New Dahua DMSS Mobile App Problems

[DaveInFL]

I'm surprised that there isn't already a thread about the new Dahua DMSS mobile app.

I recently bought a new Android tablet and subsequently discovered that the gDMSS app is no longer available. While that app wasn't perfect, it worked well for my needs. It is still supported on my Android and Apple phones ... if it was previously installed.
On my new tablet, I had no choice but to install use the new DMSS app. The new app has a completely different looking User Interface, but more importantly it doesn't work very well when compared to the old app.

Here's my first question that maybe someone has a solution.

Is there any method to install the old gDMSS on an Android table?

Here's a list of bugs with the new app when compared to the old app.
1. During Playback it doesn't allow the User to view Motion events in Regular mode. In this mode you can view only the video up to the motion event and then it jumps to the end of the event. If you choose a Motion Playback, then it immediately jumps to the event so there is no way to view any video prior to the event. The only way to see all of the video is to Playback in All mode, but in that mode there is no indication of when an event occurred.

2. The new app seems to have trouble rendering the video data when it is set to view the Main stream on more than one camera. If I try to view the Main stream (HD) on more than one camera, then I get a message stating "Currently running videos are straining memory on your device". My new tablet is much more powerful than my old tablet and has a lot more memory, yet my old tablet running gDMSS never had a problem viewing all the camera Main streams at once. I’m running lots of other memory intensive apps on my new tablet and am having no issues with those apps.

3. There appears to be no method to have the app launch in Live mode for the last channel viewed. You need to launch the app, select the Live ICON, then it will display the last camera viewed. This is annoying and takes an extra step. Because of the memory issue noted above, the cameras are all set to view the Sub stream (SD) and to get a good view of what is happening I now have to select the HD ICON after finding the camera to view. This takes a lot of extra time when wanting to view an alert quickly.

4. It is no longer easy to flip between the cameras by sliding left or right on the screen. It can still be done but now you need hold your finger on the screen and slide slowly from left to right or vice versa. This often doesn't work, while with the old app it is a snap to flip between the cameras.

I haven't been using the new app very long so this is just a list of the basic problems I noted. Hopefully Andy will see this thread and can pass these issues to the Dahua software team?

 

[ludshed]

I’ve never seen any of those problems on hundreds of customers devices. I’d delete it and reinstall. As far as resuming live view there’s an option in settings. And your motion is there with constant but it’s barely visible, slightly darker blue. You can zoom in on timeline by spreading with your fingers to see easier.

 

[ludshed]

And I have noticed with my iPhone on Verizon I have to either be on WiFi or have full signal.

 

[paul@austins.tv]

I'm surprised that there isn't already a thread about the new Dahua DMSS mobile app.

I recently bought a new Android tablet and subsequently discovered that the gDMSS app is no longer available. While that app wasn't perfect, it worked well for my needs. It is still supported on my Android and Apple phones ... if it was previously installed.
On my new tablet, I had no choice but to install use the new DMSS app. The new app has a completely different looking User Interface, but more importantly it doesn't work very well when compared to the old app.

Here's my first question that maybe someone has a solution.

Is there any method to install the old gDMSS on an Android table?

Here's a list of bugs with the new app when compared to the old app.
1. During Playback it doesn't allow the User to view Motion events in Regular mode. In this mode you can view only the video up to the motion event and then it jumps to the end of the event. If you choose a Motion Playback, then it immediately jumps to the event so there is no way to view any video prior to the event. The only way to see all of the video is to Playback in All mode, but in that mode there is no indication of when an event occurred.

2. The new app seems to have trouble rendering the video data when it is set to view the Main stream on more than one camera. If I try to view the Main stream (HD) on more than one camera, then I get a message stating "Currently running videos are straining memory on your device". My new tablet is much more powerful than my old tablet and has a lot more memory, yet my old tablet running gDMSS never had a problem viewing all the camera Main streams at once. I’m running lots of other memory intensive apps on my new tablet and am having no issues with those apps.

