Viewing Security Cameras on Your Phone: Setup and Connection Problems

What are the ways to view security cameras on a phone?

The cameras connect to a recorder (an NVR or DVR), and the recorder connects to the router. Viewing from your phone means reaching that recorder from outside. There are three ways to do it:

• P2P (cloud) service: the recorder connects to the manufacturer’s server on its own, and the phone app reaches the recorder through that server. Setup usually just means scanning a QR code on the recorder or in its menu.
• Port forwarding and DDNS: a rule on the router passes incoming connections through to the recorder, and a DDNS service keeps track of the changing IP address.
• VPN: the phone first connects to the home or business network through a secure tunnel, and reaches the recorder from inside that network.

All three work, but each has different requirements. Choosing the right one from the start prevents most of the connection problems that come later.

What is the difference between P2P, port forwarding and a VPN?

P2P is the easiest: it needs no router settings and works behind CGNAT. In return, the connection depends on the manufacturer’s server; when that server slows down, or the manufacturer withdraws the service for an older model, remote viewing suffers too. Because the picture is sometimes relayed through that server, it can arrive with a little more delay.

Port forwarding does not depend on the manufacturer and is fast when set up correctly. But it exposes the recorder directly to the internet, and on a recorder whose software is not kept up to date, that makes it the riskiest of the three from a security point of view. It also requires your connection to have a public IP address.

A VPN is the most secure: the recorder is never exposed to the internet, and only devices connected to the VPN can reach it. A conventional VPN also needs a public IP address; behind CGNAT, VPN solutions that use a relay server are needed. For most home users, P2P is enough. For businesses with more than one site, or that do not want the recorder exposed to the internet, we recommend a VPN.

Why does port forwarding not work, and what is CGNAT?

For port forwarding to work, your internet connection needs an IP address of its own that can be reached from outside. Many internet providers, however, use a technique called CGNAT to make IPv4 addresses go further: large numbers of subscribers share the same public IP address on the provider’s side. Incoming connections then stop at the provider and never reach your router. However correctly the port forwarding is configured, the result is the same.

There is a simple way to tell whether you are behind CGNAT: compare the WAN (internet) IP address shown in your router’s interface with the address shown by any “what is my IP” website. If the two differ, or if the router’s address starts with a number between 100.64 and 100.127, your connection is most likely behind CGNAT.

That leaves three options: switch to the P2P service, ask your internet provider for a public or static IP address (some charge for it), or set up a VPN solution that uses a relay server. For installations running on mobile internet, meaning a router with a SIM card, a public IP is usually not available, which makes P2P almost the only practical option.

Why does the camera picture freeze or lag on my phone?

A picture that freezes or arrives seconds late when viewing remotely is usually caused not by the camera but by the upload speed of the connection the recorder is on. Home internet packages have a high download speed and, often, a much lower upload speed. The footage you view remotely leaves the recorder at that upload speed.

Every camera produces two separate streams: a high-quality main stream that goes to the recording, and a lower-resolution substream. The main stream takes a few Mbps per camera, the substream usually less than 0.5 Mbps. Viewing four cameras at once on the main stream can need around 10 Mbps of upload; the same four cameras on the substream stay under 2 Mbps, which most connections can handle. So:

• In the app, use the substream on the multi-camera view and the main stream when you enlarge a single camera.
• Test the internet speed where the recorder is connected, and look at the upload figure rather than the download.
• Connect the recorder to the router with a cable, not over Wi-Fi.
• If something else on the same connection uploads heavily, such as cloud backup or live streaming, it shares the upload speed with your remote viewing.

Why has remote viewing stopped connecting when it worked yesterday?

When a system that used to work suddenly stops connecting, the cause is usually a change outside the system itself. Checking in this order usually narrows it down within a few minutes:

• Is the recorder running? It may not have restarted after a power cut, or it may have hung because of a disk fault.
• Does the picture open when your phone is on the home or office Wi-Fi? If it does, the problem is not the recorder but the internet side.
• Has the router been replaced or reset to factory settings? A new router has no port forwarding rules, and the recorder may have been given a different local IP address.
• Has your internet provider or package changed? The new connection may be behind CGNAT.
• Has the recorder’s password changed? The app on your phone may still be trying the old one.
• Has the app or the recorder’s software been updated? Some updates require you to sign in again.

Giving the recorder a fixed local IP address on the router stops that address changing every time the router restarts, which would otherwise break port forwarding. For connection problems you cannot solve yourself, we come on site under our security system maintenance and repair service.

How do you keep a remotely viewed camera system secure?

A recorder connected to the internet is a window into your home or business. Recorders left directly exposed to the internet without software updates have been taken over in large numbers through known vulnerabilities, again and again. The basic precautions are:

• Change the default password during the first setup, and choose a long one that is not used anywhere else.
• Keep the software (firmware) of the recorder and cameras up to date.
• Give family members and staff separate accounts with viewing rights only, not the administrator account.
• Turn on two-step verification if the app supports it.
• If you use port forwarding, open only the port that is needed; do not expose individual cameras or the recorder’s web interface directly to the internet. Where possible, use a VPN instead of port forwarding.

Whoever carries out the installation, check at handover that the default password has been changed and that the administrator account has been handed over to you. We cover camera and network work on the security camera systems and network and cabling pages.

How do you look back through recordings on your phone?

Besides live viewing, apps can also play back footage stored on the recorder. Two things are worth knowing. First, playback also depends on upload speed, and scanning a long recording at high quality is slow. If the app allows it, find the moment at low quality and open only that section at high quality. Second, a clip or screenshot saved to your phone is no substitute for the original recording on the recorder.

When an incident happens, the first job is to export the relevant footage from the recorder and store it somewhere safe. The recorder keeps overwriting old footage, so every day you wait brings that footage a day closer to being deleted. We explain how to work out how far back your recorder goes in how many days a security camera records.