Ready to pull out my hair, help me with odd Hik issue aound setting an ip....

[Razer]

Ok, so it is not like I've not setup 400 or so of these cameras now so I feel I know my way around pretty well. Yet here I sit stumped and ready to severely injure some Hik 3032 cameras......

I am installing 24 Hik cameras in both bullets and domes right now at a new site. I have about 16 wired up and I'm waiting on construction on the rest. 9 worked perfectly normal, no issues. 7 of these will not take an IP to save my life. All connected to the same switch, tried using the server there setting IPs remotely and when I had trouble I grabbed my laptop that I've setup tons of cameras on in the past and tried there in person. No dice.

Every camera that will not tak an IP is running the same firmware, different than the rest. The firmware that is not working is 5.1.2 build 140904. This build I cannot get to do anything, if I can see them all and try to set an IP on one sadp will fail, then all of them will disappear for a while before I can see any of them with this build again. There rest work normally. My other cameras are on firmware 5.2 build 141107, and 5.1.2 build 140606. I tried updating cameras via TFTP but the bad build cameras will not respond at all, tftp server never does anything and acts like they are never plugged in. I upgraded two of the 5.1.2 build 140606 cameras via the same tftp just fine and they acted normal as I have come to expect.

These cameras are fresh out of the box, I have tried connecting to them directly to my laptop and a POE injector to upgrade and still they do not work. I CAN set an IP in sadp when directly connected to them, but after it is set they never show up again at all that I can tell. With any IP. These seem to have a bum build on them but I cannot get them to stinking upgrade to the 5.2 build!

I purchased these from @milkisbad so I'll contact them and see what they say too but for now I am just firing up each camera and if it has that firmware we can't install them. I have to go scrounge through all my stock and see how may of these have good vs bad firmware I guess! Any thoughts or ideas appreciated. Maybe there is a special TFTP version to use or something. I've tried a couple now, both work for other cameras but not this build.

 

[AuthReseller]

Ok, so it is not like I've not setup 400 or so of these cameras now so I feel I know my way around pretty well. Yet here I sit stumped and ready to severely injure some Hik 3032 cameras......

I am installing 24 Hik cameras in both bullets and domes right now at a new site. I have about 16 wired up and I'm waiting on construction on the rest. 9 worked perfectly normal, no issues. 7 of these will not take an IP to save my life. All connected to the same switch, tried using the server there setting IPs remotely and when I had trouble I grabbed my laptop that I've setup tons of cameras on in the past and tried there in person. No dice.

Every camera that will not tak an IP is running the same firmware, different than the rest. The firmware that is not working is 5.1.2 build 140904. This build I cannot get to do anything, if I can see them all and try to set an IP on one sadp will fail, then all of them will disappear for a while before I can see any of them with this build again. There rest work normally. My other cameras are on firmware 5.2 build 141107, and 5.1.2 build 140606. I tried updating cameras via TFTP but the bad build cameras will not respond at all, tftp server never does anything and acts like they are never plugged in. I upgraded two of the 5.1.2 build 140606 cameras via the same tftp just fine and they acted normal as I have come to expect.

These cameras are fresh out of the box, I have tried connecting to them directly to my laptop and a POE injector to upgrade and still they do not work. I CAN set an IP in sadp when directly connected to them, but after it is set they never show up again at all that I can tell. With any IP. These seem to have a bum build on them but I cannot get them to stinking upgrade to the 5.2 build!

I purchased these from @milkisbad so I'll contact them and see what they say too but for now I am just firing up each camera and if it has that firmware we can't install them. I have to go scrounge through all my stock and see how may of these have good vs bad firmware I guess! Any thoughts or ideas appreciated. Maybe there is a special TFTP version to use or something. I've tried a couple now, both work for other cameras but not this build.

Is milkisbad an Authorized Reseller for Hikvision?

