MacOS Mac OS High Sierra 10.13.6 and iVMS-4200.

[Ken Welham]

After upgrading to the latest version of iVMS-4200 some months ago, and also upgrading the firmware on my Hikvision NVR DS-7604N1-K1/4P I have tried to access my set up online several times only to admit defeat on each occasion. I am losing the will to live. I cannot get Live View and I fear that because of my tinkering with all the info within the iVMS-4200 application, I may have in some way crashed the system. Perhaps I should approach it as a new user , scrub everything, and start again, but I just do not have the expertise / courage to attempt this. I thought that I would try to access my cameras through the Hik-Connect page but this similarly does not give me Live View. There is ominous message that says something like "No plug-in detected" If I can get this sorted, I had also decided that it's about time I upgraded to the latest software on my two cameras (never done this since I bought them from you about three years ago...probably really needs doing now).
However, first things first. Can anyone give me advice on how to get up and running again? I am not very tech minded so I need simple language and simple steps. My cameras work fine and I can see the views from both of them at the moment on my connected TV monitor, but I need to get this online so that I can do some maintenance on them and keep them up-to-date. So...iVMS or Hik-Connect. Any advice appreciated.

 

[macman]

I feel your pain. Maybe this thread will help.

I am reduced to running Windows in emulation on my High Sierra Mac, via Parallels Desktop. Therein, I can access my cameras online using Internet Explorer (not the default Windows browser).

 

[Kyle]

Hi @Ken Welham

Where are you not getting the camera live views? In iVMS-4200 or internet browser? Have you ever had a live view from the cameras other than on a monitor directly connected to the NVR?

If you're using an internet browser to access the cameras, which one is it? The best options on macOS are Chrome and Safari.

Also, how are the cameras connected to the NVR? Directly into their PoE ports or across the network by IP address?

You'll also need the Hikvision macOS web plugin, make sure to close any browsers that are open during the installation.

Could you share some screenshots of where you can't get any live views, as well as from Hikvision's SADP tool so I can take a look, please? I just need one of the table showing your NVR's network settings that the SADP tool gives you when you open it while the NVR is switched on and on the network.

 

[macman]

It seems to depend on which camera and which firmware. I have eight cameras, all updated as far as possible, and only one of them - the DS-2CD2543G0-IS with FW V5.6.3 build 190923 - works online in Safari (v13.1.2) or any browser under High Sierra. Maybe it would be an over-simplification to say that the cheaper cameras don't work since all of mine were relatively cheap, including the PTZ.

 

[Ken Welham]

Hi @Ken Welham

Where are you not getting the camera live views? In iVMS-4200 or internet browser? Have you ever had a live view from the cameras other than on a monitor directly connected to the NVR?

If you're using an internet browser to access the cameras, which one is it? The best options on macOS are Chrome and Safari.

Also, how are the cameras connected to the NVR? Directly into their PoE ports or across the network by IP address?

You'll also need the Hikvision macOS web plugin, make sure to close any browsers that are open during the installation.

Could you share some screenshots of where you can't get any live views, as well as from Hikvision's SADP tool so I can take a look, please? I just need one of the table showing your NVR's network settings that the SADP tool gives you when you open it while the NVR is switched on and on the network.

Thanks for your input Kyle. I have now downloaded both the web plugin and the SADP tool. However, I still can't get live views in either iVMS or my Safari browser. I have had live views on both last year when I was actively using the cameras to monitor my house while I was on holiday. The troubles started when I updated the iVMS application. My cameras are each connected by cables (CAT5 I think) directly into the ports on the back of the Hikvision NVR. My technical knowledge is very, very basic and I worry that I can sleepwalk into unsafe situations by inadvertently releasing sensitive data online. I have screenshots ready of the type you are requesting but can you assure me that it is safe to send them via this forum and that mischievous readers of this forum cannot use the data from my screenshots to hack into my computer? My apologies if this is a stupid question but if so, it emphasises my inexperience in these matters.

 

[macman]

@Ken, I suspect it was a Safari upgrade that torpedoed your web access. You may have better luck if you upgrade your Os to Catalina - even though Apple state that Safari supports only one plugin (Flash Player).

 

[Ken Welham]

@Ken, I suspect it was a Safari upgrade that torpedoed your web access. You may have better luck if you upgrade your Os to Catalina - even though Apple state that Safari supports only one plugin (Flash Player).

macman, My apologies for being a bit late getting back to you. I made a bit of a hash trying to download Catalina...probably because I relied on wireless connection rather than a cable. So I went back to basics and connected my router to computer by a cable and tried again, but this time by downloading Mojave first to see if this helped. It didn't, and things are exactly the same as before, ie.e no live view on either iVMS or the HikConnect webpage. Tomorrow, I will try to download Catalina via a cabled connection and let you know how I get on. I think there is some mileage in also sending Kyle some screenshots but I'm reluctant to do this without confirmation that the info in the screenshots is safe from hackers.

