is recording and uploading as usual. Then, troubleshoot any issues that may pop up. 

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