Bad experience with Amcrest. Need help about what to do.

[Sequoia1321]

I had purchased the Amcrest IP3M-956W wifi camera for security outside my house, which was advertised as having FTP. I setup various FTPs, like my website FTP, when that didn't work they said to setup a local FTP. I then setup a local linux FTP, but Amcrest wouldn't work with that either, even though FileZilla worked with it. That FTP had problems though, so I finally I setup an FTP running on Android using various Android FTP apps which all worked well with FileZilla, but Amcrest would either not work with any of them, or would only periodically work. When I contacted Amcrest it seemed they kept making up excuses, now saying that they haven't tested their cameras on FTP running on Android, and so they said they can't guarantee it will work. But their product description didn't mention any of this, and I doubt if I now run a Windows based FTP running on FileZilla FTP server, which they are now suggesting, that their product will suddenly work. Doing further research on Amcrest it seems they have a bad reputation. Also, I would go through some trouble to take off from work or schedule my time to be home so that their Houston based customer support could call me, but on multiple occasions they didn't call or give any notice. Was the first sign of the kind of people I was dealing with. Seems like a bad company, and in addition to them not having a good software, their behavior made me lose trust in their ability to keep their cameras secure and take responsibility for their actions.

So I think I may need to switch to another product. Was thinking Dahua, or maybe something else. Any recommendations? Also, what can I do with the Amcrest camera? Try to return it? Still under warranty.

 

[fenderman]

I had purchased the Amcrest IP3M-956W wifi camera for security outside my house, which was advertised as having FTP. I setup various FTPs, like my website FTP, when that didn't work they said to setup a local FTP. I then setup a local linux FTP, but Amcrest wouldn't work with that either, even though FileZilla worked with it. That FTP had problems though, so I finally I setup an FTP running on Android using various Android FTP apps which all worked well with FileZilla, but Amcrest would either not work with any of them, or would only periodically work. When I contacted Amcrest it seemed they kept making up excuses, now saying that they haven't tested their cameras on FTP running on Android, and so they said they can't guarantee it will work. But their product description didn't mention any of this, and I doubt if I now run a Windows based FTP running on FileZilla FTP server, which they are now suggesting, that their product will suddenly work. Doing further research on Amcrest it seems they have a bad reputation. Also, I would go through some trouble to take off from work or schedule my time to be home so that their Houston based customer support could call me, but on multiple occasions they didn't call or give any notice. Was the first sign of the kind of people I was dealing with. Seems like a bad company, and in addition to them not having a good software, their behavior made me lose trust in their ability to keep their cameras secure and take responsibility for their actions.

So I think I may need to switch to another product. Was thinking Dahua, or maybe something else. Any recommendations? Also, what can I do with the Amcrest camera? Try to return it? Still under warranty.

Amcrest rebrands dahua.
Stop using low end wifi cameras
Stop trying to use ftp...use an nvr or vms

 

[Sequoia1321]

Amcrest rebrands dahua.
Stop using low end wifi cameras
Stop trying to use ftp...use an nvr or vms

I thought Dahua has more up to date firmware. Are you saying it's not going to be better with Dahua? What cameras do you recommend? Why not use FTP?

 

[fenderman]

I thought Dahua has more up to date firmware. Are you saying it's not going to be better with Dahua? What cameras do you recommend? Why not use FTP?

Read The Cliff notes at depends on what you need... FTP is useless you want the proper way to organize and play back your recordings... Stop playing with toys.

 

[Sequoia1321]

Read The Cliff notes at depends on what you need... FTP is useless you want the proper way to organize and play back your recordings... Stop playing with toys.

I didn't really get my question answered. Maybe someone else will chime in. I'll look into the cliff notes link, looks interesting. I'm using FTP only for snapshots. I've tested some different cameras over the years, not a lot but several, and I don't find viewing of the motion video or motion snapshots useful for everyday use on all the camera apps i tested. For example, at the end of the day I like to view the events that happened, but I don't want to look through the video clips of every motion event, which takes too long. So then I decided to look at snapshots, but this also takes a long time to load, or the camera smartphone app isn't very good. Email alerts or push notifications don't seem that good either. I had a camera once called Phylink, and they had a good option where they would upload snapshots to my Google Drive, and through Google Drive it was much easier to view the snapshots of the events. The Amcrest app doesn't have that option, so I've been trying to use the FTP option to upload images to my FTP, and there I have a program that uploads it to my Google Drive, and then I can easily view the snapshots of the day,. Sometimes I don't even have to open the image fully because Google Drive puts the images in thumbnail. That is why I've been using FTP. Also, it's an extra level of security to store the data at another location, like Google Drive, and not have to pay extra for cloud storage from Amcrest or whoever.

