Quick Trail Camera Troubleshooting
Like when using any technology you may at some point encounter the odd hiccup, such as the camera not powering on, or less obvious, such as the camera recording fewer videos at night.
Thankfully in any case there are a number of things you can do to try and identify and resolve the problem.
Below we have listed the top six steps we recommend for troubleshooting any trail camera.
1. Check your batteries
Issues this can resolve: No power on startup, short videos at night, dark videos at night, unresponsive buttons, restarting after countdown, not retaining settings and many more!
The most common cause of camera traps not working normally is insufficient power due to improper or older batteries.
If you are using alkaline batteries then this could be the source of the problem. Alkaline batteries have been linked to a large number of issues due to their lower voltage and worse performance in lower temperatures.
Rechargeable batteries can also cause problems. They have a low voltage rating of 1.2V, which is below the 1.5V voltage required for modern trail cameras. In our testing only Panasonic Eneloop Pro AA batteries have been able to power most trail cameras satisfactorily. If you are using these batteries please note that they will still need to be replaced after 9-12 months as their capacity drops, depending on usage.
We recommend trying your camera again with a fresh set of Lithium Energizer AA batteries. If the problem is related to the batteries the camera should return to normal functionality once these are replaced.
If you are using Energizer Lithiums already, it is worth checking the expiry date on the side of the batteries. This should be 12-2040 (or at least close to this date). Some cheaper bulk packs of Lithium batteries bought on eBay and Amazon come with an expiry date of 03-2025 and are most likely counterfeit.
For further information do take a look at our article on batteries and camera traps.
We recommend using Lithium batteries for optimum trail camera performance
2. Check your camera position
Issues this can resolve: Camera not triggering, reduced triggers, only larger animals being detected, pictures are bleached out, false triggers, images are blurry around sunrise/sunset.
Trail camera placement can have a huge impact on the quality of the images/videos recorded and the sensitivity of the camera.
Try to keep the camera centred on the area you expect to see activity. The area of greatest sensitivity is often in the centre of the camera’s field of view. If you have a feeder or an animal house you should position the camera so this is in the centre of the screen.
Make sure the camera is the correct distance from the area you are recording. For smaller mammals and birds we recommend between 5-10ft, and for hedgehogs we generally recommend being within 5-15ft. All trail cameras have a fixed focal distance of 5-6ft so placing the camera closer than this will result in blurry images.
The camera height should be between 30-60cm off the ground to capture most animals in the UK.
Avoid sharply angling the camera up or down. A high angle may reduce sensitivity and a low angle can cause overexposure.
External moisture on the camera lens can lead to foggy images - particularly around sunrise and sunset, in areas with a lot of moisture in the air and/or little wind to clear it. It is very prevalent in Spring and Autumn. Try re-siting the camera to somewhere where there is better airflow. You can also rub a small amount of saliva on the camera lens to prevent moisture build up.
For further information do take a look at our article on trail camera placement.
Red dots illustrating the detection arc of camera traps
3. Format your SD card
Issues this can resolve: Camera not saving recordings, corrupted recordings, screen says “Card error” or “Card Full”.
Occasionally an SD card can become corrupted during use. This can cause a camera to fail to save recordings or pictures to the SD card, or these are saved as corrupted files that cannot be viewed back.
We recommend formatting your SD card to restore it to factory settings and remove any possible corruption that may prevent the camera from reading or writing to this.
SD cards can be formatted on your trail camera. This will be listed under the setup/options menu as either ‘Delete All’ (Browning) or ‘Format’ (Bushnell, SpyPoint, Ltl Acorn).
We have a video which demonstrates how to format the SD card on a Browning trail camera which you can view below.
Formatting an SD card on a Browning trail camera
4. Check whether your SD card is locked
Issues this can resolve: Camera doesn’t register a card is inserted, camera not saving recordings.
Sometimes an SD card that was previously working fine becomes un-writable by the camera. In this case it is always worth checking that the SD card has not been locked.
There is a grey tab on the side of the SD card that should be slid to the top of the card and away from the ‘locked’ position.
A SanDisk SD card with the grey tab in the ‘unlocked’ position
5. Restore the camera to factory settings
Issues this can resolve: Camera not retaining settings, camera not triggering.
If a camera is failing to retain its settings or it is simply not triggering, it is recommended to try restoring the camera to factory settings. If the camera functions normally once it has been reset you can re-input the desired settings and try it again.
On your trail camera this will be listed under the setup/options menu as either ‘Default Settings’ (Browning, SpyPoint), ‘Default Set’ (Ltl Acorn) or just ‘Default’ (Bushnell)
We have a video which demonstrates how to restore a Browning trail camera to factory settings which you can view below.
Restoring a Browning trail camera to factory settings
6. Update or refresh your camera firmware (Browning only)
Issues this can resolve: Camera not retaining settings, camera not triggering.
The firmware on trail cameras can sometimes develop errors during operation. This can be resolved by updating or refreshing the firmware.
Not all of Browning’s trail cameras have firmware available online, so it is worth checking their software update page.
Once you have downloaded the firmware file for your camera you can update the camera:
- You need to unzip the file
- Take the BRN file and place it on the root of the SD card (not in any folders)
- Put the SD card into the camera, and go to the setup menu
- Navigate to F/W Upgrade and then select Yes. This will take approximately 2 mins to complete and then the camera will turn off.
- Turn the switch to off, then back on.
If you cannot select the yes option on your camera you will need to double check that you have placed the BRN file in the root directory (not inside any sub-folders) and that the file name has not been edited; sometimes your computer will add a (1) when the file is downloaded, and this will need to be deleted for the camera to be able to read the firmware file.
Hopefully the advice presented in this article will help you get your camera up and running again. However if you still cannot get your camera to work correctly do please raise a support ticket. Someone from our technical support team will then get in touch with you to try and resolve any issues with your camera.
Happy Camera Trapping!
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