Question 1

What does a red (Critical) status mean for a site?

Accepted Answer

A red status means CriticalVue cannot reach one or more of the recording devices (NVR/DVR) at that site. This is usually caused by a network outage, power failure, or incorrect connection settings. It’s more serious than individual cameras being offline because when the device is unreachable, none of its cameras can be monitored. Check the device’s network connection, make sure it has power, and verify that the IP address and HTTP port are correct.

Question 2

What does a yellow (Issues Detected) status mean?

Accepted Answer

A yellow status means the recording device is reachable and working, but one or more individual cameras connected to it are offline or not responding. The device itself is fine — the problem is with specific cameras. Common causes include: a camera lost power, its network cable is unplugged, it has a hardware issue, or its IP address changed. Click on the site to see which cameras are affected, and try using the Ping feature to test if a specific camera is reachable on the network.

Question 3

I’m getting too many alert emails. How do I reduce them?

Accepted Answer

Go to the site’s Settings tab and increase the alert interval. The default is 60 minutes, meaning you could get an alert email every hour if there are ongoing issues. Setting it to 120 or 180 minutes will reduce how often you get notified. You can also use the Manual Disconnect feature on cameras that are intentionally offline to stop alerts about them entirely.

Question 4

How do I stop getting alerts for a camera that’s intentionally offline?

Accepted Answer

Use the Manual Disconnect feature. Click on the camera, then toggle on “Manual Disconnect.” This tells CriticalVue to ignore this camera for status calculations and alerts. The site won’t show yellow/red because of it, and no alert emails will be sent about it. You can turn this off any time when the camera is back in service. This feature is available for Dahua, Uniview, and TVT cameras.

Question 5

What does it mean when a camera is marked as “critical”?

Accepted Answer

Critical is a flag you can put on your most important cameras — like ones covering cash registers, main entrances, server rooms, or high-security areas. Critical cameras are highlighted in the dashboard and called out separately at the top of alert emails, so your team knows to prioritize them. It doesn’t change how often they’re checked; it just makes them more visible when something goes wrong.

Question 6

How do I refresh a camera’s snapshot — and why might it not work?

Accepted Answer

Click on the camera to open its detail view, then click the refresh button. This captures a new live image directly from the camera, independent of the regular scan schedule. The image may take a few seconds to appear depending on the camera’s response time. If the refresh button doesn’t work, it’s usually one of three things: (1) you may have already refreshed within the last hour — there’s a one-hour cooldown per camera to avoid putting too much load on the equipment, (2) the camera or its device may be offline, or (3) you may not have the necessary permissions. If it’s the cooldown, wait until the hour is up or let the next scheduled scan capture a new image automatically.

Question 7

Can I see older images from a camera?

Accepted Answer

Yes! CriticalVue saves a snapshot from each camera every month. Click on a camera, then click “Load History” to browse through past snapshots using the timeline slider. This history goes back up to 12 months. It’s useful for checking if a camera has been moved, if something is blocking its view, or for comparing how a scene has changed over time.

Question 8

What happens to a camera’s image when it goes offline?

Accepted Answer

CriticalVue keeps the last image that was successfully captured. So even when a camera goes offline, you can still see what it was showing the last time it was working. The timestamp on the image tells you when it was taken.

Question 9

What’s the difference between a camera note and a camera report?

Accepted Answer

Notes are informal — use them for reminders, maintenance records, configuration details, or anything your team needs to know. They’re like sticky notes on a camera. Reports are formal incident submissions — use them when you want to officially document a camera problem. Reports are flagged with a red indicator, automatically create a log entry, and serve as an audit trail. In short: notes are for your team’s reference, reports are for formal documentation of problems.

Question 10

What are camera groups and how do I use them?

Accepted Answer

Camera groups help you organize cameras within a site. There are two types: Location groups (e.g., “Front Entrance,” “Parking Lot,” “2nd Floor”) and Power Source groups (e.g., “UPS-1,” “Generator A,” “Main Panel”). Groups are especially useful when troubleshooting — for example, if a UPS fails, you can quickly see which cameras are on that power source. A camera can belong to one location group and one power source group at the same time.

Question 11

What does “Ping” do?

Accepted Answer

Ping tests whether a camera is reachable on the network. When you click Ping, CriticalVue sends a quick network test to the camera’s IP address and tells you if it got a response. This is useful for troubleshooting — if a camera shows as offline but responds to ping, the issue might be with the camera software rather than the network connection. If it doesn’t respond to ping, there’s likely a network or power issue.

Question 12

What information do I need to add a device?

Accepted Answer

You’ll need: (1) The platform/brand of the recording equipment (Axxon, Avigilon, Dahua, Uniview, or TVT), (2) The device’s IP address or hostname, (3) The HTTP port — this is the port number the device uses for its web interface, typically 80, 443, or a custom port like 8080 (it’s the same port you would use to access the device in a web browser), (4) The username and password to log into the device. If you’re not sure about any of these, ask your network administrator or the person who installed the equipment.

Question 13

What is the HTTP port and how do I find it?

Accepted Answer

The HTTP port is the port number the recording device uses for its web interface. Think of it like a specific door number on the device that CriticalVue knocks on to communicate. Common values are 80 (the standard web port), 443 (secure web port), or a custom number like 8080 or 37777. The easiest way to find it: if you can access your device’s web interface in a browser, look at the URL. For example, if you type “http://192.168.1.100:8080” to access it, the HTTP port is 8080. If there’s no port number in the URL, it’s likely port 80. You can also check the device’s network settings menu or ask your installer.

