D-Link Forums

The Graveyard - Products No Longer Supported => IP Cameras => DCS-2330L => Topic started by: JFLegros on July 03, 2014, 06:14:00 PM

Title: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: JFLegros on July 03, 2014, 06:14:00 PM
My DCS-2330L seems to lose it's configuration. I reconfigure the thing with the WPS function, it works for a few minutes then I can't ping it no more. I've tried the adress reservation on my DLINK(DIR-825) router but still the same problem. Need help....
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: chinschian on November 07, 2014, 05:40:04 AM
How far away is your IP camera and your router?
Its been a while for this post. Have you resolve the problem?
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: FurryNutz on November 07, 2014, 07:35:07 AM
Hope he responds. The OP hasn't been back since they originally posted.  ::)



Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: simonblunden on December 26, 2014, 08:43:25 AM
I have a similar problem and I really hope someone can help! I own one DCS-2330L and two DCS-5010L units all connected to my home wifi. I have had no issues at all with the DCS-5010L units and they are very stable. However, I cannot get my DCS-2330L to stay online for more than about 6 hours. Firmware is updated, I have tested all wifi channels, tried a new wireless router… everything! Light on the unit is solid green, but after about 6 hours it says that the camera is offline on the mydlink app. The only way I can get it back on line is to power it off. I did have the camera mounted outside, but have brought it in the house to test (because I thought proximity to the router could be an issue) - still same problems.

I don’t understand why I’m having all these problems with the DCS-2330L and yet the DCS-5010L units are fine. Please help!
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: iotaprime on January 31, 2015, 03:23:47 PM
I'm on my second DCS 2330L unit. Same problem. It works fine for a day or more then it crashes. Sometimes I can login and reset using the admin tool. Other times I must do a hard reset by cycling the power. I can't correlate to weather, light, temperature or anything else. It seems to be a random crash. I'm posting FTP to weather underground :  http://www.wunderground.com/webcams/iotaprime/1/show.html Firmware upgrade did not fix the problem. I've got 4 other Dlink cameras which work reliably. Very disappointing.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: mariodings on February 01, 2015, 02:35:10 AM
Same problem here. Night or day. Sometimes it does not reconnect.
My access point is a DIR-845L and  sometimes other devices lose connection also.
I think it is interference, but I don't know what or where.

2015/01/22 21:11:58 Camera [DCS-932L] Connection Resumed.
2015/01/22 21:11:04 Camera [DCS-932L] Connection Lost.
2015/01/22 21:08:18 Camera [DCS-932L] Connection Resumed.
2015/01/22 21:06:56 Camera [DCS-932L] Connection Lost.
2015/01/22 21:06:16 Camera [DCS-932L] Connection Resumed.
2015/01/22 21:05:21 Camera [DCS-932L] Connection Lost.
2015/01/22 21:04:32 Camera [DCS-930L] Connection Resumed.
2015/01/22 21:04:18 Camera [DCS-930L] Connection Lost.
2015/01/22 21:03:16 Camera [DCS-930L] Connection Resumed.
2015/01/22 21:03:11 Camera [DCS-930L] Connection Lost.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: evilslon on February 02, 2015, 01:01:20 AM
I bet that the source of all this problems is overheating of internal wifi module built in these cameras. So there's could be only three solutions: return the camera to seller, open the camera and add some radiator on the wifi chip, or take a look at the label on this chip and replace the whole wifi module with other module using this chip (if i'm not wrong, the chip is RTL8188CUS). AFAIK the wifi modules used in D-Link's cameras is just an WiFi USB adapter soldered directly into internal USB port of these cameras, and you could use, for example, Upvel UA-210WN RTL8188CUS-based USB Wi-Fi adapter to replace this module. Never tried do this procedure by myself, but there was one guy in russian D-Link's forum who successfully made it with DCS-2230, which uses almost the same hardware.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: nickmacwiz on February 09, 2015, 10:27:34 AM
I am experiencing the same issue. However, it only started after the 2015 firmware update. I just rolled back the firmware and will report back as to what happens.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: rnengnr on February 16, 2015, 12:41:12 PM
EEHHH wrong answer,,,,, im on ethernet , does the same thing as described above



I bet that the source of all this problems is overheating of internal wifi module built in these cameras. So there's could be only three solutions: return the camera to seller, open the camera and add some radiator on the wifi chip, or take a look at the label on this chip and replace the whole wifi module with other module using this chip (if i'm not wrong, the chip is RTL8188CUS). AFAIK the wifi modules used in D-Link's cameras is just an WiFi USB adapter soldered directly into internal USB port of these cameras, and you could use, for example, Upvel UA-210WN RTL8188CUS-based USB Wi-Fi adapter to replace this module. Never tried do this procedure by myself, but there was one guy in russian D-Link's forum who successfully made it with DCS-2230, which uses almost the same hardware.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: regmo0513 on February 28, 2015, 05:57:54 PM
Hello, I have 2 dcs2330 cameras and I also started having disconnect problems. One minute it is fine, the next it starts disconnecting. I then have to totally reset the camera, hook up via hardwire and do a reset. If it was that easy to hook these cameras up to a ethernet cord, I would of bought wired cameras!! Also for some reason my notification of motion will not work on my iphone 6 plus. It did work, but it stopped. It will only notify me on my ipad. Does anyone esle have theses issues?? I also cannot access my sd after a while. Almost like it gets corrupt. I have to reset it and then its fine for a while. It does seem like the latest firmware is the worst one yet!!! Please respond if anyone else is having theses issues. Thanks
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: mariodings on March 04, 2015, 01:06:16 PM
Update:
I've changed the wireless connection of one camera to an other access-point. Since then only the changed camera (DCS-930L) disconnects. But no so frequently anymore. When the connection is lost, I have to wait at least 10 minutes before disconnecting it from power and reconnecting. This is (I think) due to the WPA-sequence
I'm convinced it has to do with interference.
My next step is to change to yet another Access-point.
I'll keep You in the loop.
 8)
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: FurryNutz on March 04, 2015, 01:50:55 PM
To everyone in this list:
Please post your DCS FW version being used, Your regional location, Mfr and Model# of your wireless router and it's wireless settings, i.e. modes being used and security modes being used, i.e. WPA or mixed WPA/WPA2 or WPA2 only. TPIK and AES settings as well.
Distances between main host router and camera(s).
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: mariodings on March 13, 2015, 10:07:39 AM
A big thing here in the Netherlands.
http://kassa.vara.nl/actueel/consumentennieuws/artikel/nieuws/brij-van-wifi-netwerken-maakt-internet-traag/ (http://kassa.vara.nl/actueel/consumentennieuws/artikel/nieuws/brij-van-wifi-netwerken-maakt-internet-traag/)
Don't blame the cameras. They have to struggle for a connection. I've bought a new Access Point ant the problems are over. Switch to 5GHz for as much as you can. My scan says:
(http://sailplanet.nl/images/IMG_0375-c.jpg)
That is 20 ! AP's surrounding me. (And I live in a suburb)

 ::)
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: FurryNutz on March 13, 2015, 10:14:34 AM
We call it WiFi Congestion... Especially on 2.4Ghz.  :-\
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: iotaprime on April 10, 2015, 03:54:19 PM
My problem with intermittent failure on DCS 2330L was solved by replacing the power supply.
Failure would result in a crash. Sometimes leaving a white screen. Sometimes a black screen. Sometimes I could still login and do a system reset, other times I couldn't login and would have to pull the power adapter. 
Same problem on TWO units I obtained from big box store. It was nice they accepted the first return. I was amazed the second didn't perform any differently.
Since this involves soldering, shrink-wrap and basic electronics knowledge it won't be a solution for many.
But I wanted to post to alert D-Link they may have a component/supplier/spec issue.
As you know, the power supply is hard-wired to make it weather-proof. Otherwise I likely would have swapped it out early in my trouble-shooting procedures. I wasted a lot of time fussing with camera settings. Never forget: Check your assumptions!
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: asrtaylor@shaw.ca on January 06, 2016, 11:50:33 AM
Has anyone identified the root issue with the 2330L?  Given all the reads and posts on the subject, one would hope D-Link would identify the root cause and help fix the issue!

  I have the same problem with my new camera, although everything has been updated on it.  The camera seems to go offline every couple of hours (no pattern).  I've tried 2 separate access points with it, and even cloned the one AP to appear as the same as the other incase one AP signal dropped.

Today, the camera has been off line since sometime last night (not at home so can't get to the logs), so is really worthless to have as a security camera!

My bad as well, didn't check the specs, but disappointed the camera is not 5 ghz compatible!
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: FurryNutz on January 06, 2016, 12:14:22 PM
Link>Welcome! (http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=48135.0)


What Mfr and model is the main host router?
What wireless modes are you using?
What is the distance between the Camera and the main host router?

