Body Camera Settings – Axon Help Center

The Body Camera Settings section enables agency administrators to control settings for Axon body worn cameras – such as video quality, event pre-buffering, audio mute control, and indicator light control. It also allows administrators to add devices as Early Access Devices. There are separate pages for controlling the settings for an agency’s Axon Body 3, Axon Body 2 and Axon Flex 2 cameras, and Axon Body and Axon Flex cameras.

See Body Camera Setting Descriptions below for additional information about each setting.

Note: Some setting changes can only be enforced on each Axon camera after the camera has been inserted in an Axon Dock or connected to an Evidence Sync application.

Microphone controls are intended for agencies in locations with restrictions on audio recordings.

Video quality settings provide the ability to define the Axon video encoding rate or the space used per hour of recording. This is useful for agencies wanting to reduce the impact of Axon video uploads on the agency’s Internet connection.

Note: To ensure that the quality of videos is acceptable, it is strongly recommended that you always validate the effect of the configured camera settings.

On the menu bar, click Admin, and then under Devices and Applications, click the appropriate body camera link.
There are separate Body Camera setting pages for Axon Body 3, Axon Body 2 and Flex 2 cameras, and Axon Body and Flex cameras.
For each setting, choose the option that best supports your agency’s policies regarding video, audio, and offline camera usage.
See Body Camera Setting Descriptions below for additional information about the settings for Axon Body 3, Axon Body 2 and Flex 2 cameras, and Axon Body and Flex cameras.
At the bottom of the page, click Save Settings.
Evidence.com saves the camera settings. Axon Dock and Evidence Sync updates each camera with any changed settings the next time that the camera is connected.

Body Camera Setting Descriptions

This section provides descriptions for each of the settings on the Body camera settings page.

Axon Body 3 Camera Settings

Video

Quality (Default - 720p High)
This sets the video quality for body camera recordings. Higher quality videos will take up more storage space. For the best balance of quality and storage space, Axon recommends that the cameras record in 720p High.
Pre-Event Buffering (Default - 30 seconds)
This setting determines if video in the pre-event buffer is included in a video recording. The pre-event buffering time is configurable in 30 second increments for up to 120 seconds (two minutes). When enabled, video from the selected amount of time prior to the user starting a camera recording is included in the final video.

Watermark (Default - Enabled)
This sets if a permanent watermark appears in the upper right corner of videos. The watermark displays the date, time, and camera serial number for the duration of the video.

The watermark time uses the ISO 8601 international standard 24-hour format with a trailing Z for “Zulu” or “zero hours” from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) time standard.
Watermark local time zone (Default – Enabled)
This determines the time zone displayed in the permanent watermark. When enabled, the local time zone, based on agency configuration, is used. When disabled, UTC is used.
Video Recall (Note: This setting is disabled by default and changing the setting will have no effect on your agency’s Axon Body 3 cameras until camera OS v1.13 is available.)
This setting enables the upcoming Video Recall feature, which would be applied to all agency devices. This feature allows authorized users to upload and review video captured by an Axon Body 3 camera when the camera is on but not actively recording. The recalled evidence will be of lower quality and without audio. It is saved to the camera buffer, which, with Video Recall enabled, is overwritten after 18 hours. More information about the Video Recall feature will be available in future updates.

Audio

Audio recording (Default – Enabled)
This sets if the camera records audio while recording video.

Note that if the Users can mute during recording setting is enabled, users will have the ability to turn audio recording for their camera on and off.
Pre-event buffer (Default – Disabled)
This sets if audio is recorded in the pre-event buffer.

Lights

Front light (Default – Disabled)
This setting enables the visible indication of the recording status on the front triad LEDs. During pre-event buffering, the LEDs blink green. During recording the LEDs blink red. Stealth Mode must be disabled for this setting to be enabled.
Automatic Brightness (Default – Disabled)
Note: This feature requires Axon Body 3 OS v1.11 or higher.
Enables LED Auto Brightness mode for Axon Body 3 cameras. This mode automatically adjusts the brightness of front and top LED lights based on ambient light. If front lights are disabled, the changes only apply to top light. Users must have permission to adjust indicator lights to enable Auto mode from the camera or Axon applications. Additionally, Stealth mode must be disabled for this setting to be enabled.

