You’re trying to playback the footage on your Hikvision device you get the message “No Record File” or “Playback Failed. No Match Record Files”. It means that the device cannot find any recordings on the microSD card or on the hard drive even though you can watch the cameras live.
It’s a frustrating issue that needs to be solved as soon as possible, otherwise, your security camera system won’t record anything. A not working playback defeats the whole purpose of your security system.
This message (“no record file”) shows up on an NVR, DVR, or on a single camera that has a microSD card. The issue is related to incorrect recording settings, corrupt hard drive (or microSD card), and, in some cases, glitches on the firmware.
In this guide, we will show step by step how to fix the Hikvision issue of playback failed or no record files. First by adjusting the recording settings and then by inspecting the hard drive and updating the firmware.
How to fix Hikvision Playback Failed (No Record Files)
Step 1. Log into your recorder or camera and navigate to Configuration > Storage > Storage Management and select the HDD Management tab. There you should see listed any hard drive or microSD cards installed in the unit.
You need to select the hard drive (or SD card) and click Format. This will format the whole hard disk space. Warning: any footage you may have there will be erased.
If you don’t see any hard drive or microSD listed there, it means the device is not detecting anything. Maybe the hard drive is dead (damaged) or is not hooked up properly, sometimes the MicroSD card may be loose.
Inspect the unit carefully, make sure the wires are fully plugged in. If you’re using a MicroSD card, ensure that it’s fully inserted in the slot and on the correct side. Keep in mind, always use a surveillance rated hard drive and reliable MicroSD cards.
Step 2. Once you see the successful format message, go to Configuration > Storage > Schedule Settings and then select the Record Schedule tab (as seen in the picture below).
On this step, you need to erase all the settings already there, click the “Delete All” button, and erase everything. Do it for the Continuous Mode, Event, Motion, etc.
Make sure any settings are erased. Sometimes these settings are done incorrectly or even messed up. You should see the tab empty. Don’t forget to click Save to Apply (the erased) new settings.
Step 3. Now we have to re-do the schedule settings one more time. Select the mode you want to record (in our cases it’s “continuous), copy for all the days. If you have set it in motion detection, the bar should be colored green.
For example, we set our unit to record continuous mode (24/7) for each day of the week. The bars should be blue for all days, starting from 00:00 to 24:00. Click Save to apply the adjusted settings.
Step 4. Next, we need to reboot the unit (camera, NVR, or DVR). Navigate to Configuration > System > Maintenance and click the Reboot button (as shown in the picture below). The unit will restart and the new settings will take effect.
Step 5. The last step involves going to the Playback and checking if the unit is recording. If it’s in motion detection, make some movement in front of the camera to trigger the recording.
In our case, we searched the footage and we can see (on the red square) that the unit is already recording. Pretty much that’s it.
As we mentioned earlier, the playback failed, or the “no record files” issue is caused by incorrect schedule settings (sometimes messed up), or a dead/damaged hard drive/micro SD card (in this case you need to replace the hard drives).
In some instances, the issue is related to bad firmware, especially if the unit is quite old. You need to update the firmware on the NVR/DVR or camera to the latest released version. Contact Hikvision USA, or the OEM seller/dealer to get the right firmware.
