[Tutorial Megathread] Getting Started With Your Hikvision System

[Kieran]

Getting Started With Your Hikvision System
Tutorial Megathread
​

Congratulations, if you've found your way here then you're most likely now the proud owner of a shiny new IP CCTV system from Hikvision! Peace of mind and security for your business, home, family or indeed whatever application you've got in mind are within your reach - there's just that last hurdle of setting it all up.

As the industry has matured and prices have fallen over the last decade, we've seen an entirely new demographic purchasing network cameras now that they're more readily available who might not have the technical experience others do. IP CCTV, whilst straightforward once you know the basics, can be a little daunting at first glance. Things such as IP addressing, port forwarding and so on are all potential pitfalls if you're not completely comfortable with them. We're constantly striving to find new ways to make the entire process easier and more streamlined for our customers, from purchase through to support a few years down the line if need be.

So, we've decided to make a megathread of tutorials and guides, covering everything you'll need to know to get your Hikvision device up and running and common pitfalls we see quite often.

Whether you're someone who is a little overwhelmed with their first system or someone who has had IP CCTV for a few years and wants to check out a new feature you're not fully comfortable with, this megathread should contain all you'd need to know. Of course, please do let us know if there's anything you'd like us to cover!

CONTENTS:

• Installing a HDD into an NVR
• Basic set up of a Hikvision NVR
• How to find a Hikvision NVR or camera on your network
• Adding Hikvision cameras to an NVR
• Setting up a recording schedule

• How to activate a Hikvision NVR or camera
• How to reset the password of an NVR or camera
• How to upgrade the firmware of a Hikvision NVR or camera

• Setting up motion detection and email notifications

• How to set up remote access to a Hikvision NVR or camera
• How to set up Hikvision's DDNS
• How to set up Hikvision's EZVIZ Service
• How to view a Hikvision Camera on an iOS or Android smartphone or tablet

• How to factory reset a Hikvision NVR or camera

Clicking any of the links above will take you to the relevant post for that section.

If you have any questions or something you'd like us to cover, please create a new thread here in the Hikvision category.

___________________________________________​

 

[Kieran]

Installing a Hard Drive into an NVR
​

Before you can get started with your new cameras, step one of any CCTV system involving an NVR will always be to install the hard drive into the device before you power it up. Thankfully, it's a very straightforward process - all you'll need is a screwdriver and you're ready to go.

___________________________________________
​

Spoiler: Click Here to View the Tutorial

In this demo, I'll be using the lovely-looking DS-7716NI-I4-16P seen below, one of Hikvision's 4K-ready NVRs, and a 2TB WD Purple surveillance hard drive, which can both be found on our webshop. Whilst you may not have the exact model and thus some screws may be in different places, the actual process of connecting an NVR should be the exact same if not very similar.

​

To start, you're going to need to remove the cover of your Hikvision NVR to get access to the motherboard and SATA ports to which you'll be connecting your Hard Drive. The top part of the chassis is typically removable, and will be secured by screws on the edges and back of the device. Identify the screws you need to remove - this can be any number depending on the size of your NVR.

Despite its size, the DS-7716NI-I4-16P only requires you unscrew these two screws on the back in order to remove the top part of the chassis. Make sure you don't lose them!

​

Once removed, the DS-7716NI-I4-16P should look something like the below. You can clearly see the motherboard, and I've outlined the four hard drive bays (as indicated by the -I4 in the product name).

​

Soon, you're going to screw your HDD to one of these bays - I've always found it easier to get it connected to the NVR first however, so for now turn your attention to the motherboard of the NVR. On the edge near the HDD bays you'll be able to identify some SATA ports like the ones below, depending on the number of HDDs your NVR can support. In this example, the 7716NI-I4 can support four, so we have access to four ports.

​

Your NVR will have come supplied with some SATA cables with a connector that will fit the shape of the SATA ports above.

​

Now, get your hard drive and look around the edge for the SATA interface port and SATA power port, pictured below. The interface port is in the red box on the right, and the power port is the connector on the left (forgive the dust!).

​

Connect the SATA interface cable that came with your NVR to your hard drive, and also to your NVR's motherboard.

​

Your NVR will also have either come shipped with a few SATA power cables in the box of accessories, or as is the case with the 7716NI-I4, a bundle of SATA cables already connected on the motherboard as below.

​

Identify one, and connect it to the corresponding port on your hard drive above.

​

That's it, your hard drive is now connected! Simple stuff. Now all you have to do is secure it in place with a few screws. Locate a drive bay (as indicated in the image earlier, above). Have a look at your HDD, and you'll note that there are a few holes for screws - there are usually 4+ for a 3.5" SATA drive. Line them up with the holes on the drive bay.

​

The NVR will have come supplied with a few screws for this purpose. Flip the NVR on its side (a little bit awkward...) and screw the HDD to the bay from the bottom of the NVR.

Below is an example of our 7716NI-I4 with the 2TB WD Purple drive screwed in place.

​

Screw the top of the NVR back on and you're done!

​

Now all that's left is to fire up the NVR and format the hard drive, but we'll cover that in the next section, Basic Setup of a Hikvision NVR.

___________________________________________
BACK TO TOP​

 

[Kieran]

Basic Setup of a Hikvision NVR
​

Now that you've installed the hard drive into your NVR, the next step is the basic setup process you'll go through when you first power it on. Whilst fairly straightforward, there are a few pitfalls and configuration options you may want to leave until a little later, when your system is up and running.

We'll cover the basic setup process in the following tutorial - I'd suggest you leave any cameras disconnected for now until your NVR is correctly configured.

NOTE: It is possible to configure the NVR remotely via a web browser, but for simplicity's sake we'll be covering the local configuration.

​

___________________________________________
​

Spoiler: Click Here to View the Tutorial

First things first, let's make sure that you have the required elements connected to the back of your NVR to proceed. Those of you who are familiar with NVRs can most likely skip this step, but it's worth a glance regardless!

Your NVR should look similar to the below. I'll be using a DS-7716NI-I4-16P on firmware version v3.4.2 as a demo model.

​

You will need to connect a source of power to your NVR, usually in the form of an included kettle plug seen to the right of the NVR here. In the same image you can also see the terminals to which you'd make any Alarm I/O connections and RS-485 connections, but you can leave these for the future.

​

You will need to connect your NVR to a monitor, either via a HDMI cable (preferred) or a VGA cable. You will also need to connect your NVR to your local network via the LAN port shown in the below image. This will connect to a switch or router on your network. Finally, connect a USB mouse (one is included) to either the USB port on the back of the device or one on the front. All of these connections can be seen below.

​

Finally, your Hikvision NVR will most likely have a built-in PoE switch and thus will have PoE ports on the back of the device. The DS-7716NI-I4-16P has 16 PoE ports to be used on the back of the device. You would connect any cameras to these ports when you wish to use the Plug-and-Play functionality of the device.

​

Once you've made the necessary connections, power on your NVR.

___________________________________________
​

The NVR should begin to boot and display a Hikvision splash screen. It will also likely make a series of piercingly loud beeps repeatedly - this is normal, it's just your NVR warning you that it doesn't have a formatted HDD. We'll resolve that shortly.

The NVR will prompt you to activate it with a password next. It is absolutely vital that you create a "Strong" password as defined by the NVR. If your usual password isn't listed as strong, no matter how strong you might think it is, you must change it to one that is. You can read more about activating Hikvision devices later in this guide as well as the potential incompatibility issues incorrectly activating one might cause.

​

Introduced in firmware version v3.4.2 for -I series and -E series NVRs is the ability to quick-unlock an NVR using a set pattern familiar to users of smart phones. You will now be prompted to set the pattern to unlock your NVR - again, make sure you remember this!

