UPDATE - 2014-06-30
I will leave the rest of this review intact for posterity, but please read this warning before purchasing.
Given the seriousness of this vulnerability, I would strongly recommend against buying this camera, or any others from Tenvis.
Not until the company can prove they know how to build secure products and care about their users.
Please read this warning very closely if you already own this model, or any Tenvis camera.
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| Tenvis JPT3815W 2013 |
The Camera
Tenvis are a Chinese manufacturer whose product line includes IP Cameras, such as the model JPT3815W 2013 featured in this setup guide. Available to purchase online, this serves the budget-end of the IP Camera market. In fact, this camera currently has a selling price of less than £40. Tenvis offer a Global User Experience Improvment Program, which offers a free camera in return for writing guides to help other users. This camera was received through such a program.
View on Amazon.
View on Amazon.
However, any opinions expressed about the camera (good and bad) are entirely my own.
I became a member of the improvement program when I reported a security vulnerability to the company. They responded by thanking me for my report, and informed me they would work to fix the vulnerability immediately.
Read on for the full setup guide and review.
Read on for the full setup guide and review.
Unboxing
Like all good setup guides, we shall start with the unboxing.
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| Box shows white camera on one side, black on the other |
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| Seems I got the black one |
Infrared LEDs for night vision
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| A speaker? Looks like one but no mention of a speaker anywhere! |
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| Rear |
The Setup
When evaluating the ease of using of installing and configuring, I always apply the mother test; could my mother do it?
Setting up these devices reminds of setting up routers; logging directly into web pages served up by the devices. Initial configuration is helped by an accompanying setup wizard, available from http://www.tenvis.com/download or included on your installation CD... but who uses CD's nowadays?
Quick Start Guide Booklet
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| Old Guide |
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| New Guide |
Notice a difference between the old guide and the new one? The text at the bottom of the front page now reads:
For security's sake, please update the default user name and password of your IP camera. The exact process is on page 5 & 9.Why do I highlight this? Well this was part of my complaints about the previous setup, and how the default configuration left the user with a username of admin and an empty password. Of course, you can set another password, and even change your username. However, it wasn't mandated or even encouraged. I worry the average user won't configure a password. This might not be a problem if your camera only ever sits in your private home network, protected by your router. Should you enable DDNS and port forwarding on your router to access the camera remotely, you absolutely must set a secure password! Do not leave an empty password, ever. Just don't.
Anyway, my rant over for now... Don't worry, there is more to come!
The Wizard
Install and launch the wizard.
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| Setup Wizard |
Not much explaining to do here. Read the instructions, which inform you to connect your camera to a power supply using the adapter provided, and insert a LAN cable connecting your camera to your network (typically by plugging it into the back of your wireless router).
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| Select camera from list |
Should you have many cameras in your setup, you will have to select which one you wish to configure. This is done, counter-intuitively, by selecting the number corresponding to the camera from the number picker, and clicking next. If you only have one, just click the next button.
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| Make sure do not need to modify the numerical order of the camera? |
During setup, I received this dialog box. I'm not sure if I'm being asked a question or not, and what pressing either button will do. I pressed the yes button and it went away. That dialog needs clarifying.
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| Reconfigured to my subnet |
Pressing the Open button next to the red flashing arrow will launch a browser at that IP address to allow you to access the camera. This is the IP address you will always use internally (I.E., inside your home network) to access the camera.
As a side note, by default, the camera uses the IP range 192.168.1.xxx. I thought I might have an issue as I use the 192.168.0.xxx range. However, after pressing the One Key Set button, shown below, and letting the camera restart, the wizard automatically assigned an IP address in the correct range. (If you don't understand any of this paragraph; don't worry. I thought there would be a problem but there wasn't).
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| Re-assigning IP Address |
The HTML Configuration Page
Accessed by browsing to the correct IP address and port number for your camera (default port = 82), you will be required to login.
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| Default settings have a username of admin and an empty password |
The live view of the camera, accompanied by the controls to pan and tilt, change brightness, resolution etc... See that button down the bottom right? That's your configuration button and you're going to want to change your password.
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| That's my arm and I'm famous now!! |
Changing Default Password
You absolutely must change this from an empty string to a secure password.
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| Even the book says so. |
From the System menu heading on the left hand side, choose Change Password.
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| Changing password |
But Don't Make It Too Secure!
An oddity I discovered when trying to change my password is that there seems to be a maximum character length in the password you can choose. The password I was going to use was 20 characters long and a healthy mixture of uppercase, lowercase and numbers, entirely meaningless to everyone. In other words, it was very secure.
The configuration seemed happy with the change and prompted me for my new username and password. However, when entering them, it refused to accept it. Thinking maybe the new password hadn't saved somehow, I tried the default empty password; also refused. Uh-oh!
Thinking to myself, whilst a bit of a long shot, I wonder if it truncated my password without telling me? I mean, that would be madness, and no system would ever do that.... right?