3. There appears to be no method to have the app launch in Live mode for the last channel viewed. You need to launch the app, select the Live ICON, then it will display the last camera viewed. This is annoying and takes an extra step. Because of the memory issue noted above, the cameras are all set to view the Sub stream (SD) and to get a good view of what is happening I now have to select the HD ICON after finding the camera to view. This takes a lot of extra time when wanting to view an alert quickly.

4. It is no longer easy to flip between the cameras by sliding left or right on the screen. It can still be done but now you need hold your finger on the screen and slide slowly from left to right or vice versa. This often doesn't work, while with the old app it is a snap to flip between the cameras.

I haven't been using the new app very long so this is just a list of the basic problems I noted. Hopefully Andy will see this thread and can pass these issues to the Dahua software team?

I do agree that the DMSS application, is a real let down for the quality Dahua kit.
I install the kit for customers and the application is very disappointing for basic tasks. Even the cheaper crap CCTV products offer a better user friendly application.
In my opinion it's the most disappointing part of a Dahua CCTV system.
Wish indeed Dahua revamps the entire application. Won't hold my breath!

 

[DaveInFL]

I’ve never seen any of those problems on hundreds of customers devices. I’d delete it and reinstall. As far as resuming live view there’s an option in settings. And your motion is there with constant but it’s barely visible, slightly darker blue. You can zoom in on timeline by spreading with your fingers to see easier.

Hello ludshed,

Thanks for the response.

Unfortunately, I don't think we are talking about the same version of the app. I'm talking about the version at the Google Play store shown below. The old gDMSS and iDMSS versions are no longer available.

DMSS - Apps on Google Play

I've uninstalled and reinstalled the app at least 3 times with no improvement in the functionality. I've been using the old gDMSS and iDMSS apps for several years and they were satisfactory for my needs but are no longer available.

I'm running the app on a new Lenovo Tab P11 Plus tablet which is much better and faster than my old Lenovo Tab10 that died. The gDMSS app worked just fine on that old tablet.

Amazon.com : Lenovo - Tab P11 Plus - Tablet - 11" 2K Display - MediaTek Octa-Core Processor - 4GB Memory - 128GB Storage - Dolby Atmos - Android 11 - Bluetooth & Wi-Fi - Long Battery Life : Electronics

I guess it's possible that the Dahua DMSS app is somehow specifically incompatible with my new Android tablet but I'm inclined to believe the new Dahua app has major bugs.

I'd consider trying it on my Android and iPhone but I'm afraid it will somehow screw up the working gDMSS and iDMSS apps on those phones.

 

[jarrow]

Are you using the DMSS HD app? This one is meant for use on tablets. That could be the reason you have trouble to swipe to the next cam (I haven't encountered that problem on many different Android tablets).

Because of the memory issue noted above, the cameras are all set to view the Sub stream (SD) and to get a good view of what is happening I now have to select the HD ICON after finding the camera to view. This takes a lot of extra time when wanting to view an alert quickly.

You can easily fix this: on the homepage click the three dots next to your NVR -> Device details -> Stream settings -> Set both live view and playback to main stream.
If you have it set to substream knowingly because it lags when watching 4 HD cams in main stream, I'd take a look at the bitrates you set in the cams. That's the limiting factor. I can view 9 cams on main stream without problems at bitrates between 4 - 8 Mbps, using the new DMSS app.

 

[DaveInFL]

Are you using the DMSS HD app? This one is meant for use on tablets. That could be the reason you have trouble to swipe to the next cam (I haven't encountered that problem on many different Android tablets).


You can easily fix this: on the homepage click the three dots next to your NVR -> Device details -> Stream settings -> Set both live view and playback to main stream.
If you have it set to substream knowingly because it lags when watching 4 HD cams in main stream, I'd take a look at the bitrates you set in the cams. That's the limiting factor. I can view 9 cams on main stream without problems at bitrates between 4 - 8 Mbps, using the new DMSS app.

jarrow - thanks for your response!