​

Once you've set the unlock pattern, the basic setup wizard will launch. It will give you the option to disable the wizard launching every time you boot your NVR - it's up to you whether you want to leave this on or not. Hit Next.

​

You will be prompted to set the current date and time of your region. Enter the relevant information, ensuring it's as accurate as possible, and press Next again.
NOTE - You can configure the NVR to maintain its time from an NTP server once the basic setup is complete.

​

You will now be prompted to set the various ports the NVR will use for features like HTTP access, RTSP and Server access. These are often best left at their default values, but if this isn't possible for you or you'd like to change them then do so now.

Many in the industry decry UPnP as a serious security risk, whereas others are indifferent. Essentially, UPnP will automatically open ports for you to enable remote access to your NVR. If you're going to forward ports to your NVR, it is best to do so manually and disable UPnP so you can be more in control of which ports it will open - you'll often find that the NVR will open different ports each power cycle if UPnP is left enabled.

You can also enable and configure Hikvision's DDNS service in this window too - for now, it'd be best to leave this until later when we cover how to setup Hikvision's DDNS service in the guide. Hit Next again.

​

This window will allow you to configure the network parameters of the NVR itself. The first thing you're going to want to do is disable DHCP, as this will cause you no end of headaches down the road when your NVRs IP address changes and you have to reconfigure all of your network settings on your phone, and your port forwarding settings etc.

Next, assign the NVR an unused IP address on your network. You'll want this to be within the same range as your default gateway which is typically your router. So, for example, if your router's IP address is 192.168.1.1 then you'll want to give the NVR an IP address within the range of 192.168.1.x where x is any unused address between 2-254. Please see the section of the guide about finding a Hikvision NVR or camera on your network for more information.

You can open a Windows command prompt (Start Menu > Run > type cmd and hit enter) and then enter the command ipconfig and hit enter to display information about the network your current PC is on - your router's IP address will be displayed as the default gateway. You can also check if an IP address is in use by typing ping 192.168.1.100 and hitting enter - in this example, if we receive responses, then we'll know that 192.168.1.100 is currently in use and we'd need another IP address.

Enter your router's IP address as the default gateway, and enter a DNS server too. For most people, Google's DNS server of 8.8.8.8 will be just fine, with 8.8.4.4 as an alternative DNS server (see below). Leave the Internal NIC IPv4 Address as it is and hit Next.

​

The next window will allow you to configure EZVIZ, Hikvision's cloud streaming service. Ensure that the Enable tickbox is checked if you plan on using EZVIZ down the line, and take note of the Verification Code. Hit Next.

We're not going to be covering EZVIZ now, but if you'd like to read about how to set up EZVIZ please see the relevant section of the guide - it's all configurable after your device is up and running.

​

The next window will allow you to format your connected HDD from the previous section, and end the incessant beeping. You should be able to see your HDD in the list of connected drives. The Status column should display it as Uninitialised. Select the tickbox to the left of the drive and then select the "Init" button.

​

Read the warning message - formatting the drive will erase any stored data on it. Hit OK if you're happy with this, and the drive will begin to initialise. Wait for the initialisation process to complete, and the table should then list your drive's status as Normal as opposed to Uninitialised.

​

The process can take a few minutes, but once it is successfully initialised, select Next.

Almost done! The next window will allow you to add cameras on your network to the NVR. For now, skip this step and hit Next - we'll cover adding cameras to an NVR in a moment.

There are a number of potential pitfalls when adding cameras to a NVR and I'd strongly suggest you read the section in this guide regarding adding a Hikvision camera to an NVR first so you can avoid them.

​

This final window will allow you set up a basic recording schedule for any connected cameras. Clicking on either cog next to Continuous or Motion Detection will allow you to begin an all-day recording schedule for any connected camera, for either continuous recording or motion-triggered recording. For now, it's best to just click on the cog next to Continuous and begin all-day recording continuously for all channels - we'll cover setting up a more detailed recording schedule later in the guide as this window is quite limited.

​

Hit the OK button and you're done! Your NVR now has a basic setup and is ready to be configured in greater depth.

In the rest of the guide, we'll cover adding cameras, setting up motion detection recording and other features such as remote access and HiDDNS - keep reading on!

___________________________________________
BACK TO TOP​

 

[Kieran]

How to Find a Hikvision NVR or Camera on your Network
​

Once your NVR is setup and running, you may want to find it on your network. This will be essential for a number of reasons, such as viewing from a web browser or indeed viewing your cameras remotely. I strongly recommend that if you've connected the NVR to your network, you at least find out where it is. Thankfully, the process is both very quick and (should be!) very straightforward.

This guide is for PCs running a Windows OS.
For guidance on how to find a Hikvision NVR or camera using a Mac, please see this thread.

___________________________________________
​

Spoiler: Click Here to View the Tutorial

The latest Hikvision cameras all come shipped with a default IP address of 192.168.1.64. Your Hikvision NVR may be shipped with a default IP of 192.0.0.64, or be ready for use via DHCP. Obviously, these may not be able to be accessed on your network due to them being on a different subnet, and so their default IP may need to be changed.

First, if you don't know the IP address of the network you'd like to access the NVR or camera from, you can find out easily by running the command ipconfig in a Windows command prompt on a PC connected to the network. It will bring up a list on information - look for the below entries.

​

The IPv4 Address displayed will be the LAN IP of the computer you ran ipconfig from. The Default Gateway will be your router's IP address - your camera or NVR in this case would need to be on an IP address in the same range, 192.168.1.x

You may already know the IPv4 address of your NVR if you set it during the basic setup in the post above. If not, you can navigate on the local NVR GUI to Menu > Configuration > Network and change it there. Then, if it's on the same subnet as your computer, you'll be able to just enter that IPv4 address into a web browser and away you go! If not, you'll have to jump through one final hoop below.

First, download Hikvision's program, SADP. This program scans your network for any Hikvision devices, and will allow you to view and configure their network settings, passwords and so on remotely. You can get it from either:

• Hikvision's Overseas website - you may need to create an account to download from here.
• Hikvision's European download portal - this should be a direct download and no account is necessary.

We strongly recommend you don't use the version of SADP included on the software disc that came with your device as it is often outdated and lacking core functionality.

​

Once downloaded, install the program. It should be a standard installation wizard.

​

Once installed, run the program. SADP will then run a scan of your network, looking for Hikvision MAC addresses, and should interrogate them for their network information, displaying it in a list like below.

Any Hikvision NVRs and cameras sitting on your network will be displayed - any Hikvision cameras connected to an NVR directly via 'Plug'n'Play' however will not be listed, as they are on an unreachable network segment behind the NVR. Do not worry, that's normal. If you'd like to access the cameras directly in this scenario, please see our forum post about enabling and using a Hikvision NVR's "Virtual Host" feature.

​

As you can see, SADP shows a great deal of information ranging from current IP address through to firmware version of each device. Selecting one of the entries on this list will then allow you to make changes to its network settings in the window to the right, provided you know the password of the camera.

That should be all you need to find and configure a Hikvision camera on your network. If you wish to add a camera manually to your NVR across the network as opposed to Plug'n'Play, you may have to activate it beforehand using SADP, but we'll cover that in a later post about How to Activate a Hikvision NVR or camera.

Next up, Adding Hikvision Cameras to an NVR.

___________________________________________
BACK TO TOP​

 

[Kieran]

Adding Hikvision Cameras to an NVR
​

One of the biggest appeals of a Hikvision NVR is the ease of setup and the ability to Plug'n'Play a camera out of the box by connecting it directly to the back of the NVR. You can of course also add an IP camera across your network without the two being directly connected via assigning the camera an IP address, and I'll cover how to do both below.

