Panasonic Network Camera BB-HCM381A BB-HCE481A Getting Started Manual

							Troubleshooting
5
BB-HCE481A Indicator Display Troubleshooting
Problem Cause and Remedy
The indicator 
lights or blinks 
orange. The Ethernet cable is partly disconnected.
→Change it to another Ethernet cable.
The indicator 
continues 
blinking orange. The camera is turned off when updating firmware.
→If you access the camera using a web browser, The 
Update Firmware page will be displayed. Update the 
firmware following the procedure (see page 158 of the 
Operating Instructions on the CD-ROM). If you fail to 
update the firmware, see page 26.
The indicator 
continues 
blinking orange 
(2-second 
interval). An error has occurred in UPnP™ port forwarding.
→Set up the camera again in [Automatic Setup] using the 
Setup Program following the instructions in Getting 
Started.
The indicator 
continues 
blinking green. Automatic setup is not complete.
→Complete the setup following the instructions in Getting 
Started.
 The camera did not receive an IP address from the DHCP 
server.
→When setting [Automatic Setup] or [DHCP Setup], the 
camera may not be assigned an IP address due to network 
failures. Ask your ISP or network administrator for more 
information. 
						

							Troubleshooting
6
The indicator 
does not light up. The indicator display is disabled.
→Check if the indicator control is disabled (see page 153 of 
the Operating Instructions on the CD-ROM).
 A cross cable is being used.
→Some hubs and routers do not support the cross cable. 
Use a category 5 straight cable.
 The camera is not connected to the PoE hub.
→Connect the camera to the PoE hub.
 The PoE hub is turned off.
→Turn on the PoE hub.
 The Ethernet cable is partly disconnected.
→Change it to another Ethernet cable.
 The camera is improperly connected to the PoE hub.
→Refer to the PoE hubs manual.
 Too many clients are connected to the PoE hub.
→Some PoE hubs have a limit for wattage. Connect the 
cameras referring to the PoE hubs manual without 
exceeding the limit.
 The camera or the PoE hub may be malfunctioning.
→If another PoE-supported device is connected to the PoE 
hub and it works, the camera may be malfunctioning. Call 
our customer call center.
 There is a relay connector or a hub between the camera and 
the PoE hub.
→Directly connect the camera to the PoE hub with an 
Ethernet cable.
 The standard PoE cable is not being used.
→Use a 4-pair UTP/STP Cat 5 cable.
The indicator 
continues 
blinking red. The camera may be malfunctioning.
→If you cannot access the camera, the camera may be 
malfunctioning. Call our customer call center. Problem Cause and Remedy 
						

							Troubleshooting
7
Camera Setup Troubleshooting
Note
• If you are experiencing any problems, it is recommended that you 
temporarily disable all firewall, pop-up killer, and virus detection 
software. Once the problem is identified and corrected, you can restart 
the Setup Program.
Problem Cause and Remedy
Setup fails using 
Setup Program. More than 20 minutes have passed since the camera was 
turned on.
→Turn the camera off, and turn the camera on again. Then 
set up the camera again.
 Multiple camera IP addresses are overlapping.
→If you are installing multiple cameras, turn the cameras on 
one by one.
 Network problems may have occurred during setup.
→Confirm that your network is working. Turn the camera off, 
and turn the camera on again (see page 12 of the 
Operating Instructions on the CD-ROM). Then set up the 
camera again.
The E-mail that 
has a link to the 
Viewnetcam.com 
website does not 
come. The E-mail address that you registered on the 
Viewnetcam.com website is wrong.
→Register your correct E-mail address on the 
Viewnetcam.com website at:
http://www.viewnetcam.com.
DynamicDNS 
registration fails. The router-connected PC has failed to access the Internet.
→Refer to the routers manual and try to connect to the 
Internet through your PC. Once Internet connection has 
been confirmed, you can register to DynamicDNS. 
						

							Troubleshooting
8
Setup Program 
does not list any 
cameras. Your firewall or antivirus software is blocking the connection.
→To avoid any possible problems, temporarily disable any 
firewall or antivirus software, and set up the camera again. 
If you cannot disable your firewall or antivirus software, 
you can set up the camera using the MAC address (see 
page 183 of the Operating Instructions on the CD-ROM).
 The camera is connected over a different network.
→Set up the camera from a PC connected to the same router 
as the camera.
 Confirm that an IP address is assigned to your PC.
→If an IP address is not assigned to your PC, assign one 
(see page 179 of the Operating Instructions on the CD-
ROM).
UPnP™ port 
forwarding setup 
fails. UPnP™ is disabled on the router.
→Enable UPnP™ on the router following the router manual.
 The camera was turned on before the router was turned on.
→Turn the router on first, and then turn the camera on.
 The default gateway is not set, or the settings are wrong.
→Set the default gateway correctly (see page 48 or page 53 
of the Operating Instructions on the CD-ROM).
 The router does not support UPnP™.
→Enable port forwarding on your router following the router 
manual.
The camera IP 
address and port 
number have 
been forgotten.→Clicking [Camera Setup] on the Setup Program displays the 
camera list. The camera list shows the MAC address on the 
bottom of the camera. The camera IP address and port 
number are shown next to the MAC address.
The password 
has been 
forgotten.→Press the FACTORY DEFAULT RESET button to reset the 
camera to default. Set up the camera again.
An error message 
is displayed on 
the camera status 
by the Setup 
Program. An error on the Setup Program caused the error message.
→Turn the camera off, and turn the camera on again (see 
page 12 of the Operating Instructions on the CD-ROM). Problem Cause and Remedy 
						

