IVMS 4500 Device timed out - "Receiving data from the device timed out error"

[PeteWest]

Hi all,

Need some help, IVMS 4500 Iphone app has suddenly stopped working on my phone , when i am using data i get "Receiving data from the device timed out error", but if i connect to the same network my NVR is on i can view my cameras no problem, i have checked all my settings - i.p address, port forwarding etc are all ok.
Ive tested the required ports are open, it has been working fine for the last few years with no problem at all.

 

[JB1970]

Hi all,

Need some help, IVMS 4500 Iphone app has suddenly stopped working on my phone , when i am using data i get "Receiving data from the device timed out error", but if i connect to the same network my NVR is on i can view my cameras no problem, i have checked all my settings - i.p address, port forwarding etc are all ok.
Ive tested the required ports are open, it has been working fine for the last few years with no problem at all.

I take it your external IP address has not changed? Goto whatsmyip.org on your phone while on your home network to confirm that first and check against the entry you have in your site details.

Do a speed test while on mobile data. You may be showing a perfect 4G signal but that only reflects the connection of your phone to the local mast it is on. It's possible that the mast is not connected to the internet or is oversubscribed. I had this happen on a new installation the other week. During handover/demonstration, one householder could not get connected despite a "full" signal, while myself and the other householder could. I was on O2 with the working householders phone on Giff Gaff which also uses the O2 network. The non working handset was on EE.

On your phone while on mobile data, use the web browser (not iVMS) and navigate to the external IP address of your router (appended with :HttpPortNumber if the NVR doesn't use the default of 80). Is the login page of the NVR displayed?

Finally check that your phone settings are not blocking the use of mobile data for the Hikvision app.

 

[PeteWest]

Hi JB1970,
I have checked IP address all seems correct, getting about 18Mbps download speed on data.
If i try to connect via router ip adress & port 80, i dont get anything just doesn’t load anything, but i can connect to any other website. IVMS is turned on in mobile data. My provider is giffgaff, as well as others in the house who also cant connect

 

[JB1970]

Hi JB1970,
I have checked IP address all seems correct, getting about 18Mbps download speed on data.
If i try to connect via router ip adress & port 80, i dont get anything just doesn’t load anything, but i can connect to any other website. IVMS is turned on in mobile data. My provider is giffgaff, as well as others in the house who also cant connect

OK. If your NVR http port is port 80 (check what ports are in use in the NVR Network settings) and you go to your external IP address, you should be presented with the NVR login page. You can't view the cameras that way but you can navigate the menus so if that is not working there must be something amiss in the configuration somewhere and it doesn't appear to be the app.

I need a bit more info so I can get an idea what has caused the issue. Who is your internet provider at home? Do you usually connect to your device in iVMS using the IP address? If so you would usually have two sites set up in iVMS-4500 - a site that connects to the NVRs static IP address (192.168.xxx.xxx) for when you are at home on your own WIFI and a second site that connects using either the routers external IP address or a domain name (which), for when you are away from your home network. Is that the case?

 

[PeteWest]

Hi JB1970,
Apologies if i enter my external IP address it takes me to the log in page (i was trying my router IP address 1st with port 80).
My provider is Virgin Media, my settings on the iVMS app are
Register mode - IP/Domain
Address - my IP address
Port - server port (one used in NVR settings).
As far as i know i only have 1 site set up on iVMS as above, which would give me access either via wifi or mobile data.

 

[JB1970]

Hi JB1970,
Apologies if i enter my external IP address it takes me to the log in page (i was trying my router IP address 1st with port 80).
My provider is Virgin Media, my settings on the iVMS app are
Register mode - IP/Domain
Address - my IP address
Port - server port (one used in NVR settings).
As far as i know i only have 1 site set up on iVMS as above, which would give me access either via wifi or mobile data.

Your external IP address IS your router IP address. Your NVR address will be 192.168.0.???

That's incorrect then for a VM hub. You want it set up like this. First site:

Alias: Home - WiFi
Reg Mode: IP/Domain
Address: 192.168.0.??? (your NVR local IP address)
Port: Default is 8000 but whatever is used in your NVR for server

Second site:

Alias: Home - Mobile
Reg Mode: IP/Domain
Address: Your router external IP address
Port: Same as before - the server port

When your at home on your own WiFi you must click the camera icon and ensure that "Home - WiFi" is selected. When you're out and about you must click the camera icon and select "Home - Mobile" instead.

The VM hub will not allow you to use the external IP address while you are connected to your WiFi, hence the need for the two sites in devices. For everything to work you should have port forwarding in the router set up to forward the 3 ports (http, server and RTSP) to the local address of your NVR.

 

[PeteWest]

Hi JB1970,
So ive done everything as suggested but it still wont connect via mobile, ive checked the ports are forwarded correctly, which they are, i get the feeling this is something on the app side of things, what i find strange it was working fine the original way for years.
I have even tried a 3rd party app (tinycam) on a fire tablet, added external router settings etc, then hotspoted to my iphone on data & that works fine?
I have also gone into the remote configuration section on the iVMS app & it will pull all the NVR information model & serial number etc, a couple of times i have then straight away selected live view it pulls a camera up fine, i then go to another camera & i get the timed out error again, what i don’t understand is it must be connecting otherwise i would be getting a not connected error & it wouldnt pull the NVR basic information?