There are a couple of pitfalls, usually associated with firmware incompatibility following Hikvision's device activation security update back in May covered in our forum article (linked). This guide will cover how to add a camera and avoid those pitfalls.

Before you begin, there are a few things you should keep in mind when adding a Hikvision camera to an NVR.

• Adding a camera via Plug'n'Play will ONLY work if the camera you wish to add is Inactive or has previously been activated with the same password as the NVR
• Manually adding a camera across the network will ONLY work if the camera has already been activated and has an IP address assigned

Please see our tutorial on how to activate a Hikvision camera or NVR.

___________________________________________
​

Spoiler: Click Here to View the Tutorial

Adding a Camera Locally via the NVR

First of all, you'll need to decide whether you're going to be adding your camera to the NVR across the network manually, or by connecting it directly to the NVRs PoE ports (Plug-and-Play). Once you've established this, pay attention to the rules I mentioned just above regarding device activation for your preferred method.

When connecting via Plug-and-Play, the NVR will force some of its own settings on the camera. Most notably, the NVR will activate the camera using its own admin password, and thus any camera you're going to be using via Plug-and-Play will need to either be inactive or have the same admin password as the NVR.

With that out of the way, open you NVR's menu and navigate to Camera.

​

This will bring up a table, listing all of the available camera channels on your NVR, starting from D01 and ranging to D16 for a 16-channel NVR, for example. Identify which channel you're going to be adding a camera to - D01 corresponds to Port #1 on the back of your NVR.

​

In my case, I'm going to be adding a camera to D01. Look along the row until you come to the "Edit" column, and click on the notepad icon seen below.

​

This will bring up another window, allowing you to edit where this particular channel is trying to add a camera from. By default, the D## channels should all come configured for Plug'n'Play. If you're going to be adding a camera via Plug'n'Play, verify this is the case. If so, all you'd need to do now is just connect the inactive camera to the corresponding PoE port on the back of the NVR and you're done!

However, if you're going to be adding a camera manually (as I am), then you'll need to change the Adding Method from Plug-and-Play to Manual.

​

This will allow you to edit the network parameter fields that were previously inaccessible when Plug-and-Play is enabled. Input the correct information for your camera, including its password - you can verify these using SADP. You would likely only need to change the IP Camera Address and password, but do make sure everything is correct for your case.

​

Once everything is entered correctly, hit the OK button.

After a few seconds, the NVR should locate your camera on the network and add it. You can verify whether this has been successful by navigating to the camera table again and checking the Status column for the correct channel. If successful, the warning sign should have changed to a blue icon with a play sign within, seen below.

​

Your camera should now be added - simple stuff! If you'd like to learn how to do the same via a web browser, keep reading on. The process is almost the exact same so it should be straightforward.

Adding a Camera via a Web Browser

Adding a Hikvision camera to your NVR via a web browser is almost identical to the method used to add it via the NVR locally, and as such the same rules apply - any camera that you wish to add across your network should be activated first, and any camera that you wish to add via Plug'n'Play should either be inactive or have the same password as the NVR.

With that out of the way, access your NVR via a web browser and navigate to Configuration > System > Camera Management.

​

You should be greeted with a window similar to the one below. It will look very familiar if you've ever added a camera to an NVR locally via a directly-connected monitor (see above), with a list of entries in a table ranging from D01 through to D16 if you have a 16-channel NVR, for example. Each one of these entries corresponds to a PoE port on the NVR and thus a camera channel. D01 refers to Port #1 on the back of your NVR and so on.

​

We're going to be adding a camera to D01. Currently, the IP address of D01 is configured to be on the NVRs own internal network segment, 192.168.254.x, ready for Plug'n'Play use. Thus, if we were just trying to add an inactive camera via Plug'n'Play directly to the NVR, all we'd need to do now is connect it and the NVR should activate and configure the camera itself.

However we're adding a camera already on our network, and thus we'll need to change the adding method to manual and IP address to match that of our camera which we set when we activated it.

Click on the entry in the table you wish to change (D01 in my case) and select Modify.

​

A window should appear, displaying information we can't edit until we change the Adding Method from Plug'n'Play to Manual.

​

This will allow us to edit the fields within the window. You'll need to enter the relevant information for your Hikvision camera, including its current IP address as well as the username and password you use to log in to the camera, something you set when you activated the device. You can find the IP of the camera using SADP.

The camera I'm adding is currently on 192.168.1.150 and so I'd need to enter the below. Hit OK once you're satisfied the information is correct

​

Refresh the page, and you should see that the Security column of D01 has changed to Strong and the Status to Online.

​

If you now navigate to Live View (top left), you should find that the camera is ready to be viewed and configured. Job done!

___________________________________________
BACK TO TOP​

 

[Kieran]

Setting Up a Recording Schedule
​

One of the first and most important things to configure on your NVR is the recording schedule of each camera. Whether it be continuous, 24/7 recording or motion-triggered recording, it's vital that you set up your cameras to record correctly - if an incident happens, you'll be kicking yourself if you missed it.

Hikvision NVRs are quite flexible when it comes to recording, and so you should be able to configure it to meet your needs. Thankfully, it's also very straightforward, just follow the steps below.

​

___________________________________________
​

Spoiler: Click Here to View the Tutorial

Setting a Recording Schedule via a Web Browser

Connect to your NVRs IP address and navigate to Configuration > Storage > Schedule Settings

​

You should be greeted with the Record Schedule configuration window, seen below. Depending on the model of NVR and firmware version it is running on, it may look slightly different or have a different default storage schedule. For reference, I'm using a DS-7716NI-I4-16P on v3.4.2

​

Select the camera you wish to configure from the Channel No. dropdown menu. Each camera will have an independent recording schedule, so it's important you know that you're modifying the correct one.

Ensure that the Enable tickbox is also checked.

​

Next, look to the dropdown menu beneath Enable, which lists options such as Continuous, Motion | Alarm etc. These are the various types of recording triggers the NVR can support Select the type of recording you'd like the camera to use. It is possible to use a combination of different types of recording for different times - we'll come to that in a moment.

​

Now, look towards the timeline again and "draw" the time period you'd like your camera to record for your given recording type. Switching to another recording type will allow you to set a time period for that trigger too. For example, as a demo I've chosen this camera to record on motion during office hours (09:00 - 17:00) and continuously for the rest of the day. The colour-coded chart is displayed to the right of the timeline.

​

Clicking on any particular bar on the timeline will bring up a pop-up window allowing you to refine the configuration.

​

That particular day is now configured. To copy this schedule to the rest of the week, you can click on the green paper icon to the right of the timeline bar of that day, seen below, which will allow you to choose which days of the week (if any) to copy the schedule to.

​

In my example I copied the schedule to the entire week. After pressing OK, verify that it copied the schedule successfully.

​

You can also copy this schedule to other camera channels, if this is desirable. Click on the "Copy to..." button at the bottom of the timeline. This will bring up another window (below) in which you can choose the camera channels you want to copy the schedule to.

​

Finally, hit the red Save button at the bottom of the timeline and you're finished! Wait a couple of minutes and verify that the recording schedule was successful by checking Playback footage. You should find recordings based on the schedule you just set.

___________________________________________
​

Setting a Recording Schedule Locally via a Monitor

Setting up a recording schedule using a monitor connected locally to an NVR will be extremely familiar to anyone who has done it via a web browser. The process is almost identical.

Open the NVRs menu and navigate to the option called Record.

​

This will open a recording schedule window (below) with a timeline similar to the one seen in a web browser. Ensure you've selected the camera you wish to set a schedule for via the dropdown menu, and that Enable Schedule is ticked.

