New RCA HSDB2A 3MP Doorbell IP Camera

[rayt]

Same here. 190716 on my LaView, chime works.

So, since LaView no longer sells the Halo ONE, and have not done any firmware updates since last year, hmmm just wondering...

that might be the case. its very possible that the companies that have updated to latest firmware, will be offering the wireless chime unit soon. and they are transitioning to that as well. Laview probably has no plans for the chime. So fingers crossed this means i am safe. really like the POV on the DB1 vs the older hikvision oem doorbell.

 

[rafale]

The golden rule which I so often fail to follow applies... "If it ain't broke, don't mess with it." I am glad I didn't fool around with newer firmwares.

 

[rayt]

The golden rule which I so often fail to follow applies... "If it ain't broke, don't mess with it." I am glad I didn't fool around with newer firmwares.

my ezviz doorbell was running laview 190716 when it abruptly failed to chime.. I think the companies pushed something directly to the doorbells.. as quite a few people suddenly had this issue.

 

[rafale]

my ezviz doorbell was running laview 190716 when it abruptly failed to chime.. I think the companies pushed something directly to the doorbells.. as quite a few people suddenly had this issue.

This is pretty interesting. I wonder how ezviz can push code changes to a doorbell which is not running their firmware. It kind of defeats the whole purpose I had set to have a device that is cloud independent and is the type of things I completely abhor. I am having my firewall block almost every "cloud" call from devices in my home, allowing only those which are absolutely necessary. Also the fact that some are having the issues, others not, using the same device and the fact that the ezviz support seem to be replacing units from customers who complain makes me wonder what is going on. One other possibility could be also a bad batch of component causing early failures in the ezviz models...

 

[SE4N]

Hey all. Been lurking the thread for awhile and I'm thankful for all the valuable info here.

Just wanted to share a deal I just saw on the EZVIZ DB1 which is on sale right now for $79.99 on Amazon if anyone was looking to pick one up (also $84.99 at Home Depot). I had purchased the RCA one initially last month, but just purchased this EZVIZ one at this price. Seems like EZVIZ has better firmware and app than RCA by default without worrying about flashing it.

EZVIZ WiFi Video Doorbell, Night Vision, Two-Way Talk, PIR Motion Detection, Weather Proof, 180° Vertical FOV, Free 3-hour Cloud Storage(DB1)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JNWP5M2/ref=cm_sw_r_u_apa_fabc_TTAPFbEZWSGWV

 

[obrien.james]

Hi -
Been reading through this thread.

I installed a Eziviz DB1 yesterday (updated to latest firmware via app), initially had issues with the mechanical chime but reading through this tread found a solution (have attached picture of wired state).

was working fine, but there was some delay between Pressing button and phone notifying me. I though this could have been a Wi-Fi issue, so reset device and change to 2.4g Wi-Fi rather than the 5g.

After the reset the chime is no longer ringing. When I first set up the doorbell I set the mechanical chime option.

Has anyone got any suggestions for this issue?

JOB

 

[obrien.james]

Hi -
Been reading through this thread.

I installed a Eziviz DB1 yesterday (updated to latest firmware via app), initially had issues with the mechanical chime but reading through this tread found a solution (have attached picture of wired state).

was working fine, but there was some delay between Pressing button and phone notifying me. I though this could have been a Wi-Fi issue, so reset device and change to 2.4g Wi-Fi rather than the 5g.

After the reset the chime is no longer ringing. When I first set up the doorbell I set the mechanical chime option.

Has anyone got any suggestions for this issue?

JOB

So,

I flashed the Hikvision latest firmware via (101 guide) - this has the allowed me to reset the chime type to mechanical and now its working fine! Just wanted to update people - Hopefully it will help others.

I think when I reset the device to change the wifi, it turned the chime off, the EZVIZ firmware and app doesn't allow to change the chime type after initial install.

Is there anyway I can turn off the EZVIZ logo on the Hikvision firmware?

JOB

 

[pete_c]

Anyway to intercept the bell button is pressed, in any firmware?

Not that I know of or documented here.

I am doing this manually using a combo Elk 930 doorbell circuit board and an Elk 960 debounce circuit board.

Others utilize a wireless contact sensor and the powered magnet inside of the door chime.

I also utilize an ONVIF to MQTT motion sensor plugin running in Docker which senses motion and works well for me.

The physical press of the doorbell (hardware) is being utilized by the smart phone apps. No one has reverse engineered the smart phone app at this time.

 

[grampadeal]

Well I just installed the new doorbell and the mechanical chime still does not ring. Does anyone have a link to the old firmware before EZVIZ introduced the smart chime feature? I tried flashing the doorbell to use the Hikvision firmware but that didn't fix it.

 

[obrien.james]

Well I just installed the new doorbell and the mechanical chime still does not ring. Does anyone have a link to the old firmware before EZVIZ introduced the smart chime feature? I tried flashing the doorbell to use the Hikvision firmware but that didn't fix it.

Where are you based?

