Camera still taking pics but not texting
I have four GC-Z4Gb Verizon cameras. All set up exactly the same way. Rechargeable batteries internally, Herd 360 solar external setup as well. 16 GB Class 10 SD cards, showing full power. Been working like a charm and then yesterday around 8:00 pm central time they all four quit texting. They still take pictures, and they show up in the Spartan mobile app but no longer receiving texts.
I have 19 available premium credits in my account. Thoughts?
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Because it’s something that Verizon is doing and AT&T has been doing. Spartan has no control over it. It’s time to make alternate plans for picture delivery, whether it’s to email or through the app.
SC has been discouraging use of pictures to text for about two years now because it was just a matter of time before it no longer worked. This is from the ATTxb manual for the camera released in fall 2017 and it’s been in every manual (all available online) since.
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Since all this happened recently I am still not getting the emails (pics or status report). I have swapped emails, re-entered them in the portal, changed the delivery but still not getting them. Pics are on the portal and that fine but I did use the email status report just to check every morning when I woke up that all is good with my two cameras.
Not complaining and don’t expect y’all to fix it. Just saying that I’m still having the email issue. -
I spent 2+ hours on the phone with VZW today. At this point I am confident it isn't anything they (VZW) have done or not done. I've been VZW customer for over 19 years. My VZW GC-VCTB works fine (updated FW today). I even forced a pic to text once today, but could not replicate it. I set it up in auto to send to phone # @vzwpix.com and other email and it works to the email - NOT to @vzwpix.com. That has been the case since 8/19/19 except for the random shot earlier this afternoon. Tested my VZW phone's ability to receive pictures via @vzwpix.com from other sources, that works just fine. The issue seems to rest on HCO's server, outbound to text (@vzwpix.com). Until HCO describes what they have done to investigate and correct the issue, I will resort to the email path available to auto send via mode. I pay VZW for data. I don't pay HCO for data, but it sure seems as though they are trying to force the issue. Happy to be wrong, but seems odd that two cellular providers would target a specific class of messages.
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leocoleman,
It is not anything that Spartan is doing. The Spartan server is sending pics to text addresses. AT&T phone users are getting text pics (for now), Sprint phone users are getting text pics, apparently US Cellular customers are getting text pics because there don’t seem to be complaints.
The messages are being filtered as SPAM. There are a lot of pictures going from the Spartan server to the carriers’ MMS servers.realityvideoman,
I used a gmail address to get pics last week while I was testing the text delivery to my Verizon phone and the pictures got to my gmail account but not to my Verizon phone number. I’m not sure what is happening in your case.
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I have pics from one of my cameras going to someone who has an AT&T phone. I know he was getting pics earlier this week from a camera that is currently down because of dead battery. I’m trying to confirm that he’s still getting pics from my camper camera that should be coming to my Verizon phone via text but aren’t.
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Not useless, you can still receive push notifications and pics through the app if you purchase credits through Spartan. However, I will not be relying on these in the off season for security cameras if the text feature doesn’t return. In my experience the text would come through within 60seconds of the trigger and with my app it’s closer to 2-3 minutes. That’s too long of a delay for me to have the element of surprise as I did on June 25 when I caught 3 guys attempting to burglarize my home. The text alerted me and allowed me to arm myself and slip out the door and catch themselves before they could get anything. 2-3 minutes they could’ve kicked my door in and been inside before I was aware they were in the yard
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leocoleman Spartan is trying but I highly doubt Verizon will do anything about it. It may start working again on it's own like it Does when ATT filters the messages but it may not. The cameras were never designed to work sending a text email and as far back as the 2017 ATTXb was stated in the user manual that text emails aren't recommended and that if you chose that delivery method there is no guaranty that it will be reliable.
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leocoleman,
Here’s the information that’s been in the manuals (available online) for the last two years. I think that SC may even have considered removing the text feature because it was a known problem but the decision was made to leave it in for the time being, knowing that at some point, it would no longer be available.
