Zosi camera - how to access

[zefie]

I happened to discover the file /app/bin/uuid.txt which appears to contain the device's UUID.

Mine was a variable "UID" in /data/config/SystemCfg.CFG
Of other interest I noticed a connection to amazonaws, when I blocked it, it went to a lenovo server. I ended up blocking all non-LAN traffic to it, since I don't know why or what it is sending.
Probably video data for "cloud services" but I could not find a way to disable that nor do I want my local video stream sent to Zosi's servers. All of this, regarding the connections, is assumption at this point, though.

 

[Jet86]

Of other interest I noticed a connection to amazonaws, when I blocked it, it went to a lenovo server. I ended up blocking all non-LAN traffic to it, since I don't know why or what it is sending.
Probably video data for "cloud services" but I could not find a way to disable that nor do I want my local video stream sent to Zosi's servers. All of this, regarding the connections, is assumption at this point, though.

I also happened to notice one of the files had configuration details for a WeChat account, which seems... interesting, to say the least.

I'll probably do the same (limit connections to only the LAN) - did you do this on device, or in your switch/router etc?

 

[zefie]

I also happened to notice one of the files had configuration details for a WeChat account, which seems... interesting, to say the least.

I'll probably do the same (limit connections to only the LAN) - did you do this on device, or in your switch/router etc?

I did it at the router level. The downfall is that NTP doesn't work, because I haven't found the specific server it is using (nor can I find a way to define it, its not listening to DHCP Option 42).

 

[Jet86]

I did it at the router level. The downfall is that NTP doesn't work, because I haven't found the specific server it is using (nor can I find a way to define it, its not listening to DHCP Option 42).

I'll see if I can find out what NTP server it's using, but could you block all ports except port 123?

 

[zefie]

I'll see if I can find out what NTP server it's using, but could you block all ports except port 123?

Maybe, I went with null/blackhole route, so it blocks all WAN traffic regardless of port or protocol.

Edit: I managed to get it to use my local router NTP, as it seems to respect DHCP Option 42 (NTP Server).
Time zone can be set in /data/config/SystemCfg.CFG (19 is GMT-4 according to /etc/TZ, 18 was GMT-3:30 so perhaps there is a pattern) but it does not seem to respect it in the timestamp, or the date command

Edit 2: How to timezone:
1) Get your /etc/TZ from a linux device, I got mine from OpenWRT, and it was EST5EDT,M3.2.0,M11.1.0 (Note: it does not understand named TZ (eg America/New_York) nor does it properly respect GMT-4)
2) create a file called /overlay/etc/timezone and save your timezone to it, on a single line.
3) Run mkdir -p /overlay/etc/init.d
4) Run cp /etc/init.d/S60ansjeripc /overlay/etc/init.d/S60ansjeripc
5) Edit /overlay/etc/init.d/S60ansjeripc and add the following on a new line after "start)"
export TZ=$(cat /etc/timezone)
cp /etc/timezone /overlay/etc/TZ
6) Run sync
7) Reboot camera

 

[Jet86]

Mine was a variable "UID" in /data/config/SystemCfg.CFG

I'm guessing you have a different model of Zosi camera to me, as mine doesn't have that file, and doesn't even have a /data directory...
The camera I've been messing around with is a Zosi ZG2615. I also have a couple of Zosi ZG2612.

I did it at the router level. The downfall is that NTP doesn't work, because I haven't found the specific server it is using (nor can I find a way to define it, its not listening to DHCP Option 42).

I know you managed to get it to use a different NTP server via DHCP, but just for reference (or for others who come across this thread) on my camera the /config/ntp_param.config file indicates it is using 1.cn.pool.ntp.org for NTP.

