I'm done with Covert Cameras

Well I'm on my third Covert Code Black in the last month. I sent the original back after it quit at about a year old. They then sent me a replacement that I paid an extra 50 dollars for to upgrade to the newer model. It was not functioning properly straight out of the package.

Sent it back in and get my third camera, and guess what. Yep, another one that doesnt work. This one didnt even make it to the woods before it stopped working. Not only is it inconvenient, but i have had to pay out of my pocket each time to have it shipped back. I have also paid for two months of the phone plan that you need to have the camera function, and havent had a camera to use...

Needless to say, the next one they send me will be going straight up for sale, and I will just put the money towards a Reconyx. Sorry for the rant, but this is getting ridiculous.

I hope your luck gets better. I sent my Covert MP6 black back 2 days ago, paid for shipping after I found moisture inside the camera and the screen wouldn't turn on. I missed June-August pictures. Could have been a battery broke open, IDK but never had issues with Duracell. I'm going to email them now and see what their plan is with the camera.

This is why I keep it simple and cheap! Pretty much problem free.

bowhuntingrook said:

I hope your luck gets better. I sent my Covert MP6 black back 2 days ago, paid for shipping after I found moisture inside the camera and the screen wouldn't turn on. I missed June-August pictures. Could have been a battery broke open, IDK but never had issues with Duracell. I'm going to email them now and see what their plan is with the camera.

Click to expand...

I will say that their customer service was good. I had a new camera within a week each time of me mailing it off. I just cant seem to get one back that works.

I'll say this....the MMS cameras from Covert, Bushnell, Lil Acorn all have pretty much the same problems. I have suggested to Covert in the past, that the first time a customer returns a camera return shipping is not a big deal, but when they are returning camera after camera the shipping needs to be on Covert. Sorry you are having a problem, I don't have the Code Black, but follow the problems as closely as I can on the forums, a lot of problems some people think are with the camera are actually with AT&T. I don't know enough about the AT&T side to narrow it down.

I guess I should clarify the problems that I have had with the cameras. The first one just quit all together, the second was sending almost completely washed out pictures just before sun down and just after sun up, and the third will take two to three pictures and then the little red light continuously blinks and it will not take anymore pictures.

I will say that their customer service has been great, and they are very easy to deal with but I think I'm just going to get away from the mms cameras all together. I have had nothing but problems.

Covert released an firmware update to take care of the washed out photo problems, its posted on their website. As far as the red light blinking, normally that would blink for a few seconds when switching from on to setup. Your red light blinking is a common "problem" with Customer Service.

As far as I know the blinking red light is a AT&T issue. I am copying a response from a Covert customer about his red light blinking and the subsequent fix for it. I honestly believe more than half of the issue the cameras have can be traced back to AT&T and the text package. At&T changes things around all the time and it causes problems.

I was ready to send mine back because of the blinking red light issue and the camera not working at all. It would take photos in the beginning then after a few minutes the blinking red light would start and then nothing! It would take no photos! My camera stopped taking photos on August 29th, but luckily I had the camera close by my house so I was able to check it. I walked up to it and it did not take a photo at all. I tried to reset it but would always resort back to blink red light after sending a few photos at first. I contacted Covert and they told me "they (Meaning AT&T) didn't apply the texting package correctly or the IMEI number on the camera is not coming up as a basic phone I would call AT&T and double check the sim card plan and have them change the IMEI number to 999999999999999" So I contacted AT&T and they said for the camera phone to work right the IMEI number should be set to the IMEI number on the camera. so I had them change it and gave it a try.

Again same issue after a few minutes blink red light and no photos would be taken. I contacted Covert again and they said "Once it sends a few photos AT&T recognizes it as a device that shouldn't be doing that and shuts the sim card down" They also said "I can issue you a RA# to send the camera in but am certain there issue is not with the camera but with the sim card, We have seen it many many times in the past month"

Ok so I decide to call back AT&T and have the IMEI switched back to 999999999999999. I was then checking my account online and I noticed that they were charging me .25 cents for every text! I also noticed that the problem with my camera not working started on August 29th when I started getting charged the .25 cents for every text.

Well after a long time on the phone with AT&T I finally got the unlimited text package reinstated and I am happy to say the camera is working fine again. No blinking red light! I have the camera in front of my house to check on throughout the night and see if it keeps working. It looks like maybe not having the IMEI number set correctly from the beginning could be the reason I would have problem with that blink red light issue. It also looks like maybe Covert was correct in the info they sent me. Make sure your IMEI number is set to 999999999999999? So that is my story for now. Hopefully the camera continues to work.

I to am having problems, lots of problems, with covert cameras. I have another Covert Extreme that just started taking some videos at night but others are just black screens for the 20 seconds I have the camera set up to film. I recently had two Extremes that started filling up with water. For a nominal fee ($149 and $129) I became the "proud" owner of a Covert Red 40 and a Covert Black 60. The Red 40 was filled with water the first time I put the camera out and it rained. I had to pay to send it back although it was defective when I first received the camera.

I'm nor at all happy with the new Red 40 and Black 60, they eat batteries like going out of style. I don't set them for sound and neither of them send photos to my computer. They go thru 12 AAA batteries in a couple of weeks and maybe 200 - 300 video clips. The Extreme would take close to 1000 or more on a set of 8 AAA batteries. I have a Covert Deuce whick has been out since Nov 13, it has taken close to 2000 video clips and the batteries are still showing 3/4 strength.

The Deuce is the only model that I have not had to return, several times, and according to Covert they are no longer making the Deuce model. Incidentally, they no longer make the Extreme therefore do not repair them either. The only option if one quits and is under warranty you must pay over $100 to upgrade to a (in my opinion) worse camera.

I'm not a rookie with cameras. My experience goes back to the old string across the trail counters, the old film cameras, the first digital Game Vu's, The Cuddebacks, Moultrie and finally fifteen Covert cameras of different models. All of them have had their problems but it seems like Covert started out with extremely good cameras but have digressed to pieces of junk, half of them don't work right out of the box. Sad, Sad, Sad.

Now looking for a better game camera maker.

bowhuntingrook said:

I hope your luck gets better. I sent my Covert MP6 black back 2 days ago, paid for shipping after I found moisture inside the camera and the screen wouldn't turn on. I missed June-August pictures. Could have been a battery broke open, IDK but never had issues with Duracell. I'm going to email them now and see what their plan is with the camera.

Click to expand...

Well I received a brand new Covert MP8 black today as an exchange, I'm happy with that quick turn around and hope like hell the MP8 keeps kicking.

Thanks for the info poppop. It is the same sim card taken out of the last camera, so I was assuming that the card was fine. Maybe they changed something somewhere along the way. I will give them a call and see what happens. Thanks again.