How to use night vision on your Roku Smart Home cameras and video doorbell

How to turn on night vision

Live video stream

To turn night vision off, repeat the steps and toggle the night vision icon to Off

Settings menu

Adjust night vision conditions

When night vision is on, you can set the lighting conditions for night vision that works best for you, depending on the location and placement of your compatible camera.

Note: The setting, called Night Vision Conditions, is unavailable on the Roku Outdoor Camera SE, Roku Indoor Camera SE, Roku Battery Camera SE, Roku Battery Camera Plus SE or the video doorbells.

Turn on Spotlight

There is a spotlight on the front of your Roku Battery Camera and Roku Video Doorbell & Chime that turns on when someone rings the doorbell, or a video is recording in low light. Enable both night vision and white light LED to get better video quality at night and see who is at your door when it is dark.

Note: Battery life will vary based on device settings, use, and environmental factors.

To turn on the spotlight on the Roku Battery Camera:

Turn on Floodlight

Turn on the floodlight with your Roku Floodlight Camera by tapping Light. You can change settings on your camera depending on when you'd like the light to turn on in Settings > Light Settings:

• Trigger automatically: Turn this on to enable the camera to be activated by either motion (default), motion and/or sound, or from sunset to sunrise.
• Brightness: Adjust the brightness of the floodlight
• Flash light with siren: Enable this to turn on a flashing light when the siren activates
• Light stays on for: Choose the duration you want the light to stay on when activated

What to do if night vision is not working?

Live stream is black

If the live stream for your camera or doorbell is completely black, review the suggestions below.

• Confirm night vision is properly turned on
• Reposition your camera or doorbell
• Turn on IR lights if your camera is located in an extremely dark environment
• Enable the white light LED if your doorbell is in an extremely dark location

You hear a continuous clicking sound

If night vision is not working and your camera or doorbell makes a continuous clicking sound, the feature is stuck switching from on and off inside your device. Refer to the troubleshooting suggestions below to resolve the issue.

• Turn night vision off and on from the smart home app to see if this stops the clicking sound.
• Try restarting your camera or doorbell manually using the instructions below.
  • Power outlet: Remove the power adaptor from the wall outlet for roughly 30 seconds and then plug it back in
  • Electrical Panel: Go to the main electrical panel, turn the breaker off for about 30 seconds, and then turn it back on
• Try enabling night vision on your device by following the instructions in this article.

Red IR light reflects against a glass window

The IR LED used for night vision is not visible to the human eye but may emit a faint red glow. The IR LED can also reflect off the glass and potentially affect the image quality. To avoid this, you can turn off the LEDs and rely on night vision alone by toggling the ‘Night Vision IR lights’ to OFF.

If children find the red IR LEDs unsettling or distracting at night

For the best results, it is recommended to install the camera outside the window and enable the Night vision IR lights. In bedroom scenarios where your children feel uncomfortable with the red glow emitted by the IR LEDs at night, you may consider repositioning the camera or disabling the IR lights if possible. Make sure there is sufficient ambient light available for the camera to capture clear images.

How night vision works

Night vision shows black-and-white images in low light so you can monitor your home day or night. There are three modes:

When using Auto or On, you can turn on IR lights or the doorbell’s LED for a clearer view.

Infrared (IR) lights

• Far: For outdoors and longer distances (red glow visible).
• Near: For indoors and close-up views (no visible glow).

Note: The Roku Battery Camera, Roku Indoor Camera, and Roku Outdoor Wired Camera support Far infrared only.

Color Night Vision

Some Roku cameras (SCS11R, SCW11R, SCB11R, SCB12R) use ambient light to show color images at night. In the Roku Smart Home App, you can set when IR night vision activates depending on available light.

How to turn on IR lights

To turn on the IR lights in your camera, make sure night vision is set to Auto or On and complete the appropriate steps for each camera or doorbell.

Tip: If your smart home camera faces glass, it is recommended that IR lights are left off when using night vision.