How to Reset a Night Owl DVR or NVR Password
Locked out of your Night Owl recorder? Night Owl uses a secure code you generate from the unit's own details, so you can usually get back in without email and without losing footage. Here are the reset routes in order, the default password to try and when a hard reset is safe.
To reset a Night Owl recorder password, use the Night Owl Password Tool. Read the current date and the UID off the recorder, type them into the Password Tool on Night Owl's website to get a secure code, then click Forgot Password on the recorder and enter that code. If the unit is linked to the Night Owl Protect app, you can reset through the app instead. A hardware reset is the backup, and on Night Owl units it usually keeps your recorded footage.
A Night Owl DVR or NVR that will not let you in is a frequent frustration, be it a forgotten password, a secondhand buy or a login nobody ever changed. Night Owl builds its recovery around a secure code you create yourself, which means you do not have to wait on support. In fact, Night Owl support cannot reset a password for you over the phone or chat, so the steps below are the way in.
The methods run from the least disruptive to the most, so start at the top and stop as soon as one works.
Your footage is not behind the password. A lost login shuts you out of the recorder's menu, nothing more. The recordings themselves live on the hard drive, so if footage is all you are after, that disk can be read on a PC and the reset skipped completely. Keep the harder steps for when you actually need the recorder working again.
Method 1: the Password Tool secure code
This is Night Owl's main reset route and the one to try first, because it gets you a new password without email and without touching your recordings. It works off a one-time secure code you generate from the recorder's own details.
The clever part is that the code is built from two things only your recorder knows, the current date set on it and its UID. That is why it works even with no internet on the recorder itself and no access to the original email.
- Read the date and UID off the recorder. On the recorder's screen, note the current date it shows and find the UID or device ID, usually in the network or system information menu.
- Open the Night Owl Password Tool. On a phone or PC with internet, go to the Password Tool on Night Owl's support website and enter the date and the UID exactly as they appear on the recorder.
- Get your secure code. The tool generates a secure code from those details. Keep it handy for the next step.
- Enter it on the recorder. Click any icon on the recorder's menu bar, choose Forgot Password, then type the secure code into the Secure Code field and confirm.
- Set a new password. Once the code is accepted, create a fresh password and note it somewhere safe.
If the secure code is rejected, check two things. A code that does not work almost always means the date on the recorder or the UID was typed into the tool wrong. Double-check the exact date the recorder is showing and re-enter the UID carefully, then generate a fresh code and try again.
Method 2: the Night Owl Protect app
If your recorder is connected to the internet and linked to a Night Owl Protect account, the app is often the quickest way back in.
Open the Night Owl Protect app on your phone and tap Forgot your password on the sign-in screen. Night Owl sends a temporary code to the email address on your account. Enter that code, then create and confirm a new password. Make sure the recorder is powered on and online first, so it can pick up the new password once you set it.
This route needs the recorder to have been linked to the app already, with access to the account email. If you never set that up, or the email is out of reach, use the Password Tool method above instead.
Method 3: the hardware reset
When neither the secure code nor the app work out, a hardware reset is the way back in. Being the crude option, leave it until the first two have been ruled out.
Most Night Owl recorders have a small reset button, often recessed in a pinhole, on the back or sometimes inside the case. With the recorder powered on, press and hold it with a paperclip for 10 to 15 seconds until the unit reboots. Some older models want the button held for around 30 seconds while you power the unit on. After the reboot the recorder returns to its factory settings and lets you set a new password.
Good news on Night Owl. On most Night Owl recorders the hardware reset clears the settings and password but leaves the recorded footage on the hard drive intact. That is different from some other brands, whose factory reset also formats the disk. Even so, if the footage is critical, get a copy off first to be safe.
A handful of older Night Owl units have no reset button. On some of those, unplugging the recorder and removing the coin-sized CMOS battery on the main board for about 20 minutes clears the login. This means opening the case, so treat it as a last resort, and if you are not comfortable inside the unit, contact Night Owl support with your model and proof of ownership for their guidance.