 

[alastairstevenson]

So, some questions and stray thoughts. With apologies for any misunderstandings, you did sound just a bit frustrated...

The bad cameras - do you have them all powered on at once, or just one at a time?
I think you've said that SADP can see them all.
And you can set an IP address when directly connected to the laptop but it loses it when you connect back up again to the main network.

When they are all being seen by SADP - do they all show the same default IP address? Presumably not or you would have mentioned it. If so would give a duplicate IP address error, and maybe the running OS would shut down the interface, though I'm not sure how it handles that fatal error.

Do they all have the same software-set MAC address? That would certainly stop them working on the network. The MAC address is in the flash. But then so is the serial number, and that would show as duplicated in SADP.
When connected directly to the laptop, use 'arp -a' to see what the laptop has figured out for MAC addresses, assuming it has a need to do so, eg use of SADP or a PING to the IP address for force an ARP action.
Try a few cameras just to check.

 

[Eddie Current]

alastairstevenson has a lot of good questions!

 

[Razer]

So, some questions and stray thoughts. With apologies for any misunderstandings, you did sound just a bit frustrated... Ha, no worries, I was typing in a rush, sitting on the floor in a construction site lol and I was slightly frustrated. I figured the only people that I could share my pain with and would understand were here lol.

The bad cameras - do you have them all powered on at once, or just one at a time? Tried both ways, through a switch and directly with POE injector.
I think you've said that SADP can see them all. They could be seen, but they would disappear for 5-10 minutes at a time too.
And you can set an IP address when directly connected to the laptop but it loses it when you connect back up again to the main network. Yes, it would say it was set, but then not be discoverable on any IP, SADP would never find it again.

When they are all being seen by SADP - do they all show the same default IP address? Presumably not or you would have mentioned it. If so would give a duplicate IP address error, and maybe the running OS would shut down the interface, though I'm not sure how it handles that fatal error. In SADP they all come up with a single IP address by default the first time, but they can all be on at once with no trouble. You then set the IP from the default of 192.0.0.64 or whatever it is. I just installed 9 more today and all 9 show up fine and you then set the IPs one by one in the software.

Do they all have the same software-set MAC address? That would certainly stop them working on the network. The MAC address is in the flash. But then so is the serial number, and that would show as duplicated in SADP. No, unique MACs as seen by SADP
When connected directly to the laptop, use 'arp -a' to see what the laptop has figured out for MAC addresses, assuming it has a need to do so, eg use of SADP or a PING to the IP address for force an ARP action.
Try a few cameras just to check.

In the end though nothing I did would make these work. I went back the next day and tried again with my laptop and a POE injector. I tried the cameras directly connected, via the switch, via just the POE injector and my laptop connected directly to the camera with a 6ft cable while I was on a ladder but no, nothing worked. I then swapped out the cameras and the swapped cameras worked fine, I had upgraded the firmware in the office with my laptop before taking them out to the site.

I then brought the cameras back to the office and tried to update the firmware again - and they worked fine. What? :mad-new: I used my same laptop that I had been using in the field and it worked first try. I tried through the same switch as I had in the field is on my bench and it worked great. I tried through the same exact POE injector form my laptop bag. Worked. I then began to twitch, I mean I'm happy now as after the firmware they are working perfectly fine. I just HATE not knowing what was going on and literally nothing changed at all and yet they worked great here. Cabling was a thought I had, but the cables work fine on the replacements and I also tried to update and or set an IP directly connected to them with a known good 6ft LAN cable from my bag and they would not work then either. Whatever, they work now.

I updated the firmware on 32 other cameras from my existing stock to be sure and now they are all good to go. Milkisbad contacted me and was willing to swap out the cameras no problem but I was too stubborn to take him up on it lol. I knew I could win at this somehow and I did, but I don't know exactly how..... Thanks to all for the ideas from those here and to Milkisbad (Frankie) for ideas and assistance too. Man Frankie must live in his email I swear he is spooky fast usually!