Swann SWDVK-942008-US DVR9-4200 9 Channel 960H Digital Video Recorder & 8 x PRO-642 Cameras (Black & White)

What customers say about Swann SWDVK-942008-US DVR9-4200 9 Channel 960H Digital Video Recorder & 8 x PRO-642 Cameras (Black & White)?

1. 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

   
   DVR STOPPED WORKING AFTER 3 WEEKS, June 13, 2014

   By 

   Amazon Customer –

   Verified Buy(What’s this?)

   This review is from: Swann SWDVK-942008-US DVR9-4200 9 Channel 960H Digital Video Recorder & 8 x PRO-642 Cameras (Black & White) (Electronics)

   I bought one of these system on november last year. It spent three months in the closet until I finally installed the system with four out of the eight cameras available. The dvr worked for a period of three weeks and one night and suddenly stopped working. I contacted swann tech support who instructed me to do some troubleshooting on the dvr. Now the problem is worst. I am waiting for them to answer my last email, which I just sent to them, requesting a new circuit board to replace the hurt one.

   I will update this review as soon as I get more o no help from them.

   So far they have answered my emails nearly the same day.

   Aug 03 2014

   After all the troubleshooting the dvr died. Swann sent me an email with the details of how to return the hurt dvr and receive a replacement. I changed to 4 star for the fact that the company agreed to raplace the dvr.

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2. 5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

   
   They were not nice about it and after repeatedly telling them it was …, August 5, 2014

   By 

   Judy –

   This review is from: Swann SWDVK-942008-US DVR9-4200 9 Channel 960H Digital Video Recorder & 8 x PRO-642 Cameras (Black & White) (Electronics)

   Stay away from this model and brand. It quit working within 2 weeks of install. After twice spending over an hour with tech support, they would get it working and it would last a day. I called for the third time and they questioned for a callback number and disconnected me after 45 minutes and didn’t call back. I called them back and they place me through a whole series of troubleshooting INCLUDING REMOVING THE COVER AND SOME WIRES! They were not nice about it and after repeatedly telling them it was obviously defective they finally caved and said they would send me email to return it AT MY EXPENSE and they will repair or replace. I am guessing replace with the same low quality product. They made me jump through hoops of troubleshooting. I will never buy Swann again. I have over $1100 into this with installation and I have spent as much time on the telephone with tech support as it has really worked.

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3. 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

   
   Never Again, My Mostly Positive Review on Their Website Would Not Be Posted; Replacing Entire System, 3 cameras terrible, no access, May 17, 2015

   By 

   D. Landers (USA) –

   This review is from: Swann SWDVK-942008-US DVR9-4200 9 Channel 960H Digital Video Recorder & 8 x PRO-642 Cameras (Black & White) (Electronics)

   I am running this system, this is about 18 months after install by a professional company. Their installers are not aware of their product, it is just a pool, apparently. The installer couldn’t get the networking to function, despite being on the phone with customer service for hours. The installer said there were typical ports used in industry, and the techs weren’t understanding some of the most basic questions. I finished up getting it working by myself after about 18 hours of messing around with it and my internet provider, but had to pay for a static IP address $9/mo to view the cameras outside my home. Otherwise, with the DHCP changing my IP address every 24 hours I would lose connection every day unless I went through the system and updated the IP address (daily). So I can’t view the cameras remotely, anymore, I am just recording to the DVR and recording to thumb drive for specific events.

   Overall the system works, and had potential, the camera image was excellent; not full HD for sure, but certainly not 480p. I added a dome camera from Swann which is probably the best functioning device they produced at their company. It has very excellent capability, but this review is to point out the small camera lifetime. I have 2 cameras that have no IR capability anymore, and a 3rd that is very discolored. I have been in contact with their tech support by phone and e-mail. Eventually, they found my e-mail complaint after nearly 1 year…they admitted it was a “stuck IR filter” and that it could be replaced, until they found out it was out of warranty. I will never buy another Swann product, despite the performance of the dome camera. The DVR system is a clunky form of software that is not intuitive, but you can eventually figure things out after a lot of frustration.

   Since I couldn’t get much help from tech support and they were not responding to my tech support complaint, I posted a negative review on their own website on this camera model/kit/DVR. I clarified that I really liked the product, but that it needed some help and I couldn’t get it. I clarified how I solved the problem they could not, so I could help other customers that might be in same quandary. I figured by complementing their well performing product (at install, not at a few months later, then ~14 months later), I figured they might appreciate the review and do something about my issue. Instead, they would not approve the review for posting on their website; they said it violated their rules. I checked their rules and could not find any rule violated, so I questioned them. They would not specify anything, and just said it violated their rules, again. I posted a less negative review again (tried), and they did the same thing as the first, they would not approve it for posting on their website. Unbelievable. I was a pleased customer looking for some simple tech support, I reviewed it a 4 or 4.5 star rating for its performance but needed help. For that, I was silenced on their website and place through a frustrating array of foreign-call-service customer support people that never did resolve anything.

   Unfortunately, the truth about paying a professional installer over $2k is my new reality. My installer showed me their system, how simple it works, how powerful it is, the quality of their cameras, DVR, network access, etc.,and they use products they rely on for performance. I paid $1.2k for this system ($650 at the time), added a bullet cam and the dome camera, cables, etc.. Then I paid about $1.2k for the installation, which was not very simple. They ran galvanized steel conduit with break-out boxes, and are all concealed wire installations. I heard the install should cost about the same as the cameras but didn’t believe it was necessary, until I went through this ordeal! Now I am a believer. I could have installed my system myself, eventually, but it would not be nearly as professionally done as having a real installer do the job. As for Swann, they have proven to not stand behind their product, not help customers that have mostly positive comments about their product’s performance because they write about having an unresolved issue. The truth hurts…and their reviews are skyrocketing…downward, where they belong!

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