Annke Firmware to Hikvision Firmware: HOW TO

cyrusbyte

Young grasshopper
Dec 10, 2015
32
13
Wanted to post this for anyone that wanted to switch to Hikvision firmware.
---CHANGING FIRMWARE WILL NOT ADD NEW FEATRUES.. these are coded separately from the firmware. If you don't already have smart events it will not add them.---
It may fix or enhance existing functions or even stability issues.

I have successfully upgraded my C500's and C800's using this method where all other methods would not.
The reason I wanted to was because there was a bug in the original C800's firmware that would not allow them to be viewed remotely with the guarding vision app. On the C500's had some random image stability issues with my recording software on the original firmware. As an added bonus seems like both cameras reboot/ boot up quicker and are faster to respond through the web interface (may be my imagination because I didn't time them before).

NOTE: This may brick your camera if you are not careful and may void your warranty!

----Please see end of post for any product or firmware specific info or notes---

First check which platform your camera is.
(keep track if you have multiple platforms and on what cameras this will save you some trouble later)
You can do this by going to the camera web interface usually under System>System Settings> Basic Information> Firmware Version and Firmware Version Property
Firmware.PNG

Look for the 2 or 3 digit platform code in the firmware version property, in this case the G5 for the C800 and E7 or E7S for my C500's, E7S is considered E7 platform but has different firmware so make sure you don't mix the two. There are a few that have sub-models so if it is a 3 digit code only use firmware with the three digits ex. E7S etc.
Also keep track of the firmware version because you will probably want to start with the next closest revision.
note: there may be different revisions of the same model that use different firmware platforms so double check all before upgrading.

Download the appropriate platform firmware from Hikvision Here
You will see folders for each platform of camera in this case G5 Platform
You may have to browse through several levels of folders to find the right one but in most cases they contain the same files but the firmware Should start with IPC_G5_EN_STD in this case but for other platforms replace the G5 with respective platform. I suggest only going one step up from the current version you are so if V5.5.102 is what you have currently and you see V5.5.90 V5.5.111 and V5.5.113 available I would start with V5.5.111 first. There are several reasons for this but didn't want to get into that for now. You can always go back and upgrade to the next version from the web interface after this is completed so it is a lot easier after this. There are some specialized firmware files that have extra characters in the file name so avoid those.

Download Hikvision SDK here

Extract the files you have downloaded so far

Now the upgrade process

run the ClientDemoEn.exe from the SDK
Add the cameras you want to upgrade by right clicking on the Device tree in the left hand column (you actually have to click on the name "Device Tree")
It is important that you keep track of what firmware is going with what camera so I suggest only adding cameras for one platform to be upgraded at a time and then removing them before the next batch.
The only info you need is Local Node (name), Device Address (IP address), port, username and password fields.
After adding each camera wait to make sure it connects (the icons will change from a Red X) click on the camera.
Now click config (verify you are on the correct camera before proceeding)
Click Management>Upgrade
Now select browse and select the firmware for that cameras platform.
Once you press Update it will upgrade the firmware and reboot the camera this may take up to 10 minutes so be patient.

If the camera upgraded properly you should now be able to login to the web interface and it should say HIKVISION instead of ANNKE.

I was also able to upgrade to future versions of the HIKVISION firmware on the same platform straight from the web interface after this process.
If you have any issues after the upgrade completes reboot the camera and try the upgrade again from the camera web interface. I had one that the remote config menu in the iVMS software wouldn't load after the first upgrade and this fixed that.

IF YOU CAN POST BEFORE AND AFTER, CAMERA MODEL AND FIRMWARE INFO IF YOU HAD SUCCESS, ISSUES, OR ANY NOTES I MAY NEED TO ADD THAT MAY HELP OTHERS.

GOOD LUCK!


-------------------adding notes here for reference:----------------------------------------------------------------------

Firmware should be in this format from Hikvision IPC_XX_EN_STD_5.5.XXX_XXXXXX.zip or IPC_XXX_EN_STD_5.5.XXX_XXXXXX.aip

-For wired IP cameras the firmware file should start with IPC_xxx_EN_STD_5.5.XXX_ (not confirmed yet but looks like wireless starts with IPCK_xxx)
-Next it should be the platform and it should match what your camera currently has if it is 2 digits or 3 digits so IPC_E7_ or IPC_E7S_
-Then the language code EN , followed by some type of identifier of package type maybe? STD , then your version number as of now most are 5.5.XXX_ , and then the date code XXXXX (not really that important)
-If the firmware file doesn't follow this format or has a note file in the folder with it then there is a good chance it is a specialized firmware so avoid it.

Camera Specific
Wireless cameras more than likely use customized firmware that starts with IPCK_ ??-- (W300 maybe?)

I91BD - G1 platform - successful update via camera’s web page directly to IPC_G1_EN_STD_5.6.5_200316 (should be no need for SDK or special procedure)
I91BL - G5 platform - successful update via camera’s web page directly to IPC_G5_EN_STD_5.5.114_210512 (should be no need for SDK or special procedure)

I81HC- looks like this may use specialized E7 firmware and the standard Hikvision firmware does not support it as of 5.5.120, may be added in later firmware. The camera date code suggests this because it is newer than the 5.5.120 firmware.

I51DM- Is a E7S not E7 so make sure and use the IPC_E7S_ firmware.
I51DF- Is a E7 not E7S so make sure and use the IPC_E7_ firmware.

NVR/DVR Firmware
N48PAW- Found Here for [76 77 86 NI-K2 K4 K8]

To display Camera Capabilities (case sensitive)
http://<camera_IP_address>/ISAPI/System/Capabilities

Original ANNKE firmware for some C800's
 
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Wanted to post this for anyone that wanted to switch to Hikvision firmware.
I have successfully upgraded my C500's and C800's using this method where all other methods would not.
..

