How to Connect a Wi-Fi Camera to a Router

Connecting a Wi-Fi surveillance camera to your phone and apps to work

Modern Wi-Fi cameras have several protocols for connecting to devices. If previously access was done through the local network and did not extend beyond its limits, now through the same network with Internet access, you can connect to a separate device, monitor and control the camcorder remotely. How to connect a Wi-Fi camera to your phone let’s take a closer look.

To connect a Wi-Fi surveillance camera to a smartphone and control it from anywhere in the world, you need:

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  • Router with Internet access.
  • IP camera connected to it via Wi-Fi.
  • Smartphone with a Wi-Fi camera app installed, connected to the router’s local network for the primary connection.
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When you connect a Wi-Fi camera to the phone, you need to create a more secure connection. Recommended:

How to Connect a CCTV DVR to a Wireless Router

  • Use a backup independent line for the power trimmer (exclude power outage).
  • Use a backup Internet connection, for example a cellular modem (exclude Internet cable breakage).
  • Use a backup and independent of your power access point (exclude damage to the primary router by setting up reconnection to a backup access point that your neighbor probably has).
  • Get a Wi-Fi camcorder that supports multiple wireless network channels and rich alarm functionality (notification to smartphone, e-mail, recording video to network storage, sound recording, snapshots of still images online and more).

If the router is configured, the access point is active, and the camcorder is plugged into a 220V network, connect them together. Connecting Wi-Fi camera to smartphone:

  • There is a WPS button on the router. Click it.
  • Go over to the camcorder and press the exact same button on it (you have 2 minutes to do this, but no more). If there is no button, you can activate WPS-connection via IP-camera web-interface. How to get into it is always specified in the instructions.
  • After switching to pairing mode, the first device will detect the second one and connect it to its local network.
  • Connect your smartphone to the Wi-Fi network of the router.
  • Install the software to work with this CCTV camera.
  • Go to the application and make all the necessary settings to establish communication. The program provides step-by-step instruction.
  • Done. You have connected the Wi-Fi camcorder to the phone.

The question remains as to what this app is? Each manufacturer specifies the software with which the Wi-Fi camera works. Typically, this is a proprietary utility designed to work with equipment from the manufacturer. But there are “universal” applications that connect surveillance devices of different manufacturers.

You can see an example of connection in the following

How to connect IP camera to router via LAN

IP camera connects to a router over a wire. The network interface (connector) is called RJ-45 and you need a UTP cable to connect. If you use the camera in a small room, you can use a patch cord (twisted pair with a plug at each end). You can buy it on our website, its length is from 0.5 to 20 meters.

Any camera needs power, so plug the power supply into the socket on the body. We already have a network, then we need a computer or video recorder with Internet access.

IP-camera is an independent device, it does not require any special configuration, it is enough only to register the network address via computer. But it is necessary to set a static IP-address on the router in the local network, so that there will be no problems with its search in the future.

How to connect a Wi-Fi camera to a computer, phone, router or video recorder?

Let’s look at the possible options for connecting Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi) surveillance camera.

Wi-Fi camera works as an independent device.

In this case the archive can be written to a memory card or cloud service. The purpose of connecting a video camera. This is the ability to remotely view and archive the recording. So, we have a home Wi-Fi router with Internet. Connect the RJ45 network cable (patch cord) of the camera and the computer. Using your browser, go to the web interface of our “video eye”. Looking for the section on Wi-Fi (different manufacturers menu is different), go in, now you need to connect our camcorder and our Wi-Fi router. In order for the device to connect automatically, we have to write the following: indicate our Wi-Fi network, indicate the Wi-Fi password, indicate the protocol for encryption: WPA2, and do not forget to check the box: connect automatically. Next, reboot the camera and disconnect the cable. Hurrah! It already sits on the router wirelessly. Then we can use our tablet/phone/PC to connect to our wireless network to watch video and control the device.

Connecting to a Wi-Fi enabled DVR.

Procedure of connection:

Connect the cable (patch cord) between the data recorder and the computer. In the DVR settings assign the network settings: Wi-Fi network name and set the password for Wi-Fi.

How to Make Cp Plus DVR Online | Enable DVR status Online for Remote View on Mobile & Laptop

Connect the cable (patch cord) between the camcorder and the PC. With the help of the browser (sometimes the package contains the disk with the application, in this case you can use it) connect to the web interface of our camera. Looking for the section on Wi-Fi (the menu is different for different manufacturers), go to, now you need to connect our camcorder and our Wi-Fi router, so the camera will automatically connect, we must spell it: specify our Wi-Fi network, specify the password, specify the encryption protocol: WPA2, and do not forget to check the box: connect automatically. Then restart the “video eye” and disconnect the cable.

Go to the DVR and choose the necessary channel. Add the required Wi-Fi camera, the picture should appear.

Connection of Wi-Fi camera to video recorder (without Wi-Fi) via WiFi router.

If you separately select wireless video cameras you can easily build the following set. Suppose you already have a router. What else do we need for connection? Wireless Wi-Fi cameras and video recorder proper. The data recorder will be connected to the router with a patch cord (cable). And the cameras will be connected to the router (see video converter. Point 1). Then in the settings of the video recorder we place the required video camera to the required channel. Note that not every Wi-Fi camera will be paired with a video recorder in this way. Incompatibility was mostly observed with desktop instances, with cameras as toys. They are usually designed and operated as a full-fledged single product, unfortunately, they are not suitable for use in a surveillance system.

Single, desktop Wi-Fi camera.

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As a rule, such products have their own applications for mobile devices and for connecting to a computer. The archive of records in these devices is stored on a flash card. Video cameras can have a very unusual and beautiful design, have bright colors and are more suitable as a toy for adults, rather than a full-fledged video surveillance system.

