Remote ip camera installation

[Sandy_45]

I am trying to install an ip camera in a remote location, but am unsure how to do it.
The camera is a TENVIS JPT3815W-2013, and want to be able to view using my iPhone.
I have begun by setting up on my MAC and connecting the camera directly to the router to find the IP address for the camera.
However, I do not understand what I need to move the camera to its remote location. I have arranged a battery/solar panel supply to power the camera via a DC regulator, and have a portable router to connect to the Internet, but I do not understand how to configure the system.
I would be grateful if you could advise me what I need to do.

 

[mbastard924]

All you have to do is type in the IP address of the camera into your web browser and use the web-based tool to change the camera settings. I do have a Tenvis camera myself (which I no longer use) and I believe the default username was admin and no password to log into the web interface.

 

[bp2008]

Hello @Sandy_45. I am not sure you will be able to get it to work easily with the camera you chose. Chances are you are using some kind of cellular data plan, right? That would almost certainly disallow incoming connections which means port forwarding would not work. You would have to test port forwarding to make sure, but I am not aware of any cellular data provider that allows incoming connections.

So you probably have to make do with outgoing connections. There are two options for this:

1. Some cameras have a "plug and play" or "p2p" feature which may be just what you are looking for. Cameras with this feature are designed to be as easy as possible to access remotely. They will make an outgoing connection to the manufacturer's servers, bypassing the need to do any port forwarding. I have never owned a "plug and play" camera myself, so I cannot recommend any specific one, but I found this after a quick search and it looks fairly promising: http://amzn.com/B00KCGVFNI Please realize I cannot guarantee this will work for you. Please confirm with the seller or manufacturer and/or buy from somewhere that has a good return policy. Some cameras may say they are "plug and play" but in reality do little more than try to automatically forward the necessary ports (which is unlikely to work on a cellular connection).

2. If you are good with networking, you can set up a VPN tunnel. I did this a year ago with a couple of routers running Tomato firmware. One on a home DSL connection (which allows incoming connections), acting as the VPN server, and the other at the remote site acting as the VPN client. There are some tutorials out there for how to do this, though I do not recommend this approach unless you are really quite good with computer networking already.

 

[networkcameracritic]

The 4G service you are using on the cameras side, who is providing that (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint)? What router are you using on the camera side?

 

[bp2008]

The one I set up is an AT&T 3G service. It is a grandfathered "unlimited" plan that is ineligible for 4G, and it typically achieves 1-1.5 Mbps in both directions. The modem is a Pepwave MAX BR1. This is a router with its own VPN capabilities, but for compatibility reasons the job of VPN client falls to a separate device; a Linksys WRT54GL with Tomato firmware. Both these devices are wired directly to batteries (solar + wind power) and both devices currently have 151 days uptime.

The weak point of the system is the AT&T internet connection. It goes offline regularly and sometimes does not reconnect for hours, days, or weeks at a time. Most notably it was offline from Dec 26th through Jan 7th, nearly two weeks. I don't know what to blame for this; the modem's logs just say disconnected and then nothing until the reconnected event weeks later.

 

[Sandy_45]

The router connected to the camera that I thought might work is a Huawei E385X-587e fitted with a Giff Gaff 3G/4G simm card and a wi-fi link to the camera. I currently do not understand how to configure the router and whether the Tenvis app in my iPhone is suitable. In fact I am not sure if what I am trying to do is viable.

 

[Sandy_45]

Thank you for your reply, however I am unsure I that I understand your set-up in order to take advantage of your experience.

 

[Sandy_45]

Thank you for your reply, and apologise for not responding sooner. I have been trying to follow your suggestion with the hardware I currently have. Could you please be specific as what 'web based tool' you are referring to, and what settings to change in the camera. Surely there needs to be a router to connect the camera to the Internet?

 

[FIN13]

For remote viewing of a wireless cam you need to have static DNS and port forwarding.