DMSS and it's bugs - it drives me crazy!

[nelgnl]

Ok guys, I'm happy with the quality of the Dahua cams and recorders... but the quality of the official DMSS app is driving me crazy. It is full of bugs and took me already a lot of time. Had some issues before on iPhone and this is only solved by going in account mode, or else I don't have all notifications. Now the next issues happened and I decided to start this thread.

I'll make a list of issues I found out. Maybe you guys know a solution or work-a-round or know a way how to contact the developers of DMSS directly. I have two different set-ups with exactly the same problems.

Setup 1	Setup 2
NVR4108-8P-4KS2 SD1A203T-GN SD22404T-GN (2x)	IPC-HDBW5442R-ASE-NI (2x) SD1A404XB-GNR NVR5208-8P-4KS2E

Issue 1: (Account mode) PTZ only in small steps and no support for PTZ Presets


When I didn't use account mode I could keep the PTZ moving by holding that 'joystick' in one direction. Now in account mode even when I keep holding it in one direction it only does one step. I can make that PTZ step a bit bigger by changing it on the camera, but it doesn't keep turning as long as I hold that joystick (see blue circle).

Also in account mode PTZ presets are not available (see red circle). When I press that flag it says 'Device not supported' (in image the dutch sentence). When I didn't use account mode it all worked and I could select a PTZ.

Happens on Android en iOs.














Issue 2: (Account mode) Changing play speed and next frame buttons not active

While I watch everything that is recorded I normally could change play speed up to 8x. I also could could watch frame by frame (see green circle). Now in account mode these buttons are not active.

Happens on Android en iOs.











Issue 3: (Account mode) DMSS crashing when selecting Smart Motion Detection Human

On iPhone filtering recordings for Smart Motion Detection (Human), after clicking OK, app is crashing. Restart, new install etc doesn't help. At Android working great.














Issue 4: DMSS for iPhone switchting back to substream

On iPhone I selected that all the camera's start live view in HD (Main stream). DMSS remembers this as long as you don't completely close the app. When you close the app the hard way (double click fingerprint reader, swipe DMSS up to close) OR after rebooting iPhone it starts again in live view with SD (Sub stream). Very nerving.

Of course I tried to change the setting by clicking SD or HD. Also tried it that way at stream settings and click saved. Still won't help. Seems like DMSS is not saving this setting in a file.

Only happening on iPhone and not Android. There it all works fine. Account or non-account mode no difference.

Issue 5: Play back only some hours, on NVR everything available (account mode)
New bug on Android version since some days. Playback is not working right. In DMSS I'm only able to playback some hours per day. Happens on both systems. When I login to the NVR by a browser I can playback all the 24 hours. So NVR is working fine, but app not. I already tried deleting cache from app, deleted and reinstalled the app. Doesn't solve it. Happens only in account mode.

On DMSS (ending at red circle):
View attachment 99292

On NVR Webinterface (full green bar, able to playback every moment that day):
View attachment 99293

------------

This are my first 5 enormous nerving issues, after I had to switch to account mode cause else iPhone is not getting IVS and SMD notifications. Can somebody help me in the right direction?

iPhone IOS 14.7.1, Android 11. Both DMSS apps in last version.

Both setups already completely factory reset. One completely with new firmware, other one not. Doesnt make any difference.

Please help!

(When there is a solution Ill update this post)

 

[nelgnl]

Post #2 Reserved for solutions

 

[user8963]

Dahua App/Smartpss does not support ivs/smd. They made a modding to get notifications somehow working, but it doesnt. This is not new and no one cares on dahua. Hikvision cares a bit more because distributors seems to push them to do better.

Hikvision app has somehow the same problems.. some cams support some functions, other nothing or a few... But at least they try to fix things... and if push notifications does not work they fix it in a days or 1-2 weeks.. so there is a hikvision dev team..

I dont understand it either. Its china.. you find app devs everywhere for cheap. Also if you want it cheaper, you can just give the job to india..

Hard to say, but Reolink app works better than dahua/hik crap. I have no idea why, but they want to support only internet explorer. this will give many problems for dahua and hik when windows 11 is released... because there will be no internet explorer...

Again: did you try gdmss plus on android ? In my opinion it is a lot better, but ivs/smd does not work either.

 

[nelgnl]

Dahua App/Smartpss does not support ivs/smd. They made a modding to get notifications somehow working, but it doesnt. This is not new and no one cares on dahua. Hikvision cares a bit more because distributors seems to push them to do better.

At least in account mode SMD/IVS notifications work for iPhone. In non-account mode it also works on Android.

Hikvision app has somehow the same problems.. some cams support some functions, other nothing or a few... But at least they try to fix things... and if push notifications does not work they fix it in a days or 1-2 weeks.. so there is a hikvision dev team..

I dont understand it either. Its china.. you find app devs everywhere for cheap. Also if you want it cheaper, you can just give the job to india..

Yeah I'm wondering too. But they do develop, I see some updates the last months for iOs. Seems like they don't test their update.

Hard to say, but Reolink app works better than dahua/hik crap. I have no idea why, but they want to support only internet explorer. this will give many problems for dahua and hik when windows 11 is released... because there will be no internet explorer...

