Solved: ADT Camera Not Recording Clips

ADT security systems have a legendary reputation in the home security industry, and for good reason.

ADT takes advantage of top-quality hardware, implements security systems intelligently to protect all corners of your home, and really strives to implement holistic security solution that protect your loved ones even when you aren’t home.

At the same time, though, like everything else man-made ADT hardware isn’t 100% foolproof.

You may have noticed that your ADT camera system isn’t behaving the way you expected it to all the time, not always recording clips when the sensors should be and certainly not providing you with total bubble of protection you were expecting.

Luckily, though, you won’t have to wonder why is ADT camera not recording clips for moment longer by the time you’re done with detailed guide.

Below we walk you through (step-by-step) how to troubleshoot the most common reasons that your ADT camera is working the way you expected it to as far as recording clips consistently is concerned.

With the info below you’ll be able to get your cameras working perfectly, recording clips with the kind of consistent accuracy of a 24/7 basis you were hoping for in the first place.

Ready to jump right in?

Let’s do it!

Motion Detection Settings Aren’t Dialed In

One of the most common reasons that ADT cameras aren’t recording clips correctly is simply because the motion recognition settings haven’t been dialed in right from the start.

Without totally optimized motion detection settings your cameras will never know when to start recording action, saving those clips to the cloud or a local storage solution, and helping you to better protect your home and your loved ones.

Thankfully though, fixing these settings is generally be simple and straightforward.

You’ll want to log into your ADT system (either through the web browser or via the ADT mobile applications on Android and iOS phones and tablets) and then navigate to the “Motion Detection Settings” section of the platform.

From here, you’ll want to verify that motion detection is in fact enabled (sometimes, for one reason or another, this button doesn’t get checked and your recordings never even start) before you move on.

After that, you’ll want to play around with the motion sensitivity levels for each individual camera.

Think about the lighting that each camera has to work with (especially at night), the surrounding area of those cameras – shaky trees in the wind will trigger recordings that take a lot of space, for example – and a whole host of other factors to come up with custom settings that work for that camera specifically.

Test those settings by having someone move through the field-of-view for that camera and see when motion is triggered and when recordings are captured, and try it at different times of day and night to make sure that everything is good to go.

Lastly, you’ll want to make sure that object size settings to trigger motion detection through these ADT cameras are perfectly dialed in, too. It’s (generally) a good idea to check on the side of object detection settings that are too large as opposed to too small.

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Recording Rules Have Not Been Established

After going through the motion detection settings through the ADT administrative panel or mobile application you’re going to want to pop over to the “Recording Rules” section of the platform and look at the settings there, too.

ADT cameras are able to record different kinds of clips (including 24/7 live streams, even) that are fully controlled by the customer themselves, but you have to establish these recording rules to dial them in yourself.

You’ll want to be sure that your recording plan is perfectly tailored to the type of security system you’re looking to leverage, that the delay between triggered camera clips is in order, and that the recording options for when the system is disarmed has been flipped “on” to get the full level of protection you are after.

It’s not a bad idea to create individual profiles for when you are at home and when you are away, either.

All of these recording rules will heavily influence how ADT clips are made, how they are stored, and for how long they are retained. You really want to spend some time in the settings, tinkering with different options, to get the kind of security system you were expecting.

If you are having trouble with your ADT camera recordings the odds are pretty good that these two adjustments – dialing in your motion detection settings and establishing the right recording rules – will clear things up pretty quickly.

Wrapping it Up

Just remember to test any of the changes that you make before you “go live” with those modifications. You’ll need to know that the changes you may have improved the accuracy and consistency of your security system, rather than compromise it even further.

Check and double check (and then do regular maintenance checks every couple of weeks) and you’ll be good to go!