Bricking and Restoring Swann NVR8-7200

[astronate]

I just went through the process of bricking and restoring a Swann NVR8-7200. I learned a lot and thought I'd share my story to maybe help others out there. Sorry this post is so long but I'm trying to put in as much detail as possible.

I was frustrated that Swann hadn't updated their swanview plus IOS app (they have as of 9/30/2017) to work with IOS 11. So I wanted to replace the Swann firmware with Hikvision firmware and possibly improve the performance and feature set along the way since it seems that Hikvision updates their firmware more often than Swann. I was inspired by this thread: Upgrade few on swann NVR

I downloaded the Hikvision firmware 3.3.4 and used the built in firmware update to load it. It seemed to load fine and rebooted. After the reboot the Swann logo splash screen was replaced by a Hikvision logo. So far so good. Then it asked for a new password to activate the system. I typed in a password and confirmed it. I revived an activation successful message. I forget if it rebooted at this point or not, but after that when I used the mouse to enter the menu, the password didn't work. What was odd at this point was that there wasn't any users listed above the password field. The user drop down was active but all values were blank. I tried to login using Swannplus on PC and iVMS and failed. The unit may not have been technically "bricked" but it was useless.

I then read a bunch of threads about resetting the password and used the suggested tools like SADP and iVMS to get the serial number and start date. I then used the tool from this thread to generate a reset password: Hikvision camera admin password reset tool. The password reset failed using both iVMS and SADP. I then called Swann support and had them generate a password to reset it as well, that also failed. (Error 2009 - whatever that means)

I think this all had to do with the first boot of the Hikvision firmware where I created a new password - I don't remember if there was an opportunity to type in a username along with the new password. To all outward appearances, there wasn't an admin user.

So then I thought I'd reload the Hik 3.3.4 firmware but no matter what I did I couldn't get the TFTP process to work. I used the Hik TFTP program, following the instructions from a couple threads. I tried with and without a switch, various file paths, firewall settings, rebooting at least a dozen times in a row, etc. The TFP program seemed to be running fine on 192.0.0.128. I got client connections from the NVR up and requests to download the AV_2000 firmware but it never seemed to request the digicap.dav (or.mav) files.

So the next thing I tried was the serial console connection. Luckily the NVR8-72000 has a DB9 connector. I successfully used a NULL MODEM cable to a USB to serial converter to get a connection on the PC using putty. From there I was able to interrupt the boot process with control-U and upload firmware from the TFTP server. I chose to reload to Swann firmware because I was tired of this whole process and just wanted to get back to a known, good state. After the load and a reboot, everything worked fine. The unit acted like a brand new Swann device. I had to re-import my cameras but I had a working unit so I didn't care.

And then I found that Swann had updated their IOS app for work on IOS 11 - so all this was for nothing.

At some point I might try to upgrade to the Hikvision firmware. Now that I know to use the console connection it would be easier to try again.

Lessons Learned:
1) Make sure there is a username when you update the password
2) Use a serial console if you can't get the TFTP firmware loading process to work
3) The NVR8-7200 needs a NULL MODEM cable for the console, not a straight through RS232 cable.

Thanks for all the previous posters on the forum, I would have ended up tossing the unit without their advice.

 

[alastairstevenson]

Your frustration, and relief at the end-point - is evident.
Some useful info - thanks for sharing.
Looking forward to the next update when your curiosity rises again. 3.3.4 is pretty old - much has changed since then.

 

[astronate]

If I were to try to upgrade to a Hikvision firmware, can I go straight from Swann to the latest and greatest Hikvision? Or does it require an incremental approach?

And will I need to flash the firmware on my cameras?

Any words of encouragement from people that have done this would be appreciated.

 

[not now....]

Does anyone know if this process would work with a Lorex NVR?
After reading a lot of other threads about Dahua firmware features and camera adjustments, I want to get rid of the Lorex firmware, which is lacking.

 

[westhealth]

what do you mean by null modem cable? can i see a pic of it or maybe link to one of those for sale?
thanks

 

[alastairstevenson]

A null modem cable is used to connect two RS232 terminal devices together, as opposed to the more common cable that connects a terminal device to a serial data modem. The main difference is that the TX and Rx signals are swapped over.
If you don't use such a cable, Tx connects to TX, Rx connects to RX and communication fails.
The type of cable should be clearly stated in the product info.

 

[westhealth]

Rs232 is different from VGA, correct?

 

[alastairstevenson]

Rs232 is different from VGA, correct?

Yes, these are different.
RS232 which is serial data can use a DB9 connector, either male or female, most likely female on an NVR.
VGA which is an analogue video standard uses a 15-pin female connector on the NVR.

 

[westhealth]

Thanks for the clarification. I did check some DVRs that I have here and I found rs232 port only on some of high end DVRs only. And most of them don't come with one? This rs232 works similar to uart?

 

[alastairstevenson]

And most of them don't come with one?

Externally, that is true. They will instead have an internal connection on the main board.

This rs232 works similar to uart?

Certainly we have had posts from forum members who have found on their higher-end NVRs / DVRs that the external RS232 interfaces provide access to the device serial console.

 

[westhealth]

That must be pretty useful. Didn't know that.
This internal rs232 on board looks like uart? If it's not used for an external access, is there any benefit over uart? I guess I gotta try and see, I own most of swann old and newer models from my work, I will for sure try on some of them to see myself. Thanks

 

[westhealth]

I think i misunderstood. Is rs232 the same thing as uart isn't it? It's just you access uart on board directly where as rs232 externally? But they both are essentially the same?

 

[alastairstevenson]

I think i misunderstood. Is rs232 the same thing as uart isn't it? It's just you access uart on board directly where as rs232 externally? But they both are essentially the same?

RS232 defines a serial data transmission protocol and electrical interface description which uses bipolar signals (they go both positive and negative) of between 3 and 15v.
The on-board serial console is typically provided by a 'serial TTL' signal that is unipolar, it goes between 0v and around +3.3v
So the signals between these 2 methods of providing the serial console are quite different, but they share the same standard for the format of the data stream.
These must not be mixed up, or damage can result, even though by definition RS232 is current-limited and short-circuit proof.

'UART' is just a generic term for the logic circuits that send and receive the serial data, it stands for 'Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter'.