Test cameras with uPnP and uPnP Port Forwarding both enabled on ALL cameras: DCS Cloud (L) Series Camera Configuration and Mydlink.com (http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=62395.0)

Has anyone identified the root issue with the 2330L?  Given all the reads and posts on the subject, one would hope D-Link would identify the root cause and help fix the issue!

  I have the same problem with my new camera, although everything has been updated on it.  The camera seems to go offline every couple of hours (no pattern).  I've tried 2 separate access points with it, and even cloned the one AP to appear as the same as the other incase one AP signal dropped.

Today, the camera has been off line since sometime last night (not at home so can't get to the logs), so is really worthless to have as a security camera!

My bad as well, didn't check the specs, but disappointed the camera is not 5 ghz compatible!
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: asrtaylor@shaw.ca on January 07, 2016, 08:04:14 PM
Thanks for the reply.  I hope you can help as this is very frustrating.  Wanting to use the outdoor camera for security, given we have had vehicle car prowlings in the area.

The only thing I see for the hardware version looks like it say 'A1'.
Firmware is 1.12.00
I'm located in Canada

My cable company provided a Cisco DPc3825, with I have hardwired to ASUS RT-AC68U.  I also have a Linksys RE6700 Range extender with mirrored 2.4 gig settings of the Asus (you can't change channels on the RE6700).

I've tried the camera with different SSID's on the Linksys and RE6700 to eliminate one or the other dropping the connection.  Didn't make any difference, no matter witch device the camera was paired to, is still drops off line.

I've tired the distance from within 5 feet to greater than 50 feet from both the Asus and RE6700.  Camera still drops off. 

I've enable uPnP and uPnp Port forwarding (upnp port presentation was already selected), tested and it return Ok status.  Maybe that will change something?


Here is part of the log:

2016-01-07 20:40:20 NETWORK RECONNECT
2016-01-07 20:40:20 NETWORK LOSS
2016-01-07 20:40:23 IP CAMERA Received PASSIVE-INFRARED-SENSOR Trigger
2016-01-07 20:40:33 NETWORK RECONNECT
2016-01-07 20:40:34 NETWORK LOSS
2016-01-07 20:40:51 IP CAMERA Received PASSIVE-INFRARED-SENSOR Trigger
2016-01-07 20:41:02 IP CAMERA Received PASSIVE-INFRARED-SENSOR Trigger
2016-01-07 20:41:09 IP CAMERA Received MOTION Trigger
2016-01-07 20:41:09 MOTION STOPPED
2016-01-07 20:41:12 NETWORK RECONNECT
2016-01-07 20:41:12 IP CAMERA Received PASSIVE-INFRARED-SENSOR Trigger
2016-01-07 20:41:12 NETWORK LOSS
2016-01-07 20:41:27 IP CAMERA Received PASSIVE-INFRARED-SENSOR Trigger
2016-01-07 20:41:30 IP CAMERA Received PASSIVE-INFRARED-SENSOR Trigger
2016-01-07 20:41:32 IP CAMERA Received MOTION Trigger
2016-01-07 20:41:33 MOTION STOPPED
2016-01-07 20:41:33 IP CAMERA Received PASSIVE-INFRARED-SENSOR Trigger
2016-01-07 20:41:41 IP CAMERA Received PASSIVE-INFRARED-SENSOR Trigger
2016-01-07 20:41:49 IP CAMERA Received PASSIVE-INFRARED-SENSOR Trigger
2016-01-07 20:41:50 IP CAMERA Received MOTION Trigger
2016-01-07 20:41:50 MOTION STOPPED
2016-01-07 20:41:51 IP CAMERA Received PASSIVE-INFRARED-SENSOR Trigger
2016-01-07 20:41:57 NETWORK RECONNECT
2016-01-07 20:41:57 NETWORK LOSS
2016-01-07 20:42:07 IP CAMERA Received PASSIVE-INFRARED-SENSOR Trigger
2016-01-07 20:42:28 IP CAMERA Received PASSIVE-INFRARED-SENSOR Trigger
2016-01-07 20:42:36 NETWORK RECONNECT
2016-01-07 20:42:36 NETWORK LOSS
2016-01-07 20:42:46 IP CAMERA Received PASSIVE-INFRARED-SENSOR Trigger
2016-01-07 20:42:49 IP CAMERA Received PASSIVE-INFRARED-SENSOR Trigger
2016-01-07 20:43:24 IP CAMERA Received PASSIVE-INFRARED-SENSOR Trigger
2016-01-07 20:43:38 IP CAMERA Received PASSIVE-INFRARED-SENSOR Trigger
2016-01-07 20:43:50 IP CAMERA Received PASSIVE-INFRARED-SENSOR Trigger
2016-01-07 20:44:04 IP CAMERA Received PASSIVE-INFRARED-SENSOR Trigger
2016-01-07 20:44:17 IP CAMERA Received PASSIVE-INFRARED-SENSOR Trigger
2016-01-07 20:44:55 IP CAMERA Received PASSIVE-INFRARED-SENSOR Trigger
2016-01-07 20:45:09 IP CAMERA Received PASSIVE-INFRARED-SENSOR Trigger
2016-01-07 20:45:17 NETWORK RECONNECT
2016-01-07 20:45:18 NETWORK LOSS
2016-01-07 20:45:18 IP CAMERA Received PASSIVE-INFRARED-SENSOR Trigger
2016-01-07 20:45:20 IP CAMERA Received MOTION Trigger
2016-01-07 20:45:22 MOTION STOPPED
2016-01-07 20:45:25 IP CAMERA Received MOTION Trigger
2016-01-07 20:47:15 SYSTEM BOOTING
2016-01-07 20:47:20 SYSTEM SET HEATER HOLD
2016-01-07 20:47:20 SYSTEM SET IR LIGHT ON
2016-01-07 20:47:20 NETWORK INTERFACE CHANGE TO WLAN
2016-01-07 20:47:22 IP CAMERA Received MOTION Trigger
2016-01-07 20:47:23 MOTION STOPPED
2016-01-07 20:47:25 NETWORK LOSS
2016-01-07 20:47:25 SYSTEM SET HEATER OFF
2016-01-07 20:47:30 NETWORK RECONNECT

I find it interesting that the camera has been offline since early on the 5th (according to Smartthings app and visual inspection of the light (red not green), yet the log reports motion occurring.

Thoughts?

Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: FurryNutz on January 07, 2016, 08:13:25 PM
Is the camera connecting to the Asus router or the RE device?
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: asrtaylor@shaw.ca on January 08, 2016, 07:05:22 AM
Currently, and all during the last outage, and the log examples posted, it is connected to the ASUS router. 
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: FurryNutz on January 08, 2016, 09:19:25 AM
Some have mentioned that reverting the camera back to v1.00, then upgrading to v1.02 then applying v1.12 has been a process to help with this camera. You might try that and see what happens. Manually download all 3 files and use IE11 or FF to do this.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: asrtaylor@shaw.ca on January 08, 2016, 11:15:43 AM
Thanks, will try over the weekend and post back success / failures.

Waiting to see if there are any drop offs after the upnp change you recommended, in case that is the resolution.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: FurryNutz on January 08, 2016, 11:30:17 AM
Keep us posted.  ;)
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: cmontyburns on January 09, 2016, 12:22:34 PM
I find it interesting that the camera has been offline since early on the 5th (according to Smartthings app and visual inspection of the light (red not green), yet the log reports motion occurring.

The camera will continue to do what it has been set to do as long as it has power, even if it is offline.  Obviously, if you have it set to email you or FTP video to a server someplace, it won't be able to do those things, but it will continue to trigger motion events, PIR events, etc. as normal.  If you have an SD card installed in the camera, it will also make motion-triggered recordings if set for that, so being offline isn't as big a security hole as it might first seem. 
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: asrtaylor@shaw.ca on January 11, 2016, 06:34:45 PM
Okay, so the camera continues to go off line and has to be unplugged to get it alive again.

I've moved the camera yesterday to another location in the house, and it went off line tonight.

I'll be doing to rollback of the firmware and update again to see if that changes anything.

I've also noticed on this camera, and my other one (5222LB) the TZ keeps changing from my timezone, and NTP sync services becomes unchecked.  Probably unrelated, but weird!
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: asrtaylor@shaw.ca on January 11, 2016, 06:45:08 PM
Okay, so I've DL's and installed version 1.02.  Now the camera is offline from the wireless.  Going to have to pull the flippin' thing down and hardware it to the router again, urggg!
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: asrtaylor@shaw.ca on January 11, 2016, 07:01:31 PM
Alright, camera's back on line.  Think I'm going to leave the firmware at 1.10 for a few days and see what happens.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: RYAT3 on January 11, 2016, 08:34:04 PM
Alright, camera's back on line.  Think I'm going to leave the firmware at 1.10 for a few days and see what happens.