 

[fenderman]

I didn't really get my question answered. Maybe someone else will chime in. I'll look into the cliff notes link, looks interesting. I'm using FTP only for snapshots. I've tested some different cameras over the years, not a lot but several, and I don't find viewing of the motion video or motion snapshots useful for everyday use on all the camera apps i tested. For example, at the end of the day I like to view the events that happened, but I don't want to look through the video clips of every motion event, which takes too long. So then I decided to look at snapshots, but this also takes a long time to load, or the camera smartphone app isn't very good. Email alerts or push notifications don't seem that good either. I had a camera once called Phylink, and they had a good option where they would upload snapshots to my Google Drive, and through Google Drive it was much easier to view the snapshots of the events. The Amcrest app doesn't have that option, so I've been trying to use the FTP option to upload images to my FTP, and there I have a program that uploads it to my Google Drive, and then I can easily view the snapshots of the day,. Sometimes I don't even have to open the image fully because Google Drive puts the images in thumbnail. That is why I've been using FTP. Also, it's an extra level of security to store the data at another location, like Google Drive, and not have to pay extra for cloud storage from Amcrest or whoever.

If you would get your head out of the sand and learn to use these cameras properly you can review an entire day's video very quickly... FTP is clunky old and always have issues...assume it won't work properly regardless of whether the camera manufacturer tells you it will... Stop using crappy low-end Wi-Fi cameras you're just going to continue having the same problems and wondering why.

 

[SouthernYankee]

------------------------------------------
You have a lot to learn.
You need to spend a good amount of time with the cliff notes.
Amcrest is a dahua camera but it may have downgrade hardware and downgraded software, to cut costs

Read,Study,Plan before spending money.
---------------------------------------
My standard welcome to the forum message.

Please read the IP Cam Talk Cliff Notes and other items in the IP Cam Talk Wiki. The wiki is in the blue bar at the top of the page.

Read How to Secure Your Network (Don't Get Hacked!) in the wiki also.

Quick start
1) If you do not have a wired monitored alarm system, get that first
2) Use Dahua starlight cameras or Hikvision darkfighter cameras or ICPT Night eye cameras (Store | IP Cam Talk) if you need good low light cameras.
3) use a VPN to access home network (openVPN)
4) Do not use wifi cameras.
5) Do not use cloud storage
6) Do Not use uPNP, P2P, QR, do not open ports,
7) More megapixel is not necessarily better.
8) Avoid chinese hacked cameras (most ebay, amazon, aliexpress cameras(not all, but most))
9) Do not use reolink, ring, nest cameras (they are junk), no cloud cameras
10) If possible use a turret camera , bullet collect spiders, dome collect dirt and reflect light (IR)
11) Use only solid copper, AWG 23 or 24 ethernet wire. , no CCA (Copper Clad Aluminum)
12) use a test mount to verify the camera mount location. My test rig: rev.2
13) (Looney2ns)If you want to be able to ID faces, don't mount cams higher than 8ft. You want to know who did it, not just what happened.
14) Use a router that has openVPN built in (Most ASUS, Some NetGear....)
15) camera placement use the calculator... IPVM Camera Calculator V3

Cameras to look at
IPC-HDW2231R-ZS Review-Dahua IPC-HDW2231RP-ZS Starlight Camera-Varifocal
IPC-HDW5231-ZE Review-Dahua Starlight IPC-HDW5231R-ZE 800 meter capable ePOE
IPC-HFW4239T-ASE IPC-HFW4239T-ASE
IPC-T5442TM-AS Review IPC-T5442TM-AS-LED (Full Color, Starlight+)
IPCT-HDW5431RE-I Review - IP Cam Talk 4 MP IR Fixed Turret Network Camera
DS-2CD2325FWD-I
IPC-T5442TM-AS Review-OEM 4mp AI Cam IPC-T5442TM-AS Starlight+ - 4MP starlight+