Night Owl default password
It pays to test the default login before resetting anything, above all on an aged or used recorder whose credentials were likely left alone.
- Username admin. On nearly all Night Owl recorders the account name is admin.
- Default password 111111. Many older Night Owl units ship with 111111, that is six ones, as the password. It is the first thing to try before you reach for the Password Tool.
- Recent units have you pick one. On current Night Owl Protect recorders the first-run wizard has you create your own password, so those ship with no factory default at all.
Change 111111 right away if it works. A default password like six ones is trivial for anyone to guess, and it is exactly what an intruder tries first. The moment you are in, set a strong password of your own so your cameras are not wide open.
Which Night Owl models this covers
These routes work right across Night Owl gear, but the one that fits comes down to how old the recorder is.
- Wired DVR systems. The F series and B series recorders, such as the F6-DVR8 and the BTD range, mostly the secure code or the button reset.
- Night Owl Protect NVRs. The recent recorders tied to an account, on which the Night Owl Protect app tends to be the quickest way in.
- Wi-Fi NVR systems. The wire-free kits like the WNVR line, which lean on the app and the secure code.
- Older legacy units. Pre-2018 recorders that may use the default password or, in a few cases, the CMOS battery method.
If the footage is all you want
Plenty of owners wipe a Night Owl recorder just to get at recordings trapped behind a forgotten login. If that describes you, one route avoids the reset altogether.
Your recordings are written to the hard drive, which the login does not guard. Power everything down, remove that disk and load it into a PC running software made for the Night Owl format. Done this way, no password is ever asked for. Our guides on recovering CCTV footage and being locked out of a DVR cover that path. When the footage matters more than the box it sits in, this is the gentler option.
Common questions
What is the default password for a Night Owl DVR?
On nearly every unit the username is admin. Many older Night Owl recorders set 111111, six ones, as the default password. Try that before resetting. On recent Night Owl Protect units there is no factory default because setup makes you create one, so a newer recorder needs the Password Tool or the app.
How do I reset my Night Owl password without email?
Use the Password Tool. Read the current date and the UID off the recorder, enter them into the Password Tool on Night Owl's website to get a secure code, then click Forgot Password on the recorder and type the code in. This works without the account email and without an internet connection on the recorder itself.
What is the Night Owl secure code and where do I get it?
The secure code is a one-time reset code generated from your recorder's current date and its UID. You get it by entering those two details into the Night Owl Password Tool on their support website. If the code is rejected, the date or UID was entered wrong, so check them and generate a new one.
Does resetting a Night Owl DVR delete my recordings?
Usually not. The secure code and app resets only change the password. On most Night Owl recorders even the hardware reset clears settings and the password while leaving footage on the drive intact, unlike some brands that format the disk. If the footage matters, still get a copy off first to be safe.
How do I factory reset a Night Owl DVR without the password?
Locate the recessed reset button on the rear or inside the case. With the recorder switched on, hold it down with a paperclip for 10 to 15 seconds until it restarts. A few older models want roughly 30 seconds held during power-up. After the restart the recorder sits at factory settings, ready for a new password.
My Night Owl DVR has no reset button. What now?
Use the Password Tool secure code method instead, which needs no button. On some older units, removing the coin-sized CMOS battery from the main board for about 20 minutes clears the login, though that means opening the case. If neither suits you, contact Night Owl support with your model and proof of ownership.
Need the footage, not the recorder?
If you are resetting only to reach locked recordings, DVRXaminer reads the Night Owl drive directly and saves your footage as playable clips, with no reset and no risk to the video. Run the free trial to see what is on the drive.
Sources
- Night Owl support, password reset and Night Owl Protect documentation, support.nightowlsp.com
- Night Owl Password Tool and secure code guides
- Night Owl recorder model and default credential references, 2026