I'm still on 1.01 with Asus router on WiFi outdoor.

I even have a HEARTER :)

22.   2015-12-16 14:20:22 SYSTEM SET HEARTER state OFF
23.   2015-12-16 14:20:00 SYSTEM SET HEARTER state ON

I upgraded one 2330L at a customer site, and they were complaining it was offline... I finally got them to plug it in directly to the router and it fixed everything.. wireless was working again.. I had upgraded to whatever was the latest F/W as of Nov 20 2015.

There are fixes for disconnects in 5010L/5020L line that just came out and might be related to issues here...

I do have some logs from over a month ago of disconnects - not sure what was happening then or if they were caused by my actions.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: asrtaylor@shaw.ca on January 23, 2016, 09:50:55 AM
Okay, so I've DL's and installed version 1.02.  Now the camera is offline from the wireless.  Going to have to pull the flippin' thing down and hardware it to the router again, urggg!

Okay, have been using firmware 1.10 for a couple of weeks now, and no change.  I've had to manually unplug the camera three times as it appears to drop the wireless connection and never connects back.
Upgraded again to firmware version 1.12.
Log files being sent to DLink
Second camera (different model) does not exhibit the same tendency.
Wireless survey completed.  Moved channel of router (extender changes automatically when router changes) from channel 6 to channel 11
Still find it interesting the camera show no WAN connectivity, yet after reboot, the log show events and wan drops / reconnects, mostly for 2 seconds every couple of minutes.

Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: FurryNutz on January 23, 2016, 10:19:07 AM
I recommend that you phone contact your regional D-Link support office and ask for help and information regarding this. We find that phone contact has better immediate results over using email.
Let us know how it goes please.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: asrtaylor@shaw.ca on January 26, 2016, 06:17:03 PM
Yea, I used the web form right after my last post and no reply yet. Camera is offline since last night and will not rejoin either of the SSID's automatically that I have set up.  Hard rebooting has become a pain!
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: FurryNutz on January 29, 2016, 07:27:59 AM
Let us know how it goes with phone support please.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: remoteCamsFarAway on March 28, 2016, 09:43:15 PM
Similar problem here.  Installed one DCS-2330L camera outdoors at a remote location 2 weeks ago.  The firmware is the latest downloadable version.  It went offline after about 10 days online.  Remote access to the router there shows that the missing camera is no longer attached to the 2.4GHz wifi.  Rebooted router remotely but still did not relink.  That camera did not come back online though a DCS-2630L that is also connected to that router did survive the reboot.

I don't know if the firmware is just in a stuck state or if the camera suffered infant mortality.  Won't be back at that location until June.  I'm hoping that a random power interruption at the remote location will occur and might reset the camera to come back online if it is not truly broken.  Note that I've posted a similar entry in the DCS-2630L thread for one of two of those cameras at my site.  They seem to have similar problems.

Hoping for a firmware update to improve robustness of maintaining link and relinking when the link is broken.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: FurryNutz on March 29, 2016, 07:16:39 AM
Link>Welcome! (http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=48135.0)


What Mfr and model is the main host router?
What wireless modes are you using?
What is the distance between the Camera and the main host router?
How many other wireless devices do you have connected to the main host router?

Test cameras with uPnP and uPnP Port Forwarding both enabled on ALL cameras: DCS Cloud (L) Series Camera Configuration and Mydlink.com (http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=62395.0)


Similar problem here.  Installed one DCS-2330L camera outdoors at a remote location 2 weeks ago.  The firmware is the latest downloadable version.  It went offline after about 10 days online.  Remote access to the router there shows that the missing camera is no longer attached to the 2.4GHz wifi.  Rebooted router remotely but still did not relink.  That camera did not come back online though a DCS-2630L that is also connected to that router did survive the reboot.

I don't know if the firmware is just in a stuck state or if the camera suffered infant mortality.  Won't be back at that location until June.  I'm hoping that a random power interruption at the remote location will occur and might reset the camera to come back online if it is not truly broken.  Note that I've posted a similar entry in the DCS-2630L thread for one of two of those cameras at my site.  They seem to have similar problems.

Hoping for a firmware update to improve robustness of maintaining link and relinking when the link is broken.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: remoteCamsFarAway on March 29, 2016, 08:44:42 PM
I'm located in Colorado, remote cameras are in Caribbean.
Hardware DCS-2330L H/W Ver A1
Firmware 1.12
Netgear R6400 router.
wifi 2.4GHz b/g/n
distance 20 feet
Other local wifi devices include one DCS-2630L (still online) and a DCS-2630L which connects through a Netgear EX6200 extender and has gone offline (separate post).
Only other non-wifi wireless is a GSM cellular backup for home security system.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: FurryNutz on March 30, 2016, 06:34:10 AM
I recommend setting a static IP address ON the cameras outside of the main host routers default DHCP IP address pool as a troubleshooting step: 192.168.#.23 and .26  DHCP (http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=58017.0)

Do you have someone at the remote location to help you with this? I would recommend testing the cameras connected to the main hsot router of possible. One problem could be the wifi extender not working right thus making it seem like the cameras are not connecting. Need to eliminate all options here. Being remote makes this hard to troubleshoot.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: FurryNutz on April 04, 2016, 09:53:06 AM
http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=64671.msg267939#new (http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=64671.msg267939#new)

I'm located in Colorado, remote cameras are in Caribbean.
Hardware DCS-2330L H/W Ver A1
Firmware 1.12
Netgear R6400 router.
wifi 2.4GHz b/g/n
distance 20 feet
Other local wifi devices include one DCS-2630L (still online) and a DCS-2630L which connects through a Netgear EX6200 extender and has gone offline (separate post).
Only other non-wifi wireless is a GSM cellular backup for home security system.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: remoteCamsFarAway on April 16, 2016, 07:48:46 PM
Had someone on site today to unplug and plug in 2330L camera.  Did not bring it back online.  However, I don't know how long he left it unplugged.  He might not have left it unplugged long enough for a clean reset.  Either that or the camera has failed and needs to be replaced.  Won't know until I get there in June or if my router daily log shows a power outage and it coincidently comes back online before I arrive in June.

In a parallel post regarding a 2630L camera at the same location, power cycling that cam DID bring it back online. 

Though these cameras deliver very nice images, they seem to have some robustness issues regarding wireless connectivity.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: FurryNutz on April 17, 2016, 07:24:49 AM
Might setup some static IP addresses when you get there in June and see if this helps. Also need some remote access to your main host router and if possible the extender. I would recommend getting the camera connected to the main host router to help rule out extender issues. Not sure if this is a good solution for being at a remote location if you can't have help on site.  :-\
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: remoteCamsFarAway on April 21, 2016, 09:15:20 PM
I had someone power cycle the 2330L at this location and it came back online.  Not a broken camera but rather that the firmware is not very fault tolerant to recover when it gets lost.  A bit of robustness with fault recovery would help in this firmware.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: FurryNutz on April 22, 2016, 07:02:38 AM
Not sure if this can be helped currently. It would take having another at your local location to see if the problem is experience, then if so, then we would need to get D-Link to review it and make changes where needed.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: remoteCamsFarAway on May 06, 2016, 07:34:09 PM
 >:(  Well, offline again, SORT OF.  Unlike last time where the camera was no longer attached to the router, this time the router shows the 2330L camera as attached via wifi.  MyDlink also shows the camera as there.  However, when I try to access the camera via MyDlink it tries for a while and then says retry or reconnect.  This happens regardless of trying to connect to video or settings.

One point of interest is that I was watching a rain storm probably with lightning though I didn't actually see it.  I say there was probably lightning and thunder because I was getting noise burst alerts every few minutes on my 2630L cameras that are indoors.  Given that there was a storm going on, my guess is that there was either a power fluctuation or the camera is sensitive to induced EMI.  Note that I DO have an Eaton CHSPT2ULTRA whole house surge suppressor in the main breaker box but I don't have secondary suppressors at the individual electronics.  Will add them when I'm there in June.

Back where I was a couple of weeks ago......waiting either for a power outage to reset the camera or will have my person power cycle it next time he drops in there.  This again will be a test to determine if the camera has permanently failed or again simply has firmware that is not fault tolerant.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: RYAT3 on May 06, 2016, 07:44:45 PM
>:(  Well, offline again, SORT OF.  Unlike last time where the camera was no longer attached to the router, this time the router shows the 2330L camera as attached via wifi.  MyDlink also shows the camera as there.  However, when I try to access the camera via MyDlink it tries for a while and then says retry or reconnect.  This happens regardless of trying to connect to video or settings.


