Downgrading (de-bricking) Hikvision 96xx firmware

[ITD]

I've already done some research on this forum and found a thread on how to do it with the Hikvision TFTP server.

https://www.ipcamtalk.com/showthread.php/692-What-is-the-de-bricking-process-for-HIKVision-camera-and-NVR-firmware-updates

Current setup on entire system. 118 Hikvision IP cameras. Four 9664NI-XT Hikvision NVRs. Two of the NVRs have an older firmware (3.1.2) and two NVRs have the newest firmware (3.3.5). 30 cameras on each NVR. With the two older NVRs, all cameras show in live view just fine with no bitrate issues. With the two newer NVRs, several cameras show a horrible picture with a low bitrate problem and several show "No Resource". When going into the camera settings of said cameras, the bitrate is dropped to around 512 or 1000. I change the bitrate back to constant 4000, yet when I go back to the settings a few minutes later, the bitrate has dropped again.

I was in contact with an engineer and tech from Hikvision and they gave me the download for the TFTP server and Putty. I have no idea how to use Putty so I tried the TFTP server on my own. This is what I keep getting when the file tries to upload.



In that directory, there is no such thing as econt_Vision, like it's trying to upload a random file, that's not the digicap file. I've tried on a different PC, and does the exact same thing.

Can anyone shed some light on this for me?

 

[ITD]

admins could you move this to firmware forum

 

[alastairstevenson]

I'd speculate, perhaps wrongly, that you have used 'Option' to specify the download folder, and it's stripped the trailing backslash off the path. This I believe is a bug.
If so - best to simply leave the tftp server settings as-is, and have the digicap.dav file (if that's what the specific NVR requires) in the same folder as the tftpserve.exe file.

*edit*

they gave me the download for the TFTP server

Out of curiosity, was this on a public Hikvision website?
Hikvision appear to have removed the previous download links for the tftp updater off their sites some weeks ago.

 

[FastCamMan]

Hello ITD,


Thanks for the post. I have experienced a similar problem. I don't think it has anything to do with your TFTP path. There was a limited batch of Hikvision NVRs that for whatever reason will not accept a boottime TFTP update UNLESS the NVR is truely without a valid firmware image (ie really bricked).


In my experience if the NVR tftp boot process is trying to look for econt_Vision-AV2000 instead of the normal digicap file that normally means the NVR already has a valid image and will not take a TFTP boottime update. Even renaming the digicap file to econt_Vision-AV2000 does not resolve the problem.


You will need to update the NVR firmware via the USB port or web interface. I have seen multiple times now where people think the NVR is bricked but only to find out it is on the network with some unexpected IP address. In these cases I suggest using the console mouse and monitor for access or SADP to find it's ip address on your subnet.


I have tried to get an answer out of Hikvision as to why this happens and they are of no help other than one engineer telling me that he believed it was a bi-product of additional security that was introduced at some point for the NVR firmware. In the same sentance he said that for these units that do experience this issue, and that the customer has forgot the password, the only way to reset the unit and password would be through the Hikvision support (using the password reset key and tool). As a side note we have experienced numerous issues downgrading from 3.4.x and 3.3.x versions of firmware. The config often becomes corrupted and you have to use the console login name - use the 1st or 2nd name in the pulldown (which is a bunch of jibberish) and a null password to get into the unit and factory default it to get back to clean config.


This tftp issue has happened to me on a handful of U.S. sourced (via ADI) DS-7716NI-SP/16 but I have also had a number of DS-7716NI-SP units that do NOT exhibit this issue from the factory. Lastly, it's interesting to note that back in the early 2000's Hikvision OEM an inexpensive NVR unit for Arecont Vision, another Camera manufacture, that was called the AV2000. Perhaps just a coincidence but maybe not. I did choose to RMA exchange a DS-7716NI-SP/16 that was under warranty with this problem and Hikvision sent us a brand new DS-7716NI-SP/16 that did not have the issue so I assume it is bootloader hardware related.


FYI: There is another post by "maxideus" from early 2015 in the following thread: https://www.ipcamtalk.com/archive/index.php/t-692.html

Good luck!

 

[toadley]

As a side note we have experienced numerous issues downgrading from 3.4.x and 3.3.x versions of firmware. The config often becomes corrupted and you have to use the console login name - use the 1st or 2nd name in the pulldown (which is a bunch of jibberish) and a null password to get into the unit and factory default it to get back to clean config.

Your side note just saved my day!!!

I've updated my 7608NI-E2 to 3.4.2 (which incidentally has improved things considerably!) but following the upgrade, it said reboot failed. Errrr.... panic. I then managed to force it to reboot myself, and when it re-openned, the user named had changed from admin to gobbley dook. I could login in with an empty password and then weirdly getting through the other bits of the menu, like failing to change the password but couldn't change that user. I was looking into using TFTP to restore firmware, I'd already emailed HikVision and called the shop I bought it from who told me I must have installed the wrong firmare so I was panicking more and then your Factory Default trick sorted everything. It's all now running fine, alerts have started working, remote viewing of recordings now works too, happy days!!

Thanks again!