Other dahua 4MP starlight Dahua 4MP Starlight Lineup

My preferred indoor cameras
DS-2CD2442FWD-IW
IPC-K35A Review-Dahua IPC-K35A 3mp Cube Camera

If interested in Blue Iris and other setup items see the following post

Newbie Starter Guide to IP Cam System – VPN setup – Computer Hardware – Blue Iris – Dahua Cameras

This is an intermediate / newbie guide for people just starting out looking for a surveillance setup. I know this setup might not be for everyone and there are many options. You can find a lot of this information in the Wiki: IP Cam Talk Wiki | IP Cam Talk A great place to start in the Wiki...

ipcamtalk.com

Read,study,plan before spending money ..... plan plan plan
Test do not guess

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
if you are interested in Dahua cameras, a forum member sells dahua and ships world wide. You can read some of the members recommendations on his service. He also provides cameras to other forum member for evaluation and reviews.
you can email him for a quote, or purchase from his Aliexpress store or his Amazon store.

Andy
@EMPIRETECANDY
kingsecurity2014@163.com
Andy's ipcamtalk vendor forum: EmpireTech Andy
Andy's AliExpress store: Buy Products Online from China Wholesalers at Aliexpress.com
Andy's Amazon store: EmpireTech-Andy @ Amazon.com:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Sequoia1321]

If you would get your head out of the sand and learn to use these cameras properly you can review an entire day's video very quickly... FTP is clunky old and always have issues...assume it won't work properly regardless of whether the camera manufacturer tells you it will... Stop using crappy low-end Wi-Fi cameras you're just going to continue having the same problems and wondering why.

With all due respect, I already used the camera software, and even consulted with customer support, but there was no way to view the footage quickly, unless you're talking about some other 3rd party software. Either way, you didn't mention anything, no real advice or alternatives, just generalities, so it hasn't be much help. FTP was not working with Amcrest but was working with other methods, so there were major FTP issues there beyond your "FTP is clucky old..." assertion. Not easy to not use Wifi cameras in my setup because I don't want to run ethernet cables, and my cameras are not far from the router.

 

[Sequoia1321]

------------------------------------------
You have a lot to learn.
You need to spend a good amount of time with the cliff notes.
Amcrest is a dahua camera but it may have downgrade hardware and downgraded software, to cut costs

Read,Study,Plan before spending money.
---------------------------------------
My standard welcome to the forum message.

Please read the IP Cam Talk Cliff Notes and other items in the IP Cam Talk Wiki. The wiki is in the blue bar at the top of the page.

Read How to Secure Your Network (Don't Get Hacked!) in the wiki also.

Quick start
1) If you do not have a wired monitored alarm system, get that first
2) Use Dahua starlight cameras or Hikvision darkfighter cameras or ICPT Night eye cameras (Store | IP Cam Talk) if you need good low light cameras.
3) use a VPN to access home network (openVPN)
4) Do not use wifi cameras.
5) Do not use cloud storage
6) Do Not use uPNP, P2P, QR, do not open ports,
7) More megapixel is not necessarily better.
8) Avoid chinese hacked cameras (most ebay, amazon, aliexpress cameras(not all, but most))
9) Do not use reolink, ring, nest cameras (they are junk), no cloud cameras
10) If possible use a turret camera , bullet collect spiders, dome collect dirt and reflect light (IR)
11) Use only solid copper, AWG 23 or 24 ethernet wire. , no CCA (Copper Clad Aluminum)
12) use a test mount to verify the camera mount location. My test rig: rev.2
13) (Looney2ns)If you want to be able to ID faces, don't mount cams higher than 8ft. You want to know who did it, not just what happened.
14) Use a router that has openVPN built in (Most ASUS, Some NetGear....)
15) camera placement use the calculator... IPVM Camera Calculator V3