Let's not go making up wild excuses for the camera or myDlink ;)

My 2630l can't connect after a while, and a simple power cycle fixes the issues.....


Can you connect to the 2330L via the camera's F/W and get a picture, that is the question?

Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: remoteCamsFarAway on May 07, 2016, 06:38:10 AM
Not sure what happened.... After being in that funny state where wifi was connected but couldn't get to THAT camera for about 8 hours through myDlink, it came back!  My two indoor 2630L cameras remained accessible the entire time.  Definitely different than last time where that camera lost its wifi connection.  Maybe another lightning strike fixed it? :o  Maybe the firmware DID find its way back to home plate this time!  Too bad because it was a neat tropical storm I was watching!

I don't currently have port forwarding set up to go directly to the camera's firmware interface so my only path for now is through myDlink.  My only port forwarding right now is for remote access to the second router behind the first router/dsl modem.  Will add that capability in June.

ryat3's question about direct firmware access is a good one.  Is it possible that the problem was not the camera but rather something locked up in the myDlink portal to ONLY that camera?  Port forwarding directly to the camera would have allowed me to distinguish which was down. 
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: remoteCamsFarAway on May 11, 2016, 08:49:48 PM
Had scheduled power outage by power company.  Before the outage I had two 2630L and one 2330L cameras.  After power was turned back on I only had one 2630L.  Lost two cameras in outage.....not good.  I don't know exactly how long my guess is that the Netgear R6400 router/wireless access point  that the cameras connect to takes a couple of minutes to come online from a powered off state.  In the past we've brought these cameras back online successfully by unplugging them and then plugging them back in while the network was already up.  I'm wondering if the cameras might have a problem coming online if they "wake up" before the router and wifi are back up.  If they don't see the wifi and network connection in the first couple of minutes after the power comes on do they give up?  :-\  Anyone have any similar observations?
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: cmontyburns on May 15, 2016, 06:35:22 AM
I'm wondering if the cameras might have a problem coming online if they "wake up" before the router and wifi are back up.  If they don't see the wifi and network connection in the first couple of minutes after the power comes on do they give up?  :-\  Anyone have any similar observations?

Every so often, I'll have to unplug a camera and plug it back in to get it to reconnect after a power blip.  But that's definitely the exception, not the rule.  So I would say generally no, although it's possible I have a much faster WAP than you do.  :)
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: remoteCamsFarAway on June 28, 2016, 07:53:28 AM
On site now at my cameras.  Adjusted my configuration to give everyone static IP addresses.  Briefly to recap......these cameras are in the Caribbean about 2000  miles from my home in Colorado.  The site there is not manned so I don't really have anyone I can frequently send over to reset cameras.  The internet connection is 1Mb/s and the connection sometimes drops out completely.  Sometimes there are power outages.  My DSL modem/router is a SmartRG SR350N (wireless disabled) followed by a Netgear R6400 router/WAP.  My 2330L has entered an offline state multiple times. For a few, at least, I was able to have someone come over and power cycle it.  While the SmartRG and 2330L boot up quickly the Netgear takes multiple minutes to come online.

EXPERIMENT: SIMULATE A POWER OUTAGE

1) Turn off all equipment.
2) Turn on all equipment simultaneously.
3) RESULTS: 2330L only occasionally comes online but generally not.

EXPERIMENT: EXAGERATE THE TIME BETWEEN CAMERA COMING UP AND POWERING ROUTER
1) Power off all equipment
2) Power up the 2330L and wait a minute or two
3) Power up SmartRG and Netgear
4) In a sample of about 4 tries, 2330L NEVER came online.

EXPERIMENT: ENABLE THE DAILY REBOOT OPTION IN THE 2330L
1) While online set daily reboot option in 2330L to about 15 minutes from now.
2) Power off all equipment and wait a minute.
3) Power on 2330L and wait a minute.
4) Power on SmartRG and Netgear.
5) When Netgear finally comes online, confirm 2330L still is not there.
6) Periodically confirm that the 2330L is still not available on the local network.
7) Shortly after the scheduled reboot time check to see that the 2330L is back online. IN MY SMALL SAMPLE OF 4 TRIES THIS WORKED EVERY TIME!

Moral of the story (BE SURE TO READ UPDATE IN NEXT PARAGRAPH) : For remote operations I'd strongly advise enabling the auto-reboot feature on a daily basis!  I had bought some Dlink remote power switches thinking I would risk (because they may have the same problem) remotely power cycling the cameras using these but I think the reboot option appears to be a better (and less expensive) choice.

UPDATE AUG 7, 2016 : I'VE CHANGED THE MORAL:  With additional experience with rebooting, I've found that if the camera gets lost as the result of the auto-reboot it might not come back.  I was able to correlate losing one 2330L cam to exactly the time it rebooted because that cam was tied into my DNR-312L recorder.  The timestamp where it went offline was right at reboot time.  I also lost two other 2330L cams that were on reboot schedules.  After two weeks I had my caretaker come over and power-cycle them.  I NOW DO NOT RECOMMEND USING AUTO-REBOOT.  However, my router/access point is now on a UPS and I've now confirmed that I've recovered all five (3x2330L and 2x2630L) after at least two power outages.  NOW I RECOMMEND HAVING AN UPS ON THE IT EQUIPMENT THAT THE WIFI CAMS CONNECT TO.

Will be here for another week.  Will keep an eye on this and add any relevant notes.  Haven't checked to see if this fixes the same problem with my two 2630L cameras.  Will update that post in the 2630L category once I've done that.

Hope this note helps some struggling soul out there!

FURRYNUTZ : If you have a contact at Dlink you might have them look at my notes above.  This might clue them in about ways they could improve the robustness of their training sequence.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: FurryNutz on June 28, 2016, 08:32:49 AM
Maybe your experiment ENABLE THE DAILY REBOOT OPTION IN THE 2330L needs to be put in to use. The use of a digital power timer with the 2330L could help on this.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: RYAT3 on June 28, 2016, 08:55:11 AM
Which 2330l f/w?
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: remoteCamsFarAway on June 28, 2016, 10:29:31 AM
Maybe your experiment ENABLE THE DAILY REBOOT OPTION IN THE 2330L needs to be put in to use. The use of a digital power timer with the 2330L could help on this.

Furrynutz..... Not sure what you meant here.......The seeming solution (which is really a workaround for what I believe to be a bug) to my problem is to enable that option that is already in the MAINTENANCE --> SYSTEM webpage menu.

 FOR RYAT3......firmware is 1.12.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: FurryNutz on June 28, 2016, 10:30:49 AM
Ok, I missed that. If there is a reboot feature in the cameras maintenance menu, I'd enable it and configure it and see how it does.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: remoteCamsFarAway on July 09, 2016, 09:13:25 AM
Update:  Back from the islands.  I'd say camera behavior is pretty much confirmed now.  We had a couple of ACTUAL (not experimental) power outages while there.  I had the 2330L cameras set to boot at 10AM.  First power outage was in afternoon and came on about 4PM.  Remember the R6400 router/AP takes at least two minutes or more to come online following a power cycle.  Did not see the cameras at all after power came back.  I checked at about 10PM (6 hours after power was restored) and they were still not there.  In the morning when I woke up they were all there!  I'm guessing that the 2330Ls booted when the power came back on and, in their very short attention spans, did not see the router and immediately gave up.  I'm assuming they have no battery backup for the real-time-clock so they probably initialize to midnight when power is restored.  Since my reboot time was set for 10AM I'm guessing the cameras all rebooted about 10 hours after power was restored (while I was snoozing), found the LAN which had been back for about 10 hours, got synchronized to network time, and were then back online.

Based on this experience I've changed my arbitrary reboot time to 00:10 instead of 10:00 so that it will not take 10 hours to recover.

SECOND EXPERIENCE:  Between the first actual power outage and the next I put my router/AP on a UPS system which holds it up for hours.  We had a second actual power outage that lasted a couple of hours.  The UPS held up the router for the entire time and the cameras came back online immediately.  This was before I changed the reboot time to 10 minutes past midnight so the recovery was not due to the cameras new reboot schedule.  Thus, as expected, the cameras connected immediately since the router was online when camera power was restored.

THIRD EXPERIENCE:
I've now been through about a week after leaving.  Currently missing two out of three 2330L cameras that were there yesterday.  Looks like the autoreboot is not absolute after all.  Yes, the autoreboot seems to bring offline cameras back online but it also seems like it sometimes loses cameras on the reboot.  This is not good.  I'm expecting (hoping) that the two missing cameras will come back online when they reboot tonight.  I'm now wondering if I should have implemented the remote control outlets after all.  Remember that I was concerned they would suffer the same disease as these cameras in that they might not always stay online.  Oh well, next visit is in November.  Will need to wait until then to set up new experiment.