Big thanks for this @cyrusbyte ! Great to have you share you experience and knowledge here.
 
One issue that I'm having is that I'm not able to upgrade to any newer versions via web interface. Web upgrade works fine for version 5.5.111 but 5.5.112 fails
I didn't see a 5.5.112 for the E7S. Could be the reason if you are trying the E7 firmware on a E7S. Not sure why they split this platform up with a subgroup.
 
I updated the initial post to note that E7 and E7S have different firmware to hopefully avoid someone using this method to try to flash E7 firmware on a E7S.. not sure if it would work or not but wouldn't want to take the risk. So fare this is the only platform that I have seen that has a sub-group like this so it may be the only exception. Also found that E3 also has some sub models so they have different firmware as well.
 
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It looks like web update will fail when trying E7 on E7S.
Have not tried using the SDK to upgrade to E7 firmware.
 
It looks like web update will fail when trying E7 on E7S.
Have not tried using the SDK to upgrade to E7 firmware.

Not sure I would do that unless you are willing to risk bricking it.

I do know there was at least two hardware difference between the two models I had that used those firmware's. The one that used E7 had a slightly lower result ion 2560*1440 and no audio while the E7S has audio and 2560*1920. Not sure if that is the only reason for the different firmware or if it is deeper than that.

Also my one with E7S firmware didn't have the option to email pictures with the original ANNKE firmware, so I returned it before I figured out I could do this. Did you get the option to email pictures when you switched to 5.5.111?

That being said I am curious if the E7 firmware works on the E7S and if so what is the difference.
 
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Yes. The option is there now.
But if inremember correctly, annke firmware also had the option to configure email under advanced network.

I

Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk
 
One thing I miss with this model compared to my other hikvision camera is the Samrt Events option and recording to NAS.

Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk
 
thanks .. tried to upgrade ANNKE I81HC - E7 Platform??

Pack type mismatch.. any idea what went wrong ?


View attachment 91850

View attachment 91849
Were you trying the V5.5.114 ? I know it is the same as what you have but looks like the next version up V5.5.120 is special because it starts with IPCK_ instead of IPC and there is a note in there that it is for 1021G1-IDW1 which would make sense because that model is a wireless camera and it may just use the same base firmware as the E7 just with added support for the wireless.
I'm not sure what the OEM changes in the firmware other than the branding but have heard (on some older threads) that going from the same version firmware on ANNKE to Hikvision had noticeable performance improvements. So it may still be worth while if nothing else to enable you to upgrade to the next hikvision firmware from the web interface in the future.
 
thanks.. i haven't bricked the camera yet..

tried both firmware V5.5.114_Build200417 first and then V5.5.120 build200604 and both didn't work.
Possibly try the previous version. I am assuming you are unzipping the file and uploading the .dav file not the zip file itself.
 
Possibly try the previous version. I am assuming you are unzipping the file and uploading the .dav file not the zip file itself.
yes .. i followed your instruction and unzipped the file and uploaded the dav file.

anyway thanks for this tip... although it didn't work for me but still worth a try. :)
 
yes .. i followed your instruction and unzipped the file and uploaded the dav file.

anyway thanks for this tip... although it didn't work for me but still worth a try. :)
After some research I believe this one is a special model similar to Hikvision ColorVu cameras, if so It looks like there is no firmware available for it yet. Which is odd because most of the ColorVU (color night vision) series are G0 or G1 platform so this one really doesn't make much sense. My only guess is this is a new "Value Series" that they have yet to add real support for in the standard E7 firmware especially since the date code indicates it was modified after all other current E7 firmware versions. From what I can tell none of the Hikvision ColorVu cameras use the E7 firmware and there is no note of adding support in the firmware so that would seem to make sense.
So in this case it is highly possible that there may not be any available Hikvision firmware that is compatible with this camera and unless hikvision releases a ColorVU that uses the E7 firmware there may not be..

Thanks for the screen shots and info, this may save other people the trouble of trying to upgrade this camera.
 
Yes. The option is there now.
But if inremember correctly, annke firmware also had the option to configure email under advanced network.

I

Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk
It had the option to email but was missing the option to attach photos to the email so only thing you would get is a motion detection email with no photos. So that is good to know that it adds that back!

One thing I miss with this model compared to my other hikvision camera is the Samrt Events option and recording to NAS.

Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk

As I have seen the E7 platform doesn't support either of those features Hikvision or not. I do know that not all Hikvision cameras had recording to NAS and especially Smart Events because that was a slight premium feature. Also highly possible that the camera hardware may not be powerful enough to handle smart events without causing noticeable performance issues.

I seem to recall that there is a config file on the camera itself that is not a part of the firmware that lists the hardware capabilities and determines what features are shown. Also there is a way to enable SSH with the SDK but in newer firmware it is locked down so may not be useful. Default SSH root password is "hiklinux". I would love to explore this more if someone that is linux savvy can get past the locked down SSH somehow and access the core.
 
Is there a known Hikvision firmware compatible with the N48PAW?

Thanks for any insight!

Not really sure but if there is it would be here or here either under NVR or DVR
Since I don't have a NVR or DVR I wouldn't know how to figure out which one it would be, but it looks like they follow a similar platform naming convention NVR_K51 (K51 being the platform)
 
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What about the G5 platform. Does it have those features that are lacking in E7?
The firmware has the capability to provide all features available across the model ranges - but only activates those that the manufacturer has decided the specific model should exhibit, despite the same hardware.
Example :