So I entered my 20 character password; denied
So I deleted the last character, and entered the 19 character password; denied.
So I deleted the last character, and entered the 18 character password; denied.
So I deleted the last character, and entered the 17 character password; denied.
So I deleted the last character, and entered the 16 character password; accepted.
Hints to Tenvis:
- If I want a long, secure password, please let me have one. This device will be accessible to the outside world and needs to stand up (potentially) to anyone on the internet repeatedly trying to guess my password. The longer the better.
- If you are going to limit my password, tell me the maximum length I can use.
- If you are going to limit my password, reject any attempts to use a longer password. Do not, under any circumstances, modify my password before storing it!
Enabling Wifi
You probably won't leave your camera physically connected to your network. In this case, you will want to enable it to connect to your wireless network.
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| Available wireless networks |
Choose your wireless network, and enter your password where prompted.
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| You must activate |
I found this step a little confusing, after entering the details for your wireless network, it creates a profile for this. You still have to activate the profile to get the green tick you see above.
At this point, you can disconnect the LAN cable from the camera, and access it wirelessly. If you have issues connecting, trying closing your browser and re-opening it to point the IP address and port for your camera.
In Conclusion
My initial setup was reasonably straightforward and nothing too frightening for me. However, I am a self professed geek and problem solver. I thrive on getting this kind of thing working. This would fail the mother test; my mother would not be able to set this up. I would have received a phone call from her as soon as she took it out the box I believe.
There needs to be some tidying up of the dialog and some additional descriptions added to places. The PT configuration section for example, offers no description of what PT even means. My guess is Pan/Tilt.
Also, my box did not contain a network cable, which is required for setting the device up. An oversight perhaps? I presume the box was meant to contain one. However, I do have 50 spare network cables around my office at any one time, so it didn't stop me using the camera, but an average person might not store so many cables.
Also, my box did not contain a network cable, which is required for setting the device up. An oversight perhaps? I presume the box was meant to contain one. However, I do have 50 spare network cables around my office at any one time, so it didn't stop me using the camera, but an average person might not store so many cables.
I am still unhappy that the default settings have a blank password, and a well-known username for all devices. However, I am slightly happier the documentation now encourages the user to change the password. But why stop there? Go one step further and mandate a password. That small step could help prevent someone from accessing, nay, controlling one of your customers' cameras. This thought should terrify a company and have them spring into action to ensure that never happens. Hopefully that software update is coming.
On the whole, I am very pleased and left wanting for nothing from this camera. For under £40, it is a bit of bargain. As mentioned above, you do need technical knowledge to set it up. So if you are tempted by an IP camera, this one is certainly decent for the price.
thanks for this info, it has great to have this blog on how to set up, it really helps me. I hope i can do this steps to my IP camera .
ReplyDeletehi I got as far as the red arrow then it asks me for a password tried admin and blank says incorrect help
ReplyDeleteHi anonymous. Perhaps Tenvis have updated their software such that an empty string is no longer the default password?
DeleteOtherwise perhaps this device has been configurer before with a password. Second hand camera?
Either way you should grab the latest version of the manual and check the default credentials. If those remain the same, then you will be wanting to reset the device to factory settings. Again, the manual should provide this info, or if you don't have access to it, let me know and I'll dig out mines.
I have 2 of these cameras and the first one I go was admin with admin as the password as well. The second one the password was null. So I would try admin for anyone that doesn't work with blank
DeleteOn the very bottom of the camera there should be a grey sticker with the default user and password.
DeleteI need to know how to install the firmware update. I don't know where to hook up the camera and install. Please advise
ReplyDeleteIn order to update the firmware, you'll need to have access to the camera's configuration page shown above. In fact, in one of my screenshots above, the one with the caption "Changing password", you'll see a button down the left hand side to "Update" your camera.
DeleteBut as I say, you'll have to get to the stage where you can access your camera through the web config pages. Follow the steps above or in your camera's manual for details on this.
If you are failing at a specific point, let me know and I'll try and help you - if you give me enough details about what you have tried and what isn't working for you.
Thanks Craig, do you a guide for setting the access from outside my home network? I have tried the user manual but still can not access the camera from a different location.
DeleteHowie.
Howie, thanks for your question.
DeleteFor getting access from outside your network, there are two main things you'll have to do. This assumes you have the typical setup of a router in your network.
1) set up port forwarding. I don't have a guide for this, as each model of router varies in the setup. However, thankfully, another site has all such information available. http://portforward.com/english/routers/port_forwarding/routerindex.htm
If you are unfamiliar with the concept, imagine an apartment building with a reception desk. Anyone wishing to send you mail can't actually deliver direct to your door, so the best they can do is give it to reception with your door number on it. It is then the reception's job to get that letter to you. In this analogy, the reception desk is the router (the externally facing part) and each apartment is an internet connected device in your network. The idea is that when outside your network, you access the public facing address of your router on a specific port number, and the router knows which internal computer will receive the request.