​

Clicking on any of the coloured options on the right-hand side (Motion, Event etc.) will allow you to then "draw" a period of that recording-trigger on the timeline. For example, clicking on Motion and then drawing from 09:00 - 17:00 will cause this specific camera to record only on motion-detected triggers during these hours.

​

Once you've configured the schedule you want based on these triggers, select the Apply button. You can also copy this schedule to other connected cameras similar to a web browser by clicking on the Copy button and choosing the cameras you wish to copy to.

​

Wait a few minutes and verify that the cameras are indeed recording by checking Playback, and afterwards that's it, you're done!

___________________________________________
BACK TO TOP​

 

[Kieran]

How to Activate a Hikvision NVR or Camera
​

Back in May 2015, Hikvision began releasing an important series of security-centric firmware updates for their devices that introduced a new device activation process. Previously, cameras and NVRs were shipped already activated with the default username admin and password 12345. Any device on the newer firmware (as any newly produced camera or NVR should be) will require activation via a "Strong" password before use, and the credentials above will no longer work. This can cause all sorts of incompatibility issues if an NVR is not on the new security firmware and a camera is as detailed in my article about it, which I strongly recommend you give a glance-over.

For the 2-Line series of 3MP cameras, this firmware version is V5.3.x. For the popular -E series of NVRs, this firmware version is V3.3.x. The recently-released 4MP series of cameras should all be shipped with at least V5.3.3 and so all will require activation before use.

For any camera you plan to connect via Plug'n'Play, you shouldn't have to worry too much about the activation process beyond ensuring that your NVR already has a "Strong" password - this is because when plugged directly into the back of the NVR, the NVR will try to activate the camera with its own password. If you change the NVRs password, you must ensure you synch the password change with all connected cameras when prompted otherwise they will no longer work.

Otherwise, if you wanted to connect a camera manually across the network, you would first need to activate it. Thankfully, the process is very straightforward.

This guide is for PCs running a Windows OS.
For guidance on how to activate a Hikvision NVR or camera using a Mac, please see this thread.

___________________________________________
​

Spoiler: Click Here to View the Tutorial

There are a few ways you can activate a Hikvision camera, but the below method is the simplest. Once again, we will require Hikvision's SADP program, which you should already have downloaded if you've read the posts above. Otherwise, you can grab the latest version from Hikvision's European download portal. At the time of writing, the latest version is V3.0.0.2 and I'll be using this as a demo below.

​

Download and install the program, and then open it. SADP will then scan your network for any Hikvision cameras and display their network information in a table such as below.

Any Inactive cameras will display as Inactive in the Security column. As you can see, we have one DS-2CD2T42-I5 that needs activating.

​

Selecting the tickbox next to your inactive camera will change the window on the right of SADP which usually displays the Network Parameters to one allowing you to activate the camera, seen below.

​

Enter your desired password in to the New Password field and then confirm it in Confirm Password. As discussed above, it is absolutely vital that your password be deemed "Strong" by the device. A strong password is defined by Hikvision as being:

• Level 3 (strong): Password contains more than two kinds of characters and the password length must be no less than eight characters. (Example: 1234abc+)

If you plan to add your camera to an NVR at some point in the future via a direct Plug'n'Play connection as opposed to manually adding it as we are currently, you will need to activate the camera using the same password set on the NVR, otherwise the NVR will not be able to add it due to a password mismatch.

​

Once the criteria above are met, hit activate and your camera or NVR should activate with the set password. It may take a couple of seconds, but afterwards the below message will pop up and the Device Activation window will change to the standard Network Parameter modification window.

​

If you check the SADP device table again, you'll find that your device's Security status has changed to Active instead of Inactive.

​

That's all, you're done!

___________________________________________
​

Depending on your NVRs firmware version, you may be able to activate and configure a camera locally via the NVR if SADP is not an option for you. It's Hikvision's recommendation that you keep your firmware up to date in order to access this functionality.

Navigate to Menu > Camera within your NVR and scroll down to the bottom of the camera table. Available cameras to be added to your NVR are located here in yellow font. Any inactive cameras will have their Security listed as Inactive - see below.

​

Double-clicking this entry will bring up a password-entry window, in which you'll be able to activate the camera. Once again, it is vital that the camera is given a "Strong" password as defined by the device (password rules can be found above).

Selecting "Use Admin Password" will activate the device using the NVR's Admin password. If you'd like a different password, you would need to enter it manually.

​

Verify that the device is now active by navigating back to the Camera table and checking the Security status of the camera - it should now be listed as Active.

​

The device is now active, and you'll be able to alter its network parameters and access it. If you'd like to then add the camera to your NVR, please see the guide above on Adding Hikvision Cameras to an NVR.

___________________________________________
BACK TO TOP​

 

[Kieran]

How to Reset the Password of a Hikvision NVR or Camera
​

In the unfortunate event that you do forget or need to reset the password of your Hikvision camera or NVR, it's not the end of the world. You can reset the password of the device using the below method.

Many of you might already be familiar with Hikvision's old password reset process which involved forwarding information about your camera to Hikvision's technical support, including the serial number, start time and model of your camera, and this was covered in Bob's old tutorial about how to reset the password using this method. However, this old method is slowly being phased out in favour of a new method that involves exporting a .xml file using SADP.

Bob's tutorial is now unfortunately out of date and so it's about time we updated you all on how to go about it with the new method. The below tutorial is copied from an existing thread I made about how to reset the password of a Hikvision camera or NVR using the new method. SADP has been updated with a sleeker interface since then, but the process remains the same.

___________________________________________
​

Spoiler: Click Here to View the Tutorial

First of all, you'll need an application from Hikvision called SADP. You might already have it installed on your PC if you installed the Hikvision tools from the installation CD* that tends to come included with Hikvision devices. If you don't, you can download it from Hikvision's European download portal.

*Please note that this reset method is only available on more recent versions of SADP and depending on when you installed the camera might not be available on the version of SADP from your CD. We recommend you update SADP before continuing

​

Once you've installed the application, launch it. It will proceed to scan your network for any Hikvision devices and display a list of any that it has found*. Select the device you want to alter the password of from the list and look to the window on the right.

*SADP will not locate any cameras plugged directly into the ports of an NVR as they are on the devices internal network as opposed to your LAN

​

From here, SADP allows you to change any of the network parameters of the device. However what we're interested in for now are the fields underneath the header Reset Password. Fill in the New and Confirm Password fields with the new password you want (make sure it's labelled as strong!) and then click the "..." button next to Export. We're about to export a file, so choose the location you want the file to be exported to on your PC - in this instance, I chose my Desktop.

Now select the Export button.

​

NOTE: Do NOT turn off the power of your device after exporting this file as it will invalidate the import file received from Hikvision and you'll have to repeat the process from scratch.

This will export a file called "DeviceKey.xml" to the location you chose in the previous step. You'll need to email this file to support@hikvision.com and request a password reset.

Hikvision will then email you with another .xml file (likely named Encrptxxxxxx.xml or similar). Save this to your PC and remember where you saved it to - you'll be using this to reset the password of the device.

Now, focus back on SADP and select the "..." button next to Import. Find the location of the file you just saved and select it. Once again, enter the new password you want in the New Password and Confirm Password field (it might not let you progress unless it's strong) and once everything is ready, hit Import.

​

If it all went well, SADP will pop up a window letting you know the password reset was successful!

___________________________________________
BACK TO TOP​

 

[Kieran]

How to Upgrade the Firmware of a Hikvision NVR or Camera
​

Updating the firmware of your Hikvision devices is a great way to stay up-to-date with any new features Hikvision may have added, but it also provides vital bug fixes and security updates that can drastically improve your experience.

It is recommended that you endeavour to keep your devices up to date with the latest firmware to rule out any incompatibility issues but also to potentially resolve any issues you may be experiencing, and is often the first step in troubleshooting the issue.