Cameras to look at
IPC-HDW2231R-ZS Review-Dahua IPC-HDW2231RP-ZS Starlight Camera-Varifocal
IPC-HDW5231-ZE Review-Dahua Starlight IPC-HDW5231R-ZE 800 meter capable ePOE
IPC-HFW4239T-ASE IPC-HFW4239T-ASE
IPC-T5442TM-AS Review IPC-T5442TM-AS-LED (Full Color, Starlight+)
IPCT-HDW5431RE-I Review - IP Cam Talk 4 MP IR Fixed Turret Network Camera
DS-2CD2325FWD-I
IPC-T5442TM-AS Review-OEM 4mp AI Cam IPC-T5442TM-AS Starlight+ - 4MP starlight+

Other dahua 4MP starlight Dahua 4MP Starlight Lineup

My preferred indoor cameras
DS-2CD2442FWD-IW
IPC-K35A Review-Dahua IPC-K35A 3mp Cube Camera

If interested in Blue Iris and other setup items see the following post

Newbie Starter Guide to IP Cam System – VPN setup – Computer Hardware – Blue Iris – Dahua Cameras

This is an intermediate / newbie guide for people just starting out looking for a surveillance setup. I know this setup might not be for everyone and there are many options. You can find a lot of this information in the Wiki: IP Cam Talk Wiki | IP Cam Talk A great place to start in the Wiki...

ipcamtalk.com

Read,study,plan before spending money ..... plan plan plan
Test do not guess

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
if you are interested in Dahua cameras, a forum member sells dahua and ships world wide. You can read some of the members recommendations on his service. He also provides cameras to other forum member for evaluation and reviews.
you can email him for a quote, or purchase from his Aliexpress store or his Amazon store.

Andy
@EMPIRETECANDY
kingsecurity2014@163.com
Andy's ipcamtalk vendor forum: EmpireTech Andy
Andy's AliExpress store: Buy Products Online from China Wholesalers at Aliexpress.com
Andy's Amazon store: EmpireTech-Andy @ Amazon.com:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks. Good stuff. Will look into it.

 

[fenderman]

With all due respect, I already used the camera software, and even consulted with customer support, but there was no way to view the footage quickly, unless you're talking about some other 3rd party software. Either way, you didn't mention anything, no real advice or alternatives, just generalities, so it hasn't be much help. FTP was not working with Amcrest but was working with other methods, so there were major FTP issues there beyond your "FTP is clucky old..." assertion. Not easy to not use Wifi cameras in my setup because I don't want to run ethernet cables, and my cameras are not far from the router.

Don't be lazy all this information is on the forum including the wiki. But you know what you're the expert, FTP is definitely the way to go keep playing with it. Wi-Fi rocks, not sure why all the idiots on this form are running cable... It's 2019 you don't need cables anymore everything is wireless.

 

[Sequoia1321]

Don't be lazy all this information is on the forum including the wiki. But you know what you're the expert, FTP is definitely the way to go keep playing with it. Wi-Fi rocks, not sure why all the idiots on this form are running cable... It's 2019 you don't need cables anymore everything is wireless.

Will look into it. Lot's of info.

 

[Sequoia1321]

I had a chance to read the cliff notes. Good stuff. I think I will probably go with wifi for now, and if later I can convert it to cable if I understand. What I'm looking to do is to find a better replacement for this Amcrest camera, which I want to use outdoors around the house:

Amcrest ProHD Fixed Outdoor 3-Megapixel (2304 x 1296P) Wi-Fi Vandal Dome IP Security Camera - IP67 Weatherproof, IK10 Vandal-Proof, 3MP (1080P/1296P), IP3M-956W (White)

Any suggestions? I see alot of links in the cliff notes for Dahua. I understand that has more up to date firmware? Is that true? What about the quality of the desktop and smartphone software compared to Amcrest? And what about customer support? Easy to get hold of them for tech support? Amcrest, despite my criticism of them, has phone and email support, even phone support on weekends.

 

[jack7]

I had a chance to read the cliff notes. Good stuff. I think I will probably go with wifi for now, and if later I can convert it to cable if I understand. What I'm looking to do is to find a better replacement for this Amcrest camera, which I want to use outdoors around the house:

Amcrest ProHD Fixed Outdoor 3-Megapixel (2304 x 1296P) Wi-Fi Vandal Dome IP Security Camera - IP67 Weatherproof, IK10 Vandal-Proof, 3MP (1080P/1296P), IP3M-956W (White)

Any suggestions? I see alot of links in the cliff notes for Dahua. I understand that has more up to date firmware? Is that true? What about the quality of the desktop and smartphone software compared to Amcrest? And what about customer support? Easy to get hold of them for tech support? Amcrest, despite my criticism of them, has phone and email support, even phone support on weekends.