It definitely wasn't clear to me which DMSS app to use so I tried the DMSS HD app.

Unfortunately, it has all of the same problems that I described in my original post; plus it has the additional restriction of operating in Portrait mode only. During Playback the video time slider is located in the lower left corner of the display. Zooming in on a time period requires the use of two hands so this makes it almost impossible to manipulate the slider without dropping the tablet.

In regards, to the Stream settings. I was able to run all streams in Main (HD) using the gDMSS app on my old tablet, which has only 1GB of memory. The new tablet has 4GB of memory but the new DMSS app can run only one stream in HD without generating a memory capacity error. The new app clearly has issues. I am still running the gDMSS and iDMSS apps on my phones with all streams set to Main and there are no memory issues.

I do find it mind boggling that Dahua hasn't tested the most basic features of the new app before releasing it to the public and forcing users to drop the old gDMSS app ... which worked just fine. I wish there was a way to download the old gDMSS app so I can use it on my new tablet.

 

[jarrow]

Still, at what bitrates do you run your cams? When I set my cams to CBR at 8192 kbps my phone with 8GB of RAM has the same notification about the memory (which makes me think the app just calculates if the notification should be shown based on the combined bps of the cams you're trying to view, not in regards with the amount of RAM your device has).

 

[MC1987]

Hi @DaveInFL have you enabled Hardware Decoding in the app? Also what bit rates are your cameras set to? I have supported Dahua for 7 years, I have never seen this message on DMSS or previous iterations.

 

[oh6hfx]

I was also surprised to see that gDMSS Plus is not longer available. After installing cameras to my client(s), I had to almost learn DMSS in fly and show to my client how to use it.

However, DMSS seems to be faster to open and show video streams. In my 2 year old Moto G7 plus (4Gt RAM) it has no problem to show 4 HD streams.

Playback all - timeline is just stupid: why they would not use same logic & colors than NVR or SmartPSS instead of showing IVS with almost same color than timeline itself? (actually it was almost the same with gDMSS)

Ordering push notifications is many-step process, and I should be happy to have a button to easily turn off/on push notifications for each NVR/camera without going through the order-process, choosing channels and IVS modes once again. Schedule is a good
addition here, although it still needs a week calendar.

DMSS push notifications also seem to show on phone screen separately, different way than on gDMSS Plus. gDMSS showed just the latest one, DMSS populates the notification list and soon your screen is full of notifications. Didn't find the way to change this.

 

[jadehud10]

hi guys wondering if you could help, I'm an owner of an apartment and I was given the logins to be able to view the installed door camera. I was given user name password and the SN number. I installed dmss on my galaxy flip and followed instructions and it worked fine. My phone broke so got a new phone, A Samsung A33, I installed the dmss app followed instructions again but now I get a connection error. I've contacted the Company and they say its all working their end and it's fine for the neighbours too. Is something wrong on my settings? I literally click add device, type in SN number, select the dvr device then I don't get the option to add the user name or password, just an error screen. I've deleted and reinstalled the app, changed my connections to dns.google etc ensured the app and my phones software is up to date, that the app has all the premissions it needs, but no joy do you have any idea? Any help would be appreciated. thank you

After I add device it says failed to connect the device.possible reasons include: The device has not been initialized make sure your mobile phone and device are initialized in the same lan. Device network is not configured, please connect the device to a network cable and select the network configuration method

Also to add i do not have access to the device. But have been told its all set up correctly and my neighbours are able to access so think it's something to do with my phone settings

 

[paul@austins.tv]

Isn't this the same message that you asked in March, on another thread?

