D-Link 950g problems

[950guy]

Hi. I just bought a D-Link 950g (firmware 1.02). The camera seems to hang or lock up all the time. It prevents me from logging in to view an image. Then all of a sudden, I can log in with no problem. Shortly after, it locks up again. Anyone else experiancing this? Is there a fix? Am I doing something wrong? Should this camera be returned? Do all 950g cameras suffer this problem?

Thanks

[Administrator]

I have heard good and bad things about these cameras. The only firmware D-Link has listed on their site is the version you have (1.02). I have heard rumors that there is a beta firmware update but I have not found a download location for this update.

You can try doing a factory reset on the camera and see if this fixes the issues you have with it locking up. If that doesn't then maybe there is a conflict in your network.
_________________
Administrator
NetworkCameraReviews.com
www.networkcamerareviews.com

[950guy]

Hi Wes. I think there was a conflict in my network. Also, I reinstalled everything except IP View Lite and the camera has been running fine for the past 4 hours. I can log on and access the picture from any computer in my home, but I can't figure out how to access from the Internet, away from home. BTW, the picture quality is pretty good for an affordable camera. Any ideas on where to start configuring so I can access my camera when I'm at work?
Thanks

[950guy]

More problems. I can't get this camera set up to send me emails of captures, even though I put in all the appropriate settings...SMTP, email address, port, etc. The email test always fails. I also cant get the camera to send recorded video to a shared folder. The network test always fails. Thats on top of not being able to access the camera over the Internet. So far I can only acess it within my wireless network.

[Administrator]

Hi 950guy,

To view the camera from work you need to setup port forwarding on your router. For example, your camera has a default port of 80. You need to login to your router and set a port forwarding rule to forward all requests on port 80 to the IP of your camera. Then to access your camera from work, you need to type in the IP address of your Internet connection at home.

What router are you using?

As for your SMTP settings.....what email account are you using? Is it with Yahoo, Gmail or Hotmail? I know some free services can cause errors with using the SMTP feature of the camera. Check to see if you have a firewall running on your router. Maybe it is denying port 110 which I believe is the port for sending email.

I'm not very familiar with the software that comes with the DCS-950. I know not all D-Link cameras run on the same software. How are you access the shared folder? Do you have it set as a mapped network drive? That might solve your problem.

Cheers!
_________________
Administrator
NetworkCameraReviews.com
www.networkcamerareviews.com

[950guy]

Thanks Wes, for the tip about mapping my folder to a network drive. I can now use motion-triggered recording. This might be a stupid question, but will my camera's video be recorded even if my computer is off?

Just two more problems to tackle -- how to access video from Internet and how to trigger email snapshots to my email address.

[Administrator]

Hi again!

Your computer will have to be on to record video from the camera. To access video from the Internet you need to setup port forwarding on your router. You can try contacting your router manufacturer on how to do this or you can let me know what router you are using and I can try to help. With port forwarding on your router you will need to forward port 80 to your camera's ip address. Then to access the camera over the internet, you will type in the internet ip address of where the cameras located - not the camera ip, but the internet ip that is assigned to you when you connect to the internet - and you should be able to pull up the camera video. Try checking out this D-Link FAQ http://support.dlink.com/faq/view.asp?prod_id=1986&question=950g+email

For the email feature, check out this FAQ http://support.dlink.com/faq/view.asp?prod_id=2059&question=950g+email

Let me know if you have any other questions!
_________________
Administrator
NetworkCameraReviews.com
www.networkcamerareviews.com

[950guy]

Wes, I followed the email instructions but still no luck. I noticed on D-Link's website that they say the 6620 camera cannot send email id SSL is required...I'm guessing the 950g has the same limitations?

My router is a Speadstream 6520 supplied by my ISP provider. It's a combination modem/router.

Thanks again for your responses.

[Administrator]

I tried using a Speadstream router before that was also provided to me by my ISP. Right now its sitting collecting dust because it was a huge pain. It caused various flukish problems with my camera. I'm not saying that could be the problem your facing but it was for me. I bought a Linksys WRT54G router which works great.

I didn't think the DCS-6620 required SSL but I could be wrong. The DCS-950G is designed very different from the DCS-6620.

I will take a look around D-Links website.
_________________
Administrator
NetworkCameraReviews.com
www.networkcamerareviews.com

[950guy]

Today I tried to access my camera from work. I was shocked to see the login screen actually come up. That's a first. I logged in and the D-Link 950 screen came up, but the video window was black, as if the camera hangs. When I try to log off it says "950 has stopped responding." At least I'm getting closer.

[950guy]

Hey Wes, I've now tried to access my 950g from two computers outside my network. I can log in, but the video window is black and the page hangs. Any ideas what would be causing this? I've emailed you the IP address, if you'd like to try and log on.

[950guy]

The installation of firmware version 1.05 has certainly made my 950g more stable. It's been up all night without freezing-up. I can log in and configure the camera remotely without having it crash. BUT...the little video screen is still black!!! What could be causing this? Could it be my router? Anyone else experience this?

[Re: 950g problems]

Today's the final day I can return my camera for a refund.
If anyone wants to log on and see what I'm talking about regarding my black screen, I'll leave my camera up this morning for a few hours.
When I get home from work, I'll probably return it.

herccam.dynalias.com

user: nimda
password: nimda

Let me know if you can offer any help.

[Administrator]

I assume you have probably seen this FAQ on D-Link's site: http://support.dlink.com/faq/view.asp?prod_id=1986&question=dcs%2D950+port

What ports are you forwarding to your camera? Just port 80? If so, that could be your problem. If you have all your ports set to the default, you will need to forward ports 80, 5000 and 5001 to your camera.

I just wanted to make sure you are forwarding all ports

I tried pulling up your camera and all I got was a black screen where the video should be. I tried taking a snapshot but it locks up my IE.

Let me know what ports you are forwarding.

Cheers!
_________________
Administrator
NetworkCameraReviews.com
www.networkcamerareviews.com

[lionheart_73]

I can see the picture on your camera. I am assuming that you got it working.