You seem to be unhappy with the Amcrest ftp client and software but have not mentioned anything about the camera stream being unacceptable. So you might first try using your camera with PC Blue Iris which is sold here by the forum for $58 and appears to be the preferred software in this forum. It has a two week trial and you don't need ftp. You could always add an ethernet cable to your camera if desired. Also, if you haven't done it, you could try Amcrest Surveillance Pro which has a different user interface to your camera and includes PC-NVR which can record your camera files on your PC.

Your camera is about the same as a Dahua IPC-HDBW1320E-W. I think you would find that your camera does not have downgrade hardware and downgraded software. Obviously there are many other Amcrest and Dahua cameras where that could vary. Regarding support, Dahua does not provide consumer support. That would have to come from your seller or from forums like this one. Amcrest also has a forum.

 

[Sequoia1321]

You seem to be unhappy with the Amcrest ftp client and software but have not mentioned anything about the camera stream being unacceptable. So you might first try using your camera with PC Blue Iris which is sold here by the forum for $58 and appears to be the preferred software in this forum. It has a two week trial and you don't need ftp. You could always add an ethernet cable to your camera if desired. Also, if you haven't done it, you could try Amcrest Surveillance Pro which has a different user interface to your camera and includes PC-NVR which can record your camera files on your PC.

Your camera is about the same as a Dahua IPC-HDBW1320E-W. I think you would find that your camera does not have downgrade hardware and downgraded software. Obviously there are many other Amcrest and Dahua cameras where that could vary. Regarding support, Dahua does not provide consumer support. That would have to come from your seller or from forums like this one. Amcrest also has a forum.

Thanks for the comments. Very helpful. If I go with the Amcrest Surveillance Pro, I guess you're saying I can use it as a PC NVR, which records to my PC. That means I need a dedicated PC to stay on in the house. Do you know if it will work on those mini PCs that are tiny, like a big USB stick? And I guess the PC NVR can save the files to my Google Drive if I go this route? I might check with Amcrest customer care if this can be done. My current setup is pretty good I think, because my FTP is actually an old Android device that is running an app that turns your phone into an FTP. It's good because it uses little energy, generates little heat, can be better hidden, and very cost effective since it's an old phone. Then I have another app on the device that automatically uploads the files to my Google drive, and then deletes them from the device so not to take up space.

Might stick with that Amcrest if you say that it doesn't have worse hardware and software, and tech support not available on Dahua is a big minus for me.

Not sure about Blue Iris. Heard about it before but didn't like the idea of having a dedicated PC for it. Seems popular though. Might look into it more.

 

[jack7]

... My current setup is pretty good I think, because my FTP is actually an old Android device that is running an app that turns your phone into an FTP. It's good because it uses little energy, generates little heat, can be better hidden, and very cost effective since it's an old phone. Then I have another app on the device that automatically uploads the files to my Google drive, and then deletes them from the device so not to take up space.
...

If you like tiny, try tinyCam Pro app on android. It can receive your camera stream, motion detect in-cam or in-app, and record the files on the device, Google Drive, or a ftp server. I use it as a cam viewer sometimes. For questions, you could go to tinyCam

 

[chadbaldwin]

Just came across this post. For what it's worth, I have 5 amcrest cameras, and I have been recording to FTP with them for years. Nothing special to set it up...I'm running FileZilla Server on Windows 10.

The cameras I have are:
IP2M-841B x 2
IP3M-HX2W x2
IP3M-943B x 1

All I had to do to get it working was type in the IP, user, pass, port, and left the directory blank. Hit save, hit test, and it all worked fine.

 

[Sequoia1321]

FileZilla server is also what they recommended to me. Right now I'm using an Android app that seems to be working ok, though some others are not. Some of the problem might have also been related to having changed the Wifi antenna on my Amcrest. Not exactly sure. Might move to FileZilla server on Windows 10, or even use the PC NVR Amcrest program on Windows 10. Can you tell me more about your FileZilla setup? Is it secure? Why don't you use the PC NVR program instead?