2) once you have port forwarding set up, your next job is working out what your home's router's IP is. If you have a static line then you can just find it out once and always use that. However, most people get a new IP every time they connect to their ISP (every time the router is disconnected, there is a power cut etc..) So their IP address is 'dynamic' rather than 'static'.
In these cases, you can use a service called Dynamic DNS (or DDNS for short). In essence, every time your router gets a new IP address, it sends that off to a server to record it. Whenever you need access to your home network, you actually point to the DDNS server instead. Internally, it knows where your network is and does the redirect. The bonus here is that the DDNS service always has the same address, even if your home network address keeps changing.
The Tenvis cameras have DDNS services built in, meaning you can have the cameras themselves register against the Tenvis DDNS server. This means that you only ever need to remember your tenvis camera address (which is something like http://abcdefg.ten is.info) and it will automatically redirect you to your router, on a specific port. Then with your port forwarding in place, the router will redirect you to the camera.
So that was a really long way of saying have I don't have a guide", but hopefully this will point you in the right direction!
Hi Craig. I've got a Tenvis ip391w camera and can set it up to view it on my local network. When I try to view it remotely I get an error message though? I've set up DDnS with the info from Tenvis on 9299.org but still no good. Any ideas? Cheers Ben
DeleteHi Craig
ReplyDeleteI am getting craz to be able to see camera on my iphone in 3g or with a wifi connection different from my own one!
Please help, everytime I try a message appears on my iphone : the newtwork is private , or error message 504
Error message 504 is typically a timeout issue. I suspect it is because you are attempting to connect directly to the camera from outside of your home network, but have not set up port forwarding.
DeleteSince it works presumably in your home wifi, but not on someone else's, and not on 3G, you are likely using the internal IP address. So if your camera is located on 192.168.0.241 for example, that is visible only to your network, and not from outside.
When you are on 3G, or someone else's wifi, this IP address is typically hidden behind your router. This is when you need to use port forwarding on your router to direct any requests to the correct location within your network. This means from your iPhone, you should enter the IP address of your home router (not the camera!) and use the port you configured whilst adding port forwarding to your router.
The best thing to do is take it slowly. Start by having your iPhone on the same Wifi as your camera is on. Make sure you can access your camera by using the camera's IP address directly.
DeleteOnce you have that working, then you can see if you can enable port forwarding on your router. To test this works, access the router's IP address (not the camera's IP address) from your iPhone to make sure that is working fine. Get your router's external IP address by visiting http://www.whatismyip.com/ - this will report your externally visible IP address.
Once you have this step working, then you can tackle DDNS and making sure you can access your camera from anywhere, regardless of your router's IP address.
Another issue I've seen on occasions, is that DDNS/port forwarding acts differently when you access your camera from within your own network. To fully test it is working, you should disable wifi on your iPhone and use your cellular data connection to connect. This will make sure you can truly access from externally and you aren't picking up the camera using wifi only.
Hi Craig
ReplyDeleteDo you no how to do a password reset as i have forgot my password, Can i get it emailed to me or something.
Derek.
@Anonymous 14 July 2013 18:42
ReplyDeleteI believe (I don't have the device nearby to verify) that there is a physical reset button on the camera. This is likely the only way to reset it.
This will, of course, reset all the other settings too making you set it up again from scratch.
ok, i found the reset button and i have every thing up and running again thank you. Derek.
DeleteWhat do you do when the "One Key Set " doesn't work.?
ReplyDeleteAlso the IP address written on the bottom of the camera is different to
Can you run the same software with 2 of these webcams on the same machine? I would like to set up a home surveillance. Also if you do 2 can you stream both of those across the internet?
ReplyDeleteYes you can run as many as you want; as many as your network will allow really which is likely over 200!
DeleteYou can stream both across the internet too. Each camera will run on a separate port.
So you would have to set up a separate port forwarding rule for each camera on your router.
For examples, all requests to your home IP address with port 8001 will go to camera 1, all requests to 8002 will go to camera 2 etc...
You can have many cameras I have 5 but you can have 20 or more I believe.
ReplyDeleteHi Craig,
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog :o)
I bought 2 of these cameras. Infortunately, I am not able to install them. The lights on the back of the camera are not flashing in the same way as they should be - according to the wizard. The yellow one (left side) is steady and the green one (right side ) is flashing in intervals. The camera is not visible on the next page of the wizard. Refreshed multiple times - nothing. Probably the camera cannot be detected. Pluged and unpluged several times .. no result.
I have sent several e-mail to the seller , but no response so far.
Could you please, help.
Thanks,
D.
Hi again,
ReplyDeleteI found the cause - just a bad ethernet cable.
Sorry.
D.
Hi Craig,
ReplyDeleteVery good write-up, well presented, but you don't say what the problem could be if your PC doesn't see your camera in the list. I brought a second-hand camera connected it, green light stays on, yellow flashes but I can't see it to set it up, any ideas apart from its broke.