							Troubleshooting
9
Camera Image/Page Display Troubleshooting
Problem Cause and Remedy
The camera 
cannot be 
accessed. The camera IP address has changed.
→Enter the correct IP address in the address bar of the web 
browser.
 An IPv6 address was entered in the address bar of Internet 
Explorer.
→Internet Explorer does not support IPv6 addresses. Use a 
DynamicDNS service such as the Viewnetcam.com 
service.
 The default gateway or DNS server addresses may be wrong. 
The correct IP addresses are required especially when you 
are using the Viewnetcam.com service.
→Assign the correct default gateway and DNS server 
addresses (see page 48 or page 53 of the Operating 
Instructions on the CD-ROM).
 The connection type is wrong (see page 48 or page 53 of the 
Operating Instructions on the CD-ROM).
→If the camera does not connect to the network using the 
[Auto Negotiation] setting, set up the camera and the 
router referring to the following table.
Auto Negotiation
Network Camera
Router or hubAuto 
Negotiation100Base-TX
10Base-TX
Full 
DuplexHalf 
Duplex
Full 
DuplexHalf 
Duplex
100Base-
TX
10Base-TFull Duplex
Half Duplex
Full Duplex
Half Duplex
—
——
——
—
—
—
—
— ——
—
— —— 
						

							Troubleshooting
10
The camera 
cannot be 
accessed on the 
LAN. The connected router does not have a loopback feature.
→Access the camera with local network IP address.
 The wrong IP address class is assigned to the camera.
→If you access the camera on the LAN, the PC IP address 
and the camera IP address must be set in the same class. 
Set the camera IP address same as the class of the PC IP 
address (see page 179 of the Operating Instructions on the 
CD-ROM).
 The web browser is accessing a proxy server.
→Set the web browser to access the Internet directly (see 
page 186 of the Operating Instructions on the CD-ROM).
 The camera was accessed on the same LAN by entering the 
registered URL (or the routers global IP address) when using 
a DynamicDNS service.
→To access a camera on the same LAN, use the address for 
its local network address.
The camera can 
be accessed on 
the LAN, but 
cannot be 
accessed from 
the Internet. The default gateway address may be wrong.
→Set the correct default gateway address (see page 48 or 
page 53 of the Operating Instructions on the CD-ROM).
 UPnP™ is disabled on the router.
→Enable UPnP™ on the router following the router manual.
 Port forwarding is not enabled on the router (see page 69 of 
the Operating Instructions on the CD-ROM).
→Enable port forwarding following the router manual.
 Firewalls such as packet filtering on the router are blocking 
camera access.
→Set the router to allow access to the camera following the 
router manual.
 You are accessing the camera using a local IP address.
→Access the camera with the global IP address of the router 
and port number of the camera. Problem Cause and Remedy 
						

							Troubleshooting
11
Authentication 
windows are 
consequently 
displayed. The user name and password for the administrator have been 
changed. Or the user name and password for the general 
users have been changed.
→Close the web browser, and access the camera again.
Only half of the 
image is 
displayed. You are using Internet Explorer 4.xx or lower.
→Upgrade Internet Explorer to version 6.0 or greater. 
The camera 
image is not 
displayed, or not 
displayed 
properly.ActiveX
® Controls are not installed in Internet Explorer. 
→ActiveX Controls should be installed to display video 
(Motion JPEG). For the ActiveX Controls installation 
method, see page 20 of the Operating Instructions on the 
CD-ROM when using Microsoft
® Windows® XP Service 
Pack 2, or see page 19 of the Operating Instructions on the 
CD-ROM when using other operating systems.
 The network is congested.
→Pages may not be displayed immediately. Wait for a 
moment.
 The web browser is accessing a proxy server.
→Set the web browser to access the Internet directly (see 
page 186 of the Operating Instructions on the CD-ROM).
Camera images 
are not displayed 
on the Multi-
Camera page. The images may not be displayed if private IP addresses and 
global IP addresses (or domain names) are mixed on the 
Multi-Camera page.
→To view the images within the LAN, set the Multi-Camera 
page using private IP addresses. To view the images from 
the WAN side, set the Multi-Camera page using global IP 
addresses (or domain names).
The error 
message 
ERROR CODE 
(4/12002) is 
displayed, and 
the image is not 
displayed. A wrong IP address or domain name may be set on the Multi-
Camera page.
→Set the correct IP address or domain name.
 If the correct IP address or domain name was already set, the 
network connection may be timed out.
→Access the network when it is less busy, or close other 
software that is connected to the network. Problem Cause and Remedy 
						

