I'll try to second the network settings chapter in the IP camera manual (even though a true geek never reads the manual) to help passing the blocking points of the wi-fi setup procedure.
This is based on a Foscam camera but can certainly be used with other wireless cameras.
The step that nobody has problem with (usually) is connecting the camera to the network with the Ethernet cable. When this is done, the wireless settings can be accessed from the Administrator section and that's where a first very common error is made:
Also make sure that you choose a supported encryption and prefer WPA to WEP if possible. The channel should also match the one used by the router.
In the most recent firmwares, there is a scan button to detect available access points automatically. If nothing appears after scanning you may need to click the refresh button.
You should have done this within 10 seconds, on FI8908W, it is typically before you hear the short click from the camera speaker preceding the initial rotation sequence. The camera will start looking for a network and, at the condition that there is no more Ethernet connection, a wireless access point will be searched.
If everything goes well, after a few seconds, the green led will blink much faster than before, indicating that it achieved a wireless connection.
The final step is to check your router's DHCP page for any incoming request, this is likely to be your ip camera (If nothing appears, ensure that you disabled the MAC filtering on your router for the time of the procedure).Just use that ip address in the url of your browser to confirm it is what you expect.
You can then add this address to your static DHCP list and MAC filter exceptions.
Note: The camera needs the router to be in broadcast mode in order to connect, otherwise it will not find the AP. This limitation has been reported to Foscam.
155 comments:
Hello
there is a code to cut the sound of microphone ???
Hi Bubbah
I don't know in which message I read somebody who told a free mail server to confirgure the alarm settings.
I have been looking for this message but can't find it, it would be great if you could add this info in this post.
Awaiting your kind news.
Hi Max,
most of the time, you can use the SMTP server from your ISP or mobile operator. They generally don't require any authentication, so it's actually free.
It's difficult to provide a list of free smtp that work for all. I guess you always should try an operator from your country first. If they don't provide it openlym it's often something like isp-name.smtp.com
Hi Bubbah; your help got me to see the camera in VLC media player just fine. Also, if I use the url http://bradenfamily.dyndns.org/live.htm?username=guest&password=123 in firefox, up comes the stream. However, if I try in IE or mediaplayer, it seems to find the stream but no video is displayed. Any pointers? Thanks,, Phil
@Phil
I think it has to see with the fact that IE doesn't support the server push mode. FF is also more capable at playing video stream, Chrome doesn't do great in comparison.
The only alternative that works on any browser is /snapshot.cgi, but of course it's not stream, just still picture.
@phil
Have you tryied with:
http://bradenfamily.dyndns.org/videostream.cgi?username=guest&password=123
How do you make it record? and how do you find the file it's recording to?
Does it have to be open and live streaming to record?
Also, how do you make it work on an iPhone?
Thanks for the info!
How do I access my camera from an external computer via the internet? I am having trouble figuring this part out. I am very new to the IP camera stuff.
@Shonnie
Recording is only possible from the ActiveX interface where there is a small camcorder icon in the visitor portion.
Otherwise you record with a player like VLC in which you need to stream the video by using an url like this: http:///videostream.asf
For the iPhone, you depend on 3rd party software, some are presented in this post.
@David
you need to follow the detailed instructions from the IPCAM user guide in chapters 3.4 and 4.1.6 (you can find this manual on the top of this page)
A litle off topic, but anyone found either a replacement poweer supply with a long lead (3 metres) or an extension to extend the lead from the camera to the power transformer ?
@orionsm,
if you type "extension dc power" on the eBay search field, it will return what you want, but I'm just not too sure if you need a 2.1 or 2.5mm jack, I'd say 2.1 but this must be verified.
Hi,
We're able to record now but when its done recording it always pops up the window thats its stored in every minute or so. Is there a way to make it stop popping up? Its hard to do anything on the computer.
Thanks! You're a great help!
@Shonnie,
You just reminded me why I stopped using this feature.
Normally you can setup Windows to prevent programs from stealing the focus (HKEY_CURRENT_USER/ControlPanel/Desktop/ForegroundLockTimeout with a value like 30d40), but for me, it doesn't work in the case of the camera alarm.
You can still try in case you'd be more lucky. Another option is to install TweakUI which can do the registry editing for you. (General>Focus)
Thanks for the great site! It has been quite helpful in getting my new Foscam set up. I'm still having a problem with the wireless. Following your instructions above, I can get the wireless to work. I input the wireless settings, hit submit, then quickly unplug the ethernet cable. Wireless then works. HOWEVER, I don't wish to keep the camera by the router. Therefore, I need to unplug the power from the camera. Every time I unplug the power and then plug it back in again, it will not re-connect wirelessly. How can I move the camera once the wireless is established after unplugging the ethernet?
@Jason,
normaly, once you've unplugged the camera and it went to detect the access point the first time, it should be permanent and the camera could be moved anywhere away from the router.
Maybe you could try re-entering your wireless settings after the camera has been unpluggeg from the RJ45 and is working wireless (Use the ActiveX interface on IE preferably for this, I suspect the server push mode does not save some settings correctly):
- re-confirm the settings manually by going in Device Management > Wireless Lan Setting: click the Scan button and (re)enter your settings (if you don't see the scan button, you'd need to upgrade to fw to 11.14.1.46 but make sure you have a Foscam and not a clone before doign that!). Then, without re-plugging the Ethernet, power it off and on to see if the settings remained this time.
Thanks, Bubbah. It appears that my problem may simply be extremely weak wifi reception by my camera. I did as you described, and it does work. However, it only works from about 4 feet of my N router. Within 4 feet, it will connect to the wireless after being powered down. At that distance from the router, the picture is clear and movement is smooth. Using an extension cord, if I walk the camera farther away, say 10 feet, the movement becomes extremely, unbearably choppy. If I power it down and plug it in any distance greater than about 4-5 feet, it will not pick up the wireless signal. Do I have a defective unit? What type of wireless range is everybody else getting? I'd like to use mine at a distance of 20-30 feet from my router. Being an N router, this should be no problem. Thoughts?
I should add, I know that the camera will only pick up a G signal, but 20-30 feet should still be no problem. (unless my unit is defective; i.e. abnormally weak at picking up a signal)
Another thing to note, my laptop picks up about 12 strong wifi signals. This camera ONLY picks up my (1) signal when I hit the SCAN button.
@Jason
that's likely the antenna connector that is detached from the pcb inside. One reader reported this same problem and had to open the camera to re-attach a wire to the antenna connector.
See comments from "edi" in this other post.
Bubbah, thanks again!! While my wire was not cut like edi's was, it was completely disconnected from the main board. Once I took the camera apart and reconnected the antenna to the internal board, it seems to be working properly. Thanks again for the great site.
Bubbah
Great site...thanks. You know I searched everywhere to try and find a way to connect via iPhone. I downloaded an app called Foscam IP Camera control, but it only shows you the video in half of the screen. Anyway, I could connect via the browser but it would not show the video (ActiveX), but when I logged in using the "push mode" it works!! Simple enough, but worth mentioning to those that have an iPhone.