Regards Morris
If your camera was bought second hand, you'll likely want to perform a factory reset on it first. Look for a reset hole on the camera; it is on the base on my model. Push a paper clip in there for a number of seconds until the lights flash.
Deletehow do you set up to record to desktop. I am able to select folder etc but it just doesn't save anything there and each time I check the browse its blank
ReplyDeletehi i dont no if your still on here but i do have a question. how do i see my camera out of my home network please explane in detail
ReplyDeletee mail me if can at hopkinseddie@yahoo.com
It is impossible to produce a step-by-step guide for this that will work for everyone, as everyone as a different setup.
DeleteSee my comment here for some general tips: http://cdrussell.blogspot.com/2013/01/setup-walkthrough-of-tenvis-jpt3815w.html?showComment=1378544917429#c6308322731313930830
If you have any specific problems that are stopping you at any stage of the process, let me know with as much detail as you can.
I am trying to set the record to desktop, but like the previous post the location goes back to blank, how do you save it ???
ReplyDeleteI've never tried recording to desktop; sorry I can't help with that problem!
DeleteI have set up my camera and everything works. I also changed the blank password to my own. However, I don't know how to change the default "admin" user name?
ReplyDeleteCheck out the screenshot with the caption "Changing password", instead of "Change Password" from the left hand menu, you want "System User" I think (from memory)
DeleteDude
ReplyDeleteI expect you to comment on the quality of the video not how you set it up
The title of the post "Setup Guide" should have been your first clue. ;-)
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeletejust got one question as I am quite new to it and would appreaciate if you answer me.
How would I connect my phone with android system to tenvis camera.
thanks
Gabriela
Hi Gabriela, you'll need to follow the various other comments which mention DDNS and port forwarding; this will let you access the cameras from outside of your network (ie, when your phone is not connected to your wireless router).
DeleteCraig, I have tried everything to get DDNS set up and I always get the same error message:
ReplyDeleteObtaining DDNS options from the camera... Success!
Obtaining DDNS registration status ...
Error: DDNS account and password are correct, but have not logined DNS server.
Approach:
1.Whether the network can connect to external network;
2.Check the camera's gateway setting;
3.Check the camera's DNS server setting;
4.Whether TCP port 808 is not blocked in this networks or not.
I have a Belkin router F7D8302 v1
I have set up port forwarding (Virtual Servers) in the router settings indicating the port the Camera is assigned(81) with the IP the Camera is assigned (192.168.2.240)
I have added port 808 to that IP as well.
I tried manually changing the port for the camera (as well as mapping that port in Virtual Servers)
I have tried using a 3rd party DDNS service (dyndns.org)and I get the same result.
I have verified the DNS setting...trying not only 8.8.8.8, but 8.8.4.4, and also the DNS from my ISP
The camera works great "on the network" but I want to be able to access it from afar.
The router also has a DDNS feature that lets you add the dyndns credentials. I have tried it with that feature active and inactive.
I have tried every combination of all of this and I always get the same result. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
And THANKS for sharing your knowledge
Someone recently informed me that tenvis.info site was down and I don't know how long it has been down for. This site is used for the camera-provided DDNS options so definitely avoid this route for now!
DeleteI have my cameras set up using a 3rd party DDNS provider. I use noip.com which lets you set up a free domain. After setting up my account with noip, it provides me with a URL which will never change (eg, http://ABCXYZ.bounceme.net) and this is the URL you use to access the camera. Well, you'd need your port on there as well, so something like http://ABCXYZ.bounceme.net:81.
Be wary of using lower number ports as they typically are used by other services. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_TCP_and_UDP_port_numbers. It is safer to try a much higher port; I prefer something in the 8000-9000 range.
You can confirm your DDNS provider is working by "pinging" the static URL; it should resolve the URL into an IP address. This IP address must match the IP address of your router or something has went wrong. If your router is ever disconnected from the ISP and needs to reconnect, you may end up with a new IP address. Most routers support DDNS in their configuration so that the DDNS provider is notified whenever the router gets a new IP address.
If the IP address is correct, your only remaining job is port forwarding. It isn't always easy (due to the software on routers being mostly a piece of garbage) but it should be possible on most routers. I can't recommend enough using http://portforward.com/ to get assistance for your particular brand of router.
Oh... and good luck!
Craig,
DeleteThanks for your blog of September 7. This allowed me to get an image from my Tenvis JPT3815W camera (prior to 2013 model) on a 3G network. I had previously failed to do this even though I was a member of the Tenvis and ip cam app forums.
I then read your post on DNSS and set up an account on no-ip. Unfortunately my pping of my hostname, http://XXXXXXXX.no-ip.biz:81 could not find the host. Also, have I to enter no-ip in the camera DDNS setup page? It is not on the dropdown list?
