A camera's status and event times come from the ADT+ app and your location. A camera shown online with no recent clips may have seen no motion, or may be blocked or have the privacy shield closed. A camera shown offline may have a low battery or weak wifi. The LED tells the state: solid blue when fully charged and flashing blue in pairing mode. If event times look wrong, check the phone's automatic time and your location's time zone. After a power cut or router restart, give the camera a few minutes to reconnect.
If a clip is missing, check that notifications and event types are on, that the plan covers recordings and that the camera was online and could see the area. Refresh the app, restart the router and check the camera's battery.
The checks in more detail
If status stays wrong, remove and re-add the camera and contact ADT chat with a screenshot and the LED color. The 30-day event history means older clips are gone, so an old event may simply have expired. Photograph the app next to a clock so the offset is clear. A status that flips is a connection problem. Contact support with a screenshot.
With 30 days of event history on plans, a clip you cannot find from six weeks ago has probably simply expired. The alert icon and the camera's own LED can disagree briefly during an update, so wait a few minutes and refresh before reading anything into it. When you contact support, tell them the time you expected an event and the time the app shows, since that difference tells them at once whether it is a time zone problem or a missing event.
Differential
Likely causes of “ADT cameras and doorbell camera shows the wrong time, state or sensor reading”, and how to tell them apart
- 1
A blocked view or closed shield
What separates it There are no clips because the view is blocked or the privacy shield is closed over the lens
How to confirm Clear the view and open the privacy shield so that the camera can see and record events
- 2
A low battery
What separates it The camera shows offline in the app because its battery is low and it cannot stay connected
How to confirm Charge the battery with the USB-C cable until the LED turns solid blue
- 3
The phone time zone
What separates it Event times look wrong because the phone's time zone is not set to your local time
How to confirm Set the phone's time automatically so that events are shown in the correct local time
- 4
A power cut
What separates it The status looks stale after a power cut because the camera has not reconnected yet
How to confirm Wait for the camera to reconnect, which can take a few minutes, and refresh the app
- 5
Expired history
What separates it Old clips are missing from the history because it only keeps the most recent 30 days
How to confirm Expect 30-day history on plans that include it, and download clips you want to keep
Before you touch a setting
Record this first — changing settings destroys the evidence
- The status shown in the app and what the camera is really doing
- The time of the event that looks wrong
- A screenshot of the wrong time or status
Try in this order
0 of 7 completedRefresh the app
ReversibleRefresh the app so it shows the latest status, since an old screen can show a state that has already changed.
Check the LED
ReversibleCheck the LED color on the camera, because it shows charge and connection state at a glance.
Set phone time automatically
ReversibleSet the phone's time automatically and check the time zone, so that event times follow your local time.
Check the view
ReversibleCheck the view for anything blocking the lens, and check that the privacy shield is open on the indoor camera.
Charge the battery
ReversibleCharge the battery if it is low, because a camera with a low battery may show offline or miss events.
Wait after a power cut
ReversibleWait a few minutes after a power cut before you decide the camera has a fault, since it needs time to reconnect.
Contact ADT
ReversibleContact ADT with a screenshot if the time or status stays wrong, so support can see what the app shows.
Model-specific
What is true of this model and not of its siblings
- History
- 30-day event history on plans.
- LED
- Solid blue full, flashing blue pairing.
Stop boundary
When this stops being a self-service repair
- !If status stays wrong after re-adding, contact ADT through chat
- !If clips are missing, check the plan and settings
- !If the camera is offline, follow the offline steps before anything else
Evidence ledger
Sources behind this answer
Notification troubleshooting.
Doorbell setup.
Indoor camera setup and placement.
Outdoor camera setup and charging.
The company and its products.
Exact questions
Common questions
Why is there no clip?+
There may be no clip because there was no motion, the view is blocked or the history has expired, so check those first.
How long is event history?+
Event history is kept for 30 days on plans that include it, and older clips are then removed.
Can the phone time zone matter?+
Yes, the phone's time zone can matter, because the times shown for events follow the phone's local time.
Can a shield stop recording?+
Yes, a closed shield can stop recording, because the lens is covered and the camera has nothing to record.