Also, I have mine using port 8080...how do I use that port so that when people log in using my dyndns name (xxxxx.dyndns.org:8080), they dont have to add the port after it and so can just use xxxx.dyndns.org?
@Rory&Sarah:
Check also IP Vision and Live Cam for iPhone, they are reported to work with Foscam's. I've put a brief presentation here.
Instead of using the DDNS parameters from the camera, the alternative is to do this on the router instead, and there, arrange some port forwarding.
Example: I've got 3 cameras, all on port 80 locally, but the router is set to forward incoming http on port 80 to camera1's port 80, incoming http on port 82 to camera2's port 82, and so on...
In your case just do a routing of incoming http:80 to internal port 8080 of your camera.
Great, thank you Bubbah, that makes total sense!
I do have another question as Im not sure Im doing it correctly, but are you supposed to be able to use the built in speaker to talk? I have a microphone and when I push the little button in the "Visitor" pane to talk, nothing comes out the speaker of the cam? Im assuming its working as when I restart the webcam, I hear that click noise that comes from it.
@Rory&Sarah:
Yes, it should work as you describe. Just check that you don't keep the "microphone" icon while talking, it's not necessary, just one click to "enable" and one click to "disable". Anyway, at best, you'll hear something choppy and the plastic will vibrate so much it will be almost impossible to understand anything from the camera side. On recent models, there is an audio plug where you can connect an external speaker. You would get slightly better result also by testing the camera wired to the Ethernet. I've check the doc and there is no volume setting.
Thanks Bubbah.....figured out that it was my microphone that was really the issue.
I still am not successful with the port thing. No matter what port I set my camera at..port 8080 or port 80.....whenever I put in my dyndns.org name(without the port number), I land up on my router not the webcam (prompts me for my router password) Not sure what Im doing wrong.
Thanks for being patient with me.
Nevermind...I took off all my port forward settings and now it directly logs into the camera wich is set to port 80
@ Bubbah from a different post: "I systematically get IE8 crashing on Windows 7 when entering the administrator settings. I don't have this with IE8 on XP. Maybe there's some security setting to adjust on 7? I didn't investigate much so far as I mostly use the Server Push mode anyway."
I am having the exact same issue with Win 7. Has anybody found a solution for this yet?
Also, I set my camera in motion alarm mode last night. It started reporting alarms early and often this morning. It seems that the sunlight and/or shadows caused by the sunlight trigger the alarm. My sensitivity is set to 10. Do I simply need to turn down the sensitivity to stop these false alarms? What is a good setting # that others are using?
Thanks.
@Jason
I still have that problem with 7. So when I need to use the AX interface, I have to do it from a older XP computer.
I've set the "motion sensibility" to 6 with a delay of 120". It still takes snapshots when the light changes but it's quite acceptable that way (imho).
I purchased a indoor and outdoor camera, the indoor came with a bad cable and the outdoor came with a blank CD. These things threw me off for a while.
I also can not get the camera to function w/ IE, 7 (Vista) or 8 (XP). Working on the cell phone issues too. There is supposed to be a type of .cab file for the phone. The seller is trying to help. Anywhere else to look for solutions?
@P C Preston ,
on that page, you find the j2me Camera viewer which can run on Windows Mobile through the jbed utility(same page). I think it is the cab file you're looking for.
I've come across a problem here and was wondering if someone can help.
I now have 2 Foscams set up. Within LAN everything work OK.
However, when accessing any of the cams from the internet, then attempting to multi-view (grid) one cam always shows up with a yellow light and after a few seconds I get a "failed to connect" error.
Configuration
--------------
- From my router I assigned each cam with a static IP lease (static DHCP) using their individual MAC addresses.
*EDIT* Tried removing the static leases from router and setting up cams with static IP's. Still the same...
- Each cam is setup with a different port.
- Both cams are configured to communicate with each other using the web gui.
- Port Forwarding as follows:
Application Protocol External Port Redirect Port IP Address
----------- -------- ------------- ------------- ----------
Cam1 TCP 90xx 90xx 192.168.1.x
Cam2 TCP 90yy 90yy 192.168.1.y
Now, when logging on (from internet using IE+ActiveX) I can access the gui's and view every camera separately, no problems there.
But...
If I connect to cam1 (http://WANIP:CAM1PORT) cam2 cannot be viewed on the grid.
If I connect to cam2 (http://WANIP:CAM2PORT) cam1 cannot be viewed on the grid.
I can open 2 separate IE tabs and connect each tab to different cam...that's fine too...
I also tried connecting using WebcamXP as host, again only one cam can be viewed simultaneously.
Live Cams on my iPhone is not affected by this, I can see both cams from the internet on the grid, which leads me to think this is not a port forwarding issue.
I have basically run out of ideas at this point. Did I miss anything?
@Falcordog,
the only workaround I know is to specify the full dyndns url of each camera under the multi-device setup rather than their local ip's.
Yes Bubbah! It Works!!
I replaced the local IP's with my WAN IP and both cams are now accessible from the internet.
Question:
Does that mean that now, when viewing my cams locally, the stream needs to travel back and forth through the internet, thus consuming my bandwidth?
Thank you very much Bubbah!
@Flacordog
that's correct unfortunately, but... since you have more than one camera, you could dedicate one for outside access (with the ddns urls in multi-device params) and another one for indoor access (with local ip's in multi-device...).
Otherwise, you still can use one of those clients where you can define each camera separately.
In your reply to my previous post you said I needed to change a setting in windows to keep the file where the videos are stored from popping up when a new one is recorded. I have vista and couldn't find what you were referring to in my control panel..... Is there something different I should look under to make it stop popping up? Also is there a way to record continuously and not just when it detects movement?
Hi,
Me again....I tried tweakUI but its only for WindowsXP, not Vista. Is there another solution that you know of that I can try.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us!
@Shonnie,
That key is not used in Vista. It's probably better to use a 3rd party camera client like the ones presented in this post.
To continuously record a video, just click the tiny icon representing a camcorder in the "for Visitor" section. The record path is defined under "User Settings" in the Administrator section.
@Bubbah.
Sorry to bother you again Bubbah, but can you tell me where I enter the delay factor when motion has been detected. I seem to be suffering from the alarm being triggered and a one second delay before any pics are taken.
quote - Bubbah.
"I've set the "motion sensibility" to 6 with a delay of 120". It still takes snapshots when the light changes but it's quite acceptable that way (imho)."
@orionsm,
it is located under Device Management > Alarm Service Settings > Upload Interval (Seconds). So there is a delay of 2 minutes between every motion detections.
@Bubbah,
Once again thanks for answering another question :-) Is there anyway to stop the delay before the camera take a still pic ? I seem to have the problem that the camera is triggered and the pic seems to be taken a second or two later.
@orionsm,
I wonder if you'd still have the delay when the camera is connected to the Ethernet? Or maybe it's related to the time needed to initiate the ftp connection? Really I don't have a solution for that.
