DVR rebooting

[DanNeumann]

I'm sitting at my desk and mine just reset itself twice in the last hour. Log says the usual. "reboot with flag 0x01" I'm happy with the camera clarity but know I will never buy or recommend Amcrest again. If there is a cooling issue then they should recall all the DVR's and replace them with properly cooling ones. Mine sits unrestricted on a top shelf in a cool office.

[jeffptexas]

Just hooked up my new system tonight and all that keeps happening is constant reboots. The system is unusable basically. I will be calling in the morning for help or a refund of this system.

[Skins6983]

For anyone having issues with random reboots...I have experienced this as well. Amcrest sent me new power adapters, new camera as well as a new DVR. Nothing fixed the issue.

I finally boiled the problem down to the wiring for one of the cameras. The picture is somewhat fuzzy at times and after a few hours of this camera being connected to the DVR, it would reboot itself. I think it would put itself in protection mode of some sort and reboot. This would happen multiple times a day, so I ended up just unplugging that camera. I was going to replace the wiring, which is about a 150 foot run outside my house which would be a big job.

I then noticed that Amcrest came out with a new firmware for the DVR. It has been about a month since I updated the firmware and I have not had one reboot since. So for anyone having reboot issues, I would definitely recommend trying to upgrade your firmware!

[Maddux]

My DVR started doing the same today. Around 4pm, it started rebooting every time it would start up and it sounded like the hard drive kept making weird noises. I had to physically reach behind and turn the power switch off and back on to get it started again. Upon looking at the log, I saw it said "Reboot with Flag 0x01"... Amcrest??

[Cali4nyuh]

Wish I'd checked out this forum a few weeks ago. I've had the same rebooting issue, and like a previous commenter, I believe mine is heat-related. The DVR reboots every 4-5 minutes, but if I turn it off for a while (for instance to attempt futile troubleshooting procedures) and it has time to cool down, when it comes back up it's fine for awhile with no reboots. Of course, a couple hours later you could fry an egg on it and our beepy rebootfest resumes.

I've called support and somehow they're clueless about this issue, still talking about power outages or inconsistencies (my has always been on a UPS along with my internet router and wireless access point - which have never gone down). Current status is that they've offered to do a warranty replacement (after I sent proof of purchase), but noted that the units are all out of stock right now and CAN I CALL BACK IN FEBRUARY?

I loved this thing for its first two months. I'd really like to just have it work as opposed to tearing it all out for a return to buy another brand.

[Maddux]

I've modded my 720P DVR and added a 40mm cooling fan that's powered by a small 120V to 12V converter that sits behind it inside the DVR (easily found on Ebay for dirt cheap). It's been about 24 hours now and the DVR is ice cold to the touch and I have not had a 0*01 reboot flag yet. So it seems the previous posters were right. Just like with the human body when it's hot, the DVR can't function properly when overheated. The main reason I bought the Amcrest system to begin with was because on Amazon, a reviewer showed the inside of a 720P unit and it CLEARLY showed a fan on the side of the unit. Much to my surprise, when I received the unit, it didn't have the internal fan. So I called Amcrest to RMA it and have a fan model sent to me. 2 weeks go by and I finally receive the unit and come to find out, that one didn't have a fan either. Obviously at this point I'm boiling mad because why in the heck would I send it in to begin with if they stopped making them with fans? That was a waste of my time when it could've been prevented if the Amcrest techs knew beforehand that it didn't come with a fan no longer. So after a couple of days, this replacement started rebooting with the 0*01 flag and after reading previous comments, I then modified my DVR with a 40mm cooling fan I had sitting around in a parts bin and I used a 120V to 12V converter board from Ebay to power it from inside the DVR. It's been about 24 hours and the DVR is still ice cold to the touch and hasn't rebooted since. So the 0*01 is a overheated DVR. For those who are not comfortable with modifying electronics internally, you could also just invest in a cheap laptop cooler and place it under the DVR and just use an existing USB port on the DVR to power it. Highly disappointed I had to do my own mod for something that should've been thought out by the company. Lesson learned is always ask the seller if the unit comes with a cooling fan built in.. if not.. run.

[Cali4nyuh]

I've modded my 720P DVR and added a 40mm cooling fan that's powered by a small 120V to 12V converter that sits behind it inside the DVR (easily found on Ebay for dirt cheap). It's been about 24 hours now and the DVR is ice cold to the touch and I have not had a 0*01 reboot flag yet. So it seems the previous posters were right. Just like with the human body when it's hot, the DVR can't function properly when overheated.

Great idea, Maddux. Instead of waiting for a surely disappointing replacement unit, I'm going to try out something similar with cooling. Thanks!

[Maddux]

Also make sure that the white cable that runs from the front display to the main board is above the hard drive and not under it. Apparently the heat underneath the hard drive heated up the cable and that causes the motherboard to trip also.

[DanNeumann]

This is seriously "F'd" up!! My DVR just rebooted twice in a 10 minute period. It's 28 degrees outside and 60 degrees in my office where the DVR is located. What a pile of shi*!! I'll never buy or recommend an Amcrest product to anyone. In fact I'm considering selling this system dirt cheap and buying a new one from someone else. Why even have this forum if they aren't going to answer or address customers issues?

[HomeManager]

My unit is doing the same thing. 6-months old. What is the best way to start getting support?