SD Cards - Keep going Offline

[penguinpages]

I have been deploying multiple cameras now for several years now.

For home use, I have been very happy with the Amcrest line but for one issue that now has started to cost me services and time.

I have many customers with:
IP8M-2493EW
IP2M-851EW


The issue is the SD card in each work a few months. It is set to FIFO.. it just goes offline. The SD card stops showing in the list.
I have to get ladder, open it up, pull card (it has file system on it), format it, and stick back in. Again works a few months.
This was one of the big features I liked about this camera as it keeps data with FTP as backup. But this is just not stable.

Question
1) How can I force the system re rescan device and reformat it
2) How can I debug this further. This smells like UUID mount issu.

I have tested cheap microSD cards, name brand, and even high end one. They all do the same thing.. run a few months then disappear. This is now costing me a lot of labor and customer satisfaction as I have to get up to pull card / reformat/ put back in.

[jack7]

Something in my following thoughts may spark an idea that would help.  None of it is meant to be a criticism.

Does FIFO  mean cam is set to overwrite?  How much does cam write in about two months?  Does it overwrite or just stop?
You said files are stored on SD card and FTP.  Cam Web UI normally doesn't allow both.
In cam Web UI, check the log for clues near the time of failure.  Also check Alarms if enabled.
Amcrest API has  html commands for cam Storage that might help for status and correction.
Are cams set to reboot on a schedule?  Maybe they should be.  Have you tried a hard reset sometime after a month or so?
Reboot or reset can usually be done in Web UI or some 3rd party software without going to camera.  If SD card shows up, it can be formatted via Web UI if necessary.

[penguinpages]

Thanks for response:

Does FIFO mean cam is set to overwrite? -> yes.

How much does cam write in about two months? -> depends... first camera has 32GB card and takes about two weeks, most others have 64GB, but two have 128GB as price is just so cheap now to get largest ones.

Does it overwrite or just stop? -> It takes a few months once I pull card out and reformat / reinstall... so my guess would be FIFO working "most of the time". I also checked after power loss (all are POE installs) but no correlation from that.

You said files are stored on SD card and FTP. Cam Web UI normally doesn't allow both. -> I set to FTP for primary on one as test with "emergency" to SD... it worked for a while then .. like others.. SD card just goes offline. Thought it was some issue with to much IO or something to SD... just trying things.

In cam Web UI, check the log for clues near the time of failure. Also check Alarms if enabled. - Alarms was enabled but turned off.

Amcrest API has html commands for cam Storage that might help for status and correction. -> Can you point me to UI for this. If I could get to a shell, and see if the disk is even showing on bus, that would show if mechanical vs my guess... it has a fsck requirement and does not have logic to handle and so flags disk as bad and will not mount.

Are cams set to reboot on a schedule? Maybe they should be. Have you tried a hard reset sometime after a month or so? -> Yup. All set to reboot once a week.

I have event -> No SD Card -> send for abnormality. But once card goes offline.. only fix is to get a ladder and schedule a visit.

I now have five cameras without SD cards online. With COVID opening things back up, I have to get things fixed, but doing this on a 2-3 times a year, activity is not cost effective.

[jack7]

Regarding Amcrest API, see section 6 Storage commands in
https://support.amcrest.com/hc/en-us/ar ... TP-API-SDK