You can find out what firmware version you're currently running by checking what SADP displays the device is on, connecting via a web browser and finding the Device Information page, or connecting via a local monitor if using an NVR and once again finding the Device Information page in the local GUI.

The guide below will cover how to update the firmware of your device via either a web browser or, if not possible, locally using a USB stick.

___________________________________________
​

Spoiler: Click Here to View the Tutorial

First of all, you will need to download the latest firmware for your device. There are a number of places you can go to get this firmware.

• Hikvision's European download portal - This site tends to be the most up-to-date with no need to create an account.
• Hikvision's Overseas website - The Overseas page may not have the latest firmware, and will require you create an account first.
• The Resource category here on our Forum - I upload the latest firmware for the most popular devices to our Forum.

You should end up with a .zip file containing the firmware, named "digicap.dav". Make sure you're absolutely sure you're downloading the correct file for your NVR or camera - you don't want to brick your device!

Updating the Firmware via a Web Browser

Enter your camera or NVR's IP address into a web browser and log in. Then, navigate to the Configuration tab at the top of the page.

​

Now, navigate to System → Maintenance from the menu on the left to reach the Upgrade & Maintenance page, where we'll be updating the firmware.

​

You'll be looking for the Upgrade section of this page, indicated below. Make sure the drop-down button is selected as Firmware.

​

Select the "Browse" button and locate the "digicap.dav" file that you saved on your computer. Double click it and it should show the directory path in the previously empty box to the left.

​

Confirm that the filepath is correct, and then hit upgrade. The screen should dim and the upgrade process will begin. This can take anywhere between 1-10 minutes, and when finished the device will automatically reboot.

Verify the update process completed successfully by launching SADP and checking the Software Version column of your device - it should display the new, updated version.

​

NOTE: It's Hikvision's recommendation that you factory reset a device after updating the firmware, and it's also good practise to clear your browsers cache after updating a device as the browser GUI is prone to being changed. New features may not be properly shown or implemented in a web browser without doing so.

It's as simple as that for updating via a web browser! Updating locally via an NVR requires another couple of steps, and we'll cover them below.

Updating the Firmware Locally via an NVR

If your NVR isn't accessible via the network, or your cameras aren't (typically due to being plugged into the PoE ports on the back of the NVR) you can also update the firmware of both locally via a monitor connected directly to the NVR and using a USB stick or other flash storage device.

First, you'll need to download the appropriate firmware update for your device (linked above) and place it on a USB stick. Plug this into the USB port on your NVR

Navigate to the NVRs menu, and select the camera option. You'll have to forgive the poor image quality!

​

It should bring up the Camera window below which you'll already be familiar with when you added your cameras. You should see a list of all the cameras added to your NVR.

​

Find the camera you wish to update from the list, and tick the tickbox to the far-left of the camera's entry in the table.

​

Next, click on the upgrade button at the bottom of the table.

​

Alternatively, simply find the camera you wish to update in the list and click the blue up-arrow in the Upgrade column seen below.

​

A warning message should pop up, letting you know that the cameras will automatically reboot after the firmware upgrade process is complete. Select Yes.

​

A window will open, displaying all of the files listed on the USB drive you inserted. Locate the digicap.dav file you placed there earlier and select Upgrade.

If it doesn't automatically open the correct flash storage device, use the drop down menu at the top of the window to select the correct one.

​

This process can take up to ten minutes, during which your NVR will be unusable. There's no progress bar that I could see, so it's easy to believe the NVR has crashed or the firmware update wasn't successful and you're stuck - don't panic, and just wait for AT LEAST ten minutes before doing anything else.

Eventually, the NVR will bring up a notification letting you know that Dx upgrade was successful. Hit OK, and you're done!

​

To update the firmware of the NVR itself locally, simply again place the appropriate firmware on your USB stick and connect it to your NVR, and navigate to Menu > Maintenance > Upgrade and repeat the above.

NOTE: It's Hikvision's recommendation that you factory reset a device after updating the firmware, and it's also good practise to clear your browsers cache after updating a device as the browser GUI is prone to being changed. New features may not be properly shown or implemented in a web browser without doing so.

___________________________________________
BACK TO TOP​

 

[Kieran]

Setting Up Motion Detection and Email Notifications
​

One of the most common requirements from a camera or NVR we see from our customers is the ability for the device to detect motion and, upon detection, to send them an email letting them know. All of the Hikvision cameras and NVRS have motion detection as standard and can be configured to send email notifications.

We're not personally big fans of relying on video motion detection as a means of recording, as it can be troublesome to find the balance between eliminating a lot of false alarms and running the risk of not capturing a vital event (break-in, shoplifting etc.). You might find that at first your email is going to be bombarded with false alarms, like a tree swaying in the wind or a cloud casting a shadow, but with a little tinkering you should be able to find a reasonable balance. We'd still recommend you don't rely too heavily on motion detection, though.

The below guide was created using a DS-7716NI-I4-16P running firmware version v3.4.2 - your device's GUI may appear different, but functionality should remain the same.

​

___________________________________________
​

Spoiler: Click Here to View the Tutorial

Configuring Motion Detection

This can be performed either via a web browser by connecting to the NVR or camera's IP address or locally with a monitor connected to the NVR. I've always preferred doing so via a web browser.

This guide assumes you've already correctly set your device's Default Gateway and DNS Server network parameters, which are covered in the basic setup of a Hikvision NVR section. These are essential for email notifications to correctly work.

First of all, log into your device's configuration page via a web browser and navigate to Configuration → Event → Basic Event and click on the Motion tab. It should look something similar to the below, with a red grid over your camera's live view.

​

If you're using an NVR, select the appropriate camera you wish to configure motion detection for from the drop down menu.

Ensure that Enable Motion Detection is ticked

Dynamic Analysis for Motion will draw green detection squares over the detected areas of motion on the live view, to aid in configuring motion detection.

​

Look towards the red-grid over your live view. Areas within the red squares will be analysed for motion. It's likely that you don't want to watch the entire image for motion, so click on the "Clear All" button which will remove the red squares.

Click on Draw Area to "draw" squares over the appropriate areas you wish to detect motion over. Once you're satisfied, click Stop Drawing. You might have something similar to the below.

​

Underneath the live-view image, you'll see a slider bar labelled Sensitivity. Adjusting this will adjust how sensitive the motion detection will be. A value of 0 will all-but disable detection, and a value of 100 will most likely bombard you with false alarms caused by any tree / bush / cloud moving.

Starting at a value of 60 is a good entry point. You'd need to lower or raise this based on your own needs - experiment a little.

Hit Save when you're done tweaking.

​

Once you've set that, click on the Arming Schedule tab above the red-grid image. You'll be greeted with a schedule timeline which will be very familiar to you if you've configured a recording schedule before.

"Draw" on the timeline any time-period which you wish for motion detection to be armed for. For most of us, that's going to be 24/7.

NOTE: The arming schedule is different to a recording schedule. The arming schedule will only determine the periods during which motion detection is armed, and not the periods a camera will record based on motion detection. We'll come to that in a bit.

​

Now, click on the Linkage Method tab above the timeline, next to the Arming Schedule tab.

This is where we're going to be determining what the device will do when motion is detected. If you want the NVR / camera to send you an email, tick Send Email. Tick Notify Surveillance Centre to have the camera send push notifications to a phone / tablet via iVMS 4500.

Trigger Channel will cause that channel on the NVR to record when motion is detected on the camera you're configuring. For most people, you'll want the same camera to start recording when it detects motion, so tick the corresponding channel for that camera (in my case I'm configuring channel one, so I tick D1).

