I got a Motion detected alert and when I went into the app, all it showed was a black screen for the duration of the recording. Has happened a few times.
Hi @Macy517. Please check out our Ring Help Center Article here for more information on how to fix this black video error. 
As per the advice in fixing black video errors:
- Using a computer, visit ring.com/account and log into your account.
- Once there, try playing back another video from the Dashboard.
I logged into my account. When I click on activity history, I only get one video. Should I get others that have been recorded over the last day or more?
By the way, this one video I could watch showed the footage but it was frozen for pretty much the whole 14 seconds. I did hear the sound though. Is this an indication of poor wifi connection?
I had the same issue as well. Black video for first 10-15 secs and I got frozen frames after that.
@Macy517 Depending on the browser you are using, you may have limited video access. We have had neighbors noticing this more on Google Chrome more than others, and our web teams are looking into this concern further for the future so more video history is accessible on the website. No worries though! Since you were able to view the one, and saw the activity that you did, my first hunch is that it is definitely an indication of a poor wifi signal. You can confirm this by checking your device health page for the device.
@deschong Can you please check out this article here to see if it can help address your concerns?
Thanks Chelsea.
My wifi set up is as follows. I have my cable modem at one end of the house (a fair way away from the front door) I also have google mesh wifi points. One plugged into my modem and others placed around the house. There are two between the router and front door, with one being about 12 feet from the front door. When I run a network check on the Google mesh app, it shows good connection between the various mesh points.
Device Health: I checked the Ring Video Doorbell health this morning and the RSSI showed 57.
Speed test: I have run a network speed test from the Ring app, standing near my doorbell. It shows my download speed is 48 and upload is 1.4
I have not received any notifications or alerts on connection issues however I have just had more black video recording after motion at my door and when I try and select live view from the app, it says it is activating the device and it either does not connect, just the spinning wheel sayig it is activating, or it eventually activates after about 30-60 seconds.
The Ring app says my device is in good health and I shouldnt be experiencing any problems.
@Macy517 Thank you for doing that speed test with the other detailing of how your system is set up as! For the RSSI, please reach our Community post here to have a good understanding of why -57 for RSSI may still be a bit high. Although, despite the good connection, the upload speed is to blame here. Our Ring Video Doorbell (Not sure which bell you have, so going with the original) requires 1 Mbps download and upload. While you do have plenty of download speed, the upload speed is the major contributor when it comes to activating your Live View (an upload speed intensive request, requiring the full 1 upload speed). In addition, having a low upload speed can cause video capture to not be successfully upload, and possibly resulting in a black video.
While are you getting that 1.4 for upload speed, it is assumed that you are most likely if never, using that upload speed. While upload speed is not intensive with browsing the web, using apps on your phone that is connected to the wifi may be utilizing the upload speed, leaving little, if none, for the Doorbell. Are you able to get in contact with your ISP at all to see if you can increase that upload speed?
1 Like
Thanks again. I have moved my modem to a higher position and the upload speed has increased to between 3-4. Thanks very much for your help. It all makes sense now.
1 Like
Hello There,
Only in the last two days I have encountered black videos. My ring doorbell has been fine until now. No Change to my broadband and no issues with other devices.
Anybody else seeing this or does this only happen in the users home i.e. not a ring server issue ? Thanks Declan.
1 Like
I’m seeing white lines with a black background. My internet hasn’t change and my speeds are 62download and 7 upload my RSSI -30