D-Link Forums
The Graveyard - Products No Longer Supported => IP Cameras => DCS-942L => Topic started by: jmark10 on December 05, 2019, 02:24:37 PM
-
I see this problem came up over several posts with no real answers, so I spent my afternoon figuring out the problem and hopefully this will work for someone else.
I upgraded routers to a new TPLink Archer C4000, and my camera wouldn't connect via wifi. I hard-reset, it has the latest firmware. It would connect with the ethernet cable just fine, but would time out and not connect wirelessly. I happened to notice that the wifi networks were actually grayed out in the app, and started to suspect it was a security issue with my new router. I found that enabling DMZ for the camera IP on the router did the trick.
There's a ton of warnings about doing this and I still have to dig into if this is a huge security hole for some reason, but it worked.
On my router's web interface, there's an Advanced option under NAT forwarding for DMZ (demilitarized zone) enabling. In that area, I input the camera's IP address, reloaded the DLink app, and lo and behold the camera's now allowed to connect to the router wirelessly, and works great.
I know it's an old camera, but I hate the comments that all say "things eventually break, just buy a new one".
If this helps at least one person who doesn't want to toss their old camera, then it's worth it.
-
I am not sure why opening ports would make the camera connect to your router wirelessly. Very strange...
Whenever you replace a router or access point, sometimes devices (even using the same WiFi name/Password) may not connect (iOS is notorious for this). On phones/tablets you can just "forget" the network and reconnect. With devices like cameras, you should be able to connect to the web UI (not app) and edit the wireless settings, save, and reboot; or re-scan and connect.
Quick and easy way is to press the WPS button on the device and the new router.
If you turn off DMZ, does the camera continue to stay connected?
-
I know, it didn't make any sense to me either. I found a super old blog post that had similar issues with some other wireless peripheral, and they mentioned it worked for them, so I gave it a shot. Nothing else worked, and the change was immediate - the recognized wifi networks around my house were still all gray, but mine turned solid black so I could connect when I made the change.
I couldn't connect to the web UI initially, as I'd reset the camera; and there is no quickstart guide available outside the app. That said, I didn't try to use the web UI to adjust the camera's settings once I did get the setup complete through the app.
WPS did not work either. I suspect it may work now. Before enabling DMZ for the camera IP, everything worked properly EXCEPT the camera's ability to connect wirelessly to the router. When I pulled up the wifi networks on the app, all were greyed out except for one that I didn't recognize, which disappeared after a refresh - and that was my only indicator that there was something amiss with the router settings - the camera saw the wifi signal but wouldn't allow a connection.
That's an interesting question! I'll test that out this weekend and update.
-
- What ISP Modem Mfr. and model # do you have?
Is this a modem only or does it have a built in router here as well?
Are you using the same SSID name and PW on the router from the prior router you used?
-
Spectrum. Modem is Arris Surfboard SB6190.
That's a modem only, doesn't have a built in router.
Same SSID and PW as the old router, I'm lazy.
-
Same SSID and PW from last router is fine. I do the same thing here. Sure is odd that this happens after you changed routers. I would presume it's something with this new router. I changes wifi routers semi frequently and use same SSID and PW and all 3 of my DCS cameras re-connect with out too much fuss. Though I don't have this model router. I have tried there C5400X once. Didn't see this when I had it online.
-
the most interesting thing is that all of the surrounding wifi networks (neighbors, etc) were also grayed out as well as my own. Meaning the camera wouldn't allow a connection to any of them (for whatever reason), or they were blocking/disabling a connection from the camera. I could only get mine to turn black/available when I made the DMZ change for the camera IP.
Brand new issue to me, I feel like I'm cutting a new path through the jungle here lol
This would all likely be avoided if I'd just stop being cheap and buy a camera that's not a hundred years old. Unfortunately for my spare time, I am cheap and very stubborn.
-
As a test, put your old router back online if you still have it. See if the camera does the same thing or not.
-
Nope, old router is gone. Good idea, though.
-
Might try a D-Link router to see if your interested...