Another Company Installed My Cameras and Stopped Answering
The Short Answer
A security system installed by someone else can almost always be taken over, serviced, and kept. The cameras and the cabling are usually sound, the recorder and the passwords are the usual obstacle, and both can be dealt with: most recorders and cameras can be reset and reconfigured even when the previous company left nothing behind. Tulsa Surveillance Technologies takes over existing systems across the Tulsa metro, and the first step is a free site walk where every device is tested and a camera map marks each one as kept, repaired, or replaced.
This is one of the most common calls we get, usually after half the cameras have gone dark, the installer has stopped returning calls, and another integrator has quoted a full replacement. The sections below cover what can be recovered and what cannot.
What Can Usually Be Recovered
The cameras. Unless they are very old analog units, the cameras on the wall are the part of the system with the longest life, and they stay on the map if they work and can do what you need. The cabling, if it was run properly; a damaged run is repaired or rerun, not a reason to replace everything. Remote viewing, which usually just needs reconfiguring after a router change. And the recorder in many cases, though a failed recorder is the single most common reason a whole system goes dark, and swapping it for one that supports the existing cameras is a normal takeover job.
Passwords are the sticking point. If the previous installer will not hand them over, the recorder and the cameras are reset to factory defaults and set up fresh. The old footage on the recorder is lost in that case, so we discuss it before touching anything, and we ask you to send photos of the recorder and the cameras first so the technician arrives with the right tools.
When Replacement Is the Honest Answer
Sometimes it is, and the map shows why. Analog cameras that cannot read a face at the distance you care about, a recorder with no spare parts or no way to add storage, cabling that was never rated for outdoor use, or a system that was simply too small for the property are not worth saving. Even then the decision is made position by position on the drawing, so you can see what a replacement adds and keep anything that still earns its place.
After a takeover the system is supported like any other: a Tulsa number that reaches the crew that now knows it, service calls diagnosed on the phone first, and a map that stays current. The system takeover page explains the process step by step, the cameras not working page covers the usual faults, and the service and repair page covers what happens afterward.
What to Gather Before the Walk
Three things make a takeover walk faster: photos of the recorder and of a few cameras up close, any paperwork or emails from the previous installer that name the equipment or the platform, and the login details if you have any at all, even a username with no password. None of it is required. If you have nothing, the technician identifies the equipment on site and works from there, and the camera map that results is yours whether or not you hire us.
Related Questions
Also Asked
Is there a charge to look at my system?
No. The walk and the test of every device are free, and the camera map is yours either way.
Can you take over a system from a national company?
Usually. Some national systems are locked to a monitoring contract; we tell you on the walk what can be reused and what cannot.
Will I lose my old footage?
Only if the recorder has to be reset because no passwords were left behind. We discuss that before touching anything and export what we can first.
Send Us a Photo of What You Have
Email pictures of the cameras and the recorder, or book a free walk, and we will tell you what is worth keeping.