Camera Offline Alert

BuildCam sends a Camera Offline alert when a camera stops checking in. This article explains what triggers the alert, what the severity levels mean, and what to do when you receive one.

What triggers the alert

Every camera checks in with BuildCam after each image capture. If the platform doesn't receive a check-in within the expected window, it marks the camera as offline and sends an alert.

The check-in window is calculated from the camera's capture schedule:

Capture interval	Offline threshold
Every 15 minutes	30 minutes missed
Every hour	2 hours missed
Every 4 hours	8 hours missed

BuildCam adds a buffer to avoid false alarms from brief network interruptions.

Alert severity levels

Warning — 1 missed check-in

The camera missed a single expected check-in. This can happen during:

• A brief mobile network interruption
• A camera reboot after a firmware update
• A temporary power dip on a cloudy day

What to do: Monitor the camera in BuildCam. Most warning-level alerts resolve themselves within an hour without any action.

Critical — 3+ missed check-ins

The camera has been offline for an extended period. This requires investigation.

What to do: Follow the steps in Camera Not Connecting to diagnose the issue. In most cases, you'll need someone to visit the site.

Who receives the alert

By default, camera offline alerts are sent to all users with the Site Manager or Admin role on the project. You can customise this in your alert settings.

To change who receives offline alerts:

1. Go to Project Settings > Alerts
2. Under Camera Offline, click Edit recipients
3. Add or remove users and click Save

Adjusting alert sensitivity

If you're receiving too many warning-level alerts (e.g. your site has unreliable coverage), you can increase the threshold before an alert is sent:

1. Go to Project Settings > Alerts
2. Under Camera Offline, click Edit thresholds
3. Change Send warning after to a higher number of missed check-ins
4. Click Save

Increasing the threshold means you'll be notified later when a camera goes offline. For critical infrastructure monitoring, we recommend keeping the default threshold.

Muting alerts for a specific camera

If a camera is temporarily offline for a known reason (planned maintenance, site shutdown over a holiday), you can mute its alerts:

1. Open the camera in BuildCam
2. Click Camera Settings
3. Under Alerts, toggle Mute alerts and set a mute period
4. Click Save

Alerts will resume automatically when the mute period ends.

Checking offline history

To see a log of when a camera has gone offline:

1. Open the camera in BuildCam
2. Click the Activity tab
3. Filter by Alert events to see offline/online history with timestamps

This log is useful for identifying patterns — for example, if a camera goes offline every evening, it may be a power issue related to the solar charge cycle.