Location

Record location in video (Default – Enabled)
This setting determines if GPS data is embedded when videos are being recorded
Make location information available to Axon Respond (Default – Location available when camera is recording)

Only available is Axon Respond for Devices is enabled for your agency.

This setting determines if location information is made available in near real-time to authorized agency users.

When the Location available when camera is recording and buffering setting is selected, camera location will be reported to Axon Respond and Axon Evidence while the camera is recording and while the camera is buffering. Location will be available in both the browser and mobile application of Axon Respond. Camera location while the camera is buffering is updated on the Respond platforms every 15 minutes and will be denoted on the map as device markers. Camera location while recording is updated every few seconds. The location map on the Axon Evidence Device Profile page is updated with the same frequency as the Respond platform.

Important: Choosing the Location available when camera is recording and buffering setting will have an impact on battery charge levels. Users can expect to see a 5 to 10 minute reduction in total camera runtime when the option is selected.
Wi-Fi Positioning (Default – Enabled)
This setting determines if Wi-Fi access points are used to determine location based on Wi-Fi signal strength. Enabling Wi-Fi positioning allows the camera’s Wi-Fi capabilities to be used to assist in determining location, which improves overall location accuracy, allowing for indoor location determination, as well as reduced time to “first fix” for the camera’s GPS.

Signal

Signal (Default – Disabled)
This setting determines the camera’s ability to activate recording by Axon Signal products. If disabled, cameras will not activate when notified by Axon Signal products.

The trigger events for the cameras are set on the Signal Configuration page.
False Signal Cancellation (Default – Disabled)
Determines if Signal alerts can be canceled on the camera. Users can dismiss a Signal alert by pressing the Select button.
False gunshot cancellation default category (Default – Uncategorized)
Only active if False Signal Cancellation is enabled.
Select the category automatically applied to recordings cancelled as false activations.

Streaming

Live streaming (Default – Enabled)
Only available if Axon Aware Plus is enabled for your agency.

This setting determines if cameras can stream audio and video while recording to authorized agency users.

Gunshot Detection

Note: Gunshot detection is currently in beta testing and these settings are automatically disabled.

Gunshot detection recording (Default – Disabled)
This setting determines if the camera starts recording when sensors detect the camera wearer discharged a firearm.
Gunshot detection notification (Default – Disabled)
Only available is Axon Aware is enabled for your agency.

This setting determines if a notification is made available in near real-time to authorized agency users.
False gunshot detection cancellation (Default – Disabled)

Determines if gunshot alerts can be canceled on the camera. Users can dismiss a false gunshot detection by pressing the Select button.
False gunshot cancellation default category (Default – Uncategorized)

Only active if the False gunshot detection cancellation is enabled.

Select the category automatically applied to recordings cancelled as false activations.

App Support

Axon View pairing (Default – Enabled)
This setting determines if cameras can pair with Axon View.
Video playback from device (Default – Enabled)
This setting determines if users can playback video while it is still on the camera from Axon View or Axon View XL.
Axon View XL Upload (Default - Enabled)
This setting determines if users can upload videos on and Axon Body 3 camera using Axon View XL. This setting applies to both priority uploads from Axon Body 3 cameras paired with Axon View XL as part of an Axon Fleet installation and cameras connected to Axon View XL Standalone mode.