I purchased a EZVIZ DB1 only this week, and updated to latest firmware from EZVIZ then flashed the Hikvision firmware. Mechanical chime working fine for me now although I did have a temporary issue with it stopping working after updating wifi details.

JOB

 

[grampadeal]

I'm in the US, in Texas. This was a brand new one sent to me to replace my faulty old one. I updated to the latest EZVIZ firmware, then flashed the Hikvision firmware, but the mechanical chime still refuses to ring. The mechanical chime worked with the dumb doorbell I had on before this.

Edit: Utterly shocking development here, but after some time, the chime has started working! Amazon dropped off a package and the chime worked. I rang it several more times and it's working fine. So I don't know for certain if it was a hardware problem or a firmware problem, since I do have 2 variables: the new doorbell and the new firmware. Regardless, it works and I will not be touching any settings!

 

[987789]

On oddity is that the brand of the doorbell you bought will want to be bound to its branded mobile app.
After a “non-native” firmware upgrade, you may end up having problems reconfiguring/re-adding the doorbell after a reset as the SSID of the doorbell will now follow the prefix of the brand of the firmware you are using which is not corresponding to the mobile app you initially used. You could then use the mobile app corresponding to the new firmware you are using but the QR code may then not match... problem.

The solution is to use a PC or a MAC with iVMS4200 installed (can be laptop or desktop as long as it has wifi).
1. Disable the PC or Mac’s ethernet interface to make the IP discovery easier.
2. From you wifi menu, after the doorbell has been reset, you should see an SSID from the doorbell. It should show “brandprefix_Serialnumber” as the SSID. Try joining that network.
3. You mac or PC will prompt you for a wifi password which should be “brandprefix_6lettercode”. Replace the brandprefix with the one from the SSID. It could be Laview, EZVIZ, RCA etc... and replace the 6 letter code with the password provided on the QR code sticker for the camera.
4. Once you have successfully connected to the doorbell’s wifi, your wifi interface should have been assigned a DHCP IP address. You can now discover the doorbell using iVMS4200.
5. Make sure once again to not activate the camera or change any passwords... Instead login to the camera using the username “admin” and the password “6 letter QR Code” and go into the wifi section of the menu. From here you can get the camera to discover wifi network and get it to join your wifi network using your home SSID and wifi password.
6. Once this is done, you can now go back to your phone/tablet and use any mobile app to continue setting up your doorbell which will skip through the wifi setup section.

To be fair I was probably doing something wrong but I could not get ivms4200 to discover the doorbell. EZVIZ Flashed with La view. I was able to have batch config discover it and was able to adjust the wifi settings there instead for anyone else having trouble

 

[James92TSi]

Really hope you find a solution, would love to add it to our 101. We have been through many ups and downs with this Doorbell, but from what I have read of other Doorbells, they go through similar issues, mainly firmware updates. I bought my LaView last year during the summer, July/August and my concern was the heat this thing puts off, but it made it through two summers so I am good, we live in 100 degree summer weather down here with Feels Like temps 110 or higher. Also high humidity, so this Doorbell has held up pretty good.
Learned a lot about Hivision/EZVIZ and how they do business. I am with Alexdeprete, the EZVIZ has caused us way too many problems. Not sure what is going on with them but only two things I am/we are thankful for is Google/Alexa support...oh and they did allow for On/Off Outdoor Chime Doorbell (Ding-Dong) option.
But this latest Chime Kill issue, what tha? EZVIZ has been a rollercoaster of issues...

An update to my bricked eBay RCA doorbell situation. I acquired a 1GB microSD from Amazon, but this did not bring any different behavior. I tried several ways - FAT and FAT32, with Hik firmware or RCA firmware on the card - each time two copies of the file (original filename and digicap.dav). Followed all of the reset tips discussed recently and from the 101, No luck - I get the same solid red button, with the slight flickers documented in my previous post.

Thinking this might be stuck in a boot loop of some kind, I started googling for hikvision bootloader, thinking there has to be a way for the factory to load software on these during production. That got me down a proper rabbit hole which might have some light at the other end. I found this thread: Hikvision - Clearing Passwords and/or Loading Firmware via TTL Serial which describes a 4-pin JST-ZH header present on Hikvision cameras and DVRs which can be used for communication to the board via TTL Serial.

I also knew (from having found and posted it here before) that there are FCC teardown photos of a Hik doorbell at CSDB1 Wi-Fi Doorbell Camera Teardown Internal Photos APPENDIX 1 Hangzhou Ezviz Software

On page 2 of that teardown document, there is a 4-pin header with no connector on it. I figured it would be worthwhile to open the camera up and check the header for DC voltage across pins 1 and 4 (1 should be ground, 4 should be system voltage) to evaluate whether it is a candidate for TTL Serial communication as described in that thread.

I am getting 3.3V DC across pins 4 and 1 - so I am going to find a USB TTL Serial adapter to see if I can communicate to this thing and use the procedures in that thread to get it onto my network and download a firmware image via TFTP.


