What type of camera do I own?

[icanrule]

Hello Everyone,

I am trying to figure out the manufacturer of my ip camera. It's way harder then I thought because it came in a white box with no manufacturer or model. I'm trying to figure this out so I can check to see if there are any firmware updates. Here's what I know.

System info of camera:
Kernel Version: Linux 2.6.18_arm_v5t_le
File System Version: T38F006-ONVIF-P2P V2.5.0.0 build 2013-10-24 19:02:12
Web Control Version: IPCConfig V1.4.0.8

When I do a search for T38F006 on the internet I find a website that references 5Mpix TI DaVinci DM368 DSP. I can't find anything about that camera online except there is mention of an update for it. I don't even know if that is the camera that I own which makes me scared to do a firmware update.

Can anyone help me with this please. Although my main reason is to do a firmware upgrade another reason why I am going down this path is because I'm trying to setup HomeAssistant and it's not detecting it. Even when I try to manually configure it I still can't get it to connect. So I want to find documentation on how to set it up but first steps would be to determine type of camera, then see if I can go to the official site and do a firmware upgrade and finally find documentation on it.

 

[wittaj]

Post a picture of the camera.

A firmware update will not fix your problem, and may create new ones.

The camera simply came with a fixed IP address and you need to get your system on the same IP address as the camera and then change it to match your system.

Here are issues I have seen people report here where they were upgrading just for the sake of upgrading:

• A Dahua Z12E that someone updated and then constantly reboots comes to mind.
• The Dahua 49225 and 49425 PTZ that loses autotracking with an update come to mind,
• The Hikvision DS-2DEA425IW-DW PTZ that loses autotracking with an update comes to mind.
• A Hikvision ANPR camera losing half the FPS and loses the ability to read US plates - those are big deals to have happen.
• A Hikvision ANPR DS-2CD4A26FWD camera that lost all ability to read plates - kinda makes the camera useless.
• A Hikvision camera that the user lost ability to control the LED light function at night.
• A Hikvision wifi camera that loses the ability to use wifi after a firmware update.
• Countless other instances where the camera or NVR simply bricked and became useless.
• Countless examples where the camera or NVR went into Chinese.

Don't do it unless it is fixing a problem you are experiencing or adds a feature you really need.

Further, it is best to obtain any firmware updates from the vendor you purchased it from so that you do not run into issues. Any firmware you find here or elsewhere is obviously proceed at your own risk. We have many threads here where someone tried an update with a firmware they found on the internet and bricked their unit.

Many units being sold are Chinese hacked units into English that will either brick or go into Chinese upon updating. Some vendors will be upfront and tell consumers that as part of their website, but many do not or the consumer forgets...here is one such example....

 

[SpacemanSpiff]

Sometimes performing a lookup of the hardware MAC address can be insightful. Use your preferred search engine to seek 'hardware MAC vendor lookup' and type in the device MAC address.

Even if it does reveal a camera manufacturer, as opposed to the network chipset make, you'll still need to overcome the hurdle of determining whose firmware is on it. Much to the point(s) @wittaj spoke of.

 

[icanrule]

Thank you very much everyone. You have been very helpful. The ultimate goal was to get it to work with home assistant. Even though It was autodetected by both blueiris and milestone xprotect, it is not in home assistant. Even when I manually set it up it doesn't work.

I'll avoid any updates for this situation. I'm sure there is a trick I'm not figuring out when trying to set this up.