Evidence Upload

Priority Evidence Upload (Default – Disabled)
Note: This feature requires Axon Body 3 OS v1.11 or higher.
This setting determines if users can select evidence for wireless upload from an Axon Body 3 camera. This option is only available for agencies with Axon Respond for Devices+ licenses. With the initial release, the camera user can choose to upload the most recently recorded piece of evidence on the device to Axon Evidence using the camera’s LTE connectivity.
Apply rate-limiting to camera upload speed (Default – Disabled)

This setting determines if a cameras’ evidence upload speed is throttled when docked. If enabled, the maximum MB per second limit can be entered. This limit applies to each camera individually.

Firmware Download

Firmware download timeframe (Default – 6 hours)
This setting allows agencies to adjust the timeframe in which cameras will download an operating system (OS) update in order to reduce network bandwidth strain. Agencies that experience network congestion during OS updates are advised to extend the Firmware Download Timeframe setting to 8 hours, the maximum setting value. This means that the OS updates will be randomly received by all docked cameras over an 8 hour period, putting less strain on the network. The Firmware Download Timeframe can be set from 2 to 8 hours in 1 hour increments.

User Permissions

Users can mute during recording (Default – Enabled)
This setting determines whether users can mute audio while recording an event. If allowed, users can mute audio recording using an on-camera button.
Users can adjust indicator light settings (Default – Enabled)
This setting determines whether users can adjust the settings for the indicator lights of their camera. If allowed, users can turn on or off the indicator lights using an on-camera button, or with Axon View, Axon View XL, and Axon Evidence.
Users can adjust vibration settings (Default – Enabled)
This setting determines whether users can adjust the vibration settings (haptic) of their camera. If allowed, users can turn on or off vibration settings with Axon View, Axon View XL, and Axon Evidence.
Users can use stealth mode (Default – Enabled)
This setting determines whether users can go into stealth mode on their camera. If allowed, users can enter and exit stealth mode using an on-camera button, or with Axon View, Axon View XL, and Axon Evidence.
Users can use sleep mode (Default – Disabled)
This setting determines whether users can go into sleep mode on their camera. Sleep mode puts the camera in an idle state that disables recording and buffering. This can be used as an alternative to powering off the camera. Sleep Mode provides a less than 4 second transition into this idle state and back into buffering or recording.
Settings return to default in dock (Note: This setting is disabled by default and changing the setting will have no effect on your agency’s Axon Body 3 cameras until camera OS v1.13 is available.)
This setting determines whether camera settings that users can change will return to default agency settings when camera is docked.

Axon Body 2 and Axon Flex 2 Camera Settings

Video Settings

Quality Settings
This sets the video quality for body camera recordings. Higher quality videos will take up more storage space. For the best balance of quality and storage space, Axon recommends that the cameras record in Low HD.

Note: If the Quality Setting High HD (1080P) is selected, the Pre-Event Buffering setting cannot be set to 120 seconds.
Pre-Event Buffering
This setting determines if video in the pre-event buffer is included in a video recording. The pre-event buffering time is configurable with a setting for 10 seconds and in 30 second increments for up to 120 seconds (two minutes). When enabled, video from the selected amount of time prior to the user starting a camera recording is included in the final video.

Note: Pre-event buffering settings above 30 seconds are only available for Axon Body 2 and Axon Flex 2 cameras with the v1.9 firmware release or higher. Additionally, pre-event buffering cannot be set to 120 seconds if the Quality Setting is High HD (1080P).
Watermark
This setting controls if a permanent watermark appears in the upper right corner of all Axon Body 2 and Axon Flex 2 camera videos. The watermark displays the date, time, and camera serial number for the duration of the video.

The watermark time uses the ISO 8601 international standard 24-hour format with a trailing Z for “Zulu” or “zero hours” from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) time standard.

Why does the Watermark use UTC time?

UTC is based on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) however the use of UTC is preferred because Greenwich observes daylight savings time in the form of British Summer Time (BST), then switches back to GMT in the winter.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) created the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) as a way to represent dates and times using numbers in a form that is accepted by the national standardization body in most countries globally. This standard is used by most militaries and the aviation industry worldwide to ensures that all references to time are coordinated to the same standard.