Pics of camera guts!

The two brass studs in the back of the camera case (on top in this pic) are the contacts where doorbell wiring attaches. Those brass studs touch two spring contacts on the board when the halves are assembled.

So I connected a couple test leads to those spring contacts on the board so I could power it. At the other end of those green & yellow test leads is a 24V AC transformer (for lawn sprinklers - works great for powering these doorbells on the bench).

Probing for DC voltage across pins 4 (positive) and 1 (negative) to see if this 4-pin header is a candidate for serial communication

3.3 V DC system voltage. There is hope!

 

[BobDoh]

Anyone know why I'm getting "The video is encrypted" when trying to view the camera within the Ezviz app on a second mobile device?
The video stream is still viewable on my iphone, but ipad will only show the error. I even exited (killed) the app on the iphone, to no avail.
I'm doing this in the hope of installing the app on multiple phones/devices so anyone can answer the door.

 

[David L]

An update to my bricked eBay RCA doorbell situation. I acquired a 1GB microSD from Amazon, but this did not bring any different behavior. I tried several ways - FAT and FAT32, with Hik firmware or RCA firmware on the card - each time two copies of the file (original filename and digicap.dav). Followed all of the reset tips discussed recently and from the 101, No luck - I get the same solid red button, with the slight flickers documented in my previous post.

Thinking this might be stuck in a boot loop of some kind, I started googling for hikvision bootloader, thinking there has to be a way for the factory to load software on these during production. That got me down a proper rabbit hole which might have some light at the other end. I found this thread: Hikvision - Clearing Passwords and/or Loading Firmware via TTL Serial which describes a 4-pin JST-ZH header present on Hikvision cameras and DVRs which can be used for communication to the board via TTL Serial.

I also knew (from having found and posted it here before) that there are FCC teardown photos of a Hik doorbell at CSDB1 Wi-Fi Doorbell Camera Teardown Internal Photos APPENDIX 1 Hangzhou Ezviz Software

On page 2 of that teardown document, there is a 4-pin header with no connector on it. I figured it would be worthwhile to open the camera up and check the header for DC voltage across pins 1 and 4 (1 should be ground, 4 should be system voltage) to evaluate whether it is a candidate for TTL Serial communication as described in that thread.

I am getting 3.3V DC across pins 4 and 1 - so I am going to find a USB TTL Serial adapter to see if I can communicate to this thing and use the procedures in that thread to get it onto my network and download a firmware image via TFTP.


Pics of camera guts!

The two brass studs in the back of the camera case (on top in this pic) are the contacts where doorbell wiring attaches. Those brass studs touch two spring contacts on the board when the halves are assembled.

So I connected a couple test leads to those spring contacts on the board so I could power it. At the other end of those green & yellow test leads is a 24V AC transformer (for lawn sprinklers - works great for powering these doorbells on the bench).

Probing for DC voltage across pins 4 (positive) and 1 (negative) to see if this 4-pin header is a candidate for serial communication

3.3 V DC system voltage. There is hope!

Wow, very Awesome...Can't wait to see what you find...I like your logic and agree at factory you would think they flash firmware via a serial port.

Thank You for taking the time to help...

 

[alexdelprete]

Well I just installed the new doorbell and the mechanical chime still does not ring. Does anyone have a link to the old firmware before EZVIZ introduced the smart chime feature? I tried flashing the doorbell to use the Hikvision firmware but that didn't fix it.

That confirms it's not a doorbell hardware issue, but the firmware. Check connections just in case, use hikvision's firmware and guarding vision app. It must work. If it doesn't, it's something related to your connections.

 

[alexdelprete]

Anyone know why I'm getting "The video is encrypted" when trying to view the camera within the Ezviz app on a second mobile device?
The video stream is still viewable on my iphone, but ipad will only show the error. I even exited (killed) the app on the iphone, to no avail.
I'm doing this in the hope of installing the app on multiple phones/devices so anyone can answer the door.

It works, but you have to login in the app with the same user, or use the SHARE feature from the main account to another account.

 

[BobDoh]

I did log in with same user/password.

There's this option for "Image Encryption". It is at its default setting of ON. I wonder if I turn it off, would I be able to see the video stream on the other devices.

 

[alexdelprete]

I did log in with same user/password.

There's this option for "Image Encryption". It is at its default setting of ON. I wonder if I turn it off, would I be able to see the video stream on the other devices.

You can turn it off, but that is mostly when you want to see the video from Alexa/google devices.

If you're using ezviz app, you should be able to see the video also with encryption on, if the user is the same.

 

[BobDoh]

Yup, that was it. Turning that option off allowed my other devices to view the video.
The warning when disabling the encryption is a bit confusing:
If disabled, the security level of videos and pictures will be decreased. Continue?
That implies that the video is stored on a server somewhere (I didn't opt for cloud storage).
It also means it might be device specific encryption. It didn't ask for a password, and all devices are using same user/password, so the only differentiation is some kind of device id.