Maybe you should look at this as questionable functionality left in with warnings.
If you’re paying for premium service, you’re paying for the portal and app, both of which work. If you’re using Auto, you’re paying the carrier for the camera to deliver pictures to the SC server (which it is doing, using data, not text) and for the SC server to deliver them via email.
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I'm pretty sure when that camera was released no one had any idea that Verizon or any other carrier would start filtering the messages and keeping them from getting to you. If Spartan could fix this they would. What about having the pictures sent to an email address and doing an auto forward to your text messages. I have all my Gmail's from one account forwarded to another Gmail account so maybe it can be done.
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I’m pretty sure that camera was released in 2015, but I don’t remember which season. I think spring, but it may even have been earlier because the app was developed that spring.
At that point, sending using data plans was a new thing. Before that, we had small thumbnails sent via text using AT&T GoPhone text-only plans. It was a challenge to keep any camera on one of those plans going, so when Buy-A-Session and data became available, it was a nice change.
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Or better yet, a camera that send pics to me directly! Not to a server so you can profit on the handling of data; and the consumer pays 3 times for the transfer of a single picture. 1 for the camera to access the cellular network, 2 for your “premium” data handling, and, 3 for the internet or cellular service for delivery to the end user.
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leocoleman, absolutely Spartan would fix this if they could, many customers use both the app and email to text but many also just use the email to text and don't realize that the camera is still working and sending the pictures until they call tech support and find out. No one wants an unhappy customer. As far as a camera that sends pictures directly to you that's going backwards, that's the way things used to be. I'm not sure what you mean by the consumer paying three times, if you get your data from Spartan you only pay that one charge and you can use the app/premium or not if you choose. If you buy your data from the cellular carrier directly and want to use premium service then there's the addition $3 a month charge. That's it nothing else and it's your choice. What did you think about my suggestion to have the photos sent to a Gmail account and auto forwarded to your text messages?
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Cutting out middle node, data handler (SC), may seem like going backwards to you, and maybe it is. I see it as simplifying the process. Removing a node entirely, removing an opportunity for failure. I’m no fan of email push. Like Woolley, I use the device for alerting me to activity and 40-60 seconds worked great for 2.5 years (even with middle node data handler). I will find a different product or develop one.
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leocoleman, have you tried the app? With my 4g Verizon Spartans in a good signal area I am getting notifications to the app in 28 seconds from the time the camera is triggered. In weaker signal areas I have seen 45 seconds to a minute. I'm using an Android phone with battery saver/management turned off to the app. The 3g cameras of course are a little slower, probably 45-70 seconds in decent signal and 60-120 in very poor signal areas with 1 bar of service. I can tell you most the delay time is the time it takes the photo to send from the camera, after you see the "sent" notice appear on the camera screen I typically see the download arrow appear on my phone within 5 seconds. These times are based on the larger 1280 sized images being trasnmitted as well, the normal 640's will transmit faster.
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I purchased the Spartan camera in July 2019. It has been working great until this week. I had been receiving approximately 150 pics per night. As of Thursday 8-28-19, my Spartan camera has not sent a picture to my app. My app is getting regular updates from the camera, but no pictures are being sent. I have checked the camera out completely. I have new batteries, new memory card and full cellular signal from US Cellular. Any suggestions??
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leocoleman,
Cutting out the middleman means using radio signal like handheld radios. It would limit the distance you could be from the camera.
When you send a text to someone, it goes through your carrier’s outgoing message server, which sends it to the incoming message server for ther carrier and then to their phone. The old push to talk was direct phone to phone but nothing since.
Same for email. Sent email goes through the sender’s ISP’s outgoing mail server to the incoming email server for the recipient.
What you are asking for is direct delivery of a package using a courier service door to door.
This is how all cell cameras work. Using the app actually cuts out a node because pics don’t go through an email or message server. They go directly from the SC server to the app.
wirelesscam1,
There won’t be 5G cameras any time soon. 5G towers have to be no more than about half a mile apart.
Was the delay to email or the app?
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