Foscam software nightmare

[Little Tlejunior]

:sad2:Im just using the basic program that came with the camera however now when I put the IP address in IE, only get a gray screen. It used to look like this. Any ideas would happened?

 

[fenderman]

:sad2:Im just using the basic program that came with the camera however now when I put the IP address in IE, only get a gray screen. It used to look like this. Any ideas would happened?

Best bet is to return the camera...there are much better options than foscam...

 

[Little Tlejunior]

Out of warranty not an option

 

[fenderman]

Out of warranty not an option

why do you need the foscam software?

 

[Little Tlejunior]

I guess I don't, I just need software to view my cameras, and that software was fairly simple and free, I really can't say playing more money for software than what I paid for the cameras

 

[fenderman]

I guess I don't, I just need software to view my cameras, and that software was fairly simple and free, I really can't say playing more money for software than what I paid for the cameras

Try a different browser...

 

[Little Tlejunior]

Only works with Internet explorer, works on desktop but not laptop, I'm not sure what happened.

 

[Kitsap]

I bought two Foscam wireless cameras as cannon fodder for my learning curve. Both are still working fine. There are some subtleties associated with viewing the cameras for the first time. Assume the computers you are using to view the cameras are on the private side of your LAN. Also the first connection for setup needs to be made via an Ethernet cable and not via Wi-Fi. I do not use IE so can only give you the details with Firefox. They should transfer fairly well.

In the browser address bar type in the IP address of your camera and attempt to log in. The first time the camera will respond that there is no plugin installed for the browser and you have to download and install the plugin. The plugin is installed from an executable file you actually download from the camera. Download and install the plugin then restart your browser program. Again type in the address and attempt to login. In Firefox the browser asks you if you want to allow access via the plugin. Say yes and then yes to the second question where it asks if you want to remember the answer. Again restart your browser and type in IP the address of your camera and it should let you login and see a picture and go to settings where you configure your wireless network information (network login name and password).

You will have to install the plugin for each computer and answer the access questions for each login account on the computer.

Once you get past the initial setup you can bookmark the IP address and all it will ask you for is your camera login name and password.

 

[Little Tlejunior]

I did all that over a year ago, everything was working fine. Something must have happened in Internet explorer because everything works fine on my desk top but on my laptop when I login to the IP address I only get an Gray screen, the login box does not show up.

 

[Kitsap]

Three suggestions:
1. Uninstall and reinstall the plugin
2. Clear the DNS cache on the computer
3. Clear the browser cache on the computer
4. If you have not done so, reboot the camera

 

[Little Tlejunior]

I did all of your of suggestions and now I receive IP address incorrect, not sure how to add plugin back in

 

[Kitsap]

To fully uninstall the web plugin go to Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Programs and Features and uninstall IPCWebComponents.
Within IE you are on your own. In Firefox there is a way to uninstall the plugins. Then restart your computer. The first time you try to login to the camera it will indicate the plugin is not found and provide you a link to download the executable file to install. Be sure you have shut down IE before you uninstall or reinstall the plugin.

From the screen shot of the camera tool it looks like you are using the correct IP address. I use different ports for each camera but it should not make any difference. Are your cameras hard wired or are you using wireless?

How long has it been since you shut down power off for everything, computer, cameras, and router? When you are making changes a full cold restart is advisable after a change is made. Are both cameras still visible from the desktop computer?

My next suggestion is to install a different web browser, such as Firefox, and reinstall the plug in then try to access the camera.

Have you updated the firmware on either of the cameras? Not suggesting you do so, just asking if you have done so.
Go to the computer where you can successfully access each camera. Look at the Device Information section under Settings -> Status. On each camera the bottom three lines should match. See attachments.

 

[EyePeeKamz]

I did all that over a year ago, everything was working fine. Something must have happened in Internet explorer because everything works fine on my desk top but on my laptop when I login to the IP address I only get an Gray screen, the login box does not show up.

After a very long and painstaking investigation, I've found the answer to your problem. It took blood, sweat, tears and many sleepless nights filled with flow charts and venn diagrams. Post-it notes and empty energy drink cans strewn about. I hate to tell you this but your cameras upgraded your PC to windows 10 when you weren't looking. I know it might sound unbelievable since Windows 7 and 10 are 100% identical in their appearance, but there are a couple of very subtle differences between your screenshots in posts 1 and 11 that could never be seen by the untrained eye. Unfortunately the 1 and only way to fix this is to burn your house down. shitsuxman

 

[Q™]

...Unfortunately the 1 and only way to fix this is to burn your house down. shitsuxman

Surely...there must be another way.

 

[GFM]

I have several foscam and other cams as well, I always set the cameras to DHCP and set up the router to serve out the IP addresses to each mac, and set up a port (forward) for each camera IP address. I don't have problems connecting unless the camera locks up or loses it's power supply etc..
Also I found internet exploder doesn't always work, and windoze updates can really mess it up. I use Mozilla FireFox here as well, no problems so far.

Things I would try if not a browser issue:

-bring the camera in and try to connect direct with ethernet through your router/switch.
-do a complete reset on the camera (ethernet)
-upgrade the firmware or re-load the latest. Follow instructions exactly!!
-re-program (do not use a backup file in case it was corrupted)

Could be as simple as a bad wifi path (poor signal)...

 

[rotorwash]

Browsers are moving away from plugins and with each version upgrade of the browser, they move further and further away from it. The last hold-outs are IE and Firefox. It's why browsers like Chrome don't work. Eventually plug-ins will be completely phased out and depricated. At work, we have to deal with browsers and technologies that are served up through them. Examples are RDP clients, SSL VPN, etc. Each time a browser is upgraded, it's a gamble whether or not the plug-in will work. If you are pulling the plugin down from the camera and it's firmware has not been updated in a long time, the issue may be the browser does not support or is having trouble with the old plug-in. I looked on Foscam's website and noticed they have a download for "all browser plugins/addons" :http://foscam.us/downloads/FoscamWebComponents.zip. Have you tried downloading this?

 

[mcorzine]

At one of my sites I occasionally get the "grey IE screen" you mentioned in the first post. I have this problem when the cameras are on a slow network or have a poor wireless connection. When the cameras are within good range or plugged in I never have this issue.

Now that you have reset the camera my assumption is that it dropped off the network (or is taking too long to respond to the HTTP request). Try doing a simple ping test to the camera's IP address. With no video streaming you should be <10ms returns. I'm guessing you will either get timeouts or >1000ms returns which are both unacceptable. At 5 sites I have 17 Foscam, Easy-N, and Zmodo cameras installed. Obviously with this size of install base I'm not using IE to view the cameras however I have used IE to set everyone of them up.

Just a tip since you are only using the browser to view the cameras. Limit the number of devices streaming to each camera, in other words... If you're not at your desktop viewing the cameras, close that browser so that when you open up the camera feed on your laptop you can have the full bandwidth and capacity of the camera.