Question 1

What should I check before paying for a CCTV installation?

Accepted Answer

Test the night footage rather than just the daytime live view, play back recorded footage to confirm recording actually works, check remote access from mobile data rather than your home WiFi, confirm the accounts and admin passwords are in your name, and walk the property to check for blind spots. It takes about twenty minutes and any installer doing the job properly will be happy to go through it with you.

Question 2

Why does my CCTV look fine in the day and bad at night?

Accepted Answer

Daytime footage looks acceptable on almost any camera. Night performance depends on sensor quality, lighting at each position, infrared range and whether anything in frame is causing glare. If a system was only checked in daylight, night problems go unnoticed until footage is actually needed. This is why testing night footage before final sign-off is the most valuable check on the list.

Question 3

Does live view working mean my cameras are recording?

Accepted Answer

No. Live view and recording are separate functions, and a system can display live footage perfectly while recording incorrectly or not at all. Have someone walk each camera's coverage area, then play that footage back from the recorder and confirm the timestamp is right and the whole walk was captured. Motion-triggered systems in particular can start recording late and miss the beginning of an event.

Question 4

Should the installer keep the admin password to my cameras?

Accepted Answer

No. The accounts, app logins and admin access should be in your name, with default passwords changed before the installer leaves, and you should be able to add and remove users yourself. If a system is set up under an installer's own account you become dependent on them for every future change, and you can be locked out of your own system if that relationship ends.

Question 5

How do I test remote access to my security cameras?

Accepted Answer

Turn WiFi off on your phone so it is using mobile data, then check that both live viewing and recorded playback work. Testing while connected to your own home network proves nothing about remote access, because the phone is not actually going out over the internet to reach the system. It is worth testing again from another location entirely before you rely on it.

Question 6

What questions should I ask my CCTV installer at handover?

Accepted Answer

How long footage will be kept at the current settings, whether the system keeps recording if the internet drops, whether anything depends on a subscription and what stops working without it, where the recorder is located and what happens if it is stolen, and exactly what the warranty covers and for how long. Write the answers down, because in two years nobody remembers.

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About the Author: Julia U

cctv-handover-checklist

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About the Author: Julia U