Amcrest SmartHome Video Doorbell Camera AD110

[mrvelous01]

Update: The initial chime setting was "mechanical", which is the type I have. I changed the chime setting to "none" and it the phone now makes an audible noise when the button is pressed. Then I changed the chime setting to digital and it works (though my mechanical chime sounded sick). Lastly I changed the setting to back mechanical... and everything still works. No idea WTF just happened there.

 

[gtbkr25]

Just installed the AD110 on Friday, and it definitely has some quirks. First, you definitely need to have an improved doorbell transformer. I'm not exactly sure how old mine is, but it doesn't have enough juice to run the IRs at night; I get the IR light flashing issue as well as it quits responding. I have a new transformer on the way, so hopefully that will resolve that issue, so for now, I have the IRs set to off. That hasn't really been an issue, as there is ample IR light from the cameras mounted on the front of the house. If you have siding, you will find that it you will need a suitable mount to make it level. I picked up some Builder's Edge surface blocks from Amazon, to mount it to. I had no issues setting it up with Blue Iris.

 

[mrvelous01]

Some new fun ... It appears that my Google Pixel Phone doesn't like Amcrest AD110 doorbells. I turn off the Do Not Disturb function on the Pixel and the bell rings fine on the phone. I turn on DND and I EXEMPT Amcrest push from the restriction ... and it does not ding. But it does popup with a msg that the doorbell was pressed, makes a tone at the device, and rings my indoor mechanical chime. I don't know if this is an Amcrest issue or a Google/Android issue at this time. For me it is not an option to run the Pixel without DND turned on as it greatly reduces the amount of spam calls.

After finding out about the odd Android DND issue, I thought I would ignore it for a while hoping it would go away, and I went to install an SD Micro card. I tried one I found laying around at home but it had a weird partition structure from being a Raspberry Pi boot disk and I am still fighting with Windows and Linux desktops to blast the partitions and reinitialize it. So I did the next logical thing and bought a new one from Amazon. It is a Microcenter 128G class 10 (per Amcrest spec). As soon as I inserted it into the AD110 it crashed. Swirling blue ring on the button. The app declared that the device was "offline". I power cycled the AD110 but nothing. I ran out of time to fool with it but today I leaned on the reset button for about 60 seconds and it finally rebooted itself. I had to delete and reconfigure the device but it is back online (and Blueiris sees it, too). I'm fighting with this SD Micro card in the desktops to clear its partitions, too, as the "factory" partitions were not NTFS (something odd, I forget what).

Has anyone experienced the issue with Android DND not allowing an exception for the Amcrest doorbell push?

Has anyone crashed the doorbell when inserting an SD Micro card? (and yes, there is only ONE way to properly physically insert it).

Thanks

 

[K46tank]

I thought I read in the little manual that shipped with the AD110 that 64G was the max size card that it would recognize. However it is entirely likely that I am mistaken as I have slept since then, LOL

 

[mrvelous01]

I thought I read in the little manual that shipped with the AD110 that 64G was the max size card that it would recognize. However it is entirely likely that I am mistaken as I have slept since then, LOL

Thanks for the reply. I did check the manual before I bought the card and page 12 of the v1.0.0 manual says "128GB MicroSD Card Class 10 or higher".

 

[mrvelous01]

Some new fun ... It appears that my Google Pixel Phone doesn't like Amcrest AD110 doorbells. I turn off the Do Not Disturb function on the Pixel and the bell rings fine on the phone. I turn on DND and I EXEMPT Amcrest push from the restriction ... and it does not ding. But it does popup with a msg that the doorbell was pressed, makes a tone at the device, and rings my indoor mechanical chime. I don't know if this is an Amcrest issue or a Google/Android issue at this time. For me it is not an option to run the Pixel without DND turned on as it greatly reduces the amount of spam calls.

After finding out about the odd Android DND issue, I thought I would ignore it for a while hoping it would go away, and I went to install an SD Micro card. I tried one I found laying around at home but it had a weird partition structure from being a Raspberry Pi boot disk and I am still fighting with Windows and Linux desktops to blast the partitions and reinitialize it. So I did the next logical thing and bought a new one from Amazon. It is a Microcenter 128G class 10 (per Amcrest spec). As soon as I inserted it into the AD110 it crashed. Swirling blue ring on the button. The app declared that the device was "offline". I power cycled the AD110 but nothing. I ran out of time to fool with it but today I leaned on the reset button for about 60 seconds and it finally rebooted itself. I had to delete and reconfigure the device but it is back online (and Blueiris sees it, too). I'm fighting with this SD Micro card in the desktops to clear its partitions, too, as the "factory" partitions were not NTFS (something odd, I forget what).

Has anyone experienced the issue with Android DND not allowing an exception for the Amcrest doorbell push?

Has anyone crashed the doorbell when inserting an SD Micro card? (and yes, there is only ONE way to properly physically insert it).