​

Almost done for motion detection - now we just need to set up a motion-detecting recording schedule for the device. If you haven't already, I recommend you read the part of this guide referring to setting up a recording schedule.

Navigate to Configuration → Storage → Schedule Settings → Record Schedule and select the appropriate camera from the drop-down menu.

On the timeline schedule, "draw" motion-detection periods during the times you wish for the camera to only record when motion is detected. Motion detection is colour-coded to green, and motion detection would need to also be armed during these periods to successfully record (covered just now, above).

In the below example, IP Camera1 will be recording via motion-detection during the periods of 09:00 - 17:00, and continuously for the rest of the day.

​

Once you're done, hit Save and that should be all you'd need for the camera to start recording based on motion detection. Check the Playback tab to verify whether recording is going through successfully!

For the device to send you emails too, we'd have to configure one more step, covered below.

___________________________________________
​

Configuring Email Notifications

To have your Hikvision NVR or camera send you email notifications too, whether they're to be triggered via motion detection or another event, navigate to Configuration → Network → Advanced Settings → Email.

You'll have to know a few pieces of information regarding the email system you're going to be using, including the SMTP port and server. In the below example, I use a demo Gmail account created especially for the NVR.

​

The "Sender" can be anything you wish to help you identify the origin of the email - this could be the name of your NVR / camera, or if you manage someone else's security, perhaps their name.

The Sender's Address will be the email address the device will try to use to send emails from. For many of us, this will be a free and readily available service (Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail etc.) created especially for the device.

If you're using a popular email address like the ones mentioned above, the SMTP Server and Port will be readily publicised online. For example, you can find the relevant SMTP Server and Port for a Gmail account from Google's own support page. Otherwise, you may have to contact your network administrator for the relevant information.

Your device will need to be provided with the relevant user name and password to access your email account.

You can also set multiple recipients of the emails provided you have their email addresses.

Once you're done, hit Save - depending on firmware versions, the device will attempt to send a test email. If successful, you're good to go!

NOTE: If you're using a Gmail address, you will have to allow less secure apps to access your account in order for your NVR to be able to access and send you emails. Details on how to go about this can be found on the linked Google support article - it's very straightforward!

___________________________________________
BACK TO TOP​

 

[Kieran]

How to Setup Remote Access to a Hikvision NVR or Camera
​

One of the biggest appeals for IP cameras has always been the ability to access the camera remotely when you're away from home and check everything's okay, or check an alert the camera sent you whilst you were on holiday. All of the Hikvision NVRs and IP cameras are able to be accessed remotely - you'd just have to forward a few ports in order to do so. This is because, by default, your router will have most ports closed for security reasons.

There are many ways for you to remotely access your NVR, and we'll cover the most popular in the next few sections. DDNS and iPhone / Android access to a Hikvision camera are definitely the two most popular, and both require you to forward your ports too, so we'll cover that here.

Many people are immediately put off by the notion of forwarding ports as it's typically confusing on your first attempt, but rest assured that the process is very straightforward for a Hikvision device and after a bit of fiddling it'll be like second nature to you.

___________________________________________
​

Spoiler: Click Here to View the Tutorial

Configuring the Ports on your Device

​

Hikvision NVRs and Hikvision cameras use the same default ports to forward, which simplifies the process somewhat. As of 17/03/2016, these default ports are:

• Port 80 - This port is the extremely widespread HTTP port which you would need to forward if you wished to access the camera remotely via a web browser
• Port 443 - This is the HTTPS port used for the camera, although very often unused.
• Port 554 - This is the port used by the RTSP stream which you would need to forward if you wished to embed the stream in a webpage, to view playback from VLC etc.
• Port 8000 - This is the Server port, and you would need to forward this to be able to access your cameras via Hikvision's mobile app, iVMS 4500, remotely.

All of your Hikvision devices should come configured to attempt to use these ports by default. You don't necessarily need to forward all of the ports above, only those that you'll actually use. You can verify which ports each service will try to use by connecting to the NVR or camera via a web browser and navigating to Configuration → Network → Basic Settings → Port where you'll be greeted with a table similar to below.

​

In this menu, you can also change the ports the camera will use to any unused ports you wish. For the most part, it's simplest to just leave them at their default values.

However, if you have a series of Hikvision cameras, or indeed any other device on your network that already forwards the default ports, you will need to change each port on your Hikvision devices to a unique value if you want to be able to access each one externally. However, if they're all connected to an NVR, you can just forward the ports to the NVR instead to be able to see all of the cameras.

Your router may allow you to translate one external port to another different internal port, which is to say for example that you could connect to external port 837 remotely (which you've forwarded to one of your Hikvision cameras) and your router would then treat it as if you had actually connected using port 80, meaning that you wouldn't have to change any ports on your Hikvision devices at all and it'd all be managed by the router. This is of course dependent on your own router however.

Once you're happy with which ports your Hikvision device is going to use, hit Save.

___________________________________________
​

Forwarding the Ports

There are a few pieces of information you'll need to have handy about your router before you begin:

• Your router's model (typically found on a label on the router itself)
• Your router's LAN IP
• Your external IP address
• Your Hikvision device's LAN IP address

You can find out your router's LAN IP by opening the Windows Command Prompt. You can do this by navigating to Windows Start Menu → Run → type Command Prompt and hit enter. Alternatively, navigate to Windows Start Menu → All Programs → Accessories → Command Prompt. Once inside the Command Prompt, type the command ipconfig and hit enter. You'll be given a list of information about the network you're currently connected to. Look for an entry listed "Default Gateway" and note down the IP address - this is your router's IP address. Entering this IP into a web browser will allow you to access the configuration of your router.

​

You can find your current external IP address by Googling "What is my IP" and Google will handily display it for you.

Within your router, there will be a configuration window allowing you to configure port forwarding. It is unfortunately very difficult for me to provide a guide on how to go about this, as there is such a vast number of different router models and all of them tend to have slightly different processes.

There is however a fantastic website, http://portforward.com/ which provides detailed guides on how to forward ports on most routers.

​

I would strongly recommend you use the above website to find your router model and follow the guide on how to forward the ports you need for your Hikvision camera.

Once you've forwarded the necessary ports, it's worth double-checking to see if you were successful.

The easiest way to do so is to use another website, http://canyouseeme.org/ which will allow you to check specific ports to see if they're open.

Simply enter the ports you've forwarded (80, 443, 554, 8000 for example) and select the "Check Port" button to see whether your port has been opened successfully. If so, it should say that the port check was a success. Otherwise, if it throws up an error, you'll have to either revisit your port forward settings on your router or double-check to see if anything like a software Firewall is blocking access - try disabling any firewall you're aware of for a short period and test again.

​

That's it, you're done! Your ports should all be forwarded successfully, and your camera is ready to be accessed remotely.

You can verify by entering your external IP address into a web browser and adding the camera's forwarded HTTP port after a colon like so - 123.456.789.999:80 - which should direct you to your Hikvision devices login page.

Now you're ready to access your camera remotely via a DDNS service or a mobile phone, which we'll cover in the following sections.

___________________________________________
BACK TO TOP​

 

[Kieran]

How to Set Up Hikvision's DDNS​

Many people who purchase IP cameras like the ability to view the camera via the internet from wherever they are, but for many people who have a dynamic IP assigned by their ISP this isn't possible without using a Dynamic DNS service, or DDNS. This is because their external IP address used to connect to the internet will change periodically, invalidating any configured network settings on iVMS 4500 for example.

A DDNS service translates this IP address into a static URL which we are more commonly used to. It does this by communicating with your router and updating itself whenever your IP updates.

There are many such services available, but some require a fee to use. Fortunately, Hikvision offer a free DDNS solution to their customers called HiDDNS.