							Troubleshooting
12
The Top page or 
image is not 
displayed on the 
cell phone. Only the IP address and port number are entered.
→Enter /mobile after entering IP Address:Port Number.
 A 320 x 240 resolution image is not displayed.
→Cell phones do not support 320 x 240 resolution images.
 The file size of the image is exceeding the capacity of the cell 
phone.
→View the image at 160 x 120 resolution.
 The cell phone supports only XHTML.
→Enter /mobileX by following an IP address and port 
number.
A gray screen is 
displayed. There are currently more than 30 different users trying to 
access the video (Motion JPEG).
→Reduce the number of users accessing the camera to 
below 30, or change the video to still images.
 Operation time has been specified.
→A gray screen is displayed outside the operation time. This 
is normal.
Video suddenly 
changes to still 
images. The video (Motion JPEG) display period is set on the General 
User page.
→To view video continuously, set [Unlimited] for the limit 
continuous motion JPEG (see page 93 of the Operating 
Instructions on the CD-ROM). Problem Cause and Remedy 
						

							Troubleshooting
13
The image is out 
of focus. The lens is dirty or dust is attached. Fingerprints, dust, stains, 
etc. on the lens can degrade the performance of the Automatic 
Focusing feature.
→Wipe the lens with lens cleaning paper.
 Manual focusing may be set.
→Press appropriate one of the Focus buttons at the 
operation bar (see page 23 of the Operating Instructions 
on the CD-ROM).
 Blurred images may have been registered when registering or 
modifying the preset button or home position button.
→Adjust the focus in manual focusing again, or press the AF 
button.
 The object is too close to the camera.
→Move the object away from the camera or adjust the zoom.
 Some objects are difficult to focus on by AF button.
→Press the AF button and put it into operation again. When 
the objects are still out of focus, adjust the focus using 
manual focusing, or change the objects using Pan/Tilt 
operation or Zooming features.
 The Automatic Focus Range is set incorrectly for the type of 
image you are viewing.
→ Confirm the Automatic Focus Range setting (see page 80 
of the Operating Instructions on the CD-ROM). When 
viewing images within 1 m (3 feet 3 inches) of the camera, 
set to Macro. When viewing images further than 1 m (3 
feet 3 inches) from the camera, set to Normal.
The color on the 
image is strange. The white balance is not set appropriately.
→Adjust the white balance on the Camera page (see page 
80 of the Operating Instructions on the CD-ROM).
 The color display setting on your PC is set lower than 16 bits.
→Set the color display to 16 bits or higher. Problem Cause and Remedy 
						

							Troubleshooting
14
The image has 
noise. The object is dark.
→Increase the light level in the area around the camera.
 AC Power Source Frequency setting is incorrect.
→Confirm the AC Power Source Frequency setting (see 
page 80 of the Operating Instructions on the CD-ROM).
 The colors setting of the monitor is set to less than 16 bit high 
color.
→Set it to 16 bit high color or greater.
An old image is 
displayed. Old images are temporarily stored on the web browser.
→Set [Every visit to the page] on the web browser to check 
for temporary Internet files (see page 189 of the Operating 
Instructions on the CD-ROM).
The image 
refreshes very 
slowly. Multiple users are accessing the camera.
→Wait until fewer users are accessing the camera.
 You are not using an Ethernet switching hub.
→If you view multiple cameras on the Multi-Camera page 
without an Ethernet switching hub, the image refreshes 
slowly. Use an Ethernet switching hub.
 The image may refresh slowly, depending on image 
resolution, image quality, network traffic, PC performance, SD 
memory recording, using IPsec or what is being viewed.
 The maximum bandwidth usage is limited.
→Increase the max. bandwidth usage on your network (see 
page 48 or page 53 of the Operating Instructions on the 
CD-ROM).
 The camera is in color night view mode.
→The image refreshes slowly in color night view mode. Make 
the area around the camera brighter.
Scan lines 
deviate on the 
screen. Scan lines may deviate when viewing moving objects with 
resolution at 640 x 480 because of the interlace-type CCD.
→Set Vertical Resolution (for 640 x 480 mode) to 240 
(Better for motion images) on the Camera page. Problem Cause and Remedy