 

[JB1970]

When you update iVMS on the Mac it disregards your saved sites and just installs over the top needing you to re add your system. To avoid this happening there's an option in iVMS 4200 to export configuration to a file on your Mac. After updating the app you can import configuration, point to the file you saved previously and your system will be viewable again. Sorry I know this isn't much use to know now but once you're up and running again it'll help next time around.

1. open the iVMS app on your Mac
2. go to device management
3. in the bottom panel "online device" you should see your NVR
4. click on it and click "add to client"
5. when the box pops up add a nick name and enter the username and password for your NVR
6. make sure the "export to group" box is ticked, then click "add
7. your cameras should now be available in main view

To update the camera names so that they're not showing "IP Camera_1" etc

1. go to device management again
2. click "group" in the top centre
3. on the left beneath the name of your group, right click "encoding channels"
4. click "update camera name"

that should be it

 

[Ken Welham]

When you update iVMS on the Mac it disregards your saved sites and just installs over the top needing you to re add your system. To avoid this happening there's an option in iVMS 4200 to export configuration to a file on your Mac. After updating the app you can import configuration, point to the file you saved previously and your system will be viewable again. Sorry I know this isn't much use to know now but once you're up and running again it'll help next time around.

1. open the iVMS app on your Mac
2. go to device management
3. in the bottom panel "online device" you should see your NVR
4. click on it and click "add to client"
5. when the box pops up add a nick name and enter the username and password for your NVR
6. make sure the "export to group" box is ticked, then click "add
7. your cameras should now be available in main view

To update the camera names so that they're not showing "IP Camera_1" etc

1. go to device management again
2. click "group" in the top centre
3. on the left beneath the name of your group, right click "encoding channels"
4. click "update camera name"

that should be it

Is this a record by me for replying to a post after about 7 months?...Apologies but I just get flummoxed and leave things. When I go to the Device Management page in iVMS, the bottom panel "online device" has nothing in it, so I'm stymied from step 3 above. What do I do?

 

[JB1970]

Is this a record by me for replying to a post after about 7 months?...Apologies but I just get flummoxed and leave things. When I go to the Device Management page in iVMS, the bottom panel "online device" has nothing in it, so I'm stymied from step 3 above. What do I do?

Try clicking refresh, it should appear if your NVR and Mac are on the same network. If not close the app and re open it. When you open it you MUST allow the incoming connections when the pop up box appears - otherwise the Mac OS will block the connection.

 

[Ken Welham]

Try clicking refresh, it should appear if your NVR and Mac are on the same network. If not close the app and re open it. When you open it you MUST allow the incoming connections when the pop up box appears - otherwise the Mac OS will block the connection.

Did all that. Same result. Oddly, my two ip cameras which are connected to the back of my NVR, appear as two separate entries. To clarify, on the Device Management pane the left hand column headed Device Type has an entry which reads "Hikvision Device" and if I click on that, the main page headed Device for Management contains my two IP cameras. Both of them have a strange looking (to my eyes) number under Network Parameter. Each of these numbers ends in 8000 which rings bells about port forwarding. Both cameras are shown as being offline under Net Status.

 

[JB1970]

Did all that. Same result. Oddly, my two ip cameras which are connected to the back of my NVR, appear as two separate entries. To clarify, on the Device Management pane the left hand column headed Device Type has an entry which reads "Hikvision Device" and if I click on that, the main page headed Device for Management contains my two IP cameras. Both of them have a strange looking (to my eyes) number under Network Parameter. Each of these numbers ends in 8000 which rings bells about port forwarding. Both cameras are shown as being offline under Net Status.

That doesn't sound right. If the IP cameras are showing in the Device for Management section at the top of the page, it means you have already added them into the iVMS-4200 software. But also, if the IP cameras are connected directly into the back of the back of the NVR, they would be in a different IP range to the NVR and the cameras should not be visible at all in that screen. You should only be able to see the NVR. This will be why they are showing offline. It may be that you've clicked "add" and put the details in manually maybe?

I think that the issue is not with your iVMS-4200 app and that actually your NVR is not online. For now I would forget iVMS-4200 altogether and concentrate on checking the NVR is connected to the network. You would do that by first checking the network settings in your NVR. This is best done by viewing the menus on a monitor/TV connected to the NVR. Once you know the IP address, you can prove connection using a web browser and once that's successful you should be able to add the NVR into iVMS-4200.