 

[chadbaldwin]

Well...my personal setup I would consider to be very secure mainly because my cameras are 100% blocked from accessing the internet. They are all set up to have mac address filters, so only certain computers can access the cameras directly. The cameras are using user accounts dedicated to each app/software I use. And I'm using a different password for each user on each camera...yeah...password managers are your friend. So that means with 5 cameras, I have about 15 different username/password combinations.

example,
Camera1 - username: TinyCam, password: 8@ne6ai9DS7s2H$
Camera2 - username: TinyCam, password: 4Z&R0MOv!zF*KQf
....and so on....

In order to view the cameras live, I connect to my home network via a VPN (comes built into my router, nothing crazy to get that set up), and then I use TinyCam to view the cameras with their local IP.

I've been using FTP mostly because it's a very simple setup. Easy to set up in the camera, easy to manage the files on my computer. The only downside is there's no easy way to review/playback recordings. As far as my FileZilla Server setup...honestly, nothing special. Installed the server, added a user, pointed the user where I wanted the files to go and that's it. All 5 cameras use the same ftp login.

I didn't know about the PC-NVR software until yesterday, which is how I came across this post. I've been working for two days trying to get Amcrest Surveillance Pro and PC-NVR to work with no luck. The software seems very glitchy, and does not seem to have much QA done. There's lots of buttons and settings that have no hover text or explanation to what they do. Every YouTube video I've watched for setting up the NVR software makes it look SUPER easy...but I've yet to record a single thing via NVR.

I'm finally debating if I should just pay the money for a decent NVR program that I can access remotely for playback as well as easy setup for recording.

 

[mromamcrest]

Well...my personal setup I would consider to be very secure mainly because my cameras are 100% blocked from accessing the internet. They are all set up to have mac address filters, so only certain computers can access the cameras directly. The cameras are using user accounts dedicated to each app/software I use. And I'm using a different password for each user on each camera...yeah...password managers are your friend. So that means with 5 cameras, I have about 15 different username/password combinations.

example,
Camera1 - username: TinyCam, password: 8@ne6ai9DS7s2H$
Camera2 - username: TinyCam, password: 4Z&R0MOv!zF*KQf
....and so on....

In order to view the cameras live, I connect to my home network via a VPN (comes built into my router, nothing crazy to get that set up), and then I use TinyCam to view the cameras with their local IP.

I've been using FTP mostly because it's a very simple setup. Easy to set up in the camera, easy to manage the files on my computer. The only downside is there's no easy way to review/playback recordings. As far as my FileZilla Server setup...honestly, nothing special. Installed the server, added a user, pointed the user where I wanted the files to go and that's it. All 5 cameras use the same ftp login.

I didn't know about the PC-NVR software until yesterday, which is how I came across this post. I've been working for two days trying to get Amcrest Surveillance Pro and PC-NVR to work with no luck. The software seems very glitchy, and does not seem to have much QA done. There's lots of buttons and settings that have no hover text or explanation to what they do. Every YouTube video I've watched for setting up the NVR software makes it look SUPER easy...but I've yet to record a single thing via NVR.

I'm finally debating if I should just pay the money for a decent NVR program that I can access remotely for playback as well as easy setup for recording.

Amcrest Surveillance Pro (ASP) would be the most recommended method along with Blue Iris.


In terms of PC-NVR, we can go into more detail with some screenshots of what you may be experiencing during the setup.

I can also provide a guide on the most common issue for PC-NVR setup. Amcrest also has a beta version of ASP 2.0 available to test with as well.

Amcrest Surveillance Pro Guides – Amcrest

support.amcrest.com

How To Setup PC-NVR in Surveillance Pro

How To Setup PC-NVR PC-NVR allows your device to record directly to your computer’s hard drive. To set up PC-NVR on your computer, follow the instructions set provided below. Note: PC-NVR is not c...

support.amcrest.com

 

[Sequoia1321]

What kind of pc would be a good host for the PC-NVR or Filezilla FTP server? A mini pc of some kind that doesn't get very hot and doesn't use much energy?