Camera's not showing up at all

[Iosdev41]

Hi all, we just had some electrician/security people come and setup x4 Hikvision Cameras and a NVR, NVR-216MH-C/16P

They had setup the NVR but hadn't given us the password, so I had to contact Hikvision to get the password reset. Now we are having another issue, where we cannot see the live view of any of the cameras at all. However when we navigate to the IP address of the NVR, Login navigate to Picture we can see events up until a certain time today and it stops. If we go to playback it says playback failed. When I go to configuration then Image > Select Camera there are no cameras. On the NVR 3 out of 4 cameras have network activity. I was wondering if someone could help.

I've already done an IP scan and none of the cameras show up in the IP scan on my local network. These electricians were difficult to deal with and weren't any help at all.

 

[Flintstone61]

fucking wankers.

 

[Flintstone61]

@alastairstevenson

 

[Flintstone61]

If the cameras are plugged into the NVR, they will not be on your local network. they will be on an internal camera network of the NVR with a different IP range.
You might need to thru more of the setup routine to get all 4 cameras online.
SOme NVR's have an " add" or "auto detect" cameras. usually the cameras are assigned the same password as the admin password of the NVR.
you may need to go in and enter your new password on each channel( camera) from a menu that lets you enter/edit a password.
if they managed to setup the cameras at all, they might be stuck on the old pass word until you unplug the cameras from the back of the NVR and reboot them.

 

[Iosdev41]

fucking wankers.

You think?

If the cameras are plugged into the NVR, they will not be on your local network. they will be on an internal camera network of the NVR with a different IP range.
You might need to thru more of the setup routine to get all 4 cameras online.
SOme NVR's have an " add" or "auto detect" cameras. usually the cameras are assigned the same password as the admin password of the NVR.
you may need to go in and enter your new password on each channel( camera) from a menu that lets you enter/edit a password.
if they managed to setup the cameras at all, they might be stuck on the old pass word until you unplug the cameras from the back of the NVR and reboot them.

Thanks, I've tried updating the password on one of the cameras. However, it says Offline(Network abnormal). I did attempt earlier, to try and change the IP address to 192.168.0.xxx which is the ip range I want them in and is the same IP range the NVR is in.

I've set them to manual and set the ip address, the password on 3 of them have remained the same the whole time. (This is D2, D3, D4)
At the time of writing this message, D4 suddenly cmae online, the IP Camera Address is 192.168.254.4 - protocol HIKVISION, Management port 8000, chanell 1, username admin, password ??, Transfer protocol Auto, Adding method Manual - All other cameras D1, D2, D3, D4 are setup the same except the ip address at the end is different e.g 192.168.254.1 192.168.254.2 etc. But with D4 now online, I cannot see a live view at all it just says live view failed. D1 is saying Offline(Network Abnormal), D2 is set to plug n play (Offline IP Camera Doesn't exist, also no link lights on nvr for this one), D3 is Offline Network Abnormal.

After changing D1 from manual to plug n play then back to manual again, it now comes up Offline(User name or password error)

I'm really stuck at what to do and where to go etc.

 

[Flintstone61]

There are more qualified Hikvision NVR guys than me on the forum. I’m hoping someone with knowledge of how to surf the HIK menus can direct you to a solution.
From what I understand about IP addressing, and security, we don’t want the cameras on the LAN of the home or business network.
We want the Hikvisions internal POE switch to administer IP addresses (Plug n Play) from its default IP addressing scheme.

 

[Flintstone61]

Eventually you will be able to reach the cameras user interface from a Link within the NVR. At least that’s how my Dahua type NVR’s let you into the cam to change things like fps, gain etc…

 

[Flintstone61]

These NVR’s don’t zip along like robust PC’s Sometimes changes take a min or two to reflect the change. Often, restarts will sort out messages like Offline Network Abnormal or offline user pass error.
The fuckeroo you went thru initially was because of the original Admin password being stuck in the camera. But manually assigning IP’s in the range of your Local Home/business could cause a conflict.
If in fact the internal NVR switch has a menu that toggle that allows that access.

 

[alastairstevenson]

They had setup the NVR but hadn't given us the password, so I had to contact Hikvision to get the password reset.

