"Network Abnormal" & Cameras no longer working

[Marsh]

Hello, I'm wondering if anyone is able to help... I'm completely lost at this point. I'm going to try and keep this short but do forgive me.

I had set up a Hikvision NVR (DS-7616NI-E2/16P) a few months ago, along with four cameras (DS-2CD2332-I). Considering it was the first bit of CCTV I've ever bought and installed, everything went straightforward and they were all acting perfectly, really was a case of 'plug & play'. Now I had bought a spare camera to put up at a later date as it wasn't too essential - regardless I did plug the camera into the NVR all that time ago just to test it and to see where best it could be placed.

Yesterday I decided to finally install this last camera, and before any fitting was done I plugged it into the NVR just to test and see that it was still working... Except, I was now not getting any feed from the camera - but it was definitely drawing power. I thought it may be the port, so I switched it with another camera (shut everything down beforehand). Suddenly, I then lost the feed to the other camera... I couldn't work out any solution but assumed it must be an IP issue. So today, I switched IP addresses of one blacked out camera and a working one (I'm not that big of a guru when it comes to IP addresses). As I expected - the feed did not return, so I switched the IPs back to how they were... I had then lost the feed to the other working camera. Leaving me with two working cameras.

I have since then tried checking for the cameras using the SADP software (the NVR shows but no cameras do), upgrading firmware - which only allowed me to update the NVR and the two functioning cameras, and checking settings in the 'Camera Management' via my browser. The cameras kept having statuses of "Network Abnormal", "User password error" and "User is locked out" (that last one is not consistent, no matter what password I type in.)

I had a rather basic password set on the NVR when I first set it up, but since then made it a bit more secure. Whenever I've typed in passwords for the cameras, no matter what one I give they accept them.

After some more googling, I had come to the conclusion that a factory reset of the NVR should allow me to plug everything back in and it'll all work again... Nope, every single camera has now gone blank. Their IP addresses have gone back to normal, but I'm still left with the previous messages. It may also be worth noting that I cannot log into any cameras via a browser - just the NVR, that may just be me though.

I apologise for the long post, but I just can't work out why suddenly passwords would be an issue when all I've done is unplug a cable. Any help is GREATLY appreciated, thanks.

 

[alastairstevenson]

Their IP addresses have gone back to normal, but I'm still left with the previous messages.

Is this the IP addresses assigned to the PoE ports, as opposed to the IP addresses of the cameras themselves?
I suspect that an NVR and camera firmware update and factory reset may have introduced some more unknowns and variables, so a bit hard to suggest a reliable solution.
But some more fact-finding may help.

A suggestion to try:
Assuming that the NVR PoE address range is using the default of 192.168.254.x, and the PoE interface is shown as 192.168.254.1, -
Note down the IP addresses of the PoE ports.
Change the mode of one of the PoE ports to Manual, keep the protocol=Hikvision, port=8000, and specify a userID/password that should work on the camera.
If you don't already have the 3.x version of SADP, download and install it. It has better support for devices with the newer firmware that need 'activation'.
Set the PC IP address to something in that range, say 192.168.254.100 and connect it's Ethernet port to one of the NVR PoE ports.
Start SADP and assess the state of the cameras.
You should also be able to get to the NVR web GUI at 192.168.254.1 with the PC browser.
Using SADP, set the IP address of the camera on the port being tested to match that assigned to the PoE port.
Unplug the camera, wait a few seconds and plug it back in, in case the device has been locked out due to bad passwords.
See if the camera now shows in the NVR web GUI as on-line.

 

[Marsh]

Thank you for the reply. It may have turned out I've wasted hours on a simple problem...

As to your question I'm not entirely sure, I thought the IP addresses were those of the cameras themselves and not just the ports - but that would explain why I can't access them via browser. They are indeed using the default IP going just one out of order from their port, for example, Camera 1 is in port 1 and goes by 192.168.254.2, and camera 2 would be 192.168.254.3, etc. The NVR itself is 192.168.254.1. Everything is how it was originally, minus some working cameras. I did just try in a last effort click on the cameras via the NVR and input what I thought to be the original password... It actually worked (this time) for three of them. It must have been locking me out, as of right now the last two still won't let me using the same password. Does unplugging the cameras get me past being locked out?

I tried as you said to change my PC's IP (or in this case laptop, as the NVR is in another room), but for some reason it just wouldn't let me. Again though, I'm not that knowledgeable when it comes to IP addresses. Regardless, I downloaded the latest version of SADP and once again the cameras were not showing up, only the NVR. Am I not seeing the cameras because the NVR itself it plugged straight into my router rather than a 'switch'? I'm going to try the passwords again now, hopefully it works, and then I'll have to look up how to change passwords for in the future.

