CCTV Repair Service in Leicester

What you get

• Fault diagnosis

  Systematic identification of the failure point - camera, cable, connector, NVR, hard drive, power supply, or network. No guessing.

• Camera repair or replacement

  Dead cameras, water-damaged units, and failed IR LEDs repaired where possible or swapped for a compatible replacement.

• NVR and storage repair

  Failed hard drives replaced, crashed NVRs recovered, firmware restored, and recording verified across all channels.

• Cable and connectivity repair

  Damaged cable runs repaired or rerouted, corroded connectors replaced, PoE issues resolved, and network faults traced and fixed.

Common CCTV faults and how we fix them

The most common repair we carry out is hard drive replacement. A mechanical hard drive recording 24/7 has a practical lifespan of three to five years. After that, failure rates climb steeply. The drive does not always fail dramatically - more often, it develops bad sectors that cause recording gaps, or it slows down until the NVR can no longer write footage from all channels simultaneously. You end up with intermittent recording or channels that silently stop saving footage. We check SMART data to confirm drive health, replace the failed drive with a surveillance-rated unit (WD Purple or equivalent), and verify recording is restored across every channel. If the drive failed because the NVR enclosure has poor ventilation - which we see regularly on budget units - we will flag that too, because the replacement drive will fail just as quickly if the root cause is not addressed.

Dead cameras are the second most frequent repair. The cause is usually water ingress, power supply failure, or lightning damage on poorly grounded systems. Water ingress is particularly common on cameras where the original installer did not seal the cable entry point properly or used an IP-rated housing below what the mounting position requires. We see this a lot on properties across Leicester - cameras mounted on exposed gable ends in Belgrave, on front-facing walls along Narborough Road, and on commercial units around the Frog Island area where driving rain hits directly. We open the housing, assess the damage, and either repair the unit or replace it with a properly rated camera installed correctly. For a breakdown of IP ratings and what they mean in practice, see our CCTV specs guide.

Cable faults are less obvious but just as disruptive. PoE cables can be damaged by rodents, UV exposure on external runs, or physical damage during building work. CCA (copper-clad aluminium) cables - commonly used by budget installers - corrode faster than pure copper and develop high resistance that causes cameras to drop offline intermittently, especially in cold weather when resistance increases. We trace and test cable runs, replace damaged sections, and upgrade to pure copper Cat5e or Cat6 where the original cable is substandard. This is a common finding during our wider CCTV maintenance assessments and a frequent reason why inherited systems underperform.

Emergency and urgent repairs

Some CCTV faults cannot wait. If your system has gone completely offline after a break-in attempt, if a camera covering a vulnerable entry point has failed, or if your business CCTV is down and you have a licensing or insurance compliance deadline, you need the fault resolved quickly - not in five to seven working days. We offer priority response for urgent repairs across Leicester and can usually attend within 24-48 hours depending on the nature of the fault and parts availability.

Before an on-site visit, we can often narrow down the problem remotely. If you have remote access to your NVR (or can send us a photo of the screen), we can usually tell whether the issue is likely a drive failure, a network problem, a camera fault, or a power supply issue. This means we arrive with the right parts and a clear plan rather than spending the first hour diagnosing on-site. For properties in Leicester city centre, along the London Road corridor, and across the LE1-LE5 postcode areas, we can typically attend the same day for urgent commercial faults.

If you are not sure whether your situation is urgent, get in touch and describe the symptoms. A single camera offline on a residential system with three other cameras still covering the property is not an emergency - that can be scheduled for a convenient time. An entire system offline on a commercial premises with no CCTV coverage at all is urgent and we will prioritise it accordingly. We approach every repair call practically - fix what needs fixing, explain what we found, and make sure the system is fully operational before we leave. For ongoing peace of mind, consider our maintenance service, which catches developing faults before they become emergency repairs.

About Doberman

Doberman is a Leicester-based CCTV company that installs, maintains, and repairs hardwired PoE camera systems across Leicester and Leicestershire. We repair systems we installed and systems installed by others - the same honest, no-nonsense approach either way.

The engineer who diagnoses your fault is the same person who carries out the repair. No handoffs, no subcontractors, no waiting for someone else to call you back. You get a direct conversation about what is wrong and what it will cost to fix.

If you want to understand CCTV systems before getting in touch, our repair and troubleshooting guides cover everything from PoE vs Wi-Fi reliability to common fault patterns we see across Leicester.

Frequently asked questions

Can you repair a CCTV system you did not install?

Yes. We repair systems regardless of who installed them or what brand they are. We work with Hikvision, Dahua, Uniview, Reolink, and most other IP and analogue CCTV brands. If we need specific parts that are not standard stock, we will let you know the lead time upfront.

How quickly can you attend for a repair?

For urgent commercial faults - full system offline, compliance deadline, or security incident - we can usually attend within 24-48 hours across Leicester. Standard residential repairs are typically scheduled within three to five working days. Remote diagnosis beforehand often speeds things up by ensuring we arrive with the right parts.

How much does a CCTV repair cost?

It depends entirely on the fault. A hard drive replacement is straightforward and relatively inexpensive. A camera replacement costs more. Cable fault tracing and repair varies depending on accessibility and run length. We diagnose first, quote second, and only proceed with your approval. We provide a fixed quote before any repair work begins.

My cameras are showing but not recording - what is wrong?

This is almost always a hard drive fault. The drive has either failed completely or developed enough bad sectors that the NVR cannot write to it reliably. Less commonly, it is a settings issue - recording schedule misconfigured or storage allocation incorrect. We can usually confirm the cause remotely if you have NVR access, or diagnose it quickly on-site.

One camera has gone black but the others are fine - what should I do?

A single dead camera is usually either water ingress, a cable fault, or a camera hardware failure. Check whether the camera has any LEDs illuminated - if it is completely dark with no indicator lights, the problem is likely power delivery (cable or PoE port). If LEDs are on but no image, the camera itself has probably failed. Either way, it is a straightforward fault to diagnose and repair on-site.

Is it worth repairing an old CCTV system?

It depends on the system. Replacing a failed hard drive on a solid PoE system is always worthwhile. Repairing multiple faults on an ageing analogue DVR with consumer-grade cameras is usually not. We will assess the system honestly and tell you whether repair or replacement makes more financial sense.