Does Reolink app work for Dahua devices? I tried by adding them but it said it's not a valid device.

Again: did you try gdmss plus on android ? In my opinion it is a lot better, but ivs/smd does not work either.

I did try gDMSS. Same problems as described above with DMSS. Even no option to select SMD notifcations.

I also tried Imou Life app. Also no full functional support.

Anyone managed it to contact dev team directly? Or am I the only one experiencing these bugs?

 

[user8963]

I also tried Imou Life app

....
account mode

I suggest you do read on forum here. There are good reasons to not use account mode/imou life.
Imou Life is a 100% spy app. It is not possible to use it without account mode AND the "more" important... you cannot add any ip device, you have to use their p2p cloud... just look up the concerns about accountmode/p2p cloud...

From reading what you wrote... it seems that you are using p2p cloud... that may also the reason why PTZ Step does not work correctly and fast playback. Everything goes somehow through their cloud ... i think they are using aws... so amazon has your data, us government has your data (cloud act) and china government has your data too.. i dont know if you want that......................................

in 2018 gdmss/idmss worked fine without p2p and account mode..
back then you could use push notifications without p2p/account ... you could also track down the push service in traffic, accept it in firewall, block everything else and use vpn with push service.

SMD/IVS notifications

i tested it in 2018 and it doesnt work with ios/android app. dahua knows that for years and do nothing to fix it.
I dont need notifications because i dont care, ... playback would be more important. why do i need a notification when i cannot search for any smd/ivs on playback ?

Does Reolink app work for Dahua devices?

no. Reolink app only works with reolink cameras.
I just wanted to say that even Reolink is able to have a app which works and fix the bugs which were found.

Anyone managed it to contact dev team directly? Or am I the only one experiencing these bugs?

andy can contact them for sure... but there will be no changes in my opinion. even if they try to fix, there will be 10 new problems...

its not only "bugs"... dahua software is not user-friendly and looks like the cheapest DIY-homedepot quality. for me it would be acceptable if it works, but it doesnt !

just try their intercom system... its all made "best china flavour"... i dont understand why they dont speak with the enduser or make surveys... why the hell is dahua thinking that their china flavour is the flavour the customer want?

there are so many translation errors which is even more stupid. europe is full of exchange students from china. there are languages courses in china ... what is the cost for having a good translation in the user interface ? 50USD ? 100 USD ? they have distributors in any european country... they are mostly native speaking... but it seems that they dont test the products they sell.. this is so stupid.

____

All in all.. accept or dont use it. there will be no fast solutions. most here are US and using blueiris or no app... many people here just want the best hardware... for a good reason
i know that european ppl want their surveillance system for just watching their homes, thats why reolink is selling so good in europe. they have a userfriendly setup and userfriendly interface.

not sure how resellers in europe explain the shitty dahua apps.. but it seems no one cares... you pay 300-500€ / cam here in europe for dahua...
lol if i paid this i would sue the installer for not telling me before... because they always claim that there is an app.........

 

[nelgnl]

You're right about account mode. I prefer to not use it, but only account mode is having support for IVS and SMD notifications. Also only in account mode I can filter SMD on my timeline. On non-account mode no notifications for iPhone so I have to use account mode. I know about the privacy issues...

The translation is indeed not the best, but that's not bugging me. I just want a fully functional system. I'm just having hope that we can solve this as a community together. @EMPIRETECANDY candy, can you help addressing to the develop team?

I looked for BlueIris too, but this means again buying another system. DMSS should just work!

 

[nelgnl]

Sent the bugs to Andy, he will contact Dahua for me If other people experience these bugs too, please post in this topic. Thank you.

 

[nelgnl]

New bug on Android version since some days. Playback is not working right. In DMSS I'm only able to playback some hours per day. Happens on both systems. When I login to the NVR by a browser I can playback all the 24 hours. So NVR is working fine, but app not. I already tried deleting cache from app, deleted and reinstalled the app. Doesn't solve it. Ony happens in account mode.

Anyone know this problem and a possible solutions? Or is this another unsolved bug?

On DMSS (ending at red circle):


On NVR Webinterface (full green bar, able to playback every moment that day):

 

[user8963]

stop using account/cloud mode... this must be related ... i can see full day of local network device on dmss

 

[nelgnl]

stop using account/cloud mode... this must be related ... i can see full day of local network device on dmss

Nice work-a-round that works for me. But it's still a bug in account mode that should be solved by Dahua I guess That's why I posted here.

But, I just edited my post to make clear it only happens in account mode.

 

[user8963]

its not a bug.
you have to understand cloud/account mode.. data is somehow tunneled through amazon/china server.
this is too much data for the servers if anyone would do that, the servers would colapse.
on old gdmss you can choose hours which you want to load

there is a reason why there is a big warning about using this... you share your data

 

[nelgnl]

I know how cloud-mode works, worked in IT before I guess it's not Dahua's sense to only support playback of recordings in the morning, even when using account mode. Mainly while playback worked perfectly last week, even in account mode. So that's why I think it should be a bug and not a feature...