Kevin
Hi Craig,
ReplyDelete1. I just want your opinion on the picture quality? Once up and running: is the video quality of acceptable standard?
2. What's your take on its longevity? Is it robust?
3. How will I record it? I am planning on buying 2of these..will I need to buy a NVR or is there a cheaper alternative of say recording 15days at a time?
4. What things are missing in this one that I would find in a more expensive cam?
Thanks.
Hi,
DeleteDefine "acceptable"! ;-) It is acceptable for me, given I wanted a camera and did not want to pay a lot of money for it. The video quality is adequate for me but my use case was pretty much that I wanted one to play around with. I don't have any pressing need for it.
If you needed it to be able to identify faces of people from across the room, you'd probably be struggling. The feed isn't HD. In other words, it is hard to describe the quality as anything other than "OK" and comparable with any other camera in this price range. It is good value for money.
As for longevity and robustness: the devices don't feel robust. They are lightweight and have a very "plastic" feel to them. However, given they aren't going to be held in the hand very long I can forgive this. I don't know about longevity other than to say my cameras are still working! On a side note, my brother has his installed in an outside shed and his still works too so fairly robust it seems.
As for recording, I have a Synology NAS drive which comes with surveillance software built in. I never investigated other ways of doing so as I love my Synology box and software so much!
What's missing? Not sure. HD quality for one I suspect. I suspect (or at least hope) that with more expensive cameras the supporting applications and documentations would be a bit friendlier and more intuitive.
russell - great post! what settings did you use in surveillance station to set the Foscam up? I'm using a generic setup, but it doesn't seem to allow pan/tilt.
DeleteHi Craig,
ReplyDeleteI have just bought 2 of these IP cameras and the MAC software is very basic...the Windows software does not work at all, using the wizard does not locate either of the camera IP's, I tried to run the advanced wizard and it does not allow me to make any changes to the settings.
I am running windows XP pro with SP3.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Eric
Hi Eric, the software is only really used for getting the webcams initialised with an accessible IP address as far as I know.
DeleteSo you may be able to bypass the software by utilising the same IP address range as the camera defaults to. I can't remember what the default IP address range is though.
If you move your Window or Mac machine to use the same address range you would hopefully be able to access the settings through a browser if you directly connect your camera to your router. And then from there you would be able to reconfigure the camera.
FYI, I used Windows 7 and the software ran fine on that. Perhaps running it as Administrator might be needed?
Hi Craig
ReplyDeletei have just brought TENVIS jpt3815w and it driving me mad.i can not get set up SEP4 set wireless lan.
i tick box using wireless lan
enter SSID BTHub3--------
enter share key f9674e------
APPLY
X The camera can not be found ,probably WiFi parameter setting is not correct,please plug the network cable,re-set the WiFi parameters. ????????
I didn't see this problem. It might be worth investigating different security settings on your router to see if you can highlight the problem.
DeleteNamely, try lowering the security settings on your router (until you have no password on at all; just temporarily) until something lets you connect. It might be that your router is too secure for the camera to connect.
I can view the camera when it is connected to the router directly... but when trying to set the wifi up I keep getting the msg... camera not found, probably wifi parameter setting is not correct, please plug the network cable, reset the wifi parameters....
ReplyDeleteI didn't see this problem. It might be worth investigating different security settings on your router to see if you can highlight the problem.
DeleteNamely, try lowering the security settings on your router (until you have no password on at all; just temporarily) until something lets you connect. It might be that your router is too secure for the camera to connect.
Thanks for the information about the truncated passwords. Was scratching my head and reseting the camera a lot untill I read this. Major software floor by Tenvis.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. Whilst they were the first company I noticed doing this, they haven't been the last.
DeleteMy preference for longer passwords nowadays will highlight this problem more and more I think.
HI Craig, this is driving me crazy, i can not connect to my iphone, the message reads, A server with the specified hostname could not be found, this may be due to internet connection problems or incorrect settings....please help!
ReplyDeleteDo you have any circuit diagrams for this particular camera as one of mine seem to have the ir lights permanently on and the auto light level does not adjust, also the colour rendering is incorrect (black is showing as blue) and the colour controlls do not have any effect. Do you have the site address for software and firmware update.
ReplyDeleteAny info would be appreciated
re circuit diagrams and the likes: no. I don't have access to any of that information, sorry.
DeleteI don't suffer the same problems with the light levels as you do. I can only suggest contacting Tenvis directly as it does sound like a faulty unit or some glitch in their software. http://www.tenvis.com/
I bought 2 cameras and can see one at a time but in multiscreen I can still only see one, any ideas? Thanks, Dennis
ReplyDeleteSorry Dennis, I'm unfamiliar with "multiscreen"; I only ever really set up and used one camera at a time.
DeleteCan anyone say why Tenvis.info is down ?
ReplyDeleteMy camera is´nt alive any longer…
Best regards / Lasse in Sweden
It's down for me too! That's pretty worrying.