THIRD EXPERIENCE FOLLOWUP:
It's been several days now where the two missing cameras should have been rebooting every 24 hours and coming back online but they have not re-emerged.  I don't know why they seemed to recover so well while I was on-site and, of course, they don't return now that I'm operating remotely.  They are not reconnecting to the router like they did during the experimental period.  While there I had assigned them static IP addresses per earlier recommendations.  After I was back here I had read a posting that cameras might not reconnect if the access point changes the wifi channel.  Makes sense given the connectivity problems these cameras have.  I forgot to change the access point setting to lock the wifi channel down to a single channel.  It is on AUTO mode.  I wonder if that's what happened.  Afraid to change that setting remotely since I could knock out the remaining 3 cameras (two 2630L and one 2330L) that are online.  Looks like my only recovery opportunity now is for a real power outage to do a power-on reset to the cameras.  Remember that I now have UPS on the router so it will be online while the cameras will all get the power reset.

LESSONS LEARNED:
1) Auto-reboot can recover a camera that is not linked up.
2) Auto-reboot can also take an online camera offline for some reason.  Not sure why it's going offline sometimes.  Signal to cameras are reasonably strong and there is little RF interference in this area.
3) Having the router on the UPS so that the wifi signal is already there when the cameras power on after a power outage seems to resolve power outage issues.
4) Need to reconsider the use of remote power outlets to allow me to cycle power on lost cameras.
5) Should configure all camera components with static IP addresses and set access point wifi channel for fixed (NOT AUTO) channel selection.

UPDATE AUG 7, 2016 : With additional experience with rebooting, I've found that if the camera gets lost as the result of the auto-reboot it might not come back.  I was able to correlate losing one 2330L cam to exactly the time it rebooted because that cam was tied into my DNR-312L recorder.  The timestamp where it went offline was right at reboot time.  I also lost two other 2330L cams that were on reboot schedules.  After two weeks I had my caretaker come over and power-cycle them.  I NOW DO NOT RECOMMEND USING AUTO-REBOOT.  However, my router/access point is now on a UPS and I've now confirmed that I've recovered all five (3x2330L and 2x2630L) after at least two power outages.  NOW I RECOMMEND HAVING AN UPS ON THE IT EQUIPMENT THAT THE WIFI CAMS CONNECT TO.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: remoteCamsFarAway on July 23, 2016, 07:54:48 AM
Just lost my third and last remaining 2330L camera.  The first two disappeared a few days after leaving the remote site.  This is really starting to (politely) bum me out.  When compared to all of the above experiments this is different:


ONE THING THAT DID CATCH MY ATTENTION YESTERDAY is that I was looking through the log of this last camera (before it went offline) and I noticed that it had been rebooting once or twice a day at times other than the scheduled reboot just after midnight.  There was no similar log activity in the two 2630L cams which are on the same power source.  WHAT'S THAT ABOUT?

The only activity even remotely related to recent system configuration changes that could affect that camera is that yesterday I removed the two missing 2330L cameras and also this one (even though it was working) from the list of cameras accessed by the DNR-312L recorder.  However, the camera was still online after I did that.  I removed this camera because I could see that the 312L was continuously pulling streams from all of the cameras and I was wondering if this could be what was knocking out the 2330L cams.  This cam coincidently (and so far I think it's just a coincidence) disappeared about 10 hours after I made that change.

The only other excuse I can think of for the camera going offline is that, as I mentioned in an earlier posting, I forgot to change the router to lock down the wireless channel.  Someone else's posting said that the AUTO wireless channel in the access point was knocking out their cameras.  Will need to have caretaker come in and power cycle the three 2330L cameras.

The two 2630L cams are hanging in there.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: RYAT3 on July 23, 2016, 06:56:47 PM
I remember you couldn't wire the cams between floors,  but it sounds like you set up access points on the same floor that probably go back to the main router?

Can you wire the cams to the access point?


Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: remoteCamsFarAway on August 05, 2016, 10:21:20 PM
TO RYAT3 : No cams are currently wired to an AP or router.  Everything is wifi except the DNR-312L recorder which is wired.  However, I'm planning on rearranging some of the IT equipment to take advantage of some existing cable TV holes in the house and directly connect some of the cams.  My two indoor cams are 2630L.  They don't have an ethernet connection, only wifi.  One of these is the one through the concrete floor.

Currently I'm using the Netgear R6400 as an access point and it is located on one end of the upstairs floor.  I've got a 5GHZ link to a Netgear EX6200 wifi extender on the other end of the upper floor.  The distance between the extender upstairs and the 2330L outside is about 14 feet.  The distance between the extender upstairs and the 2630L downstairs through the concrete floor is about 8 feet (2.4GHz wifi).  Both are near windows so that seems to work.

That said, I'm going to be replacing the outside 2330L with a camera that has better resolution and also better IR illumination for nighttime use.  I just installed this 2330L in June to watch driveway activity as well as a scenic view.  Scenic view is nice but the resolution is not good enough for me to capture a person's face should an intruder enter the driveway.  Also, the single IR emitter on the 2330L is not sufficient to light up that area at night.  Will be looking at some of the cameras in Dlink's business section.  Will likely need to go with a POE camera.  This will require a hard wire to an access point.  I might be able to snake the POE cable through the cable TV holes in the concrete and save me the pain of drilling.  I'm planning on rearranging the locations of my IT equipment to near the cable holes.

One last possibility is to implement powerline wifi.  I have no experience with this and don't know what distances you can connect over.  My worst case connection would be from the router connection through potentially three breaker panels, one of which has a whole house surge protector (could be a problem since it might mitigate the powerline signal in the house wiringl) and then to the final destination.  Total distance run could be 100 feet as the wires run and through 3 circuit breakers.

If you have any experience with any of the POE higher resolution cams with at least 30 ft IR illumination I'd be interested in your suggestions.  Also experience with powerline ethernet connections would help.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: RYAT3 on August 05, 2016, 10:29:00 PM

So you have almost no ambient light?    Have you looked into IR (infrared) illuminators? (they can run hot)..

Can you install a motion sensor type light? (that would be with it's own separate risks).


Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: RYAT3 on August 05, 2016, 10:42:02 PM
TO RYAT3 :
That said, I'm going to be replacing the outside 2330L with a camera that has better resolution and also better IR illumination for nighttime use.  I just installed this 2330L in June to watch driveway activity as well as a scenic view.  Scenic view is nice but the resolution is not good enough for me to capture a person's face should an intruder enter the driveway.  Also, the single IR emitter on the 2330L is not sufficient to light up that area at night.  Will be looking at some of the cameras in Dlink's business section.  Will likely need to go with a POE camera.  This will require a hard wire to an access point.  I might be able to snake the POE cable through the cable TV holes in the concrete and save me the pain of drilling.  I'm planning on rearranging the locations of my IT equipment to near the cable holes.

2330L only promises 15ft.. how far do you need?    Have you tried the exposure mode: low noise option in the f/w with gain @ 24 at night?

I have 3 PoE cams.




POE cable is regular ethernet cables...Is it not?
The 2330L is PoE also (but has wireless option).

Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: remoteCamsFarAway on August 05, 2016, 11:15:16 PM
I do have a motion light but right now it is too sensitive to motion and picks up the bushes blowing in the wind at night.  The light turns on and off frequently during the night and triggers motion detection as the lights turn on and off.  I either need to desensitize the sensor on that light or get a different light where I can more precisely focus the area to where it is sensitive.  On my list of things to do.

Didn't know that they made IR illuminators.  Interesting.  The camera is positioned 15 to 20 feet above the ground and pointed straight ahead for the scenic view.  At that height above the ground the camera's IR illumination is ineffective.  Separate illuminators would maybe otherwise solve this problem except that I need higher resolution.  Because of its height above the ground and how it's positioned it is not close enough to people's faces to make them out.  For security purposes, I want to be able to zoom into a recorded motion session and see who it was.

The 2330L does have a wired ethernet option but it is not POE (Power Over Ethernet) capable.

Will try to improve night vision with the suggested settings.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: remoteCamsFarAway on August 07, 2016, 06:45:02 AM
See updates to my postings on June 28 and July 9.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: remoteCamsFarAway on August 10, 2016, 09:21:50 PM
Over the last few days I've lost two of the three 2330L cameras again.  I didn't think to check for one of them but logs from the two 2630L cams show no power interruptions from the time the other 2330L cam was last working until we noticed it was gone.  In other words it disappeared for no reason.  Remote router access confirms that both cameras are no longer attached to the router.  Still have one more 2330L and two 2630L cams online.