 

[Holbs]

Ug. The new DMSS app broke my specific configuration. Looks like I have to spend a couple hours with Wireshark again to see if possible to fix.

current setup:
VTO villla door station used as doorbell & used as camera. I have 3 VTH's but de-installed them due to more convenient to buzz my smartphone. The VTO is on an internet locked down subnet: no access to the internet other than the VTO allowed to talk to Google Push Notification IP and ports only. I do not use the P2P function (cringe). I have a forum posting somewhere here on IPCT of my Wireshark tracing of how the Dahua VTO sends out notifications. Basically, when the CALL button is pushed, the VTO talks to both iPhone and Android push cloud services. This is how you get the alert on your smartphone to initiate the video/audio call. Video/audio is handled on your local network so this is where the use of remote VPN always-on comes in handy. Unfortunately, after the new app was updated, I no longer get notifications.

I believe the new DMSS app was envisioned by Dahua to simplify alert notifications multiple network devices, such as the VTO. Can also add in Dahua IP camera alerts (but I have no need for that). I never understood why there were so many variations of DMSS apps out there. Never tried this gDMSS, for example. It was bound to be all merged into a single app for simplificaiton process, troubleshooting, updating, etc. Also with the new app, it wants you to create a login via somewhere in the cloud, to make this all happen. Not in my book Hence, my more specific setup and issue.

 

[Echoes80]

hi guys wondering if you could help, I'm an owner of an apartment and I was given the logins to be able to view the installed door camera. I was given user name password and the SN number. I installed dmss on my galaxy flip and followed instructions and it worked fine. My phone broke so got a new phone, A Samsung A33, I installed the dmss app followed instructions again but now I get a connection error. I've contacted the Company and they say its all working their end and it's fine for the neighbours too. Is something wrong on my settings? I literally click add device, type in SN number, select the dvr device then I don't get the option to add the user name or password, just an error screen. I've deleted and reinstalled the app, changed my connections to dns.google etc ensured the app and my phones software is up to date, that the app has all the premissions it needs, but no joy do you have any idea? Any help would be appreciated. thank you

After I add device it says failed to connect the device.possible reasons include: The device has not been initialized make sure your mobile phone and device are initialized in the same lan. Device network is not configured, please connect the device to a network cable and select the network configuration method

Also to add i do not have access to the device. But have been told its all set up correctly and my neighbours are able to access so think it's something to do with my phone settings

I have the same issue with my Galaxy A33 5G phone. A tried with Galaxy A20e and it works fine.
Have you solved the problem?

 

[jarrow]

Not too long ago I noticed my phone suddenly displays the 5G icon at the top (while I only have a 4G (LTE) plan, so free plan upgrade I guess?), but since then I noticed the load times on mobile data are a lot longer with DMSS.
That's why I forced my phone to use 2G/3G/4G instead of 2G/3G/4G/5G.

Try if this helps:

"To turn off 5G on your Android phone, navigate to Settings > Connections > Mobile networks and select Network mode. You can now choose which 5G option you want or switch to LTE or 4G."

 

[Echoes80]

Not too long ago I noticed my phone suddenly displays the 5G icon at the top (while I only have a 4G (LTE) plan, so free plan upgrade I guess?), but since then I noticed the load times on mobile data are a lot longer with DMSS.
That's why I forced my phone to use 2G/3G/4G instead of 2G/3G/4G/5G.

Try if this helps:

"To turn off 5G on your Android phone, navigate to Settings > Connections > Mobile networks and select Network mode. You can now choose which 5G option you want or switch to LTE or 4G."

Ok understood, it depends on the italian phone operator (ILIAD) that has problems with P2P connection.

 

[wittaj]

Is there any way to change the sequence the cameras are shown on the app? I can do it on the NVR but don't seem to have an option to move on the multi-camera screen. You can drag and drop but it doesn't save that view (in the app).

Change Sequence/Order of Cameras in DMSS App?

Is there any way to change the sequence the cameras are shown on the app? I can do it on the NVR but don't seem to have an option to move on the multi-camera screen. You can drag and drop but it doesn't save that view (in the app).

ipcamtalk.com