DeleteTime to investigate a 3rd party DDNS solution instead of relying on the Tenvis-provided solution methinks!
Thanks for the update.
May be it is possible to connect this cam direct to computer with cable or Wi Fi without router?
ReplyDeleteThank you
The only interfaces it has is ethernet and wifi. Whilst it may be possible to get your computer into a special kind of network mode to support this, that information is way above my networking knowledge I'm afraid.
DeleteIt is very much designed to work with a router.
Hey there,
ReplyDeleteOK, I bought a brand new tenvis jpt3815w. The CD ROM that came with it, never seemed to get recognized by my computer (I'm running Windows 7). So, I downloaded the IP Camera Wizard from their website. Once installed, I try to get the camera up and running. I followed each step to a T. I click the "wizard mode" then the "connect the cable" screen comes up and tells me that the green light should be steady and the yellow one blinking. Neither is happening. The green light is blinking erratically and the yellow one doesn't do anything. However, I hit next and get to the "select camera" screen. My camera never shows up, not even when I hit "refresh" many times. I want to set this up wireless, and I do have a code to access my wireless router. Could that be the problem? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Dan
Hi Dan, to be honest, I'm unfamiliar with this scenario. Another commenter previously mentioned that trying another ethernet cable fixed a similar sounding problem... might work for you.
DeleteJust to check, you are connecting the camera directly to the router using an ethernet cable? You have to use the cable first, before you can program the camera with your wireless network settings.
I suggest not using the tenvis wizard... it kinda sucks. Download foscams ip camera tool, its available on their website. Works the same and is much easier to use.
DeleteI have been able to access my Tenvis cam remotely through the IP cam app on my phone up until about a week ago, now it's not working and I didn't change anything. When I log into my computer, I can access it that way (and on my phone on my home wifi). I notice this message in my settings that the DDNS is disabled, so I'm assuming this is the problem? How do I reenable it? When I click save, it still says disabled. HELP!
ReplyDeleteStatus DDNS Disabled;
Hi, good write up. Have you had success remote accessing the camera? I have 3 Foscams, and 6 of the Tenvis. My foscams I can access from anywhere, and can access them from my phone on 3g/4g, however with the Tenvis.. I cannot.
ReplyDeleteI have created static ip addresses for all my cameras outside from where my router normally pulls from, and they are all port forwarded in my 2wire router from att. The 3 foscams work perfectly using the foscam default ddns address as well as the static ip address they were give, however the tenvis cams.... will not allow me to access them from outside my network.
I set them up exactly as I did my foscams, and I do not need the built in ddns to work because their ip addresses never change. Any suggestions?
Hi Craig. Really appreciate your previous posts on setting up the camera. I have done so with success. However I am having trouble with the Audio. I.e I cannot hear anything using both my laptop and android.
ReplyDeleteThoughs/solution?
Cheers
Chris
You can do all the things, that is listening and even talk through the camera, but to be able to do that you have to access the camera through internet explorer.
DeleteHave changed browser to IE have installed Active X plug in but cannot get camera functions to operate camera video functions work OK on firefox and I phone but as I want to use camera as elderly person monitor audio function is vital
DeleteThere is no way to get this camera recording, I have tried and tried but without any luck, another problem is that the camera is rebooting time and time again and it always goes to the default settings option, so the cam is watching the ceiling in my house with no recording options, so, all of you, please spend a little more and get a real cam instead of a toycam for you kids to play with. I hate my Tenvis and after many emails with the really helpful Tenvis support team I still have a constant rebooting no recording option USELESS Tenvis ip CRAP. please be aware of this camera, it is really not worth it.
ReplyDeletetried connecting noip ddns with no success. quiet desperate :(
ReplyDeleteI am unable to get passed Step 3 - Setting IP address. I keep getting an error message saying 'The Camera cannot be accessed, please choose 'one key set' or manual setting'. Neither of these options helps. The IP address shown matches that stated on the camera, the camera and PC are both properly connected to the router, nothing seems to work and i'm going round in circles - help!
ReplyDeleteHad camera working for 10 months. now need to change router from the one it was set up to. how do I do that without connecting the camera to the router. Router in dining room. camera screwed to wall elsewhere. TYIA
ReplyDeleteSome routers have an IP address in the format 192.168.0.x and some have 192.168.1.x. This is usually configurable within the router config pages.
DeleteWhat you want to do is set the IP address range to match what your old router had, either 0 or 1.
Also, for setup, you will need to set the wireless network to have the same name (SSID) and password as your old router so that the camera connects to it over WiFi.
That way, your camera should be able to get its IP address with the new router and you should be able to access it over WiFi.
If this doesn't work, how about just buying a long Ethernet cable and connecting the camera to the router?