 

[Ken Welham]

That doesn't sound right. If the IP cameras are showing in the Device for Management section at the top of the page, it means you have already added them into the iVMS-4200 software. But also, if the IP cameras are connected directly into the back of the back of the NVR, they would be in a different IP range to the NVR and the cameras should not be visible at all in that screen. You should only be able to see the NVR. This will be why they are showing offline. It may be that you've clicked "add" and put the details in manually maybe?

I think that the issue is not with your iVMS-4200 app and that actually your NVR is not online. For now I would forget iVMS-4200 altogether and concentrate on checking the NVR is connected to the network. You would do that by first checking the network settings in your NVR. This is best done by viewing the menus on a monitor/TV connected to the NVR. Once you know the IP address, you can prove connection using a web browser and once that's successful you should be able to add the NVR into iVMS-4200.

Thanks for sticking with me. I've always had my NVR connected to a TV monitor and have reluctantly over the months tried interacting/changing things and I may have done something stupid. I have an iPv4 address showing which looks like my NVR (corresponding to an IPv4 address in Hikvision SADP tool) but I'm not sure if that is what you mean by the NVR's IP address. If I paste this address into my Safari browser, it searches for it but eventually times out with a message that the server where this page is located isn't responding.

 

[JB1970]

Thanks for sticking with me. I've always had my NVR connected to a TV monitor and have reluctantly over the months tried interacting/changing things and I may have done something stupid. I have an iPv4 address showing which looks like my NVR (corresponding to an IPv4 address in Hikvision SADP tool) but I'm not sure if that is what you mean by the NVR's IP address. If I paste this address into my Safari browser, it searches for it but eventually times out with a message that the server where this page is located isn't responding.

Ok that's actually a good start as we now know it's not connected (or possibly configured) correctly for connection to your network. What is the IPV4 address in the NVR menu and also who is your internet provider? You can share that here as it's a local address and cannot be accessed from the internet.

 

[Ken Welham]

Ok that's actually a good start as we now know it's not connected (or possibly configured) correctly for connection to your network. What is the IPV4 address in the NVR menu and also who is your internet provider? You can share that here as it's a local address and cannot be accessed from the internet.

The address is 192.168.0.6 (from SADP tool) but appears with an odd spacing in my TV monitor NVR menu, thus 192.168.0 .6

 

[Ken Welham]

The address is 192.168.0.6 (from SADP tool) but appears with an odd spacing in my TV monitor NVR menu, thus 192.168.0 .6

Sorry, network provider is Plusnet

 

[JB1970]

The address is 192.168.0.6 (from SADP tool) but appears with an odd spacing in my TV monitor NVR menu, thus 192.168.0 .6

Ignore the spacing that's fine - it's just the way the menu is displayed there.

Is the box ticked marked "enable DHCP" above the IP address in the menu?

 

[JB1970]

I've had a quick look and I think your settings are wrong. Have you changed to PlusNet since you had the CCTV installed? Your NVR is on a different network range to that of the Plusnet router. The fact that you can see the NVR in SADP means that it is physically connected to the network, however it will not be accessible because it is not on the same network. In the NVR menu network menu change the settings as follows:

1. Make sure "enable DHCP" is NOT ticked
2. Set IPV4 address to 192.168.1.250
3. Ensure Subnet mask is 255.255.255.0
4. Set IPV4 gateway to 192.168.1.254
5. Set Primary DNS server to 8.8.8.8 and secondary to 8.8.4.4
6. Leave everything else and click apply

Once that's done go back to your web browser and type in http://192.168.1.250. You should get the login page.

 

[Ken Welham]

I've had a quick look and I think your settings are wrong. Have you changed to PlusNet since you had the CCTV installed?

Enable DCHP is not ticked. Have been with Plusnet for several years now but changed my router over the years from plusnet router to Netgear router ( which was obviously superior) but recently changed back to a newer Plusnet router (about seven weeks ago) because the Netgear router was no longer supported by Netgear and couldn't be updated...not in my hands anyway. Still have it though. In desperation, recently bought new BT home hub 6router, still in its box.

 

[JB1970]

Enable DCHP is not ticked. Have been with Plusnet for several years now but changed my router over the years from plusnet router to Netgear router ( which was obviously superior) but recently changed back to a newer Plusnet router (about seven weeks ago) because the Netgear router was no longer supported by Netgear and couldn't be updated...not in my hands anyway. Still have it though. In desperation, recently bought new BT home hub 6router, still in its box.

I just edited my post above. You're on the wrong settings. Follow those first steps 1- 6 and it'll be back online.