 

[JB1970]

Hi JB1970,
So ive done everything as suggested but it still wont connect via mobile, ive checked the ports are forwarded correctly, which they are, i get the feeling this is something on the app side of things, what i find strange it was working fine the original way for years.
I have even tried a 3rd party app (tinycam) on a fire tablet, added external router settings etc, then hotspoted to my iphone on data & that works fine?
I have also gone into the remote configuration section on the iVMS app & it will pull all the NVR information model & serial number etc, a couple of times i have then straight away selected live view it pulls a camera up fine, i then go to another camera & i get the timed out error again, what i don’t understand is it must be connecting otherwise i would be getting a not connected error & it wouldnt pull the NVR basic information?

Strange - how do you have the ports forwarded? Are they done in the router as I've recommended (I'd not rely on the port mapping settings on the NVR - they should be disabled in favour of doing it in the router settings)

I'd say it's unlikely to be the app, but to prove it the easiest thing is just to delete it completely and reinstall. It only takes a couple of mins. The more common issue recently with iPhone and iVMS is the permission being disabled to access devices on the local network (in iPhone settings for app), but that would cause the opposite - viewing only possible when you're not at home.

So just to confirm finally:

1 - in the network settings your NVR has a static IP address 192.168.0.???, subnet mask is 255.255.255.0, gateway is 192.168.0.1.
2 - You have checked the three ports in use by the NVR from the network settings of the NVR and they are forwarded in the router itself to the address in 1 above
3 - NAT is disabled on the NVR (so that it doesn't conflict with the port forwarding in the router)
4 - You have set it up as two sites in iVMS - one with the VM router external IP address, that you should disable wifi before trying; and one with the NVR IP address in 1 above that you must be on your network to use

Other than that, something else must have changed. I take it you haven't had the VM router replaced or reset, you haven't added your own router to the hub (this causes issues if the VM router is not first switched into modem only mode) and there is nothing else on the network that could be using the same port numbers as the NVR.

 

[PeteWest]

Hi JB1970,
I’ll check them settings tomorrow but im pretty sure there all correct.
But heres another strange one, so im at the pub went on there free wifi & it works fine? If i turn the wifi off im connected to & go back on data cant see them, is it possible something is getting blocked by giff gaff/o2 ?

 

[JB1970]

Hi JB1970,
I’ll check them settings tomorrow but im pretty sure there all correct.
But heres another strange one, so im at the pub went on there free wifi & it works fine? If i turn the wifi off im connected to & go back on data cant see them, is it possible something is getting blocked by giff gaff/o2 ?

I did actually wonder about that - I'm on O2 and haven't had a problem here but then I don't use the standard, default ports. I always recommend that people change the 3 ports on the NVR to something different. If you're using consecutive ports (makes port forwarding simpler - 1 rule in the VM hub rather than 3) they have to start at 2000 or above as the server port has to be at 2000 or above. A few years ago I always used to use ports 2000 - 2002. I'd often find that I couldn't get a connection when abroad roaming and I never had the issue again once I used different port numbers.

Maybe try changing them in the NVR then altering your port forward rule. It's an easy change to make.

 

[PeteWest]

So done a bit more digging & found this thread

URGENT - CCTV NOT WORKING ON giffgaff,

URGENT - CCTV NOT WORKING ON giffgaff,

community.giffgaff.com

I’ve contacted them to see what can be done.

When you say change the ports do you mean the server, rtsp & http? Can they be any value? Whats the upper & lower limit?

 

[JB1970]

So done a bit more digging & found this thread

URGENT - CCTV NOT WORKING ON giffgaff,

URGENT - CCTV NOT WORKING ON giffgaff,

community.giffgaff.com

I’ve contacted them to see what can be done.

When you say change the ports do you mean the server, rtsp & http? Can they be any value? Whats the upper & lower limit?

Yes it's preferable to change them. Lets say your IP address was 86.123.45.89 for example. If I were to put that IP address in a web browser, it would bring up the login window. It makes it immediately apparent that there is a CCTV system there, waiting to be hacked, because you have the standard port 80 for http. If the http port is changed to say 48000; to get that login window I'd need to enter http://86.123.45.89:48000 (http:// will open port 80 so if you change it, you append the IP address with ort_number to access it). Likewise everyone knows that the default server port is 8000. I once checked my logs and found 2000 illegal login attempts to access my NVR within one morning (the log shows a maximum of 2000 so it will have been more)

You should use ports outside of the frequently used range. Well known ports run 0 to 1024, registered ports run 1025 to 49151, dynamic ports (can be used by UPnP) run from 49152 to 65535 so they need to be above 1024. Furthermore the server port needs to be above 2000 (thats from the Hikvision documentation). I use ports from the dynamic range and always use three consecutive ports for ease of forwarding.