 

[user8963]

Dahua want to sell devices, not hosting servers and fixing bugs for already sold devices
Its the same thing that push notifications on dahua intercom devices stops working randomly.
its backend related, not with app. Many other China intercom devices are using alibaba servers for SIP... all are using the same, so it colapses from time to time and you cannot get a call.

maybe this is all what you can get on a high server load... just wait a bit,.. you cannot expect that it is working 24/7 LOL

 

[nelgnl]

I guess I'll start my own business. Premium Dahua cloud servers...

 

[user8963]

I guess I'll start my own business. Premium Dahua cloud servers...

according to some news pages germany started now a war against these companies... they want to include software updates/bug fixes in warranty law.... if you dont get updates/fixes from your seller you can just return it and get your money back starts in 2022...

 

[just some dude]

I am considering purchasing the NVR5208-8P-4KS2E from EMPIRETECH, however, I cannot deal with the multiple bugs mentioned. This system will be for my In-Laws, it has to just work, no problems (they are I phone users). Are there alternate NVRs that play well with IPC-T5442T-ZE cameras? Ipersonally have Blue Iris but was not really interested in another PC to administer at the In-Laws.

 

[awonson]

I updated DMSS to version 1.94.000 Build 2021.08.21 and have lost IVS push notifications from my NVR. It use to work without an account on the previous version. So to test, I created an account, but it still does not work. However, I subscribed to alarms from my cameras and I am getting the IVS notifications from my cameras - though I cannot view the video when I click on the notification. When the IVS were working from my NVR subscription in the DMSS app, I could click on the notification and then view the video of the event. I am not using P2P and all inbound ports are blocked, all Dahua domains associated with P2P are blocked in PiHole and only allow outbound ports for email and notifications. I use OpenVPN to access the cameras. Perhaps something on the NVR firmware requires updating since the cameras notifications are working or as @user8963 says above, a backend issue? I am using a DH-NVR4108-P-4KS2 with the latest firmware (13/07/2021).

Anyway, here's an intersting issue I have found since I created an account in DMSS in this new version of DMSS (version 1.94.000 Build 2021.08.21). The issue was not in the previous version. In the app, when I click on "Device Details" for my DH-HDW5442T-ZE (firmware version 2.840.0000000.3 release 31-07-2021), I get the first screen below. Then I click on "Other Parameters" and I see an entry for "Solar Power System". When I click on that, I get the third screen below where all the data is set to zeroes. When I click the cog wheel in the third picture, I get the fourth image below. These screens for a solar power system still appear when I log out of the DMSS account under parameters for my HDW5442T-ZE.

@EMPIRETECANDY, have you seen this bug in DMSS iOS app? Has anyone else?



Edit: Took out the MAC address for the "solar power system" as it matches my camera.

 

[mindtrix]

I updated DMSS to version 1.94.000 Build 2021.08.21 and have lost IVS push notifications from my NVR. It use to work without an account on the previous version. So to test, I created an account, but it still does not work. However, I subscribed to alarms from my cameras and I am getting the IVS notifications from my cameras - though I cannot view the video when I click on the notification. When the IVS were working from my NVR subscription in the DMSS app, I could click on the notification and then view the video of the event. I am not using P2P and all inbound ports are blocked, all Dahua domains associated with P2P are blocked in PiHole and only allow outbound ports for email and notifications. I use OpenVPN to access the cameras. Perhaps something on the NVR firmware requires updating since the cameras notifications are working or as @user8963 says above, a backend issue? I am using a DH-NVR4108-P-4KS2 with the latest firmware (13/07/2021).

Anyway, here's an intersting issue I have found since I created an account in DMSS in this new version of DMSS (version 1.94.000 Build 2021.08.21). The issue was not in the previous version. In the app, when I click on "Device Details" for my DH-HDW5442T-ZE (firmware version 2.840.0000000.3 release 31-07-2021), I get the first screen below. Then I click on "Other Parameters" and I see an entry for "Solar Power System". When I click on that, I get the third screen below where all the data is set to zeroes. When I click the cog wheel in the third picture, I get the fourth image below. These screens for a solar power system still appear when I log out of the DMSS account under parameters for my HDW5442T-ZE.

@EMPIRETECANDY, have you seen this bug in DMSS iOS app? Has anyone else?

I dont see anything like that in my DMSS app under those sub menus. Have you deleted the app and reinstalled it? DMSS is a piece of crap, TBH. It's full of bugs and half the features don't work correctly. You have to understand Chinenglish translations IE; if it says HIGH it means LOW and vice versa. "Operate succeed!" lol

 

[awonson]

@mindtrix , yes I have deleted and reinstalled DMSS.

 

[awonson]

Cleared the cache in the app and the solar power system does not appear when I have logged out.

Scratch that - just tested again. Logged out of the DMSS account and cleared the cache again. I click on device details and go to Other parameters, I can see the Solar Power System again. This is on Wifi. Took a walk outside, went to cellular and tried testing again and Solar Power System did not appear. The MAC address for the Solar Power System is actually the MAC of the camera. Very strange!