@Bubbah
That was my first thought to connect by ethernet rather tha nwifi, but doesn't seem to make any difference....A strange one, I'll have to play around with the sensitivity A litle more and accept that there will be a few falsse alarms but the movememnt may trigger the camera a few milliseconds earlier
Top Tip
Maybe this is obvious, but when you first set up your camera over hardwire ethernet, remember that the MAC address will be different when you move to WiFi. This took me forever to realize, so I kept trying to visit the static IP address I had assigned the camera, without realizing it had gotten a new address because I changed interfaces.
So: don't assign a static IP address until you've moved from ethernet to WiFi :)
I contacted support regarding multi device view over WAN and indeed it is necessary to input the WAN IP's into the multi device settings in order for it to work.
Here's a copy of the official instructions (in MS Excel format) in case anyone needs it:
http://www.mediafire.com/?nmmfdjqwhru
As Bubbah kindly suggested I will use some 3rd party app such as WebcamXP for LAN access and the cam servers for WAN.
I also inquired about the distorted sound quality when attempting to speak through the cams. I attached a short recording of the output as requested by the support rep.
The reply was not very helpful I'm afraid, they claim that the distortion is caused by settings on my PC and that I need to turn off echo and noise suppression. I could not find those settings on my computer, but attempted to disable any extended mic functionality I could find. None of that made any difference.
I actually tried 3 different notebooks and the output was exactly the same. I even tested an external speaker using the mini jack connector and the distortion was still present...only much louder :(
Good morning
Need help in setting up, buddah confirmed i need cable from router to ip camera, do i also need cable from router to wireless latop.?
plugged in camera only with power cable and rj45 cable to router, devfind.exe on laptop found the camera and its default settings. This is where i am stuck. Not sure what to change or where to change it.
thanks in advance from a noob
Think my problem is down to the laptop not being connected to router with cable. i need to make sure gateway and dns server are the same and if not click the update button?, problem is my update button is not lit and wont let me update. I believe my ip camera being from easynp so got the english manual from their site.
Went out and bought another rj45 cable and still no luck when using my laptop ( vista )
decided to try and configure on my XP computer, and i could update so the gateway and dns were matching. I now have some sort of picture so will manually adjust focus, PTZ seems to work.
New to this so i imaging i will be back will more questions.
why did xp work ok and not on my vista laptop. both have minium specs ?
@welshtiger
Your problem on Vista might be more related to Internet Explorer 8 and
the ActiveX control of the camera.
The workaround would be to go in IE settings: Tools > Internet Options > Advanced > and uncheck the option “Enable memory protection to help mitigate online attacks”.
Hello Bubbah
That option to uncheck is faded out so cant alter but there is no tick anyway.
I can access the camera now using anyone of my pc's/laptops with the inner access IP address wirelessly.
I need help please setting up outer access as it seems to be my asdl IP address.
I have read so much, i think i am just confusing myself
thankyou
Hello welshtiger,
The camera can be configured to use a ddns service but that's not the best approach when you have a router. You'll prefer to setup the ddns on your router instead. Start by taking a free ddns account from one of the providers supported by your router (It must have a section in the setup for configuring a ddns with a list providers like dyndns.com, no-ip.com, ... where you'll enter your account details once created)
You'll also need to make yourself familiar with port forwarding in your router, so incoming requests on, say port 80, will be forwarded to your camera's ip and port 80.
Check the user manual from Foscam, it's quite well explained in there.
Will check again come monday, busy weekend but thanks for the advice and tips, links etc
hi,
i don't know if i have foscam , i sure have oem one, i flashed with foscam firmware and it work strangely : when i click on up button it show me a debbuging message , and camera not move giid ...
what is it ???
@miki
never heard of this problem. Maybe the firmware update did not succeed completely. You could retry flashing it, making sure that you do it with the camera connected to the Ethernet, no through wifi.
Has anyone used the FTP setup to upload snapshots. Mine works on axp ftp server but will not upload to free hosting eg sixserve.com
Has anyone managed to get the camera's to work using a static IP as opposed to the router using DHCP? My DG834G V4 keep issuing a different IP Address to the cam, making it unreliable to view remotely.
If a static IP address was set on the cam, what settings were used?
Many thanks .......
@orionsm
That works for me (with a Billion Bipac 7420GXL router) with all the cameras:
I leave the camera network settings to "Obtain IP from DHCP Server".
Then I first wait for the camera to receive a dynamic ip from the router
Next, I manually store its reported wi-fi MAC address into the static DHCP list with whatever ip I want.
Next time I reboot the camera, it takes the static address from the router.
If it doesn't work that way for you, maybe check if Netgear has any firmware update for your router ?
@Bubbah
I'm begining to think the fault could be with the settings in my wireless extender unit. I have got the DHCP diabled in the extender and enabled in the DG834G. I'm Thinking that somehow the MAC codes are getting muddled somewhere. Obviously can't have the extender and DG834G issuing IP addresses at the same time. EVerything works fine with my wired cams, only the wireless on the extender is playing up and keeps changing IP.
@ quote bubbah
Hello welshtiger,
The camera can be configured to use a ddns service but that's not the best approach when you have a router. You'll prefer to setup the ddns on your router instead. Start by taking a free ddns account from one of the providers supported by your router (It must have a section in the setup for configuring a ddns with a list providers like dyndns.com, no-ip.com, ... where you'll enter your account details once created)
You'll also need to make yourself familiar with port forwarding in your router, so incoming requests on, say port 80, will be forwarded to your camera's ip and port 80.
Check the user manual from Foscam, it's quite well explained in there.
Morning Bubbah
Still not quite sure about port forwarding and if i did it correctly on router ( router is NETGEAR DG834GT ) so i configured camera instead.
I made a ddns account and configured the camera with my account details. Now i can access the camera through its IP address on my lan and ( ddns http address ) http://******.dyndns.org/
You say it would be better to configure through the router, any reason for this?
Also as i am aware, its an easynp camera, it already had the latest firmware, but does anyone know if the flashing light can be turned off.
thanks in advance to you and this site. have helped me understand a little bit more but still lots to learn.
@welshtiger:
It's really from an administration point of vue that I prefer managing all the ddns access from the router. It's central and easier if you do it for your NAS, your camera, and such...
Try the FAQ for ip cameras to find out how to control the green led.
Could really use some advice but I hate to ask since it's probably pretty basic. I originally made the mistake listed in the wireless setup text of not unplugging the camera until the countdown had completed. I tried this page's method, and got as far as the camera pulling in my wireless network settings, and getting the quick flashing network lamp.
But it killed my network somehow. No more network/internet access for any of my computers. Power cycled and got the network back but no internet.
Reset EVERYTHING and got it all back except my linksys program is still telling me that I have no internet connection (though I'm using it to ask for help right now). Got the FOSCAM pugged in with the ethernet cable and it's all operational... except now it can't locate any networks. I hit the refresh button, scan again, nothing.
I can't locate any off settings in the networking stuff, but I am not an IT pro by any means.
So.... HELP please! And THANK YOU!