Axon believes it is critical to maintain the UTC time standard for all videos and therefore cannot support customization of the watermark to match a particular customers local time zone.

After uploading, Evidence.com converts the time for each video to local time shown in the upper right corner next to the video player.
Show Recording Status with Front Camera Light
This setting enables the visible indication of the recording status on the front of the camera using the battery LED. During pre-event buffering the light will blink green. During recording the light will blink red. Stealth Mode must be disabled for this setting to be enabled.

Audio Settings

Camera Audio Recording
This sets if the camera records audio while recording video. To mute the audio on all Axon Body 2 and Axon Flex 2 camera videos at your agency, select Disable Camera Audio Recording. If you do not want users to have the ability to turn audio recording for their camera back on, then the Toggle Camera Audio Recording setting must be set to Prohibit Users from Toggling Camera Audio.
Toggle Camera Audio Recording
This setting controls if users can enable and disable audio while recording an event. Audio is muted during a recording by pressing and holding the function button for 3 seconds.
Pre-Event Buffering Audio Recording
This setting determines if audio will be recorded in the pre-event buffer.

Connectivity Settings

Note: Visibility of the Bluetooth setting is managed by an Axon-controlled agency level setting. Agencies that would like to have the Bluetooth setting available can contact their Axon representative or Technical Support to request this option.

Bluetooth

This setting controls the camera's ability to use Bluetooth features. Disabling this setting turns off Bluetooth for all Axon Body 2 and Axon Flex 2 cameras at your agency. Bluetooth features including Axon Signal, Axon View, and Multicam will be disabled.

Application Support Settings

Axon ViewXL Pairing
This sets if the cameras can be paired with the Axon ViewXL mobile application for Axon Fleet and Axon Fleet 2. Enabling this feature turns on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Peripheral mode and Wi-Fi.

Axon Signal Settings

Axon Signal
This sets if the camera will start recording when alerted by Axon Signal. The trigger events for the cameras are set on the Signal Configuration page.

User Configurable Settings

User Configurable Modes: Stealth and Indicator Lights
This setting allows camera users to turn on or off (toggle) stealth mode or indicator lights. Axon Body 2 and Axon Flex 2 cameras emit lights, sounds, and haptic feedback (vibrations) when they are switched on or off, and when a user starts or stops recording. When officers enable stealth mode, all lights, sounds, and vibrations are turned off. When officers disable indicator lights, all lights are turned off. These settings will also disable the front camera light regardless of the Show Recording Status with Front Camera Light setting.

Additional Settings

Bookmark while Recording
This setting controls if users can leave a bookmark on a video while the camera is recording. Bookmarks are added to the recording by pressing the function button on the side of the camera. This function can be used to quickly note the time of a memorable incident while the camera is recording. The bookmark will be visible when viewing the video on Evidence.com.

All Body Camera Settings

Offline Configuration
This sets if Axon Body 2 and Axon Flex 2 cameras can be set to and used in standalone (or offline) mode. Selecting the checkbox below enables individual devices to be set to offline mode using the Evidence Sync application.

WARNING: Enabling offline mode requires users to accept a disclaimer acknowledging risks to the agency and data when configuring Axon video devices in offline mode.
Enhanced Low Power Warnings
This setting adjusts the in-field Battery LED colors and enables a robust audio warning system when the camera is low on battery. The in-field Battery LED status indicator is green above 66%, yellow between 66% and 33%, red below 33%, and blinking red and yellow when critically low. The audio warning consists of 4 audio beeps and haptic vibrations at 20%, 15%, 10%, and 5% battery. Immediately before the device shuts down due to low power, it will emit an extra-long audio beep and haptic vibration.

The setting is disabled by default, but Axon recommends that you enable the setting for your Axon Body 2 and Axon Flex 2 cameras. When the setting is enabled, the warnings will be turned on the next time the camera or controller is placed in an Axon Dock.

Axon Body and Axon Flex Camera Settings