Thanks

I have since found a Google Pixel/Android support link that sent me back to the app notification settings (not sounds). There were 3 settings that were listed for overriding DND for Amcrest. "RingPush, "push_default_alarm", and "push_four_tone_door ..." I had just adjusted the one that called "RingPush" (seemed logical at the time). Ultimately I had to dive 3 more menus deep into the others to find "Override Do Not Disturb" which was turned off. Works fine now. Not an Amcrest problem

 

[K46tank]

You are correct! I pulled my manual out and was going to update my post but you beat me to it

Yes, the menu structure for the settings is not very intuitive. H have had to search around for a couple settings that I had scratched my head about several times.

I am still having a problem connecting to my NVR (not Amcrest). The NVR finds the AD110 IP address and shows it as ONVIF compatible but when I enter the username/password the NVR responds with a wrong password message. I am using the default username (admin) which I don't see any way to change in the AD110 settings, and the password I created. I have even changed the password just in case my NVR didn't like the length or characters I used but still no luck. Anyone else encounter this issue?

 

[GaryOkie]

I've tried to use Home Assistant's ONVIF integration to connect to the AD110 with no success at authentication. (Via the Amcrest integration or FFMPEG using RTSP, no problem at all streaming),

That's interesting that the AD110 responds that it is ONVIF compatible. I know that from a config backup it shows some elements of ONVIF settings, likely inherited from its DAHUA firmware roots but not actually fully implemented. For example, there wasn't a separate config setting for ONVIF credentials as usually they are different from the camera's native credentials.

EDIT: here are a few additional config settings hardcoded in the AD110 that suggest some ONVIF support is present, but presumably half-baked.

"UserGlobal" : {
"OnvifLoginCheck" : true

"VSP_ONVIF" : {
"ServiceStart" : true

"OnvifPTZ" : {
"PTZConfigs" : {
"00000" : {
"DefaultAbsolutePantTiltPositionSpace" : "http:\/\/www.onvif.org\/ver10\/tptz\/PanTiltSpaces\/PositionGenericSpace",
<snip...>
"OnvifRecording" : {
"Records" : {
<snip..>

 

[K46tank]

I guess I should qualify my comment about it showing as ONVIF compatible. When my NVR searches my network, the AD110 shows up in the search results with the IP address, port 80 and that it is ONVIF compatible but it does not indicate to what extent.

Now the odd thing is, and since you mentioned that the AD110 is a re-worked Dahua DB11, is that this AD110 replaced a DB11 that I was having numerous issues with (delay in recording start after motion, not sending push notifications on a reliable basis, rebooting, etc.) My NVR never located the DB11 when sniffing my network but does see my the AD110. I can say that the PIR motion detection on the DB11 was better at not being triggered by flying insects at night. However the tradeoff was that it only recorded people after they had approached the door and were walking away. I have tons of footage of the backs of the UPS, FedEx, and Amazon delivery drivers, LOL!

I tend to believe your theory that ONVIF is only partially, and possibly poorly, implemented in the AD110 firmware. Hopefully Amcrest will continue to revise the firmware and get things working correctly.

If I could figure out how to get the NVR to log in to the AD110 stream, then I would probably be happy with this unit and stop my search for a reliable doorbell camera for a while.

 

[jack7]

K46tank,
A Camect NVR can access AD110 stream by using the Amcrest RTSP URL. If your NVR supports using a RTSP URL, that might work for you.
rtsp:/admin:password@192.168.0.115/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0

 

[K46tank]

Thanks Jack! I'll give that a try and see what happens.

I think it will work with the main stream if I could just work out the username/password bug. But if I can get the RSTP stream working I'll be good with that.

 

[K46tank]

Well, strangely enough, I did a hard reset on the AD110 and now it is recording on my NVR normally. Not sure what the reset did but I suspect that there is some sort of security challenge in the firmware that limits the number of attempted incorrect logins. I base this on an error message I received on the Onvifer app when attempting to add the AD110. I don't remember the exact wording but it was something along the lines of Login failed incorrect username/password remaining attempts 0

My guess is that the hard reset also reset the incorrect login lockout.

 

[mcorzine]

Just wanted to follow up with my experience on using the Dahua API settings to modify the operation of the camera. It's best that you don't go this route as I learned the hard way and killed one of mine. I increased the frame rate, key frame interval, and bit rate - I had this thing looking almost like some of my $120 Dahua cameras! It was so cool that I tried applying some WDR settings and noticed my settings changes stopped affecting the camera. A couple of minutes later the camera went offline and I could never revive it. Chatted with tech support (tier 1 was a waste of time, tier 2 or 3 was better) and after several emails and phone calls they decided the camera was no longer usable. They had me cycle power, hold the reset button for 10, 30, and 60 seconds as part of the troubleshooting process, the voice never came online for pairing. I'd assume that one of the chips inside overheated.

I now have another one and it's working ok using Amcrest Smart Home app settings, although the image sent to Blue Iris is of much less quality than what is sent to Amcrest Cloud. Would love to have a way of FTP'ing the image/videos using the higher quality settings rather than relying on the internet and Amcrest servers but I guess an SD card and lower quality will do until the next best thing comes around.