I am having a lot of trouble getting live video to work in IE 10 it works in Chrome but without the recording option. I can take snapshots in IE 10 and save them they are timed and dated, also no camera control and no video, have been on the Tenvis user support they have suggested various things to no avail so I have tried everything to get this working, setup seemed quite easy wireless working changed camera password . In IE 10 I get two boxes in the tool bar Live video and IP camera which is the snapshot image I am at a total loss as what I should do next, I am running Windows 7 Pro 64 bit the plugin for the camera is 32bit? ?? not that good on computers I can acess the camera from a different computer so that's working, in IE 10 none of the settings appear in the boxes Resolution frames per sec have to set these manually still no live video.
ReplyDeleteThe screen appears black with a purple boarder around it if I select multiple screens then one of the screens has this purple line around it as if it knows a camera is connected ?
Short answer is that I don't know; I don't access the cameras using the browser except for configuration.
DeleteThat said, what about trying the compatibility mode that exists in Internet Explorer?
I am trying to set up camera with PC with Windows 7. Everything goes ok until step 3. After clicking the "open" button, I get the verification screen. It accepts "admin" with null password. But the next screen says, "Welcome to Use IP Camera" then gives me four choices. 1. Non-IE web browsers 2. I-Phone 3. Mobil Phone (browsers that support Java script, and 4. IE Active X Plug In download.
ReplyDelete1. & 2. go to camera screen and the controls work but no video. 3. does give video 4. I have down loaded the plug in but then what?
Can you help?
You don't specify which browser you are using, but I always use Chrome and option 1 works fine for me.
DeleteThe default browser is IE but I also have Fire Fox installed. But when I am running the set-up wizard, I dont have any browser open. When I choose option 1, Fire Fox opens without giving me a choice. I dont know how to open in IE or Chrome.
DeleteI had the same issue and contacted Tenvis Support. Download the plugin and run. You will have to restart. open IE and insert the address camera ip and port etc similar to this: http://192.168.1.56:7777/video/liveie.asp on early versions of IE you will see the image. On later ones, mine is IE11, it will probably be blank in which case set compatibility view to the 'site' which is your ip address.
DeleteHope that assists.
Thank you for your help. Is the phone call to China toll free? I did as you suggested with IE but still no picture. Also no picture on FireFox. I did however get a video on Chrome. It's a start. Thanks.
DeleteI emailed them: support[at]Tenvis.com
DeleteReplied quickly with walk-through & screenshots.
Keith, glad to hear you got it working. If you have anything from your email exchange that you can share, feel free to leave it here in a comment or send it to me. Hopefully help others who are struggling.
DeleteHi, I use Chrome rather than IE as my default browser but would like to access the additional features available (particularly sound) using IE. I have loaded the plug-in and restarted. However, I cannot get an image using IE.
ReplyDeleteAny ideas?
Sorry Keith, I'm not an IE user and avoid it when I can. It worked for me enough in Chrome and I had no reason to try anything else. I didn't try sound admittedly though.
DeletePerhaps experimenting with IE's compatibility mode might help?
Hi, i have moved into a house with two cameras fitted and wired etc. I have my own internet setup and obviously the cameras need connecting to my router before i can use them. As they are up on the house already and all i have is a power cable to plug in, is there anyway of getting my router to see the cameras with connecting them directly to the router with a (wired) ethernet? This requires a tall ladder and getting inside a junction box where i believe the port for the camera is hiding, Plus i don't have a cable long enough to go from the camera to the router.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Rob
P.s these are different Tenvis cameras to the one your referring to, but I'm guessing its all the same IP602 w 2013
DeleteI don't think there is an easy alternative I'm afraid. Assuming the previous owners didn't also leave behind their wireless router, you'll likely have to get an ethernet cable in there somehow.
DeleteGot my brother and myself one of these (JPT3815W) for Christmas, he got his working and I'm about to throw mine into wall. Every time I connect my LAN line to my router, it just goes dead and have to pull the line and do a restart? ATT model NVG510. Yes I've disable all Firewalls...gonna have to call in a buddy more computer savvy than me, but want to throw this thing in trash right now.. Windows 7 cpu.
ReplyDeleteIt may well seem obvious (it may also seem like clutching at straws) but try another ethernet cable.
DeleteNot all ethernet cables are born equally.
Hello! I got one of these cameras for Christmas, got it all set up for wifi and ddns, but the issue I have is that almost every day, the ddns fails, and i can't access the camera from the web (still can from my home network). My router is all set up for port forwarding. The only way i can make the ddns work again is by going through the IP camera wizard again. But the next day it will fail again. Any ideas? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteUpdate: I got it working by restoring factory settings and setting it all up again.
DeleteCraig,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your blog of September 7. This allowed me to get an image from my Tenvis JPT3815W camera (prior to 2013 model) on a 3G network. I had previously failed to do this even though I was a member of the Tenvis and ip cam app forums.
I then read your post on DNSS and set up an account on no-ip. Unfortunately my pping of my hostname, http://XXXXXXXX.no-ip.biz:81 could not find the host. Also, have I to enter no-ip in the camera DDNS setup page? It is not on the dropdown list?