By doing this, you have effectively 'orphaned' the cameras as the NVR is no longer configured with the camera passwords.
The original passwords for the cameras would have been either the same as the NVR password, or be the camera-specific password that the later NVR firmware has the facility to be configured with. Check the NVR web GUI to see if that facility exists, if so there should be a tickbox to 'show camera password'.

Thanks, I've tried updating the password on one of the cameras.

By this do you mean 'updating the password that the NVR should use to connect to the camera' ?
If so - that isn't the actual camera password, it's the password the NVR tries to use on the camera.

I did attempt earlier, to try and change the IP address to 192.168.0.xxx which is the ip range I want them in and is the same IP range the NVR is in.

That would be an invalid network configuration for the NVR.
For a Hikvision NVR with PoE ports, the PoE ports are on a separate and different network and IP address range than the range that the NVR LAN port is configured to use.
By default, it is 192.168.254.x where x starts at 2 and works up for each channel. The NVR PoE interface will be on 192.168.254.1

At the time of writing this message, D4 suddenly cmae online,

Curious. To do this, the NVR needs to be able to use the actual camera password, and have it configured for use in the channel the camera is connected to.
I can't explain that, assuming the camera hadn't been reset to 'inactive' and the channel in Plug&Play mode, or the new NVR password matches the unknown original.

Suggestion -
Perhaps the camera IP addresses are now no longer aligned with the per-channel addresses the NVR expects to find them on.
If you connect the PC to an unused NVR PoE port, SADP will list all the devices, the cameras and NVR, with their IP addresses.
By just having one camera connected at a time, you can determine the individual camera IP address, and then configure the corresponding NVR channel to match.
That leaves the problem of knowing what the camera admin passwords are.
If you use the browser to connect to a camera IP address as shown by SADP, you could try to log in with the password that appears to work for D4, presumably what you set in the channel when it was in Manual as opposed to Plug&Ply mode.
edit But I forgot to mention that to do this you'd need to set the PC IP address to be in the same range as the NVR PoE ports, such as 192.168.254.100

 

[johnfitz]

Hi @losdev41 ...

They had setup the NVR but hadn't given us the password, so I had to contact Hikvision to get the password reset.

The NVR has a "channel default password" separate from the NVR admin password that Hikvision reset for you... here's where it's set on my NVR:




That's the admin password set for each camera that was added to the NVR using plug and play... you don't have that password (it's probably the same as the original NVR password you were not provided) ... I'm not sure, but I think ultimately you will have to do what @Flintstone61 suggested...

if they managed to setup the cameras at all, they might be stuck on the old pass word until you unplug the cameras from the back of the NVR and reboot them.

Which means you are starting almost from scratch... I wouldn't know of any other way to get around the camera password situation, but someone here may have an easier/better way... normally you need the old password to set a new password (or hard reset and start over) ...

Thanks, I've tried updating the password on one of the cameras.

So, do don't think you were actually updating the password... you were providing a password that was not the correct camera password.

However, it says Offline(Network abnormal). I did attempt earlier, to try and change the IP address to 192.168.0.xxx which is the ip range I want them in and is the same IP range the NVR is in.

Note that in my screenshot above my cameras have IP addresses in the 192.168.254.xxx range... it's no coincidence... that is the default LAN segment Hikvision NVR's use for PoE connected cameras... if you changed any of the camera IP addresses, as a start, you should try changing them back...

 

[Flintstone61]

Somedays I feel like an Orphaned Camera.

 

[Flintstone61]

 

[johnfitz]

Check the NVR web GUI to see if that facility exists, if so there should be a tickbox to 'show camera password'.

That would make things make things easier, but not available on mine (web GUI or console):



I don't see a way to see the existing password, just the means to change it

 

[Iosdev41]

By doing this, you have effectively 'orphaned' the cameras as the NVR is no longer configured with the camera passwords.
The original passwords for the cameras would have been either the same as the NVR password, or be the camera-specific password that the later NVR firmware has the facility to be configured with. Check the NVR web GUI to see if that facility exists, if so there should be a tickbox to 'show camera password'.


By this do you mean 'updating the password that the NVR should use to connect to the camera' ?
If so - that isn't the actual camera password, it's the password the NVR tries to use on the camera.