The below tutorial is copied from an existing article I wrote about how to set up Hikvision's DDNS, and will explain how to set up Hikvision's DDNS with a Hikvision camera. It is assumed beforehand that you've forwarded the correct ports in your router to access the cameras, otherwise this service will not work. You can find out how to do this by referring to the bottom of our guide on how to set up external access to your Hikvision device.

___________________________________________
​

Spoiler: Click Here to View the Tutorial

First of all, login to your camera via a browser using its LAN IP and navigate to Configuration > Advanced Configuration > Network and ensure that you have correctly set a Preferred DNS Server. This is a vital step - DDNS will not work if this is left empty. We like to recommend Google's DNS server of 8.8.8.8. Click Save.

There's no harm in adding Google's secondary DNS server 8.8.4.4 in the Alternate field below, too.

​

Now, navigate to the DDNS tab. You'll be greeted with something similar to the below image. Make sure that Enable DDNS is ticked, and that you've selected the DDNS Type as HiDDNS. The Server Address should be left as the default www.hik-online.com.

In the Domain field, you must enter a unique domain name for the device. This will form part of the URL you'll access the camera with (www.hik-online.com/domain)

​

Now that DDNS is enabled on your camera, you have to pair it with your HiDDNS account.

Go to the HiDDNS website, http://www.hik-online.com/auth/login and register an account if you don't already have one. Once you've done that, sign in. You'll be met with a screen similar to the one below.

​

Currently you'll have no registered devices, so navigate to the Device Management Tab and click the Add button as indicated above.

A window should pop up. Enter the Device Serial Number which can be found either by using SADP to display it, navigating to System Information in the camera's web access or by reading the label on the camera itself. Leave the HTTP port as default unless you've specifically changed it yourself within the camera.

The Device Domain must be the exact same as what you set earlier when activating HiDDNS on the camera. In this case, ours was useipddnstest. Now click OK.

​

You will be prompted to change the password of the device if you haven't already. Any cameras above firmware version 5.3.0 will not be allowed to activate without having set a strong password however.

If you navigate back to Device Management, you will be greeted with a new entry - your registered camera.

​

As you can see from the heading Device Link URL, our camera can now be accessed via the domain name we set. The full URL is http://www.hik-online.com/useipddnstest

Clicking that link or entering it into a browser will take us directly to it after a redirect page

​

That's it, you're done! Now you will be able to use this URL to access your camera wherever you are, even if you are on a dynamic IP. Next, we'll be looking at Hikvision's cloud service, similar to HiDDNS, called EZVIZ.

___________________________________________
BACK TO TOP​

 

[Kieran]

How to Set Up Hikvision's EZVIZ Service
​

The below tutorial is copied from a previous thread I made about How to Set Up Hikvision's EZVIZ Service.

EZVIZ is currently being rebranded as Hik-Connect - you may see both terms used interchangeably, but it's the same service.

We are asked occasionally about a service Hikvision provide that is rapidly growing called EZVIZ so we wanted to offer some clarity on both what it does and how to set it up to work with your Hikvision products.

In essence, EZVIZ is a cloud service option which allows you to link your cameras to an EZVIZ account and view, manage and watch recorded footage from anywhere, as well as receive alarm notifications from motion detection etc. You can read more about it on the Help section of their website.

Many will find that EZVIZ is strikingly similar to the existing DDNS service Hikvision offered called HiDDNS which we looked at in the post above (or in its own thread linked above), and whilst that may seem accurate, there are some important differences. For example, EZVIZ doesn't provide a static URL to your camera's potentially-changing IP address. Instead, it provides a video stream tied a user account, as well as rudimentary configuration options and playback from an NVR. It is more of a tidy viewing platform as opposed to a DDNS service, but does serve a similar function.

Whilst it is still early days for EZVIZ, it is seeing rapid development as an established and appealing service.

___________________________________________
​

Spoiler: Click Here to View the Tutorial

First of all, login to your Hikvision camera via a web browser using its LAN IP and navigate to Configuration > Advanced Configuration > Network > TCP/IP tab. Ensure that you have set a correct Preferred DNS Server. Failure to do so will mean that EZVIZ will not work correctly. We like to recommend Google's DNS server of 8.8.8.8

There's no harm in adding Google's secondary DNS server 8.8.4.4 in the Alternate field below, too.

​

Next, navigate to the Platform Access tab. Ensure that the Enable option is ticked and that the Access Type is set as EZVIZ Cloud P2P and hit Save.

_________________________________
​

Now, navigate to the EZVIZ website, https://www.ezviz7.com/ and register an account if you don't already have one. Once you've registered, log in and you should be greeted with a page similar to the below - it will probably look a little different as we already have some cameras connected to our system.

Click on the System Management tab indicated in the below image.

​

You'll be taken to a page listing all of your connected devices. To add a new camera or NVR, click the Quick Adding button.

​

EZVIZ will then scan the network which you are currently connected to for any Hikvision devices and display them. Should the camera you want to add appear, you simply need to click the large + button to begin adding it to your EZVIZ account.

Otherwise, you'll have to add it manually by clicking the Add by Serial No. tab and inputting the serial number of the camera. This can be found using SADP to display it, by navigating to the System Information tab within the camera's web access or by reading the label attached to the camera. You only need the 9 consecutive digits near the end of the lengthy serial number - DS-2CD2342WD-I20151104BBWR123456789 for example.

​

Once you've done this, the following window will appear asking you for a device verification code. On more recently manufactured models of Hikvision cameras, this can be found on the label stuck to the camera which you'd enter in the field shown. However, most existing cameras were not manufactured with a verification code on the label, in which case you'd need to input the default code of ABCDEF.

Once this has been done, you will be asked to change the device password for security purposes.

​

NOTE: If you remove a device from your EZVIZ account and then wish to add it back again, please be aware that the verification code will have been changed to the password you set in the step above.

If successful, a new window should appear after a short delay, informing you that it has been added and giving you the option of changing the device name if you wish.

The camera or NVR should now be visible in System Management, allowing you to edit some settings such as alarm notifications.

Navigate to the Gallery tab and then the Live View tab and you should be greeted with the camera you just added. Hovering over it and clicking it will take you to the live view of your camera.

​

From here, you can view the live footage, switch the video quality between three different presets to suit any network limitations (Basic, Fluent, Hi-Def), view multiple cameras and also playback recorded footage if an NVR has been added or the camera has an SD card contained.

That's it, you're done! The camera will remain connected to your EZVIZ account as long as you allow it, without having to forward any ports.

___________________________________________
BACK TO TOP​

 

[Kieran]

How to View a Hikvision Camera on an iOS or Android Smartphone or Tablet
​

One of the most frequently requested features we see from any IP camera by our customers is the ability to view a camera using a mobile device. This can be for either remote viewing, or for viewing locally. Thankfully, Hikvision have produced a free application for viewing cameras via an iOS or Android device called iVMS4500 (or iVMS4500HD for a tablet device) which requires very little configuration.

The below guide will cover how to add a Hikvision camera or NVR to iVMS4500 on an iOS or Android device. For viewing your camera or NVR remotely, it is assumed you have already forwarded the appropriate ports to your Hikvision device from your router, as covered in our guide on setting up remote access above.

I will be using a DS-2CD2042WD-I running firmware version v5.3.6, but the process should be nigh-identical for any compatible Hikvision device.

___________________________________________
​

Spoiler: Click Here to View the Tutorial

Things to Know Before you Begin

- The LAN IP of your Hikvision device

You can find this out quickly using Hikvision's SADP program to find a Hikvision device on your network.
​

- Your external IP address (for remote viewing)

Googling "what is my IP address" will display it to you.
​

- The server port of your Hikvision device (default is 8000)

This can be found in the device's network configuration options and will need to be forwarded for remote viewing. Please see our guide on setting up remote access.
​

Once you've tracked down all of the above, you're ready to go.