@Mathew
I've never heard of such disastrous effects installing this tiny camera. You should first make sure that you have the latest program and firmware for your Linksys router 'cause it's unlikely that camera can be the only responsible of that. Don't setup any port forwarding yet and ensure that you don't do MAC filtering on the router for the moment. Let the router assign an ip to your camera in a first time, then when it's done, you can manually enter that assigned ip in to the fixed dhcp table.
hi all !
i think i flashed with beta firmware, i find normal ones on foscam site and now all is good except that i must put canal for wifi and i lost deutch language
Bubbah,
Thank you! I think my router may be dying a slow and obscure death, or it was one hell of a single event error. I don't know what's going on with it, but I tried again as you instructed, everything died again; but when I power cycled, it all came back (Linksys still erroneously claiming no internet) and the camera was working wirelessly! Now, mysteriously, the Linksys is recognizing the internet connection and everything is happy. I think it's just well beyond me to understand. Now... for camera #2!
Thank you again Bubbah!
I know from reviews that I'm not the only one with this (very) minor complaint, and I did read about Foscam's good customer service; but I was still blown away by FOSCAM's customer response! These people are unbelievable! (read below)
Dear Mat,
Thank you for the support on Foscam's product.
This is Dancy from Foscam. Nice to meet you here.
We can provide the entension for the power cord. How long do you want extend?
Best Regards
Dancy chen ( Miss )
Sales & Marketing Team
E-mail: sales3@foscam.com
MSN: sales3.foscam@hotmail.com
-------------------------------------------------
ShenZhen Foscam Intelligent Technology co., Ltd.
Tel: 86-755-2674 5668 EXT：308
Fax: 86-755-2674 5168
Mobile: +86 13267211543
Website: www.foscam.com www.foscam.com.cn
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
发件人： mat cicero
收件人： sales@foscam.com
抄送：
主题： FW: Delivery Status Notification (Failure)
Good Day,
I've recently purchased a FI8908W IP camera and set it up. I am very happy with the camera in all ways except for the short power cord. If FOSCAM were to offer an extension for the cord so that the transformer could remain plugged directly into the wall and the small diameter power cord could be extended through a female to male extension I would certainly purchase it.
Thanks,
Mat
@Mathew,
Just in case, could you ensure that the uPNP setting is disabled on the camera ? It doesn't do anything good in my configuration and just report "error in chat with upnp device", but maybe it has a bad effect on your router ?
Hi there ! I already bought 3 cameras for my home security setup, i was connecting via cable and everything was fine. But after switch to wireless mode i'm having some serious problems to sucessfully connect the cameras to the routers !
My house have 3 stories, every floor has it's own router/AP, in every router happens the same problem !
When i try, it keeps searching for some wireless ap to connect, in the router log, i can see the camera associating with the router (STA-ASSOC) but suddenly it drops the connection ! After reset the camera several times, finally it connects and works.
Anyone knows what this can be ?
(all cameras have the lastest software/firmware)
THanks for the help
@DouglasteR
did you check if your cameras have different MAC addresses for Wifi ?
Some copies of Foscam model have been reported to have all the same MAC. That could be your problem.
@Bubbah
Yes, they are all legit foscam ones (i double check the model specs and they both have unique ethernet/wireless macs).
I´m starting to wonder if it´s not my DHCP server somehow !
@Bubbah
OMG, they have the same wireless MAC ! You jackpoted Bubbah !
Anyway, they are legit ones ! What i can do now ? There any way to change the mac address ?
@DouglasteR
Did you have a confirmation from Foscam that it an authentic one from them? If you email them your DeviceID's (in Device Status) they'd tell you for sure.
Typically, the ones in Red and white boxes sold by DealExtreme.com are copies for instance.
If returning them is not an option, you may try the procedure shown in here. In the recovery package I've included an auto-translation of a txt file with upgrade instructions, and at the end of it it says something like:
"Press ESC to set MAC address
set-mac0 00:11:22:33:55:66"
So it seems possible but I'm not sure which Wi-fi or Ethernet address it changes and if it works at all.
Hello bubbah,
I've just received by foscam camera today. I've followed all the setting instruction above (like the green LED is blinking faster). The problem is i can't access my camera wirelessly to my computer (no problem when using network cable). is has the latest firmware and i believed it is genuine foscam.
Do you think it is faulty? I have a linksys router by the way.
Your help will be greatly appreciated.
august
@sanchoaugust
maybe you didn't unplug the Ethernet cable early enough during the boot up time? Check also on your router if a new ip address has been registered in the DHCP table, that's likely your ip camera.
Ensure that you don't use MAC filtering and that your router is using broadcast mode in Wi-Fi.
There's been also some fake Foscam (If your camera comes from DealExtreme, it's not a Foscam) that came with badly conencted wifi antenna not properly. The wire inside the camera was damaged. It would be the case if your camera works wirelessly only if sitting just beside the router.
Heloo bubbah,
i bought the camera in one of the recommended sellars of foscam in ebay. I manage to do a wireless connection but only if i don't close the window while the camera is robooting. and sometimes the signal is lost. but if i close the window and tried to open it again, then i cant access again. i will try again this afternoon (working am today) and to understand about DHCP adn mac filtering.
One more question, in the ipcamera tool, can you see the camera regardless if you are using network cable or wireless? because in my case, i can only see the camera in ipcamera tool when it is connected to network cable but not on wireless.
thanks,
august
Hello Bubbah,
A follow up on my camera, i reset the camera using the reset button on the back, when i turned it on, it's asking me to update web ui which i downloaded perfectly. again, i followed all the insructions on how to set it up. NOw this is the situation
1. i cannot still access my camera through wifi, the only thing i was able to access it is when i remain the webpage open after removing the network cable on the camera. this one won't last long. by the time i close the webpage and access it again, then it wont reconnect. in my linksys lela software, the details of the camera becomes offline by the time i remove the cable network.
2. Surpricingly, i can access the camera from outside through my physical ip address plus the port without any problems. on this part, i don't understand. It should be straight forward when i access the ip address of my camera but it not happening.
Hope you can give me an answer.
Many thanks,
August
Ho
Hello,
Problem solved.
Thanks,
August
Hello Bubbah
I just finish reading your whole site, and now I'm up to speed on real cams vs clones. Not sure which one I have, I just wanted a baby moniter so I bought what seemed like a good deal on an IP CAM from a US seller with good ratings on EBAY.
I may have a legit version because I was able to upgrade to the latest firmware ( ending in 46 ).
The cam is pretty kool for the price, but the mic does not pick up much sound and the buzz I get when I turn the volume up on my computer is infuriating.
Is there anything I can do? I'm I the only one who is getting a humm. Or a mic thats not very good.
No returns on ebay, should I cut my losses and admit to an 80 dollar mistake on a baby moniter
@Marc
I must say, the microphone does not seem well isolated and that noise is typical. If you consider this wasted anyway, you still could try to better isolate or replace the microphone by a better one. Or maybe extend the microphone wires to connect an external one ?
Check also that you don't have devices that produce interferences nearby, but I'm afraid the camera is self-interfering.
Bubbah
I really appreciate your response, I've added your site to my list of favorites and consider myself to be a gadget victim regular.
This camera is pretty amazing and for this price there arent any IPCAMS that can really compete.