That would be an invalid network configuration for the NVR.
For a Hikvision NVR with PoE ports, the PoE ports are on a separate and different network and IP address range than the range that the NVR LAN port is configured to use.
By default, it is 192.168.254.x where x starts at 2 and works up for each channel. The NVR PoE interface will be on 192.168.254.1


Curious. To do this, the NVR needs to be able to use the actual camera password, and have it configured for use in the channel the camera is connected to.
I can't explain that, assuming the camera hadn't been reset to 'inactive' and the channel in Plug&Play mode, or the new NVR password matches the unknown original.

Suggestion -
Perhaps the camera IP addresses are now no longer aligned with the per-channel addresses the NVR expects to find them on.
If you connect the PC to an unused NVR PoE port, SADP will list all the devices, the cameras and NVR, with their IP addresses.
By just having one camera connected at a time, you can determine the individual camera IP address, and then configure the corresponding NVR channel to match.
That leaves the problem of knowing what the camera admin passwords are.
If you use the browser to connect to a camera IP address as shown by SADP, you could try to log in with the password that appears to work for D4, presumably what you set in the channel when it was in Manual as opposed to Plug&Ply mode.

Thanks, firstly. I am not sure what the password is in D4, I had it unchanged and hadn't typed it in. I can't find any button that says show password for the camera. I tried plugging my laptop into the nvr poe port and SADP only showed the nvr, and 2 / 4 cameras (I would expect 3/4 since the 4th one doesn't even have link lights). D1-D3 all have this configuration

Spoiler

(D1 is 192.168.254.1 D2, D3, D4 etc) Now, this is the same configuration for D4 which currently shows online, yet I can't get a live feed out of it

Spoiler

As far as I can remember, I had only tinkered with changing D1's password from 12345 and the NVR's current admin password.

So you're suggesting, in the network tab for the NVR, keep it what it's at (Currently now DHCP)

Spoiler

and then have the cameras use the IP addresses that I've already attached.

By this do you mean 'updating the password that the NVR should use to connect to the camera' ?
If so - that isn't the actual camera password, it's the password the NVR tries to use on the camera.

Yeah I added the NVR's password and then 12345 on D1, but now it doesn't seem to like that.

 

[Iosdev41]

View attachment 209846

The irony of this comment is... I actually am living in Australia

 

[Iosdev41]

Hi @losdev41 ...



The NVR has a "channel default password" separate from the NVR admin password that Hikvision reset for you... here's where it's set on my NVR:

View attachment 209837


That's the admin password set for each camera that was added to the NVR using plug and play... you don't have that password (it's probably the same as the original NVR password you were not provided) ... I'm not sure, but I think ultimately you will have to do what @Flintstone61 suggested...



Which means you are starting almost from scratch... I wouldn't know of any other way to get around the camera password situation, but someone here may have an easier/better way... normally you need the old password to set a new password (or hard reset and start over) ...



So, do don't think you were actually updating the password... you were providing a password that was not the correct camera password.



Note that in my screenshot above my cameras have IP addresses in the 192.168.254.xxx range... it's no coincidence... that is the default LAN segment Hikvision NVR's use for PoE connected cameras... if you changed any of the camera IP addresses, as a start, you should try changing them back...

I'm not sure if I have that first option you're suggesting... Different UI etc.

Spoiler

I've changed the IP addresses of the camera's back to their original ones. Thanks. Now, I'm not too sure of what cameras I have, but I'm not sure how to unscrew them from their base to find a reset hole or where the ethernet cable plugs into them to reset. Plus one is up really tall..

This is the set I had got (as mentioned by on the quote) Link to a page containing the kit mentioned on our quote.

Spoiler

 

[Iosdev41]

Might I also add again, I still can't see the Live View of D4 (Camera 01) apparently.

 

[johnfitz]

Might I also add again, I still can't see the Live View of D4 (Camera 01) apparently.

It does look like that "Camera 01" is online... did you try clicking/double clicking on it? ... it may not be selected to play? Or drag it into the play window?

 

[johnfitz]

what is the spoiler, I feel like I'm missing something...

 

[johnfitz]

before double click...



after double click on "Back PTZ":