First things first ...
“ Your mission should you choose to accept it…"
Check that the external IP address is a public address, seems it is because you mention he can connect but loses connection until he can put the IP address in.
It appears that the Service Provider is using a pool of IP addresses that are allocated as and when. If you log into the router itself it should tell you when the lease on the address will expire.
Simplest thing is to speak with BT and see if they can allocate you a static IP address. They may charge an additional amount for this or you may need to go to a business line to avoid it being changed frequently.
If you want to continue with the leased address, highly recommend a service such a dyndns.org
You can add the details to the router. Every time the router changes address the dyndns entry will be updated, so for example if your friend created an account called myrouter, the fully qualified name will be myrouter.dydns.org and this is the name you should type in the app to connect back to the cameras.Like a phone book entry the name will refer to the IP address/numbers. Every time the contact changes number it will be updated for the contact.
If the
cameras connect to the manufacturers site/servers acting like a proxy (the glue) between the app and the camera
this is a HUGE RISK (no shouting just going with caps to bring it to your attention):
** RESPECTFULLY BE WARNED, here be dragons!
One would personally regard as a security risk! They have access to your cameras and what can be seen/viewed.The hik-connect app appears a very dodgy thing to do. It is using/relying on the manufacturer/suppliers website to be the intermediary or handing over a connection between the home device and the client (mobile phone) some how, if that is even possible?! Either way personally would not trust it!
Basic steps, info is available in public domain.
1. set up dyndns or another free dns service
2. there should be a drop down option on the Hik DVR to use your router and not "hik-connect"
3. in the router settings you will need to place your hik dvr in a DMZ zone or allow port forwarding.
From my understanding a number of ports can be used but likely streamed on port 80 or 8080
Quick search on Google reveals:
What ports are open for Hikvision camera?
Here are the ports which are most commonly used for Hikvision port forwarding:
- TCP port: 80, 8000, 554, 443, 10554, 9010, 9020.
- UDP port: 62000-65000, 8000.
Another search tells me most common ports are:
What ports do I need to forward for Hikvision? The most common ports used by Hikvision are
80, 8000, 554/10554, etc. Other ports might also be used depending on the applications and services on your network.
So just a case of figuring out which ports the stream and functions is accessed through. As part of the security make sure you have authentication credentials in place. You don't want any "Joe Bloggs/Andy Smith" to access the video stream for sh*ts and giggles! Ideally something like SSH should be used or strong web credentials, in theory the box should have this without you needing to put your own solution together. The box along with the app may allow this to be automated through use of a QR code that it can generate! If not, its going be a manual jobby!
Hope it helps! No more than another hour of your time even with research, issues/difficulties you may run in to!
."..As always, should you or any of your 'Hik DVR' Force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This tape/disc will self-destruct in five/ten seconds. Good luck, Silverdale
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