Question 14

How often does CriticalVue check my devices?

Accepted Answer

CriticalVue checks each device on a schedule called the “scan interval.” You choose this when adding a device, and you can change it any time. The available options are: every 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour (the default), 2 hours, or 6 hours. A shorter interval means faster detection of problems, but for most setups every 15–30 minutes is a good balance. The dashboard shows the last scan time and next scheduled scan for each device.

Question 15

Are my device passwords stored securely?

Accepted Answer

Yes. All device credentials (usernames and passwords) are encrypted before being stored. Once saved, passwords are never displayed in the interface — not even to administrators. The encryption uses industry-standard methods to protect your credentials.

Question 16

What platforms/brands does CriticalVue support?

Accepted Answer

CriticalVue supports five camera recording platforms: Axxon (enterprise video management), Avigilon (commercial video management), Dahua (NVRs and DVRs, both IP and analog cameras), Uniview (network video recorders), and TVT (NVRs and DVRs). Each platform has its own way of communicating with CriticalVue, but the dashboard experience is the same regardless of which platform you use.

Question 17

Do I need to add cameras manually after adding a device?

Accepted Answer

No! Once you add a device and CriticalVue successfully connects to it, cameras are discovered automatically. CriticalVue queries the device to find all connected cameras, their names, IP addresses, and status. Any new cameras added to the device in the future will also be picked up automatically during the next scan.

Question 18

How do I add a new user?

Accepted Answer

Go to the Admin panel and send an email invitation. Enter the person’s email address and select their role. They’ll receive an email with a link to set up their account (choose a username and password). The invitation link expires after 7 days. Once they’ve created their account, you can assign them to specific sites from the site Settings tab.

Question 19

What’s the difference between the user roles?

Accepted Answer

There are five built-in roles, from most access to least: Org Admin (manages the entire organization), Admin (manages assigned sites), IT Tech (runs diagnostics and submits reports at assigned sites), Tech (views cameras and submits reports at assigned sites), and Customer (view-only access to assigned sites). Custom roles are available as a $5/month add-on on Professional, or included with Enterprise.

Question 20

Can I control which sites a user can see?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Except for Org Admins (who can see all sites), every other role only sees the sites they’ve been specifically assigned to. You can assign and unassign sites from the site’s Settings tab. This way, a user at one location never sees data from another location they shouldn’t have access to.

Question 21

What are custom roles?

Accepted Answer

Custom roles let you create your own access levels by picking exactly which permissions a role should have. For example, you might create a “Site Manager” role that can manage contacts and view logs but can’t add or delete devices. On Professional, custom roles are a $5/month add-on you can enable from the Billing tab; on Enterprise they’re included. Set them up from the Roles & Permissions tab in the Admin panel once enabled.

Question 22

How do I reset my password?

Accepted Answer

On the login page, click “Forgot your password?” and enter your email address. You’ll receive an email with a secure reset link. Click the link, choose a new password that meets the requirements (at least 8 characters with uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and special characters), and you’ll be able to log in right away. The reset link can only be used once and expires after a short time.

Question 23

Why was I suddenly logged out?

Accepted Answer

CriticalVue automatically signs you out after 24 hours of inactivity for security. If you were logged out unexpectedly, this is the most likely reason. To stay signed in longer, check the “Remember me” box when logging in — this keeps your session active for up to 30 days.

Question 24

What are the password requirements?

Accepted Answer

Your password must be at least 8 characters long and include at least one uppercase letter (A-Z), one lowercase letter (a-z), one number (0-9), and one special character (like !, @, #, $, %, etc.). This ensures your account stays secure.

Question 25

What happens when my free trial ends?

Accepted Answer

When your 30-day free trial expires, you won’t be able to access the dashboard, but your data is safe — nothing is deleted right away. You’ll see a page with options to upgrade to a paid plan. Once you upgrade, your access is restored immediately with all your data intact. If you don’t upgrade within the grace period, your data will eventually be removed.

Question 26

How much does CriticalVue cost and what are the plan limits?

Accepted Answer

There are three plans. Free Trial: $0 for 30 days with up to 3 sites, 50 cameras, 3 users, and 7-day log history. Professional: $10 per 16 cameras per month with unlimited sites, cameras, and users, and 30-day log history. Two optional add-ons are available on Professional at $5/month each: 365-day log retention and custom roles. Enterprise: custom pricing for large organizations with 500+ cameras, unlimited everything, 365-day log history, custom roles, and dedicated support — add-ons are included. Volume discounts apply on Professional: 5% off at 129+ cameras, 10% off at 257+ cameras.

Question 27

How do I upgrade my plan?

Accepted Answer

Contact your organization administrator or use the upgrade options shown on the trial expiry page. If you’re an Org Admin, you can manage your plan from the Admin panel.

Question 28

How do volume discounts work?

Accepted Answer

On the Professional plan, you automatically get a discount as you add more cameras. Standard pricing applies for 1–128 cameras. At 129 cameras, you get 5% off your total. At 257+ cameras, you get 10% off. The discount is applied automatically — no need to do anything special.

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