Moving Cameras from 8 port to 16 port NVR

[T@ter]

I have added 6 new cameras to the existing fleet of 8, so I needed a larger capacity NVR in order to display all the cameras on a single screen.. I was using the 7608NI and I bought a 7616NI to replace it. I set the same admin user and password on the new NVR and added the 6 new cameras without issue. When I try to plug in one of cameras previously attached to the 7608, I get username or password is wrong. The username and password is the same though. I then tried adding the camera manually typing in the password, I get the same message. All the previous cameras except one AXIS camera were new HIKs and added via plug and play to the 7608. They should have the same password as the 7608 NVR admin login, no? Is it really necessary to reset all 8 cameras to factory in order to add them to the new NVR? I hope I am missing something and it doesn't require something so ridiculous

Appreciate any input folks,

Tater

 

[alastairstevenson]

They should have the same password as the 7608 NVR admin login, no?

That's the default position, though there is an option in later firmware for a separate camera password to be used for 'Activation' under Plug&Play.

When I try to plug in one of cameras previously attached to the 7608, I get username or password is wrong.

On the assumption that the cameras were working OK on the previous NVR, and it is indeed a password problem, here is something to try:
On the old NVR VGA/HDMI interface, in the camera configuration page, there is a tickbox 'Show camera password'.
That should confirm if the NVR password was the one used to connect the problem cameras.

Also - if the firmware version of the problem cameras is 5.4.4 or earlier, the camera password can be extracted via the 'Hikvision backdoor vulnerability'.
Use this URL in the browser, given that the PC IP address is adjusted to match the address the cameras are using, usually 192.168.254.x -
http://<camera_IP_address>/System/configurationFile?auth=YWRtaW46MTEK
I can decrypt and decode the resulting file.

 

[alastairstevenson]

By the way - an assumption is that you know the original IP addresses of the cameras, and that you have matched them up with the IP address setting you have made of the channel of the new NVR that the cameras have been connected to.

 

[T@ter]

Thanks. I will check for the "show camera password" option. I don't recall ever seeing that one. I moved the camera from port 7 to port 7 for that very reason. This won't work for all of the cameras obviously but no. 7 worked so I tried it first. The camera shows as 254.8 on the old one. The edit window on the new NVR shows 254.8 on the new one. It really does seem like it genuinely doesn't like the password so I'm hoping I can find that reveal the camera password option! Thanks again for taking the time to help.

 

[T@ter]

I am unable to find the Show camera password option. I am logged into the NVR with a VGA screen attached. I am beginning to think that the password on the new NVR is not the same as the old one, although that was my intention when I set it up. I have been using the "connect the dot" method of logging in on the new one. It would be real nice to be able to verify the password on the new NVR is what I think it is.

 

[T@ter]

When I look at a camera on the old NVR under Camera Setup, they all show as Plug n Play except the Axis camera and they are all connected. Password says N/A. I move a camera to the new NVR and edit it under Camera Setup, set to Plug n Play,it gives the wrong username or password error. When set to Manual, I enter the password from the old NVR (if I understand correctly, this is the password the camera is looking for) and get the wrong username and password error. If I leave it set as manual, unplug it and return it the old NVR it connects fine and under Camera setup it now shows as manual and password as strong. If I return it to the new NVR, set it as Plug n Play, I get the username password error. I unplug it, return it to the old NVR and it once again shows as Plug n Play and password as N/A. This makes me think I have the correct password for the camera so why won't it let me add the camera to the new NVR with that password. Kinda baffled and the cameras are not at all easy to get to for manual resetting. I could access the cameras through the virtual port on the old NVR but if I reset it , won't it just pull the same credentials from the old NVR upon reboot and put me back where I started? If I move it to the new NVR first how can I reset the camera? Any suggestions how to proceed?

 

[alastairstevenson]

This makes me think I have the correct password for the camera so why won't it let me add the camera to the new NVR with that password.

It seems you have proven that the password is correct by those tests.

I could access the cameras through the virtual port on the old NVR but if I reset it , won't it just pull the same credentials from the old NVR upon reboot and put me back where I started?

I'd guess that is what would happen.

I'm wondering if there may be a restriction in the allowed characters that you are bumping in to between the two NVRs.
How about on an experimental basis changing a camera password to one with just alphanumerics (assuming it currently also has special characters) and see if that is accepted?

 

[T@ter]

There is a symbol for sure in the old NVR password and as far as I know (if I entered it correctly) the same password is on the new NVR as well. Are you suggesting that I log into one of the cameras attached to the old NVR via the virtual port, change the password to strictly alphanumeric, manually add it back to the NVR to prove the password is working and then move it to the new NVR and try adding it manually with the new alphanumeric password? Perhaps some difference in the way the symbol is represented/encrypted between the two? Thank you for the input. I've been scratchin' my head over this one!

 

[alastairstevenson]

Yes, that was the idea.
But it's clutching at straws a bit.

Alternatively, if you connect the PC to an unused PoE port on the new NVR, set the PC IP address to suit, connect and access the camera and reset it to defaults, maybe the new NVR would just activate it ok.

 

[T@ter]

I'll take straws to clutch at right now ! So the camera will still be accessible by IP even if it has not been successfully added to the NVR? I did not know that! Thanks again. I will pursue one or both of these solutions when I can get to the NVR tomorrow.

 

[T@ter]

OK it was a password issue all along. I'll share my stupidity in case it helps someone else. In the version of the firmware on the old NVR there is no quick logon. You use the keypad and mouse only (or remote). The keypad shows only capital letters. The only indication you are using caps is the lit up cap lock. If the cap lock is not lit up, the keypad still displays caps. I believed the password was all in caps when it actually was all small letters. @@ There was still an issue adding the cams to the new NVR. The ip address from the old NVR seems to be coded into the cam during plug n play so I would get network unreachable when adding it manually to the new NVR. The edit screen allowed me to change the IP during manual adding but it still gave me network unreachable. Trying to edit the Camera IPs on the old NVR by adding it manually also resulted in network unreachable errors. I am sure there is something I'm not getting about how the internal IPs are managed during plug n play setup but I just gave up and reset the cams. Connecting a PC to a POE port on the old NVR let me log into each camera via the web GUI, reset it, wait for it to be rebooting, watch for the NIC lights to go out and then unplug it. Once plugged into the new NVR the old cameras added via plug n play without issue and now have IPs that match the port number plus 1 making management easier. Thank you again Alastair for taking the time to help. The moral is...If HIK is telling you the username or password is wrong at everything you try....It's probably wrong