EDIT - I've tried the password again, it's still not working. The first camera I installed won't accept the password - nor will the one I tried to install yesterday. Interestingly, it still says "Network Abnormal" rather than "User password error"... I think I'll have to use every password I've ever thought of, aha. I think this is just a case of me being a newbie more than anything.

 

[alastairstevenson]

Am I not seeing the cameras because the NVR itself it plugged straight into my router rather than a 'switch'?

No, on the assumption that your laptop is connected to the LAN, the cameras on the NVR PoE ports are on a different, isolated network and are by default not accessible.

I tried as you said to change my PC's IP (or in this case laptop, as the NVR is in another room), but for some reason it just wouldn't let me

If you can manage this, and connect the laptop to one of the NVR PoE ports, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to see much more of what is going on with the cameras.

 

[Marsh]

I turned off the laptop's wifi whilst it was hooked up to the NVR's PoE. This actually made SADP work and I could see the cameras on the network... Nothing looks strange apart from some cameras supposedly using different IPs (the digit at the end) from what it says on the NVR itself. However, unless I turned the wifi back on I was not able to access the NVR via the browser. I still could not access the cameras 'dashboard' via the browser with the wifi turned on or off... I imagine this is because I've not been able to change the laptop's IP.

I'm starting to think that this is just a safety measure put in place, and unfortunately for me I just do not remember the passwords... and I must have some bad luck because some cameras seem to have different passwords altogether. Sorry to have wasted your time, aha. Do you know how I could go about resetting the camera's passwords? Thanks.

 

[alastairstevenson]

Nothing looks strange apart from some cameras supposedly using different IPs (the digit at the end) from what it says on the NVR itself.

The IP address that the PoE port is configured with, and the IP address of the camera are 2 separate items. For the camera to operate on the PoE port, the camera IP address is usually automatically configured on the camera by the NVR when the PoE port is in Plug and Play mode.
When in Manual mode - you need to manually configure both addresses to be the same.

I imagine this is because I've not been able to change the laptop's IP.

You will not be able to access the cameras when they are on the PoE ports unless you can do this.
Do you have administrator or user access to the laptop?

However, unless I turned the wifi back on I was not able to access the NVR via the browser.

This is because the laptop will be using a different IP address range from that of the NVR PoE interface.
SADP can find and configure cameras across different IP address ranges - that's one of its most useful features.

Figure out how to set your laptop IP address associated with the LAN interface (not the WiFi interface) and I'm sure you'll be able to set everything back working again.
What version of Windows is running on the laptop?

 

[Marsh]

Aha, this is starting to get a bit daunting.

The laptop is running Windows 10, and I am the admin. Thank you for explaining how this is all working, but I am having a tough time just on finding out how to change my IP address to something specific. I'll keep trying. However, I have found out how to get the passwords reset - which requires me to send an email containing attachments to Hikvision themselves... Considering they've still not replied to my original enquiry from yesterday, that may be awhile, and obviously the sooner the last two cameras are working, the better.

If I do manage to change my IP, what do you suggest I do when I get access to the cameras? Is it possible to just change the passwords there? Because as I said, I don't think this is actually a connection issue now - even if the NVR keeps saying "abnormal network".

 

[alastairstevenson]

even if the NVR keeps saying "abnormal network".

This is likely to be because the camera on the PoE port has been set with a different IP address from that of the port.

If I do manage to change my IP, what do you suggest I do when I get access to the cameras?

Check out the cameras status and IP addresses with SADP (though you don't need to set the laptop IP address for that), and attempt to match the camera IP addresses to the PoE ports IP addresses.
Is there any combination of which port they are plugged in to that would match?
Changing the IP addresses of the cameras with SADP requires use of the camera password.
When you change the IP address of the laptop, and plug it into a PoE port, you will be able to access the cameras web GUI and test out the passwords that should work.

 

[Marsh]

It's fixed!

I did as you said and checked each camera's IP on SADP along with those showing on the NVR. After removing them one by one, the only cameras with a dodgy IP were the ones that weren't working. So I went go into their settings and tried to change the IPs to match those on the NVR... At first the password was rejected... Until I used the very same password which unlocked every other camera on the system. So perhaps it was an IP issue all along, rather than just me being locked out due to bad passwords. Problem solved.

Thank you very much for the help.

 

[alastairstevenson]

Excellent!
Well done for getting there, and persisting with the problem solving. And probably learning a few things along the way.

*edit* Love the video!

 

[SSD1]

Excellent!
Well done for getting there, and persisting with the problem solving.

I'm a bit late to this, but hopefully you can help. I read this thread few times, yet it still doesn't seem to work.

Let me start at the beginning, just in case there is a small chance that my setup is different from @IAmMarshicus.