I've tried scheduled reboots (decided hurt as much as it helped) and putting UPS on modem/router/AP (helps some but obviously not completely).  On my last trip there I brought some wifi power switches but decided not to install them.  At least if they worked properly I'd be able to remotely cycle the power on the cams when they disappear.  With things seemingly working while I was down there I decided not to mess with success.  Will need to wait until the end of October to add them into the system.

Called Dlink support.  Got case number but that's about it since I'm not on site.  They were suggesting a factory reset to clear the settings and try again.  However, I'm not sure that will help in the long run since I have three 2330L cams installed and they all suffer from the same disease.  On the assumption that this is a firmware bug and not a hardware failure, the only solution would be to roll it back to a version that did not fail or wait for a new version that fixes the problem or buy a remote power switch for every cam.  All three currently running FW 1.12.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: BAMoh on August 10, 2016, 11:48:35 PM
Are the cams on WIFI or LAN cable? I suggest you put them on LAN cable. The cams go offline because you have terrible bandwith triggering loss of connection.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: remoteCamsFarAway on August 11, 2016, 06:17:48 AM
BAMoh....Thanks for your reply.

All the cams are on wifi and yes the ADSL modem to the internet is limited to 1Mb/s.  I agree that a wired connection might be more "predictable".  However, within the home the router is a high-end recent-vintage router and local network bandwidth within that network is high.  The cams should not lose their internal wifi connection to the router due to a low bandwidth internet connection that they normally don't connect to unless I remotely access them.  The problem is not that I can't dump video from them over the internet.  It is that they lose their local wifi connection to the router and don't recover.  Unplugging them and plugging them back in is the only way for them to recover once they get into this state.  Also note that the area where these are located is in a low density residential neighborhood with very little interference from other networks.

Also note that while I have had problems in the past with the two 2630L cams on the same network, they now seem to be stable after I've assigned static IP addresses and put the router/modem/AP on a UPS system.  I also made a recent firmware upgrade to the 2630L cams but I don't know if that made any difference or not.

Again, my beef isn't that they sometimes lose their link.  It is that, assuming that there is not a flakey hardware design flaw that can only be reset by a power cycle, the firmware should recognize that it has lost its wifi link and then attempt to relink to the router.  A hardware design flaw is yet a different issue.

Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: remoteCamsFarAway on August 21, 2016, 10:19:00 AM
Firmware version 1.12.

Have dumped logs from 2330 cams that repeatedly fall offline.  There may be a clue for Dlink engineers (one engineer to another) IF YOU ARE LISTENING:

The log shows many instances of the following sequences where the cameras go offline:

First, there are repeated examples where the firmware doesn't get past SYSTEM SET HEATER HOLD. The gap of 6 days in this and many other identical log entries is from the time the camera is lost until I have someone enter the premises to power cycle the camera.  Why does it get stuck at that step?

2016-03-21 23:51:21 admin FROM 127.0.0.1 LOGIN OK
2016-03-22 02:43:37 SYSTEM BOOTING
2016-03-22 02:43:42 SYSTEM SET HEATER HOLD
2016-03-28 09:26:53 SYSTEM BOOTING

Secondly, there are multiple examples of NETWORK LOSS some of which never proceed beyond that step until I get someone in there to perform a power cycle.  Since I don't have corresponding entries at those times in the other cams I assume that this is referring to the local network and not the WAN connection to the internet.  The 3 week gap is the time it took me to get someone in there to power cycle the camera.  Note that other cameras in this network remained online.  Either way, however, a network loss should be followed by a reconnect as I will show following this example of a failure:

2016-03-28 09:26:53 SYSTEM BOOTING
2016-03-28 09:26:58 SYSTEM SET HEATER HOLD
2016-03-28 09:26:58 SYSTEM SET IR LIGHT OFF
2016-03-28 09:26:58 NETWORK INTERFACE CHANGE TO WLAN
2016-03-28 09:27:01 NETWORK LOSS
2016-04-21 14:39:09 SYSTEM BOOTING

The following unedited sequence shows a series of NETWORK LOSSes which DO recover as they should.  Is there a hole in the firmware or a hardware failure mode where the firmware sometimes either gets stuck or gives up trying to recover?  Can the firmware be enhanced to try a little harder to recover?
2016-08-18 18:12:05 SYSTEM BOOTING
2016-08-18 18:12:10 SYSTEM SET HEATER HOLD
2016-08-18 18:12:10 SYSTEM SET IR LIGHT OFF
2016-08-18 18:12:10 NETWORK INTERFACE CHANGE TO WLAN
2016-08-18 18:12:12 NETWORK LOSS
2016-08-18 18:12:12 SYSTEM SET HEATER OFF
2016-08-18 18:12:13 NETWORK RECONNECT
2016-08-18 22:00:58 SYSTEM BOOTING
2016-08-18 22:01:03 SYSTEM SET IR LIGHT OFF
2016-08-18 22:01:03 NETWORK INTERFACE CHANGE TO WLAN
2016-08-18 22:01:03 SYSTEM SET HEATER HOLD
2016-08-18 22:01:05 NETWORK LOSS
2016-08-18 22:01:05 SYSTEM SET HEATER OFF
2016-08-18 22:01:06 NETWORK RECONNECT
2016-08-19 14:35:12 SYSTEM BOOTING
2016-08-19 14:35:17 SYSTEM SET HEATER HOLD
2016-08-19 14:35:17 SYSTEM SET IR LIGHT OFF
2016-08-19 14:35:17 NETWORK INTERFACE CHANGE TO WLAN
2016-08-19 14:35:19 NETWORK LOSS
2016-08-19 14:35:19 SYSTEM SET HEATER OFF
2016-08-19 14:35:20 NETWORK RECONNECT

Dlink engineers......do these log entries tell you anything?  Is there any more info I can gather that would be helpful?  Thanks in advance for your help.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: RYAT3 on August 21, 2016, 01:14:38 PM
CURRENT LOG  v1.01



1. 2016-08-21 14:48:54 admin LOGIN OK FROM 192.168.1.3
2. 2016-08-16 19:28:13 admin LOGIN OK FROM 192.168.1.4
3. 2016-08-15 19:39:09 admin LOGIN OK FROM 192.168.1.4
4. 2016-08-14 22:48:16 admin FROM 192.168.1.4 SET DENOISE 22
5. 2016-08-14 22:48:09 admin FROM 192.168.1.4 SET DENOISE 19
6. 2016-08-14 22:48:05 admin FROM 192.168.1.4 SET DENOISE 10
7. 2016-08-14 22:48:01 admin FROM 192.168.1.4 SET DENOISE 25
8. 2016-08-14 22:47:51 admin FROM 192.168.1.4 SET MIN SHUTTER 1/10000
9. 2016-08-14 22:47:51 admin FROM 192.168.1.4 SET MAX SHUTTER 1/8
10. 2016-08-14 22:47:50 admin FROM 192.168.1.4 SET MIN SHUTTER 1/10000
11. 2016-08-14 22:47:50 admin FROM 192.168.1.4 SET MAX SHUTTER 1/30
12. 2016-08-14 22:47:45 admin FROM 192.168.1.4 SET EXPOSURE TIME Customize1
13. 2016-08-14 22:47:40 admin FROM 192.168.1.4 SET EXPOSURE TIME Low_noise
14. 2016-08-14 22:47:05 admin LOGIN OK FROM 192.168.1.4
15. 2016-08-12 23:57:39 admin LOGIN OK FROM 192.168.1.232
16. 2016-08-12 16:37:23 admin LOGIN OK FROM 192.168.1.232
17. 2016-08-11 16:22:18 DCS-2330L ACQUIRE DHCP IP 192.168.1.46
18. 2016-08-11 16:22:09 NETWORK RECONNECT
[I POWER CYCLED ROUTER]
19. 2016-08-11 14:33:50 SYSTEM SET HEARTER state OFF
20. 2016-08-11 14:33:49 SYSTEM SET HEARTER state ON
21. 2016-08-11 14:33:48 NETWORK LOSS
22. 2016-08-11 14:33:48 NETWORK INTERFACE CHANGE TO WLAN
23. 2016-08-11 14:33:47 SYSTEM SET IR LIGHT OFF
24. 2016-08-11 14:33:47 SYSTEM BOOTING
[POWER OUTAGE 8/11]
25. 2016-08-09 20:02:54 admin LOGIN OK FROM 192.168.1.50
26. 2016-08-07 19:13:15 admin LOGIN OK FROM 192.168.1.3
27. 2016-08-06 21:46:58 admin LOGIN OK FROM 192.168.1.3
28. 2016-08-06 15:41:27 admin LOGIN OK FROM 192.168.1.50
29. 2016-08-06 00:40:41 admin FROM 192.168.1.3 SET EXPOSURE TIME Auto
30. 2016-08-06 00:40:33 admin FROM 192.168.1.3 SET EXPOSURE TIME Low_noise
31. 2016-08-06 00:40:21 admin FROM 192.168.1.3 SET MAX AGC GAIN 24
32. 2016-08-06 00:40:03 admin LOGIN OK FROM 192.168.1.3
33. 2016-08-05 22:54:44 SYSTEM SET IR LIGHT OFF
34. 2016-08-05 22:54:44 admin FROM 192.168.1.3 SET IR LIGHT OFF MODE
35. 2016-08-05 22:54:29 SYSTEM SET IR LIGHT ON
36. 2016-08-05 22:54:29 admin FROM 192.168.1.3 SET IR LIGHT ON MODE
37. 2016-08-05 22:53:36 SYSTEM SET IR LIGHT OFF
38. 2016-08-05 22:53:36 admin FROM 192.168.1.3 SET IR LIGHT OFF MODE
39. 2016-08-05 22:53:21 SYSTEM SET IR LIGHT ON
40. 2016-08-05 22:53:21 admin FROM 192.168.1.3 SET IR LIGHT ON MODE


I don't remember what this was about on 7/15.


