Unable to change DS-2CD2232-i5 IP address or password

[chrisc90]

Powered off a 12v adapter currently. Should be powerful enough to sort the camera out power wise.

I’ll get the files uploaded tonight, don’t think I have the original Chinese one unless it’s made it’s way to the recycle bin on the computer.

How hard is the serial console bit? I don’t have any additional cabling to connect to any chips/ports inside the cam

 

[alastairstevenson]

How hard is the serial console bit?

It's not that bad. Hikvision conveniently provide a connector.
It will provide the detail on why the camera isn't fully booting up properly, and gives a command interface from which some recovery actions should be possible.

It can take a while to obtain the needed parts - as they usually ship from China or Hong Kong.
But search eBay for these 2 items :
PL2303HX USB to TTL adapter (often sold as 'for Arduino').
1.5mm 4-pin jst zh connector - wired, usually sold in 10-packs.

don’t think I have the original Chinese one

The file named mtd6ro_orig would generally be untouched, a copy made to create the mtd6ro_mod version.

 

[chrisc90]

Thing is I ran the brick took a couple time’s to confirm that it 100% worked. So the file could have been overwritten.

I have some arduino stuff, but no idea if it has a TTL wire in.

 

[chrisc90]

I guess it’s item numbers:

303241400641 - 4 pin connector

223605505260 - USB adapter

I’ll get them ordered if they right

 

[alastairstevenson]

I guess it’s item numbers:

Yes, that looks OK.
UK sources too.

 

[chrisc90]

Purchased. For a fiver if it helps get the cam back online it’s a small cost to pay

Why would it have been running Chinese firmware but show a UK/genuine serial number?

 

[alastairstevenson]

Why would it have been running Chinese firmware but show a UK/genuine serial number?

It's not hard to tweak the firmware to masquerade anything - language, region, serial number.
If the low-cost on-line Chinese seller can get a better price for their Chinese cameras when they appear to be EN/ML, they will be happy to pay their local hacker for some tweaked firmware.
Less common now that Hikvision have added loads more protection against that type of activity, but it was prevalent with R0 series cameras.

 

[chrisc90]

That’s fair one. Just was curious as to why it showed that way.

It couldn’t just want some Chinese firmware on could it?

 

[alastairstevenson]

By following the brickfixV2 process you've converted the camera to EN, so the CN firmware would brick it.
The original devType would also have caused the camera to brick with updated firmware.
The brickfixV2 method has generally worked pretty well for many people.
When you hook up to the serial console there will be a good clue as to why the boot does not complete.

 

[chrisc90]

I think these are the files, there was a set in the recycle bin. Must have tried them 3 times over. The V1 is the first effort, v2 second and v3 the third.

Can you check them over please

 

[alastairstevenson]

Can you check them over please

These files are fine - the v1mtd6ro_orig has been correctly modified into v1mtd6ro_mod
The language byte, devType and checksum are all correct.
The v2 and v3 files are the same as the modded v1 files, which also confirms that the v1mtd6ro_mod was successfully applied to the camera.

We'll need to see what your serial console connection comes up with.

 

[chrisc90]

Good to know the fix/mod worked as planned.

Will await these cables turning up and will probably ask again for instructions on setting it all up etc. I guess its the spare jumper on the board.

It wont be anything to do with the ribbon cable for the camera lens will it? removed it to check the internals for signs of any damage and I guess I put it back on the right way round.

 

[alastairstevenson]

It wont be anything to do with the ribbon cable for the camera lens will it? removed it to check the internals for signs of any damage and I guess I put it back on the right way round.

Interesting - yes, that is a possibility.
If the SoC (CPU + DSP (digital signal processor) cannot communicate with the sensor, it eventually treats that as a fatal error and reboots.
That does happen pretty near the end of boot-up, so could account for how long the bootloop is.

It may be best to check it out.
Examine it with a good magnifying glass.
It's clear which way round it goes.
It does need to be properly lined up and fully home in the connector before the 'keeper' is locked in place.

 

[chrisc90]

Which way round does it go? I can see the numbers 2 and 35/36 on the boards. I can only assume pin the lower pins meet each other and the same for the higher pins?

 

[chrisc90]

Does the white arrow match up with the white arrow on each board?

 

[chrisc90]

Got it. Swapped the cable round and now got the device registering in SADP. Showing as inactive.

All working via the web GUI aswell. Just need to add it to the NVR now.

Our PoE ports have 192.168.254.1-16 as their IPs. Do I need to set the camera IP address to the IP of the port its been plugged into?

This is the bit where I got stuck before with adding the cameras to the NVR. mate ended up doing it one morning when I wasnt there so unsure of the method he used,

 

[alastairstevenson]

Wow!
If the camera is showing as Inactive - just plug it in to the nvr PoE port and the NVR will activate it with its own password.

 

[chrisc90]

I’ve set a password on it and set its IP to 192.168.1.25 as a random address. Is it just a case of plugging it into the nvr now and it’ll appear in the live view automatically?

 

[alastairstevenson]

Is it just a case of plugging it into the nvr now and it’ll appear in the live view automatically?

OK - if you've already 'activated' the camera, then this is how to connect to the NVR PoE port :

In the NVR web GUI, for the channel you intend to connect the camera to, note down the IP address that's assigned.
As you've mentioned, it will be a value in the range 192.168.254.x
This is what you need to set the camera to.
You also need to decide if the camera is going to keep the password you have given it - or use something different.
Either way - that password needs to be set on that NVR PoE channel configuration.

On the camera - change the password if required. But it must match what's set in the NVR PoE channel.
Now change the camera IP address to be the value you noted from the NVR PoE channel.
Let the camera reboot, then power it off and connect it to the NVR PoE channel.
It should show up in Live View.

Going back a little bit -
Despite initial indications, it's clear this was a Chinese camera, running 'hacked to English' firmware.
Your initial 'refresh' of the firmware 'bricked' it, as is normal when applying stock EN/ML firmware to a Chinese camera.
The camera then went into the 'min-system recovery mode' where it shows in SADP with firmware version V4.0.8 and no web access.
You did need to recover it with the brickfixV2 convert / update method - which you managed perfectly well.
The confusing thing though was why didn't it simply just work after that?
Which you actually figured out for yourself.

So all's well that ends well.
And you'll have a serial console kit to play with some time in the future!

 

[chrisc90]

Yeah, great recap. helpful for others aswell.

Got it working on the NVR today aswell, just need a fresh cat5 connector on the wire and mount it back up on the wall.

Thanks for your help