Kevin
Craig,
Thanks for your post of September 7. This allowed me to get an image from my Tenvis JPT3815W camera (prior to 2013 model) on a 3G network. I had previously failed to do this even though I was a member of the Tenvis and ip cam app forums.
I then read your post on DNSS and set up an account on no-ip. Unfortunately my pping of my hostname, http://XXXXXXXX.no-ip.biz:81 could not find the host. Also, have I to enter no-ip in the camera DDNS setup page? It is not on the dropdown list?
Kevin
Hi mate thanks for taking the time to write up a guide & respond to the various questions. For what it's worth I bought one of these second hand (probably a mother had first bought it !) & I found I needed to do a cam reset & connect to it via a network cable & reconfigure with the Tenvis config software before I got it working & I also noted that the IP & port number listed on the box wasn't the same when I got it working.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the response.
DeleteYou raise a very good point. Anyone struggling with a second hand camera will hopefully take note.
Thank you for the installation instructions you give us and information about security camera.
ReplyDeletewww.kameres.com
Hi, Craig - firstly brilliant information site - can you simply tell me if the Tenvis IP camera will work with the iphone 3GS using 3G ? - Thanks
ReplyDeleteYes this will work.
DeleteBut you will need to set up port forwarding on your router for it to be accessible to your iPhone when you are using 3G.
A lot of readers have had difficulty setting this up and it is unfortunately hard to describe as the process varies between routers. But if you get this part working, that's the biggest hurdle in viewing your camera's video feed from your iPhone.
Hi, wow! - that was a quick reply, ordered two of these IP cameras but then read so many peole saying that it will not work so I cancelled them, however I think they are on their way so will give it a try - I am on Virgin so have a Super Hub and I have read that I need to go into the website they have and change the port settings there - Thanks again Paul from Swansea.
ReplyDeleteYeah that's the usual setup:
DeleteEach router has webpages built into them; by accessing those pages you can configure the router to do things like port forwarding.
The best guide I have come across is this site:
http://portforward.com/english/routers/port_forwarding/routerindex.htm
As always, good luck.
Hi , is there any way of using motion detection, record video an send it to ftp server?
ReplyDeleteThank you
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to setup the ipcamera but I can't get past step 3....
I pressed the One Key Set several times but everytime I get the same error..."The camera can not be accessed, please choose "one key set" or manual setting"
please Help me, Thank you
Have succeeded with setup up JPT3815W camera and guess that port forwarding is working since I can see the camera interface via the mytenvis.org address.
ReplyDeleteBut absolutely no success with the wireless. Setup 'appears' to be OK, but after clicking activate, the profile radio button clears as does the activate button and the profile icon stays red.
Is there a way of telling whether the camera wi-fi interface is actually functioning?
You are posting a informative knowledge in your blog, i love to read it and i cleared my basic concept about
ReplyDeleteLinksys Router Technical Support
Craig - nice clear explanation of the set up.
ReplyDeleteMy problem is not being able to send alert emails on motion detection (I've not tried the port forwarding yet - leave that joy till later!).
I use a BT home hub which I gather can be difficult for some things. I've put in the BT account settings (tried ports 25, 587, 465 with all three options for security), I've also tried other mail accounts but no luck - I think BT would block those.
Oddly - on a different ISP (at another house) I can make it work with the BT settings, but not with the mail settings for that ISP!
Tenvis say no idea. Is it something you've come across?
Thanks, Patrick
This isn't something I've encountered as I don't use BT. I'm surprised that the router/hub would prevent emails from being sent; you could try looking at the firewall section of the router to see if you need to manually allow that port to the outgoing whitelist. However, usually all outgoing ports are permitted automatically and you only need to worry about allowing ports for incoming. Worth a shot though.
DeleteIt might be worth trying to set it up with an email account from another provider. Gmail, for instance, is something I'm more familiar with and that's how I got it working for my camera.
https://support.google.com/mail/troubleshooter/1668960?rd=1#ts=1665018,1665144
The superb highly informative blog I’m about to share this with all my contacts.
ReplyDeleteIP security cameras
Excellent website! I adore how it is easy on my eyes it is. I am questioning how I might be notified whenever a new post has been made. Looking for more new updates. Have a great day! https://192-168-i-i.com/
ReplyDeleteWi-Fi routers need simple things to do to configure with networks.To get more detailed info on netgear router ip, visit on hyperlinked site.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, utilize the DNS settings your ISP assigned you. Your ISP is the communication supplier that established the connection you've got in your residence. To get more detailed info on asus router settings, visit on hyperlinked site.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing nice information. I like your blog post about network-based digital surveillance camera device. Security system is best way to protect your home and business premises. wireless burglar alarm provides smart innovations in home security. It fills your all security needs.
ReplyDeleteNice post. It is very interesting article. I really love this. Thank you for the sharing. Wifi Camera
ReplyDelete