70. 2016-07-16 16:44:06 admin LOGIN OK FROM 192.168.1.3
71. 2016-07-15 17:01:48 DCS-2330L ACQUIRE DHCP IP 192.168.1.46
72. 2016-07-15 17:01:47 SYSTEM SET HEARTER state OFF
73. 2016-07-15 17:01:47 SYSTEM SET HEARTER state ON
74. 2016-07-15 17:01:44 NETWORK RECONNECT
75. 2016-07-15 17:01:43 NETWORK LOSS
76. 2016-07-15 17:01:42 NETWORK INTERFACE CHANGE TO WLAN
77. 2016-07-15 17:01:42 SYSTEM SET IR LIGHT OFF
78. 2016-07-15 17:01:42 SYSTEM BOOTING
79. 2016-07-15 07:41:54 SYSTEM SET HEARTER state ON
80. 2016-07-15 07:41:52 DCS-2330L ACQUIRE DHCP IP 192.168.1.46
81. 2016-07-15 07:41:51 NETWORK RECONNECT
82. 2016-07-15 07:41:50 NETWORK LOSS
83. 2016-07-15 07:41:49 NETWORK INTERFACE CHANGE TO WLAN
84. 2016-07-15 07:41:49 SYSTEM SET IR LIGHT OFF
85. 2016-07-15 07:41:49 SYSTEM BOOTING
86. 2016-07-13 00:49:54 admin LOGIN OK FROM 192.168.1.3



I have a 2330L I need to setup. It does have a newer F/W.  I installed a 2330L with upgraded F/W last fall, and they haven't complained about disconnects.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: remoteCamsFarAway on August 23, 2016, 09:39:34 PM
This is frikken driving me nuts.  Had someone reset my 2330L cams on Aug 16 (about 7 days ago) and I've lost two of the three 2330L cams again. >:(
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: RYAT3 on August 23, 2016, 10:56:29 PM
This is frikken driving me nuts.  Had someone reset my 2330L cams on Aug 16 (about 7 days ago) and I've lost two of the three 2330L cams again. >:(

So the daily reboot option isn't panning out?
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: BAMoh on August 23, 2016, 11:51:01 PM
I don't have any 2330's but I do have a 2630. Following installation it have never disconnected and it is far away from the router. I mean really far and no straight path.

Do you have a dual band router? Try putting it on 2.4Ghz instead of 5Ghz for better range.

Try to reserve an IP address for it. Not static.

Try a less crowded channel. Could be interference from your neighbors' router signals or even other non WIFI devices in your home.

Move the cam adjacent to the router temporarily to see if you get the same issue. In fact do this first. If it is sitting next to the router and dropping out then IMO its defective or maybe even defective in design. If a firmware upgrade doesn't fix it I would contact the BBB and your state consumer AG and hammer DLINK. But that would be the "nuclear" option. Try the other steps first.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: FurryNutz on August 24, 2016, 06:43:21 AM
Really think you should have gone with wired camera system instead of wireless.

My 2 cents.

This is frikken driving me nuts.  Had someone reset my 2330L cams on Aug 16 (about 7 days ago) and I've lost two of the three 2330L cams again. >:(
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: remoteCamsFarAway on September 04, 2016, 01:16:44 PM
This is frikken driving me nuts.  Had someone reset my 2330L cams on Aug 16 (about 7 days ago) and I've lost two of the three 2330L cams again. >:(

So the daily reboot option isn't panning out?

That's correct.  I no longer recommend the daily reboot.  Though my manual experiments showed that it recovered, I have some logs (of course after I left that location) that show that the camera went offline at the time of a scheduled reboot and never came back before a manual power cycle.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: remoteCamsFarAway on September 04, 2016, 01:35:17 PM
I don't have any 2330's but I do have a 2630. Following installation it have never disconnected and it is far away from the router. I mean really far and no straight path.

Do you have a dual band router? Try putting it on 2.4Ghz instead of 5Ghz for better range.

Try to reserve an IP address for it. Not static.

Try a less crowded channel. Could be interference from your neighbors' router signals or even other non WIFI devices in your home.

Move the cam adjacent to the router temporarily to see if you get the same issue. In fact do this first. If it is sitting next to the router and dropping out then IMO its defective or maybe even defective in design. If a firmware upgrade doesn't fix it I would contact the BBB and your state consumer AG and hammer DLINK. But that would be the "nuclear" option. Try the other steps first.

Two of my five cams are 2630L and they have been really stable.  They remain online continuously while the 2330L cams seem to remain online for only about 10 days give or take a few.  They individually drop out, not as a group.  Distance doesn't seem to be a problem.  Two of the three cams are about 10 feet away from the access point.  The third is about 15 feet away.

All cams are already connected to 2.4GHz.

Not sure what you mean assigning IP addresses that are not static.  I thought an assigned IP address was static.  I've manually assigned all IP addresses.  They are not assigned by DHCP.

While there are other signals getting picked up, they are far away and quite weak as this location is in a sparsely populated area.

It turns out that one of my 2630L cams is the one that is the farthest away.  The two 2630L cams seem to be quite reliable (1.03 firmware) while the 2330L cams (1.12 firmware) are totally unreliable.  As I've said earlier, I do believe that there is a design flaw.  I don't know if it is hardware or firmware.  If a hardware defect, the question is if they can improve their robustness with a firmware workaround such as a deadman timer in the firmware (assuming that the firmware is still running).





Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: remoteCamsFarAway on September 04, 2016, 01:37:45 PM
Though I haven't posted lately, I lost the third 2330L cam a couple of days after my August 16 posting.  Was hoping that a power outage would reset them but I don't think we've had one since then.  Today requested caretaker to go in and reset the 2330L cams.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: remoteCamsFarAway on September 04, 2016, 01:41:12 PM
Really think you should have gone with wired camera system instead of wireless.

My 2 cents.

This is frikken driving me nuts.  Had someone reset my 2330L cams on Aug 16 (about 7 days ago) and I've lost two of the three 2330L cams again. >:(

Something to be said there short of needing to run wires.  However, the 2630L cams don't seem to have the same disease as the 2330L cams so it seems to be dependent on which cams are in the system. 

That said, I am installing two new POE cams in November, 4602EV and 6517.  Hopefully I don't discover a new disease of the POE flavor.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: BAMoh on September 04, 2016, 03:55:16 PM
I don't have any 2330's but I do have a 2630. Following installation it have never disconnected and it is far away from the router. I mean really far and no straight path.

Do you have a dual band router? Try putting it on 2.4Ghz instead of 5Ghz for better range.

Try to reserve an IP address for it. Not static.

Try a less crowded channel. Could be interference from your neighbors' router signals or even other non WIFI devices in your home.

Move the cam adjacent to the router temporarily to see if you get the same issue. In fact do this first. If it is sitting next to the router and dropping out then IMO its defective or maybe even defective in design. If a firmware upgrade doesn't fix it I would contact the BBB and your state consumer AG and hammer DLINK. But that would be the "nuclear" option. Try the other steps first.

Two of my five cams are 2630L and they have been really stable.  They remain online continuously while the 2330L cams seem to remain online for only about 10 days give or take a few.  They individually drop out, not as a group.  Distance doesn't seem to be a problem.  Two of the three cams are about 10 feet away from the access point.  The third is about 15 feet away.

All cams are already connected to 2.4GHz.

Not sure what you mean assigning IP addresses that are not static.  I thought an assigned IP address was static.  I've manually assigned all IP addresses.  They are not assigned by DHCP.

