Camera Failures - CIVS-IPC-2621V

[g.crowley]

Greetings,

I am running VSM 6.3.3 and have about 190 Cisco CIVS-IPC-2621V model cameras powered via POE on 2960, 3560, and 3750 series switches.  So far about 30 of them have failed; failure meaning the camera view goes black or becomes highly pixelated over time and eventually goes black.  When this happens the camera's web server is still up, can still login to web interface etc, but the camera's view is black.  Troubleshooting steps each time include resetting camera to factory defaults and updating to the latest firmware, V4.4.1-1 most recently with no effect.  During replacement, I noticed each time that the bad camera is very hot (almost too hot to hold).  I'm wondering if the fans inside these cameras are even running.  Also considered that maybe my config template did something to fan operation but so far I'm unable to find fan settings in the camera config.

Cisco TAC has been great about RMAing these cameras so far, but with this many cameras failing I’m wondering if this is preventable or if we have a bad batch of cameras in our inventory.  Has anyone here experienced similar issues?

Thanks

[Jason Rossi]

I have not had anywhere near that high of a failure rate, but yes something in the image hardware does seem to eventually go bad on 25xx and 26xx SD cameras. We aquired ours between 2009 and 2011 if I recall correctly. This problem prompted me in fact to start a thread about improving the "video loss" event to detect when the picture quality becomes garbage but is still streaming.

[dayauto67]

There was a manufacturing issue with a batch of the the 26xx series cameras.  There was a solvent that was not properly rinsed off of the imager during manufacturing.  After about a year the solvent corrodes the leads to the imager breaking connection and video goes black.  If you have many left from that original order you may want to contact your PSS and get a bulk replacement before the warranty runs out.  We had 4-5 customers with this issue.  We replace about 110 cameras under a bulk replacement.

[g.crowley · Accepted solution]

Thanks for your feedback.  Here is what I found out from TAC regarding the manufacturing defect:

Cameras with serial numbers that start with SER1516xxxx to SER1526xxxx have a "Pixim Sensor wire-bonding Issue", where a manufacturing defect has affected the assembly of the sensor.  It cannot be prevented, the only remedy is replacement.

Enjoy.

[Scott Olsen]

Wow.  This is terrific information, g.crowley.  Did TAC provide you with a DefectID/BugID, or point you towards a Field Notice?  Surely there's a field notice posted for this somewhere, correct?

[StephanMC]

I am running into the same issues here but my cameras do not fall into that serial number range sadly. Aren't these cameras warrantied for 3 years?

[Scott Olsen]

I am not 100% sure of manufacturer warranty duration as all the hardware we specifically deal with is covered by SmartNet so I don't really have to consider it so much.

You may wish to contact TAC to inquire about it.

Best of luck,

Scott Olsen
Solutions Specialist
Bulletproof Solutions Inc.
Web: www.bulletproofsi.com

[StephanMC]

so far Tac has replaced all cameras under warranty. Around 12 units so far. the 2621v are also EOS