First of all, you're going to need to download iVMS-4500. On your respective platform, search the app store for iVMS. For an iOS or Android tablet, that's going to be iVMS-4500 HD. Otherwise, you'll be after iVMS-4500 lite from Hikvision Digital Technology Co., Ltd

​

Download the iVMS-4500 and launch it. You may be greeted with a few screens of update notes and tutorials using a demo system in China although to my knowledge this isn't the case in later versions.

Afterwards, you'll be met with a blank Live View. You're going to need to add a Hikvision NVR or camera, so tap the menu button in the top left (three lines in a circle indicated by the blue square below) and then tap the Devices option in the menu that opens.

​

This will open the Devices window, in which a list of your currently-connected devices will be displayed. If you're just getting started, the list will be empty. You're going to want to add one, so tap the + button in the top right indicated below.

​

This will bring up a list of potential adding options. The two most commonly used are the Manual Adding and Online Device method, both of which we'll cover below, starting with Manual Adding. Tap the option you want.

​

This will bring up a series of fields in to which you're going to have to enter your device's details:

• Alias - The name you want the device to go by within the App
• Register Mode - How you want to add the device - typically either via IP/Domain or HiDDNS
• Address - IP Address of the Hikvision camera or NVR (LAN or external IP for remote viewing)
• Port - The Server port of the device - 8000 is used by default unless you've changed it on the device.
• User Name - The username of the device, typically admin unless otherwise specified.
• Password - The password of the device, set during creation. Alternatively, the password of a custom user.
• Camera No. - The number of cameras connected to an NVR if you're adding one

In the below image, I've filled out the relevant fields for the device I'm adding. This is for local viewing only, i.e. when I'm connected to the same local network as my camera.

For remote access to the device when you're not on the same local network (i.e. when you're away from home) you will have to enter the address as your external IP address and have forwarded the server port to your device.

Please read our guide on how to setup remote access to your Hikvision NVR or camera to learn how to forward the ports.

​

Once you're happy with the settings, hit the Save floppy-disc icon in the top right and the device configuration will be saved to iVMS-4500. Next, simply hit the "Start Live View" button and the device should automatically connect and open the Live View of your camera or NVR - job done!

___________________________________________​

Alternatively, you can also add a Hikvision camera to iVMS 4500 using HiDDNS, Hikvision's DDNS service. This will likely be necessary if you have a dynamic IP address. Please read our guide on how to setup Hikvision's DDNS service.

You will need to change the Register Mode from IP/Domain to HiDDNS, and instead of entering an IP Address, you will enter the HiDDNS domain name registered to your device. It should look similar to the below.

​

Again, once you're done, simply hit the Save icon in the top right and start your live view.

___________________________________________
​

Finally, you can also have iVMS-4500 scan the current network you're connected to for any Hikvision devices and allow you to add them via this method. Users familiar with Hikvision's SADP tool should find this functionality very similar - it might make adding your device easier if you're not certain on some of the network parameters.

Navigate to the Devices menu again and tap the + icon. Instead of selecting Manual Adding, this time select Online Device.

​

This will bring up a window populated with any detected devices on the same network as your phone. Have a look through the list and find the one you want to add, and tap on it.

​

This will open another window, detailing the current-known parameters for that device. Double-check everything appears correct and edit anything where it isn't and, once you're happy, tap on Add.

​

Once again, the device should then add and the Live View will open - job done!

___________________________________________
BACK TO TOP​

 

[Kieran]

How to Factory Reset a Hikvision NVR or Camera
​

Sometimes, things don't go quite according to plan. You might have accidentally changed a few settings that have had some negative effects on your camera, or you've forgotten your password and you want a quick way to regain access to the camera, or perhaps you simply just want to bring everything back to basics. You'll often have to factory reset your device if you need some form of technical support.

Thankfully, there are a few methods you can use to factory reset your device. Some models of Hikvision cameras have a physical factory reset button which you can use (I'll cover the method below, it's a little unusual). Alternatively, you can also factory reset a device via a web browser or, in the case of an NVR, locally via a monitor.

​

___________________________________________
​

Spoiler: Click Here to View the Tutorial

Resetting via a Web Browser

During the below tutorial I'll be using a DS-2CD2042WD-I running firmware v5.3.6.

First of all, log into your Hikvision NVR or camera and navigate to Configuration > System > Maintenance. You'll be met with the Upgrade & Maintenance page, in which you'll be able to update the firmware of your device but - more importantly - factory reset it.

​

The web browser will present you with two options. The first, Restore, will restore any setting excluding user information and the network parameters of the camera to the factory default settings. This includes things such as shutter speeds, video resolution, motion detection settings and so on. You will not have to reactivate the camera, and you'll be able to login to the camera at its usual IP address with the same credentials.

The second option, Default, will truly factory reset the camera. This will bring it right back to an inactive state, and the camera will return to the default IP of 192.168.1.64 - you'll have to reactivate the device as you did originally (please see our guide on device activation if you need some guidance).

The factory reset process can take up to 10 minutes, and the camera will reboot upon completion.

___________________________________________
​

Resetting via a Physical Reset Button

The process for resetting a camera using a physical reset button is different to what many of us are used to with regards to other devices. It is as follows:

1. Disconnect power to the camera
2. Hold the reset button down
3. Whilst still holding the reset button, reconnect power to the device
4. Continue to hold the button down for 30-60 seconds.

The amount of time you'll need to hold the button down seems to vary from camera to camera, but it should take no more than 120 seconds. If you're near a PC with SADP installed, you can refresh SADP and wait for the camera to reappear as Inactive.

Below are a few examples of where the reset button can be located.

On a DS-2CD2142FWD-I dome camera the reset button is located on the PCB :



On a DS-2CD2042WD-I mini-bullet the reset button is located on the back :



On a DS-2CD2432F-IW cube the reset button doubles as a WPS button :



On a DS-2CD2642FWD-I and DS-2CD2T42WD-I3/5/8 bullet the reset button is inside the front of the camera :

___________________________________________​

Resetting an NVR Locally via a Monitor

It is also possible to factory reset a Hikvision NVR locally with a monitor directly connected. In the below tutorial, I'll be using a DS-7716NI-I4-16P running firmware v3.4.2.

Open the NVRs Menu and navigate to Maintenance.

​

Look to the left of the window and click on the Default option. This will open the window in which you'll be able to factory reset your NVR.

​

There will be three options, ranging from the least comprehensive to the most comprehensive factory reset. The last option will cause the device to return to an inactive state and require activation again upon reset (see above).

Once again, the factory reset process can take up to 10 minutes, and the device will automatically reboot upon completion.

​

___________________________________________
BACK TO TOP​

 

[Ameetcam]

Hi sorry to resurrect the old thread, but I've hit a wall setting up 3 cameras.

2 cameras are showing up and I've been able to activate them via the mac software.
They read as "activity" under safe status tab.

(i'm assuming the 3rd camera has something wrong/not punched down well it as its not powering up or showing on the mac program).

However when I try to add them, it says "importing failed. Connection failed: device off-line or connection timeout".

I tried leaving only 1 camera connected as I thought that their default IP address might be clashing (2 cameras that worked showed the same IP address) but that didn't work.

Any help appreciated!

BW

A

 

[DavidNew]

"NOTE: It is possible to configure the NVR remotely via a web browser, but for simplicity's sake we'll be covering the local configuration. "

How to setup via web browser?

 

[Kyle]

Hi DavidNew,

This tutorial is out of date and I'm currently working on updating it to include the web browser setup