While there are other signals getting picked up, they are far away and quite weak as this location is in a sparsely populated area.

It turns out that one of my 2630L cams is the one that is the farthest away.  The two 2630L cams seem to be quite reliable (1.03 firmware) while the 2330L cams (1.12 firmware) are totally unreliable.  As I've said earlier, I do believe that there is a design flaw.  I don't know if it is hardware or firmware.  If a hardware defect, the question is if they can improve their robustness with a firmware workaround such as a deadman timer in the firmware (assuming that the firmware is still running).
On some routers you can reserve an IP address. This is different from a static IP address. But if you set a static thats fine. Same purpose. I have reserved an IP address for cams that were flaky and lost connection at first setup. After reserving, they are rock steady and never lose connection. I really have no answer for your 2330 issues except you probably wnat to run a long LAN cable or force DLINK to refund you on the camera.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: webo on September 12, 2016, 12:48:51 AM
Solved in my case, i have a dcs-933, after tip here about someone replaced the power adapter i tryed that, and it solved my problem.
i have not tested voltage on the old one yet, but i will.
i use the camera outside, and it has been operated in -25deg`c. still good  :)
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: FurryNutz on September 12, 2016, 07:17:41 AM
Glad you solved your problem. Power adapters have been know to go out. Especially encountering electrical storms and brown outs.

Enjoy.

Solved in my case, i have a dcs-933, after tip here about someone replaced the power adapter i tryed that, and it solved my problem.
i have not tested voltage on the old one yet, but i will.
i use the camera outside, and it has been operated in -25deg`c. still good  :)
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: remoteCamsFarAway on October 01, 2016, 07:00:13 AM
Solved in my case, i have a dcs-933, after tip here about someone replaced the power adapter i tryed that, and it solved my problem.
i have not tested voltage on the old one yet, but i will.
i use the camera outside, and it has been operated in -25deg`c. still good  :)

Interesting about the power adapter.  However, it is not likely any one bad power adapter since this has happened on all three of my 2330s.  It could only be that they had a bad batch since I bought them all around the same time.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: FurryNutz on October 04, 2016, 01:14:14 PM
You'll have to put a voltage testers on your adapters to make sure they are working to spec. I recently had an issue with a cell phone micro cell, phones would not connect and the microcell would not sync with the phone service. I put a new adapter on and the microcell is now working.  ;D

Solved in my case, i have a dcs-933, after tip here about someone replaced the power adapter i tryed that, and it solved my problem.
i have not tested voltage on the old one yet, but i will.
i use the camera outside, and it has been operated in -25deg`c. still good  :)

Interesting about the power adapter.  However, it is not likely any one bad power adapter since this has happened on all three of my 2330s.  It could only be that they had a bad batch since I bought them all around the same time.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: remoteCamsFarAway on October 09, 2016, 06:16:54 PM
Thanks for the heads up.  I'll check the voltages.  Maybe I got a marginal batch of regulators with my 2330L cameras.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: FurryNutz on October 10, 2016, 07:40:04 AM
Anything is possible with this things. Helps to narrow down and weed out any issues.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: remoteCamsFarAway on March 16, 2017, 09:11:26 AM
Looks like this may be a dead topic but here's an update to my many postings on 2330L cams disconnecting. 

Back on site at my remote location where power is sometimes unstable and my 2330L cams do not come back online (1.14 firmware) though my 2630L cams do.  Looks like there may have been a power hiccup last night as reported by UPS system on router while I was about 60 miles away.  Lost 2330L cam.  Just a few days ago installed a DSP-W110 power switch in front of 2330L cam.  Remotely cycled power to camera via from about 60 miles away and was able to brink camera back online.  SCORE ONE FOR RECOVERING A DOWNED 2330L.  The jury is out on how robust this will be as we will be leaving for 3 months in another week.  I'm sure I'll have more opportunities to try this so long as the W110 doesn't lose its brains also.  Also unfortunate that you need to couple a remote power switch product with the camera for reliable access.

One concern I still have is that the DSP-W110 doesn't have a web servers as do the cameras.  I often access the cameras directly and bypass the dlink apps because I can sometimes get to them directly via port forwarding in my router while they show offline in myDlinkLite.  Dlink tells me that I have to go thru their app for the switch and I'm concerned that the switches will go "offline" to their app like the cameras do to their apps.

Will update over the next few months regarding robustness of this solution once I have more run time.  Hopefully this feedback will help others with this problem.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: FurryNutz on March 16, 2017, 09:16:16 AM
Ya, the small DSP units are kind of basic in there features and functionality. So no UI to speak of.

Glad the DSP can be used to help power cycle the camera.

Thanks for letting us know. Hope it helps future users.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: RYAT3 on March 16, 2017, 10:01:16 AM
Now that might be something worth reverse engineering, to turn on/off remotely via IP.
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: remoteCamsFarAway on March 16, 2017, 12:13:13 PM
Note that the DSP-W110 is not totally dumb however since it did notify me of and install a firmware update when I added it so it has potential!
Title: Re: My camera keeps disconnecting
Post by: RYAT3 on January 02, 2020, 07:13:14 PM


One last possibility is to implement powerline wifi.  I have no experience with this and don't know what distances you can connect over.  My worst case connection would be from the router connection through potentially three breaker panels, one of which has a whole house surge protector (could be a problem since it might mitigate the powerline signal in the house wiringl) and then to the final destination.  Total distance run could be 100 feet as the wires run and through 3 circuit breakers.

If you have any experience with any of the POE higher resolution cams with at least 30 ft IR illumination I'd be interested in your suggestions.  Also experience with powerline ethernet connections would help.

I know this is 2.5 years late probably, but I hope this meets you well.

I just upgraded a remote site to powerline ethernet.

Cams in DNR-202L (4 DCS-2330L, 2 outside wifi, 2 inside wifi) -- around 3pm everyday all the cams would start to flash RED connection problems. This would go on for a couple hours depending.
FPS when viewing a single camera was aobut 15-24FPS) usually, all 4 about 7-10FPS.

I bought 2 1,000Mb/s (1 Gb) powerline adapter.  I tested one out at my apartment.  Appeared to be a disaster.  I hooked up to my router, and tried to upload a file (50GB) from my laptop to my NAS from various outlets.  If I could get 25-50Mb/s I'd be mega happy.  Well, first test was best test, 12Mb/s.
Inside the box it said "install inline on the same electrical network" ( speeds not guaranteed on separate or something worse). 
test from 2 other outlets were worse - 6 and maybe 8 Mb/s.  Great!  Well, if I can get 12Mb/s that might be enough at the site.

Oddly - small jpeg files moved quickly and was responsive.  Internet browsing appeared to be not bad. I probably should have hit speedtest.net.

Well, I returned the one, and picked up a 2000Mb/s with powerline passthrough.

Well, to my suprise, this turned out like a champ.

The furthest indoor camera would not make a connection to the router it was connected via powerline.  Fair enough.

Basically - after a bunch of testing - Room 1 (1 camera DCS 2330L furthest away) feeds Room 2 with 2 cameras (DCS2330L), with 1Gb/s adapter.  Room 2 takes all 3 cameras into a switch, which feeds Room 3 with router with 2 Gb/s adapter.  Mind you these are all on separate breakers, so to me this is almost like a miracle.

Only problem we had was in room 3, with the router, the HD over the air TV got a lot of static.

Further moving the power line adapter to the other side of the room solved the problem (with a 25ft ethernet wire to the router).

Now all those wired cams are rocking 30fps/s solidly, no more red flashing connection problems in DNR202L, and all are showing 15fps in 4 camera mode.

The 2 remaining outdoor cams are near the router, so they are doing okay - and no longer flash connection problems either.

Playback speeds are very good too.

This saved me from having to crawl into a nasty crawlspace and try to feed more wire up through.   The only wire that was fed through is to the main router at the house.


I also got some great IR illuminators that light everything up.  I'll post a link to those as I am very sure dlink does not sell those.

I have two 20x10 Axton IR Illuminators.  https://axtontech.com/portfolio/nano-at-5me-a-poe-infrared/   depending on what/how you are pointed, that will cover 1 dcs 2330l camera.  At this point, you can turn off the IR illuminator in teh DCS 2330L, it becomes not needed at all.  Runs good on PoE, which we have used an injector in this case.

Also upgraded their 2012? PC which was on it's last leg (cpu fan blasting 100%), 4gb being sucked dry, avast eating memory, pagefile usage out of control, computer running just to page memory only to page it again probably.  Got a Intel I9700F, 16GB, nvidia rtx-2600super, this pc barely breaks a sweat on  1 core.  can't even hear it running.