Time zone can be set in /data/config/SystemCfg.CFG (19 is GMT-4 according to /etc/TZ, 18 was GMT-3:30 so perhaps there is a pattern) but it does not seem to respect it in the timestamp, or the date command

Edit 2: How to timezone:
1) Get your /etc/TZ from a linux device, I got mine from OpenWRT, and it was EST5EDT,M3.2.0,M11.1.0 (Note: it does not understand named TZ (eg America/New_York) nor does it properly respect GMT-4)
2) create a file called /overlay/etc/timezone and save your timezone to it, on a single line.
3) Run mkdir -p /overlay/etc/init.d
4) Run cp /etc/init.d/S60ansjeripc /overlay/etc/init.d/S60ansjeripc
5) Edit /overlay/etc/init.d/S60ansjeripc and add the following on a new line after "start)"
export TZ=$(cat /etc/timezone)
cp /etc/timezone /overlay/etc/TZ
6) Run sync
7) Reboot camera

Unfortunately, this won't work for my cameras, as there is no /data directory (and therefore no /data/config/SystemCfg.CFG file), no /overlay directory and no /etc/init.d/S60ansjeripc file.

What I have managed to work out so far is the following:

• I can write files into /etc/init.d and these persist across reboots
• I created a file /etc/init.d/S99timezone which successfully overwrites /etc/TZ and successfully sets the timezone (confirmed by writing it back to a log file using cat). However something later in the startup process appears to overwrite /etc/TZ back to GMT-8
• I edited the file /app/start.sh and added some lines at the end which successfully overwrites /etc/TZ and successfully sets the timezone (again confirmed by writing it back to a log file using cat). However something still later in the startup process appears to overwrite /etc/TZ back to GMT-8

So I think the next steps for me are to somehow try and work out what is overwriting the timezone and when, although I'm not sure at this stage how I'm going to do that...

I'm thinking I may be able to still use a script in /etc/init.d or still use the end of /app/start.sh but insert a wait timer.

I may also play around with /etc/inittab and see if I can get it to overwrite /etc/TZ at an appropriate time...

 

[rogueautomata]

An update for anyone following along:

The Good News
I've now managed to change the timezone on the cameras, so that they show the correct time on the timestamp. After gaining access via telnet with the above credentials, you need to edit the single line in /etc/TZ to the timezone you wish to use in POSIX format (using vi). Once you've saved the file, the timestamp on the video feed updates almost immediately.

The Bad News
Unfortunately this does not survive a reboot. It seems that when the camera boots up it must initialise files such as /etc/TZ with pre-determined parameters. Obviously not all files are re-initialised at every boot (network settings such as the camera's IP address survives a reboot), so the question now is whether I (or anyone else) can find how and where the /etc/TZ file is initialised, and whether that can be modified...

A Side Note
A bunch of Zosi apps and documentation refer to needing the device's UUID to perform certain actions, and claim that the UUID should be on a printed sticker on the device (which is not the case for any of my Zosi cameras). In digging around on the camera's filesystem, I happened to discover the file /app/bin/uuid.txt which appears to contain the device's UUID.

On my C190, the UID the apps ask for is in /config/SystemCfg.CFG under "Deviceinfo" as UID. The uuid in /app/bin/uuid.txt isn't it, but the manual states that the UID should end with "111A" if that helps, so maybe look around for an ID like that- mine is 20 characters including the 111A part, so it's a really 16-character ID with 111A appended onto it. I'm guessing a different camera model might use something other than 111A but probably similar, maybe it's a model ID.

 

[Dr.Fiero]

Don't know if it'll make any difference to anyone in terms of hunting down info... But my NEW DVR scans, finds, and reports these Zosi cameras as actually being "Ansjer" ones.
I looked up Ansjer, and they're an OEM for a number of different brands.

 

[mat200]

check the configuration of TP-LINK C300HP-6 hope it might help you.

How does this help @petersmithing ?

 

[kd5mdk]

I also happened to notice one of the files had configuration details for a WeChat account, which seems... interesting, to say the least.

Interesting, but not necessarily nefarious. WeChat in China is beyond WhatsApp in Europe or email+Amazon in the US. Default customer support / payment / communications method.