Trouble getting alarms

1

The device is set up in GC Surge.

Sites & Cameras: the status of the device.

2

The device detects something.

On the device: detection is switched on, has an area and a schedule.

3

The device is told to send an e-mail when it detects.

On the device: the e-mail action of the detection.

4

The device has the right e-mail settings.

On the device: compare with Setup details in GC Surge.

5

The device can reach the internet.

On the device and the site network: DNS, gateway, outbound port, time.

Setup needed

The setup is not finished.

Section 2

Setup failed

The automatic setup stopped at one step.

Section 3

Configured or Configured manually

The settings are on the device, but no alarm has arrived yet.

Section 4

Quiet

Alarms arrived before, but none in the last 24 hours.

Section 5

Receiving alarms

Alarms arrive.

Section 6 if you still miss alarms

Disabled

You switched the device off in GC Surge.

Device … menu > Enable device

A private camera (local agent)

The step on site is not done yet.

The person on site opens the on-site setup page, connects the local agent and enters the site key. See "Onboarding sites and devices", section 4. In GC Surge, open the device … menu > Complete setup and click Refresh status.

A private camera, and the contact did not get the instructions

Wrong e-mail address, or the mail is in spam.

Complete setup > Resend instructions, or send the key with Send site key.

A private camera, "Site key activation expired"

More than 30 minutes passed since the activation.

Click Reactivate site key. The key itself stays the same.

A device you configure yourself (REST API, e-mail, FTP)

You chose Skip for now.

Enter the values on the device. Then device … menu > Setup details > I've entered these settings: mark as configured manually.

Device credentials

Wrong user name or password, or the user may not change settings. Message: "The credentials you entered are incorrect, so this device will not be configured."

Edit, enter a device user with administrator rights, Save and retry. Check on the device that the account is not locked after wrong attempts.

Camera reachable

The address and port do not answer. For a private camera: "The local agent could not reach the camera at … Check that the agent's computer is on the camera's network and that the address and port are right."

Public camera: check the public address, the port forwarding and the firewall. Private camera: the PC with the local agent must be in the same network as the camera. Open the web page of the camera from that PC to test.

Loading device settings

GC Surge reached the device but could not read it.

Check the brand, the port and HTTPS (secure). A port for HTTP with HTTPS switched on, or the other way round, fails here.

Local agent checked

The local agent is not running, or it is too old.

Start the local agent. If you see "Local agent update required", install the latest agent and click Check version again.

Saving connection details

The details could not be saved.

Retry. If it fails again, contact NXGEN support.

Writing alarm e-mail settings

The device refused the e-mail settings. Message: "The device did not accept the alarm e-mail settings."

Check that the user has administrator rights and that nobody else is changing the device. Update old device firmware. If it still fails, enter the settings by hand: see the guide for your brand.

Reading the camera list

The channels of the device could not be read. Message: "The device did not return its camera list."

Check the brand. On a recorder, check that at least one camera is connected. Retry.

Marking as configured

The last step did not complete.

Retry.

"The failing step was not recorded."

The reason was not stored.

Retry once. The step is then shown.

"Retry failed. Check credentials and try again."

Edit, check address, port, HTTPS and credentials, Save and retry.

"Connection details are incomplete. Use Edit to review and update credentials before retrying."

Edit, fill in the missing fields.

"Local agent is offline. Start the agent before retrying."

Retry for a private camera only works from a PC in the site network with the local agent running.

"Camera brand is missing on this device, so the local agent cannot configure it."

Edit and choose the brand, or set the device up by hand.

"Injection failed, please check the device credentials"

The device refused the login. Correct the user name and password.

"Port not reachable — site connects via private/VPN."

GC Surge cannot reach this address from the internet. If the camera should be public, fix the port forwarding. If not, continue as a private camera.

1

Trigger a real test.

Walk through the picture of the camera, inside the detection area.

Without movement there is no alarm.

2

Detection is switched on.

On the device: motion detection or the analytics rule is enabled for this camera.