Send your questions, remarks and suggestions to: samohvalov@rucam-video.Ru

Setting up intranet access

At this stage it is possible to enter the starting address of the camera within the created network for any device. After that, a special panel will open, through which you can view the image in real time.

It is possible to have the same internal interface, but you must buy both devices from the same manufacturer. However, this approach will lead to some difficulties. For example, you can’t connect two cameras of the same company to the router at the same time. In this case, you need to set a network address for each unit. Let’s look at how to do this:

  • Perform the manipulation that was mentioned in the previous point. Once finished, do not disconnect the LAN cable.
  • Open the admin panel of the camera and go to the network settings. “TCP/IP”.
  • Look for “Network” (“Network”, “Configuration” or “Administration”).
  • If you want to access the camera in your home network, you must set the “DHCP” (“Dynamic IP”) box.
  • Next, disconnect the camera from the computer and control the device via the administration panel.

Which one is the best to choose

As a wise man once said, look through 1,000 options and pick 1. So the first thing to do is not to rush, even if you like some of the cameras better than others. I would recommend looking through as many models as possible. I suggest reviewing my home camera review here.

There I tell you which models are most suitable for home use. I also give some popular models at different price points. In addition I would like to recommend an article on video surveillance kits. Here are some options for the complete kit, you just buy it, install it and configure it.

Also we have to roughly decide on the range and view of the camera. This will be influenced primarily by the resolution of the matrix. Such cameras are expensive, but worth it. You should also consider the installation site and from that determine the angle of view. For the street, you can buy a dome camera, which will view almost the entire angle of view within 180 degrees. PTZ cameras can also be controlled from the app as well as the Web interface.

Connecting

Our task now is to connect directly to the video camera. We will connect by IP, which is usually found in the documentation or on a label on the body. The first thing we do is to take the network cable and connect one end to the camcorder and the other end to the network card of the laptop or computer.

And so, the address we know, in my case it is 192.168.1.88. Another problem is that when you connect it to a laptop and the computer does not have a DHCP server (it can be disabled), that is, your computer can not get its IP automatically. And without an address, as a person without a document. The computer has no power.

Now our task is to enter the network adapter settings of the laptop or the PC and write the settings manually.

  • There will be several connections, you must choose the one through which you are connected to the machine. You can also be connected via Wi-Fi. Right click and go to “Properties”. Now you have to enter the IPv4 properties. Check the checkbox on the bottom and you have to enter the parameters manually.
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  • IP-address. First three digits must be same as IP-address of camera, but the last one can be any, but not the same as of the connected device. I put in 24.
  • You don’t need to enter anything here, just click here.
  • Default gateway. Enter IP cameras.

Peculiarities of IP-cameras and router connection

Before we proceed to the description of connection procedure let us note that to configure the camera and the router you need a computer with an active Internet connection. Operation of connecting surveillance device and router consists of two steps. Setup of camera and router, and in this very order.

Each of cameras of the considered variety has fixed IP-address due to which the access to surveillance is provided. However, none of these devices will not work “out of the box”. The fact that the address assigned by the manufacturer, most likely does not match the address space of your local network. How to solve this problem? Very simply. Change the address to a suitable one.

Before you start the manipulation you need to know the address space of your LAN network. You can find out how to do this in the following article.

Next you need to find out the address of the camera. This information can be found in the device documentation, as well as on a sticker on its case. Additionally, the device must be supplied with an installation disk containing not only drivers but also a configuration utility, most of which contain the exact IP address of the surveillance camera. The same utility can be used to change the address, but there are many variants of such software, so a description of how to do this operation deserves a separate article. Instead of the utility, we will use a more universal variant. Changing the required parameter via a web interface. This can be done in the following way:

  • Connect the device to your PC. Plug one end of the network cable into a port on the device and the other end into a corresponding slot on a PC or notebook network card. For wireless cameras, it is enough to make sure that the device is recognized by the Wi-Fi network and connects to it without any problems.
  • Access to the web interface of the camera is not available by default because of the difference between the subnets of the LAN connection and the address of the device. To enter into the means of configuration subnets should be made the same. To do this, open the “Network and Sharing Center”. Then click on the “Change adapter settings” option. Next, find the “Local network connection” item and click on it with the PCM. Select “Properties” from the context menu. Select “TCP/IPv4” in the properties window and double-click on it.

    IP address is the main option. Here you need to enter the camera address with the value of the primary subnet of the LAN connection. Let’s say if the built-in IP of the device looks like 192.168.32.12. Then you will have to enter 192 in the “IP address” line.168.1.12 ;

Popular models of wireless Wi-Fi surveillance cameras

Select devices according to their intended use. Each category has its own favorites.

  • The Activcam AC-D7101IR1 is a great desktop model for home surveillance. Pros: good resolution, infrared illumination, there is two-way audio. Records are sent to the recorder and duplicated in its own memory.
  • EZVІZ C2mini. Hidden mini-camera with a viewing angle of 115 degrees. Designed for indoor installation. Equipped with IR illumination. Transmits data to the cloud.
  • D-Link DCS-6010L. Panoramic model, mounted on the ceiling. Equipped with a motion sensor, it can zoom in. There is feedback.
  • Proline IP-HW2033WKF is an outdoor unit. Can see up to 30 meters, even in total darkness. The body is protected against moisture and dust. Works both wirelessly and with wired connection. Can be recorded on its own memory card.

Wi-Fi cameras. A convenient solution. No need for many wires when organizing the system. Video surveillance can be controlled from anywhere in the world.