 

[GaryOkie]

Hi @mcorzine - appreciate the update!

So you think that it wasn't the actual http API configuration commands that bricked the AD110, but by pushing the CPU harder with increased framerates, WDR et.al, that the poor thing just overheated and died! That's very interesting. It still leaves open that some CGI configurations are possible, within limits. But I agree, going blindly down that road trusting your luck would not be advised unless you had a spare doorbell to play with.

I don't use Blue Iris, but isn't the image it receives still the same 1920x1080 RTSP stream? I don't get why it would be lower quality. Could your SH app have the live view Quality set for SD and not HD?

 

[Bitslizer]

I also tried changing the encoding config and other things via my Amcrest NVR, some setting would make it stop working until I hard reset the unit. increasing the bitrate and framerate made things stutter/jerky on the Amcrest cloud app. I just gave up and hard reset the unit and limited myself to the config available in the Amcrest cloud app and its been working happily since (besides the recent IP coding issue)

 

[gtbkr25]

So I've had the AD110 installed for a few weeks now, and about 2 weeks of that are on the new doorbell transformer. Previously, I was experiencing many disconnects only at night with the IR light on. Additionally, the IR light would flash as well. On the new transformer, I'm getting about 17 volts at the doorbell. At night the IR light is brighter, but in the end, it still disconnects and the IR light eventually flashes. I've forced the IR light to stay off, and with the light off, I've experienced zero disconnects. Fortunately, at night my additional cameras provide enough IR light to allow the camera to give a decent image at night. While I realize it is not ideal to run it like that, the rest of the unit still functions properly. (ie. doorbell rings, contacts my phone, when the button is pushed, connects to blue iris well) This is the current model transformer, that I recently purchased: Doorbell Transformer Compatible with Ring Video Doorbell Pro 16v 30va Hardwired Door Chime Transformer - - Amazon.com
I'm thinking maybe the only other thing I could do, is upgrade the doorbell again to this 24v model: 24V 40VA Thermostat and Doorbell Transformer, Power Supply Compatible with Nest, Ecobee, Sensi and Honeywell Thermostat, Nest Hello Doorbell and All Versions of Ring Doorbell (Style 1) - - Amazon.com
Has any one had flawless operation from their's, at night with IR on?

 

[GaryOkie]

@gtbkr25 - My AD110 has the IR set to auto but since my video at night is always in color, the front porch lights illumination must be bright enough so it never goes into night mode.

Although this is my favorite forum for IP camera technical questions, you might want to also check out the Amcrest support forum. A LOT of information posted there about transformers and wiring, Post your question there and you will almost certainly get a reply from a guy who has a lot of experience testing doorbell transformers.

Anyway, it sure does sound like you will need a stronger transformer even though an Amcrest article states 16v 30va is suitable.

 

[gtbkr25]

@mcorzine I wanted to see if there was a way to toggle the IR, via API. I found a setting called Flashlight.Enable, however, I don't believe I'm entering the correct command line, as it gives me a bad request error. http://<IP>/cgi-bin/configManager.cgi?action=setConfig&Flashlight.Enable=false

 

[GaryOkie]

@gtbkr25 - From the Amcrest (or Dahua) HTTP API guide, this command will return the current AD110 Night Vision MODE setting (Off, Auto, or ForceOn) along with a light intensity setting...

http://<ip_address>/cgi-bin/configManager.cgi?action=getConfig&name=Lighting

table.Lighting[0][0].MiddleLight[0].Light=20
table.Lighting[0][0].Mode=Auto

I tested it by changing the night vision setting in the SmartHome app, and the AD110 properly returns the values expected.

The command to turn off NightVision (or the IR) on cameras which support the API is:

http://<ip_address>/cgi-bin/configManager.cgi?action=setConfig&Lighting[0][0].Mode=Off

I have NOT tested this, and do not know if this will actually work on the AD110 as it doesn't fully implement the full API spec, as @mcorzine can confirm. Also be aware that changing some configurations on the AD110 via the API can be risky.

Please do let us know if it worked!

 

[gtbkr25]

@gtbkr25 - From the Amcrest (or Dahua) HTTP API guide, this command will return the current AD110 Night Vision MODE setting (Off, Auto, or ForceOn) along with a light intensity setting...

http://<ip_address>/cgi-bin/configManager.cgi?action=getConfig&name=Lighting

table.Lighting[0][0].MiddleLight[0].Light=20
table.Lighting[0][0].Mode=Auto

I tested it by changing the night vision setting in the SmartHome app, and the AD110 properly returns the values expected.

The command to turn off NightVision (or the IR) on cameras which support the API is:

http://<ip_address>/cgi-bin/configManager.cgi?action=setConfig&Lighting[0][0].Mode=Off

I have NOT tested this, and do not know if this will actually work on the AD110 as it doesn't fully implement the full API spec, as @mcorzine can confirm. Also be aware that changing some configurations on the AD110 via the API can be risky.

Please do let us know if it worked!

Worked great! Thanks for the API.