I've got my NVR (7600NI-K2) set at 192.168.1.220 (internal IP is set to default 192.168.254.1)

I've got two of my Hik cams set at 192.168.1.225 and 226

I connect cameras to the router, they work, I can see them in browser, iVMS and SADP, as I can see the NVR.

Then I connect the cameras to the NVR and Edit to add manual IP. Yet here the cameras don't get recognised anymore by the NVR and get the status "Offline(Network Abnormal)", neither do they get recognised by the SADP, it only shows NVR.

As per your suggestion I connected my computer directly to one of the PoE ports to see what is going on and I get three devices on SADP list:
- NVR with IP: 192.168.2.64
- Cam 1 with IP: 192.168.1.225
- Cam 2 with IP: 192.168.1.226

My internal PoE ports IPs before adding cameras where in the range 192.168.254.2 onwards

I can't seem to get the cameras working with the desired IPs. If I switch camera IP's to internal IP they work, but with external IP they don't show up, regardless to which PoE port I plug them in.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[alastairstevenson]

I connect cameras to the router, they work, I can see them in browser, iVMS and SADP, as I can see the NVR.

That's good, and normal.

As per your suggestion I connected my computer directly to one of the PoE ports to see what is going on and I get three devices on SADP list:
- NVR with IP: 192.168.2.64
- Cam 1 with IP: 192.168.1.225
- Cam 2 with IP: 192.168.1.226

That's also good, and normal, for the cameras. The cameras still have their LAN addresses, and are working.
But do you really mean this for the NVR - "- NVR with IP: 192.168.2.64" From what you've said below ("192.168.254.2 and onwards") I'd have expected the NVR to show as 192.168.254.1

My internal PoE ports IPs before adding cameras where in the range 192.168.254.2 onwards

That's also good, and normal. Hopefully you have not changed this from the original default.
But you need to note down the IP address that's been assigned to each of the specific PoE channels that you want to connect the cameras to. You are going to have to change the IP addresses of the cameras to match that of the PoE port that you plug them in to.
And then, using SADP while the PC is connected to the spare PoE port, change the IP address of each camera to match that of the NVR PoE channel that you have plugged it in to.

 

[SSD1]

Yup...that's what is troubling me as well...I would expect to see either 192.168.254.1 or alternatively 192.168.1.220 (the IP I assigned it for outside). Let me see if I can attach a screenshot. Btw. even after firmware update, it is still the same.

So...let me see if I got this right. If the PoE port IP is set to 192.168.254.5 then I have to change my Cam IP to 192.168.254.5?

What then is the point in doing Manual adding of Cams, if it needs "Plug'n'Play" IP address to work? What am I missing here?

 

[SSD1]

And the screenshot

 

[alastairstevenson]

If the PoE port IP is set to 192.168.254.5 then I have to change my Cam IP to 192.168.245.5?

Yes, that's correct. That's how it works, with either Plug&Play (where the NVR sets the camera address) or Manual (where yoU set the address).

What then is the point in doing Manual adding of Cams, if it needs "Plug'n'Play" IP address to work?

It's not specifically a Plug&Play address - it's just the address (usually automatically) assigned to the PoE channel, in both Plug&Play and Manual.

The NVR IP address as seen via SADP via a PoE channel is unusual. But I'm not familiar with that new NVR architecture.
You should be able to double-check it via the Network Configuration pages of the VGA/HDMI interface.

 

[SSD1]

...The NVR IP address as seen via SADP via a PoE channel is unusual. But I'm not familiar with that new NVR architecture.
You should be able to double-check it via the Network Configuration pages of the VGA/HDMI interface.

Nope, that IP doesn't show anywhere else, neither in the Web GUI nor in HDMI GUI settings. It was the IP that was set for the NVR when I received it.

How come these guys managed to make it work though? [Tutorial Megathread] Getting Started With Your Hikvision System

Or was that only for older NVRs?

 

[alastairstevenson]

How come these guys managed to make it work though? [Tutorial Megathread] Getting Started With Your Hikvision System

They are adding LAN-connected cameras by re-assigning a PoE channel as a LAN channel.
I thought you were adding a camera to an NVR PoE port.

 

[SSD1]

They are adding LAN-connected cameras by re-assigning a PoE channel as a LAN channel.
I thought you were adding a camera to an NVR PoE port.

So that's the piece of equation I was missing then. And yes, I'm connecting them directly to the PoE ports. However, from that guide, I could not figure it out that they were not connecting it to the PoE...

Btw. the Cam is now working with PoE IP address.

 

[alastairstevenson]

Excellent! Nice to get a positive result.

 

[SSD1]

Thank you for your quick response...spent far too much of my day on this one issue.