I really did like the idea of being able to watch my son at work, or on my phone without having to be a sling box and a $300 RF camera
You do make a good point I do not have much to lose so I will see what I can do with the mic. Although I'm not sure I have the know how to "better isolate or replace the microphone".
Maybe I can speak to one of the EE's in my firm ( I'm an ME )But since I probably will be buying a more commercial baby monitor anyway, why not try and fool around with it. As soon as I figure out where to start
I've had my IPcam (FI8908w) since January and am quite pleased with it. The posts here have been a great help, Bubbah. Been reading
them since December. Thanx much!
I was wondering if you tested its wireless range at all. Or if any others may have some insight into that.
Yeah - I know - Different locales will produce different results. But a ball-park reference would be good.
It just seems that mine will work about 1 room away or so. Any further and it becomes problematic. I tried a higher gain antenna but it didn't do any better.
I haven't had the nerve, yet, to open it up and check the antenna wire. After wiring it up to an old Linksys WAP, the range it gives me is phenomenal. So I'm hesitant to pop the case open.
Thanx again,
WDave
@W. David:
I think it's about 10-15 meters max. Almost no connection above that. I could improve it a bit by replacing my router's antenna by a bigger one. Ideally I should do the same for the camera but couldn't yet find one with a suitable connector.
If the antenna was not properly, it would work wirelessly only when literally sitting on the router, so I don't think you need to open the camera.
Bubbah and David,
I am looking in to importaing hi-gain (~8dbi to 9dbi) antennas and wireless access point repeaters. These items will be able to extend the range of wireless network significantly up to 150 meters. Do you think there is a market for such a technology and at what price?
Thanks,
Foscam.us
Hi Ravat,
I've tried with a repeater. It worked but it reduced the bandwidth of my router. And more repeater you have, less bandwidth you get. You almost divide by 2 when you add one repeater.
I finally replaced the antenna of my router by this one:
http://www.partco.biz/verkkokauppa/popup_image.php?pID=14723&image=0
- Frequency: 2400-2483MHz
- Polarisation: vertical
- Gain: 8 dBi
- VSWR: <1.6
- Impedance: 50 ohm
- Length: 430mm
And I paid it about 42€ and it increased the range of my router.
On one camera I just replaced the original antenna by this one:
http://www.partco.biz/verkkokauppa/popup_image.php?pID=14968&image=0
The camera is just under a metal roof and by moving the antenna 50 cm from this roof the camera didn't disconnect anymore.
my friends, hello to everybody
I'm writing from Italy and first in order I would ask you to forgive my bad English.
After a week of anger with the manual Foscam, Thanks to your suggestions I was able to connect my two IP-cam (both Foscam) to the router and to see them either via WiFi or ethernet.
After a week of anger with the manual Foscam, Thanks to your suggestions I was able to connect two routers and IP-cam to see them either via WiFi or ethernet.
However, I still need your help, because to follow Foscam manual is not helping me in any way.
this is the problem
as I said, I can now see and work perfectly with both cameras, but only locally.
Instead, I can not work with cameras by remote.
I read dozens of forums and threads, and I tried to follow their suggestions, but altough I'm still not able to access the cameras remotely
The ports on the router seem to be properly opened, the tool of "Port Forward" says so.
I registered my account on DynDNS and activated my host.dyndns.org
then, in some forums people told me to write directly in the browser myhostname.dyndns.org: PORT_NUMBER (eg. foscam.dyndns.org: 8000) and I tried to do so, but I can't reach the ip-cam page.
Now in this blog, I've read that some of you were able to configure their cams and their routers so as to be able to access the cameras remotely
Also me, I would need to do this. So I ask you: Please, Would you help me?
My adsl/router is the Netgear DGN3500, My Foscam cams are respectively the models FI8908W and FI8904W
I hope to find soon your help.
christianrogari, try the following:
1. Establish a Static IP Lease (Static DHCP/MAC-IP Bind) to each of the cams in your router so that it keeps leasing the same IP to the cams.
2. Type in your DynDNS account details in your router's DDNS settings, not in the cams.
3. log on to each cam and change the port numbers to something else and different from each other, for example:
Cam1: 9050
Cam2: 9051
4. Log back on to the router and open (forward) both ports for the corresponding cam IPs that you have established a fixed lease for in step 1.
5. Now you should be able to log on to the cams:
Locally:
Cam1:
http://LOCAL IP1:9050
Cam2:
http://LOCAL IP2:9051
From Internet:
Cam1:
http://YOURDYNDNSHOSTNAME.ORG:9050
Cam2:
http://YOURDYNDNSHOSTNAME.ORG:9051
Hope this helps...
I have a small problem with the multi-devices view.
In local with IE, I can see all my cameras in one page with the multi-device view.
In the multi-device setting, for each device I have set my local addresses (2nd device: 192.168.1.2, 3rd device:192.168.1.3 and so on) and it works very well.
From internet the multi-device view doesn't work.
I can see each of my cameras on a separate IE page (http://mydns.org:1 Http://mydns.org:2 and Http://mydns.org:3) but when I open one page (the same camera that I was using in local with the multi-device view) after few minutes I have the message "fail to connect to the device: Timeout" and I can see only one camera, not the others.
Did I do something wrong?
David, the only way to properly use multi-device when viewing remotely is to input the cam's WAN IP addresses into the cams instead of the local IPs.
That would however mean that every time you view your cams locally your internet connection bandwidth will be used...
A way to work around that is to use some other viewing software such as BSTI_SuperIPCam when connecting remotely.
The WAP I'm using is, as I'd said, an *old* Linksys Wireless-G. I'd upgraded its firmware and set it up to work as a "bridge/Client".
Unfortunatly, being used as BOTH a Bridge and a Client can cause issues. Not just the drop to 50% bandwidth (due to it pulling double duty) but also signal collisions (the WAP picking up signals from both the Camera and from the remote router). One would think that it wouldn't be all too bad... the Camera should be able to reconnect or reset but my Foscam doesn't always do this (don't get me wrong. I love the little bugger).
What I need is more experience. I know that much. ;-)
I ended up connecting the Foscam to the WAP with a cable and that seems to have bypassed the problems. Even viewing it from across town shows no issues.
Maybe another brand, or newer WAP would work better. Dunno.
@Ravat:
What would be a good price or brand? Dunno this also. I've seen a few sellers on eBay offering new wireless routers with DDWRT(sp?) firmware that supposedly provides Bridge or Client modes (plus more stuff that is beyond my meager understanding).
You might want to do a search there for typical pricings. Their's seems pretty reasonable to me.
Don't know a whole heck of a lot after all,
W. David
@ Falcordog
Thanks for the explanation. I set the cam's WAN IP addresses and now the multi-views works.
I've never tried the mail service system. How does it work? When the alarm is activated, does it send an email with pictures attached like other brands are doing or is it just a text to say that the alarm has been trigged?
I tried to set my email information but it doesn't work.
I set the email addresses for the sender and receiver, my smtp server, my user name and password for the authentication (which is without SSL) and when I test it it doesn't work and I got an error message.