Example: switch http to 51000, server to 51001, rtsp to 51002. In the VM hub create one rule to forward TCP ports 51000-51002 to 192.168.0.??? (NVR IP). All you then need to remember is to alter the server port in the iVMS device page and remember that if you want to access the NVR with a browser, you need to append the IP address with :51000. With those settings in place no chancer is going to happen upon your system. I have no system installed that uses the defaults of 80, 8000, 554 - it's the first thing I change when I power up a new NVR/DVR.

 

[PeteWest]

Hi JB1970,
I'm going to do all that now, would it make sense to change the HTTPS port as well?

 

[JB1970]

Hi JB1970,
I'm going to do all that now, would it make sense to change the HTTPS port as well?

I don't usually bother. Once you a activate https on the NVR, http is no longer available and I find that an inconvenience - as such I don't change the port and I don't forward it either.

What you can optionally do for additional security is to not forward the http port in the router. If you do that - any access to the NVR using a web browser would only be available from a device on your local network, but as the app only needs the server and RTSP ports it wouldn't affect remote viewing (so long as remote viewing is always done using the app). If the http port isn't forwarded, the number can remain unchanged as it poses no risk and you won't need to append the local IP address with anything. Again for my convenience I forward the (altered) http port anyway.

 

[PeteWest]

Hi JB1970,
All sorted! Thanks very much for your help, if anything its made me understand everything easier now so a big learning curve as well.

 

[JB1970]

Perfect that's good news. I did have a search around on the O2 and Giff Gaff forums last night and although there were a few reports of similar issues with various systems, there was no conclusive answer as to whether the telco's blocked any specific ports (some users were having difficulty with the ports in use for VPN connections).

 

[PeteWest]

Yes i couldnt find any answers to how it was sorted, or if it has been for them, thankfully its all sorted my end rather than relying on network provider, bit strange how its affected people at different times & not all at once. Once again thanks for your help its been much appreciated.

 

[JB1970]

Yes i couldnt find any answers to how it was sorted, or if it has been for them, thankfully its all sorted my end rather than relying on network provider, bit strange how its affected people at different times & not all at once. Once again thanks for your help its been much appreciated.

Not problem - happy to assist

 

[Ana]

Your external IP address IS your router IP address. Your NVR address will be 192.168.0.???

That's incorrect then for a VM hub. You want it set up like this. First site:

Alias: Home - WiFi
Reg Mode: IP/Domain
Address: 192.168.0.??? (your NVR local IP address)
Port: Default is 8000 but whatever is used in your NVR for server

Second site:

Alias: Home - Mobile
Reg Mode: IP/Domain
Address: Your router external IP address
Port: Same as before - the server port

When your at home on your own WiFi you must click the camera icon and ensure that "Home - WiFi" is selected. When you're out and about you must click the camera icon and select "Home - Mobile" instead.

The VM hub will not allow you to use the external IP address while you are connected to your WiFi, hence the need for the two sites in devices. For everything to work you should have port forwarding in the router set up to forward the 3 ports (http, server and RTSP) to the local address of your NVR.

There is no need for 2 sites and it doesn’t work anyways your configuration for the mobile- you don’t enter the server port, the router doesn’t know what to do with it since it’s opening the http port for outside entries, not the server port- that one is for what the router is opening to exit to the internet. You enter the http port in the port field, you public IP address in the IP field and that’s all. It works both with wi-fi and mobile data. No need to add two sites or whatever.

But, in the router’s port forwarding settings, you need the http port for external port and the server port for internal port. It doesn’t work any other way- for me it didn’t, at least.
Anyway, bad app, hard to setup, unstable, wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. I’ve spent half a day to search online for solutions which I didn’t find.

 

[JB1970]

There is no need for 2 sites and it doesn’t work anyways your configuration for the mobile- you don’t enter the server port, the router doesn’t know what to do with it since it’s opening the http port for outside entries, not the server port- that one is for what the router is opening to exit to the internet. You enter the http port in the port field, you public IP address in the IP field and that’s all. It works both with wi-fi and mobile data. No need to add two sites or whatever.

But, in the router’s port forwarding settings, you need the http port for external port and the server port for internal port. It doesn’t work any other way- for me it didn’t, at least.
Anyway, bad app, hard to setup, unstable, wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. I’ve spent half a day to search online for solutions which I didn’t find.

Apologies but you have written your post as a reply to mine saying I’m wrong? I’m not. I’ve been doing this day in day out for the last 10 years.

When adding a system directly to the app using IP/Domain the ‘Port’ entry is for the server port NOT the http. Also it is sometimes necessary to add the device as two sites if the router does not support NAT loopback (a feature that is rarely listed in the specs for any router whether it’s supported or not)

As for it being a ‘bad app, hard to setup, unstable’ etc - if that were the case I’d have my customers calling me daily to complain - I don’t; I might get a call occasionally when they change ISP, get a new router or phone.

In short, although the odd bug appears every now and then, Hik-Connect is a reliable app (when setup correctly)