Switch it on. GC Surge adds the e-mail action to a detection. It does not switch a detection on for you.

3

Detection has an area and enough sensitivity.

On the device: the area covers the scene, the sensitivity is not at the lowest value.

Draw the area. Raise the sensitivity.

4

Detection is armed now.

On the device: the arming schedule includes the current day and hour.

Set the schedule, for example all day.

5

The detection sends an e-mail.

On the device: the action "send e-mail" is ticked for this detection.

Tick it and save. Then use Retry in GC Surge.

6

The e-mail carries a picture.

On the device: "attach image" or "snapshot" is ticked.

Tick it. An alarm without pictures cannot be checked.

7

The e-mail settings are the ones of this device.

In GC Surge: device … menu > Setup details. Compare Host, Port, Username, Encryption, To email and From email with the device, character by character.

Use Retry to write them again, or correct them by hand.

8

The e-mail test of the device works.

On the device: the test button of the e-mail settings.

See the next table.

9

The device time is right.

On the device: date, time and time zone.

Set the time or switch on time synchronisation (NTP). A wrong date can make the secure connection fail.

The server cannot be found, or a name error

No DNS server on the device.

Enter a DNS server in the network settings, for example the one of your router.

No connection, or a time-out

The device has no gateway, or the site firewall blocks the outbound port.

Enter the gateway. Allow outbound connections from the device to the Port shown in Setup details.

Login or authentication failed

The user name or password on the device is not the one from Setup details.

Copy both again with the copy buttons. Use Retry to write them again.

Secure connection or TLS error

Wrong encryption type, wrong date on the device, or old firmware.

Choose the encryption shown in Setup details. With port 587 this is TLS, on some devices named STARTTLS. Correct the date. Update the firmware.

The test works, but no alarm arrives

The test only checks the server. The detection does not send.

Go back to checks 2 to 6.

REST API

The request goes to the Events URL, carries the API key, and contains the Device ID exactly as shown. The answer is 202. Send pictures with every alarm.

Email (SMTP)

All values are the ones from Setup details. The e-mail has a picture attached.

FTP

Host, port, user name and password are the ones from Setup details. Outbound FTP is allowed on the site firewall. Try passive mode.

Is this expected?

The site is closed, or nothing moved in front of the camera.

Nothing. Trigger a test alarm if you want to be sure.

Is the device online?

Power cut, cable, switch, or the device was restarted and did not come back.

Open the web page of the device. Restore power or network.

Does the site have internet?

The line is down, or the firewall or router was changed. Several devices of the site are Quiet at the same time.

Check the internet connection and the outbound rules of the site.

Was the device changed?

A firmware update, a factory reset or a replacement removed the settings.

Retry writes the settings again. For a replaced device with another address, use Edit.

Was the password changed on the device?

Retry fails with a credentials message.

Edit, enter the new password, Save and retry.

Was the detection changed?

The schedule ended, the area was removed, or the detection was switched off.

Checks 2 to 6 in section 4.

Is the lens blocked or the picture black?

Dirt, a failed infrared light, a moved camera.

Look at the live picture of the camera.

NOVA99x filter: false alarm

NOVA99x filtered it. No operator saw it.

See "NOVA99x classification and rules".

Forwarded, no operator

No operator was monitoring. It went to your alarm system automatically.

See "Queue and assignment", section 3.

The alarm is under another device or site

Values of another device were used.

Correct the settings on the device.

The alarm is not listed at all

It did not arrive.

Go back to section 1.

Nothing is filtered or forwarded for any device

The trial has ended or the subscription is inactive.

Open Billing.

Your alarm system got nothing, but Recordings shows a confirmed alarm

The forwarding is not set or the receiver is not reachable.

Settings > Alarm reception > Send test event. See the Shift supervisor handbook, section 7.3.

Hikvision

Dahua

Axis

Nx Witness

Any other brand

"Onboarding sites and devices", section 6.2: configure the device yourself.