@Bubbah
Your blog is great. I have mentioned it to Foscam, I don't know if they really care but I think they should some times to look at it and why not to bring they own comments.
It will be good to have a special part with bugs and suggested improvements that Foscam could do. For example I saw another brand of indoor IP cameras which has a lot of interested functions like working in Java (accessing with any browsers and any OS), the alarm area can be selected on the picture like a door, a window,etc... when the alarm is triggered, it sends emails with attached pictures and they have a lot of other interesting functions. It will be cool if Foscam could develop a bit more their system and listen their users.
Fin_David (like there are several Davids here)
@David:
I'd had a little problem setting up Email on the Foscam until I learned that my ISP's Mail server wouldn't accept Me as both the Sender and the Recipient. Once I got past that - No problem anymore.
(my ISP has a simple SMTP mail system so there's no need for authentication or password - no ssl. But if you're using a global mail server like Hotmail or GoogleMail then... whew.)
W. David
@W.David
This sucks! My ISP requires authentication and also SSL. I will have to find another solution.
When the alarm is triggered, what do you receive? Just a notification that the alarm has been triggered or also pictures?
Fin_David
@David
On an alarm, it sends an Email with 6 attachments. Each is a Picture. I have mine set to be 1 second apart and it's fairly accurate plus/minus or so. Each pic is about 20kbytes in size.
When I have it set to send pictures using FTP, it sends approximately 50 or so pictures; one after the other (it actually connects to the FTP site 50 times, uploading 1 picture on each connect). 50-or-So ? Yeah- what makes it vary in number... I dunno. Each picture is about 20k bytes or so depending on its complexity. So the math says 50*20k = 1Meg per Alarm (give or take).
I know little about the Authentication and/or SSL. But play with it. See what you can do.
W.David
@David
I tried to use the FTP and it works. But I would prefer to receive the pictures on my email box.
I tried to play with the Authentication but it doesn't work. I will contact Foscam to see if they can help me.
@All:
At the risk of sounding like a salesman for Foscam and possibly being a little bit off-topic, I'd like to state how fond I am of this camera.
I entered into this back in November/December of '09. Looking for a way to get surveillance video on my home while I'm away. I knew nothing of IP addresses other than they existed for some mystical reason or another. Email, about the same. And FTP was some strange incantation used by wizards and sorcerers.
I now have four different "video-servers" (hmmm does that qualify me as a bonified Gadget Victim?) and of all of them, this little Foscam gets my top rating. I don't mean to scare anyone about the "other" devices but the Foscam is the easiest to use, easiest to set up, easiest to configure and the most reliable I have.
I have one Single-unit video web server and two 4ch DVRs with Network ability and they all are a royal pain in the uh... neck to get to work right.
This Foscam offers the best of all of them. It has both Email and FTP and can do both. It has motion detection. It's also WiFi. It can be easily configured via its .CGI tools. It has remote I/O contacts. PLUS - it's PAN and TILT. PLUS - it's the only one I have that
doesn't REQUIRE Internet Explorer.
Granted - I have a wish-list for it but for the price, I wish I'd skipped on the 4ch DVRs and gotten a few more Foscams.
Isn't hindsight wonderful?
W. David
ps If I am too off-topic, I do apologize and will refrain from such in the future. Thanx.
no, you're not too off-topic
yes, I'd say you qualify as a gadget victim ! ;-)
Has anyone been successful setting up e-mail notifications using Gmail?
@Dallas
nope, and nobody will. The camera is not able to connect to TLS mail hosts. Check the FAQ. While you can still use Gmail as target to sender address, you need to find and use a public non-encrypted SMTP mail host. Perhaps the one of your ISP.
Hi Bubbah,
I do not want to have my PC running 24/7 and just want the FI8908W to send me an email with lots of images on motion detection as a poor-mans alarm/security system.
I can't find definitive answers in the FI8908W product manual or on Internet forums, can you please answer the following questions re the FI8908W? I'd prefer to know before buying.
Does the FI8908W require a PC to detect motion and send email with images?
When motion is detected, how many images are sent per email? Can 10, 20 or more images be sent per email on motion detect? Usually if only 1 image it will probably miss the intruder.
Can the number of images per email be changed?
Can the time between images on motion detection be varied? Like 10 images 100 milliseconds apart.
Will it send an email every time motion is detected or will it only send 1 email, then wait a set period of minutes before sending another email to stop email inbox flooding?
I also want to be able to use a remote control to power off the unit, probably by simply cutting the 5v power supply, will the camera lose its motion detection settings or pan/tilt positioning after a cold start?
Any answers and suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks
@shane
You don't need a pc, the ip camera is already a self-sufficient little linux-based computer.
The camera emails 6 pictures upon motion detection. You can't change this.
The Alarm service settings section allows you to specify the upload interval in seconds. There's also a scheduler to have the motion detection armed only when you're away.
The motion detection sensitivity can be adjusted.
If you cut the power, the camera will retrieve its settings when restarting.
However by default does an initial rotation, kind of self-test, and loose the previous position. But you can disable that behaviour by sending a CGI command through the browser's url, like this:
http://[ipcam]/set_misc.cgi?ptz_center_onstart=0
You'll find other shorcuts like this one in this blog.
Thanks for all the info Bubbah, much appreciated.
Hello
I cannot access my new Foscam 8908 in Vista IE8.I have tried everything and keep coming up with the dreaded DVM_IPOCam2.ocx being blocked along with unknown publisher.I have another Linksys IP camera that uses ActiveX and have no problems.I can access either camera on my Mac or PC using Firefox or Chrome but have limited control over functions.Could anyone please help an old and obviously not to smart Canadian.
p.s.thanks to Bubbah for this wonderful forum for all levels of expertise.
Thanks in advance
Ron reckmeister@gmail.com
Hi Ron,
Check points #2 and #9 from the post "FAQ for IP Cameras". The foscam AX control is not signed so you need to lower some security level in IE. It's also compiled with an old runtime and needs some adjustment to (kind of) work under IE 7/8
Hello, after reading everyones comments and looking at multiple guides I too cannot get my Foscam to work on my wireless network. I am using a Linksys Wireless N router (WRT160Nv2) with WEP 128bit encryption (Wi-Fi Protected Setup). The router is backwards compatible and I do not want to "downgrade" it to BG because I have other wireless devices that use N.
like everyone else, It runs fine connected directly, I setup my wireless settings on the camera using the same setting as my wireless router, I set the Authentication to "open system" and tried "share key", click submit, then take out the network cable before it starts to move (a few seconds after submitting). The green light then goes from a slow blink to a fast blink but the "IP Camera Tool" shows no camera and I cannot connect to the IP in my browser.
I'm Camera Firmware Version 11.14.1.46, and this is the latest driver on foscam.com from what I could find.
I must have spent 10hrs trying to get this to work wireless and its frustrating how difficult it is to set this up.
Thanks for your support Bubbah, and others on this thread.
@zwick
Did you try to enable the SSID broadcast mode on your router (under Wireless > Basic Wireless settings) ?
The camera can't connect without this.
Bubbah, thanks for you quick reply.
Yes it was enabled by default. I have also updated the firmware to 11.14.2.17 and web ui to 2.4.8.14. Re-input the wireless settings and unplugged the network cable a few seconds after pressing submit. Still will not work.
@zwick
strange. What I do usually is to let the camera get an address from DHCP, and after unplugging it, I observe the DHCP list on the router to see if it gets updated. Once the router shows a new MAC entry with the assigned ip address, I manually enter them into the DCHP list to make it static. As you say that the led is blinking fast, I'd assume it connected somehow to the router.
If it keeps on failing, you should try contacting Foscam for help, they do reply.
My camera works fine for 8 - 10 hours wifi and then goes dead. I actually have a higain antenna attached to the camera which is 150 feet or more from the router. Connection speed (when it works) is great. View locally and via DynDns setup...until it goes off line...twice a day. Any suggestions appreciated. I love this cam. Currently using WEP. May have to try WPA.
Hi,
Just wondering about connecting to the camera via wireless. I have uploaded to the latest firmware and every thing works via cable, but when I entered the settings on the wireless page and click SCAN it does not detect my router. I also noticed that I do not seemed to have a option to select the wireless channel yet I am certain that the camera is a genuine Foscam.
Any ideas??
Regs
Liam
@Liam
Check if the broadcast mode is enabled on your router, this is needed for this camera to connect. Try also to have the camera just beside the wireless router, if it connects only then, it may indicate that the antenna connection inside is faulty.
The channel selection is not relevant on a Wifi client. It's up to the server to provide the channel information to the client. There was such a setting in a previous camera firmware, but it was actually a bug.
@Liam
I have clone easynp. Sometimes I have to scan 2 or 3 times, the he find.
@Bubbah
With this clone it works as in Foscam manual. So not unplug in 10 seconds, but unplug power and ethernet after reboot. I use a static ip.
Hi Bubbah
I recently bought Dlin DCS5220 ip cam and connected it wirelessly to Dlink DIR- 655. I have sentup the ddns account on the router and able to access it via the ddns account for a few min. however the camera is inaccessable after a few minutes via the ddns account and continues to be avaible on the lan ip. once i restart the camera, again it is available for few minutes via the ddns account before being not accessable. I have also setup update client. Please help as i need the camera for monitoring my house.
Regards - Manaktala
@Manaktala
I've been dealing with another Dlink ip cam from that had lots of connectivity issues due to bugs(DCS-950G). So check that you have the latest firmware for both the ipcam and the router.
Also check if you need to adjust the update interval the ddns settings of your router. That defines how often your assigned external ip is sent to DynDns.org. It needs to match what returns "www.whatsmyip.org".
Setting up the ddns from the router as you do is the best approach but, if it still doesn't work, maybe try setting this up directly from the ip cam (at least as a test). It may help you finding the cause of the problem.
I have had my Foscam FI8908W for about a year and I'm very happy with it. Today I had it pulled up on the web at work and my supervisor walks by and decides she wants to play with it. I didn't notice at some point while she was rotating it clockwise she was holding down the mouse button for a long time after it had rotated to the limit. Now it appears to be stuck. It will rotate back to the right about 10-15 degrees but then stops. I tried unplugging the unit and replugging, also rebooting from the web. I am afraid to rotate it by hand don't want to strip out the gears. It is mounted on the ceiling. I'm really bummed I hope the camera isn't ruined :(
@vxderror32
You'll probably need to risk it and re-center the camera manually. It's not made for that but at least I can say that mine survived a !rough! rotation by hand from my son once or twice.
What I would do:
- bring it to full left and power off
- while powered off, re-center gently by hand
- Power on and check
- repeat the procedure to adjust further
However, expect it to happen again since it is not normal that the camera didn't stop at the normal end of rotation. You might need to inspect the inside one day.
Here is a photo album of the camera disassembled (credit goes to Paillassou)
@Bubbah
Woohoo! That worked! Thanks a million :D
hi Bubbah
I have 2 Foscam. All was OK in local but from the time that I input the Dyndns, I do not receive any email alert... do you know where is the problem ?
thks
Fab
@fluisier
You should check the post "FAQ for Ip Cameras". You're probably trying to use an encrypted SMTP server (Gmail ?) which is not supported by the ip camera. If so, you need to use a alternate non-encrypted smtp server, like your ISP's or some public ones freely available.
Cheers!
at the beginning, I was using my Hotmail address. I inputed same addres for sender and receiver (without any id or password) and it works without problem. In fact, in does not work anymore from the time that I made the config for the Dyndns to see my cams from external (but I did not change anything on my email config)... do you know this problem ?
thks and cheers from Geneva (the little Switzerland)
@fluisier
I didn't of that problem (yet), but I'm having DDNS setup on my router rather than the ipcam. (It's easier when you have several devices to access externally). Maybe an option for you?
I thought that I was obliged to setup the DDNS on both router and ipcam... but if I understand well, I can setup the DDNS on my router only and let the ipcam with the original setup ?
I will try and let you know...
thks Bubbah
@fluisier
there's this other post "How to access your IP camera from the Internet" if you need help on that.
yes I already read it... could you please just confirm that I can setup the DDNS on my router only and not on both... router + ipcam ? If yes, I will try tonight...
yes, that's the idea, only setup the router for ddns and leave those settings blank on the ipcamera. This is all you need along with proper port forwarding.
Hi Bubba... long time ! :-)
question:
Do you have a full explanation (with some pics) of how to change the lens of a Foscam FI8905W ?
thks
Fabrice
Hi Fabrice,
It must be similar to changing the lens of the FI8904W, so you could try the instructions from here.
Check the comments as well, people had mixed results with this tweak.
OK thks, seems not to be so complicated ! :-)
last question (hope so...). I have 2 Foscam, one internal, one external. All is OK (view from local link, email alert, view through iPhone) except one thing. I create a Dyndns address and from my office (outside my home link), I can only connect me to the internal cam (cam1_salon) but impossible to connect me to the external one (cam2_garage).
the config. of the cams are:
cam1_salon: IP address 192.168.1.55
HTTP Port 80
cam2_garage: IP address 192.168.1.56
HTTP Port 80
here is what I inputed in my router:
Application Ext.Port Int.Port IP address
cam1_salon 80 80 192.168.1.55
cam2_garage 81 80 192.168.1.56
for both, Protocal TCP and Dyndns OK.
Do so you where is the problem ?
thks a lot for all your support
Fabrice
@fluisier
I have a unique dyndns account which gives me one unique url from accessing from the Internet. The rest is just a matter of redirecting the incoming port to the desired camera inside the lan.
Basically what you do looks correct.
It is possible that your office network does allow external http traffic on port 80 only.
I'm in that case myself.
I have also only one dyndns account. it works for my internal cam with http://fluisier.dyndns.org/ (without specifying the port 80) but it does not work for my external cam with http://fluisier.dyndns.org:81
for you, my config is OK ? (see above)... it is just my office network which allows me external http trafic on port 80 only ?
I had to rdp to a particular network where I know there's no restriction on the http port used, but I could get to the FI8918W "cam1_salon", http://fluisier.dyndns.org as well as the FI8904W,
"cam2_garage" http://fluisier.dyndns.org:81/
So your setup is right.
ok I will try from a network having no restriction...
thks for all
Fabrice
Someone please help. I am stumped. I can use my Foscam wirelessly, and also from my iphone but only if I am connected to my network. I get to a login screen that looks like this
Please Log In to continue.
Log In
Username:
Password:
Error: Bad username/password
I get this screen when I login using my dyndns.org account and when I'm using my WAN Ip address. I am entering the dyndns.org password but it says bad username/password everytime. What is going on?
@Cam
Have a look at the post "How to access your IP camera from the Internet" to ensure that you setup properly your dyndns account and the port forwarding on your router.
Hi Bubbah
Hoping you can help a newbie Foscam user at the limits of his technical knowledge!
I have a new FI8905W. I've followed your guide to getting it working wirelessly - wired is all good, found the wifi router, unplugged it at the right time during reset. But then I can't see it wirelessly. The thing that is confusing me is that I can see the MAC address in the wireless client list of the router - which suggests the connection is working, but it won't come up in the DHCP table.
Router is a BT Voyager 2110.
Any ideas?
Thanks
@callcottstreet
Just a few ideas,
- ensure to unplug the Ethernet within the first 10 seconds of the reboot countdown.
- make sure that it's the Wifi MAC shown, not the Ethernet
- If the router sees the Wifi MAC, then it could be that you have some MAC adress filtering active on your router.
- can you force that MAC address into your DHCP table manually ?
- was the router detected with the Scan button under the Wireless settings ? or entered manually?
- try w/o encryption maybe (as a test only)
- avoid special characters for camera Alias name, and keep it short.
- also try with the camera beside the router in case you'd have an issue with the antenna.
I hope this helps
Hi Bubbah,
Is it possible to sent the camera to one or more fixed positions by a cgi command?
rgds
Henry
@Henry v
For streming the video, see pt #8 in Faq for IP Cameras
Some 3rd party software can also be used.
There's a nice add-on to watch the camera stream from your brower if you use Firefox
Thanks for your answer but I mean Is it possible to sent a command to the camera so it moves to a wanted horizontal and vertical position?
or store a prefix position?
thanks
Have a brandnew Foscam FI8918W connected wirelessly to a Livebox router. With IP tools on my laptop (also connected wirelessly to the router) I can control the FOSCAM (motion, video). It works well.
Remotely (iPhone, Safari browser) I can access my router using a xxx.dyndns.org address and also my FOSCAM UI, if I mention a specific port. However, when I use either FOSCAM Surveillance Pro or Livecams on my iPhone I get an “Unauthorized access” on the latter, and a clouded sun on the former.
With a simple webcam attached via USB to my laptop, Livecams gives beautiful images, with the same DDNS address.
Hi Bubbah, I have a problem, I fixed the firmware of my camera !!!!!, thanks to your instructions everything works perfect, but I have only one problem, the camera does not detect wifi networks, it can be?, I have to update the firmware?
Thanks!
@Gustavo,
in addition to the instructions above, try to set a short and simple passphrase on the router for WEP or WPA. This camera does not like long passphrases.
Try also with the camera just beside the router. If it works, then you might have a loose connection to the antenna inside the ip cam.
bubbah thanks for your reply, I tried what you say and there is no way that captures the network, we clarify two things more, I have already disassembled the camera and noticed that the antenna is correct, I have another camera also captures well the same and network.
That may be?, it may be that this disables the wifi board?, as can be verified if it is working properly?.
I apologize for my insistence, but I am very concerned .......
Thanks!
@Gustavo
Someone else posted a similar problem after upgrading a clone from DealExtreme (
http://www.gadgetvictims.com/2010/11/firmware-updates-for-fi8908w-and.html )
I see 2 possible reasons:
- the ip cameras sold by DX are well known to all have the same MAC address, so only one camera at a time could be use on the same subnet.
- Foscam has done a great deal of effort to prevent clones from using its firmwares and latest version probably check for a specific key stored on a chip in the newer Foscam models.
To rule out the first cause, you'd just need to turn off the other camera and delete its entry from the router's DHCP, then try again with the troublesome one.
ok Bubbah, thanks, but what happened to me is that the camera to make the search does not detect any network, Network box is empty.
Hey Bubbah, do you know were i can buy a new wifi board????
Hello, I want to setup 2 or 3 ip cams in my home. Should I use different port numbers(outside or inside LAN?) for each of them? Or use a different port for each cam? Does it affect the ip cam performance (which is, the refresh rate of the video / image). Thanks!
@SJ
Since they have their own ip address in your lan, all your ipcams can be on 80 if you want. From outside, they all get accessed using your external ip so you would need to use a different port for each and redirect each one to the corresponding lan ip address (port forwarding)
Wow - what a great, and helpful site! .... but am unable to find a solution to my problem: I have a remote camera in France - and had to set up port forwarding using dyndns.org (as the French IP SFR does not have a stactic IP) it all seemed OK but now I am back home, and looking forward to seeing the video - it only works for a few seconds at a time and then I get an error: Error 102 (net::ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED): The server refused the connection. This is using windows7 and Google Chrome (IE dosent seem to want to know at all) See it all here: http://lamottecam.dyndns.org:8081/
any ideas or help apreciated. Thanks Raymondo.
Hello Raymondo,
Looks like this in an intermittent problem. Sometimes I can access the camera, sometimes not. I am using IE9 and Win7.
My feeling is the internet connection at the webcam side is slow and not good.
Your router with port forwarding and your Dyndns settings should be alright.
Matt
Thanks matt... so if this is the case any tips on improving the situation - would using cable instead of wifi help?
Appreciate your comments.
Raymondo
Things you could try:
- Bring the camera closer to your router
- Remove the SFR parental control from your PC if you have it, seems to cause this kind of error: http://www.n9ws.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=152&t=105254
- Try accessing your camera from a smartphone to rule out the previous point.
- Check for the latest NeufBox firmware (http://assistance.sfr.fr/internet_neufbox-de-SFR/connexion/histo-maj-firmware/fc-460-50184)
- turn off uPnp on the camera
hope this helps
Thanks Bubbah,
Willtry those things - will be a couple of weeks as the camera is 600 miles away!
Will report back but thanks again for the advice.
Actually, just one more thing... I had it set to email me when the alarm is set off. It did this OK whilst on the network but now at home - nothing!
Is this still the same problem?
Thanks for your help guys.
Raymondo
Hi, I purchased the Dericam M810w and started up and everything was good found WiFi network and all. But I think I inadvertently upgraded to wrong firmware. when I reboot or power up it doesn't rotate like the first time. I can see the ca haardwired to router but can't scan for my network . No matter how many times I hit scan it comes up blank. I had it working before trying to update !
I have the same problem as Raymondo, The foscam emails me fine when my computer is on the same network - when there is an alarm. But then I take the laptop away from the network and.... nothing!
What am I missing?
Hello to all readers of the site !!! Very often looking for sites with interesting information and new news! YEPO 737A Notebook
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