Foscam Pro – Common Problems and Resolutions
“It was working before, but now I can’t see my Foscam cameras remotely but I can still see them when connected to my home Wi-Fi.”
There are a couple of reasons why the connection to your Foscam is not working.
1. You may have set up your remote address with an IP address (numbers and periods) instead of a dynamic DNS address (DDNS) and your remote IP address has changed. Visit http://synapticedge.com/yourpublicip/ to see if your public IP has changed. You MUST visit that address from a computer or device on the same network as the camera for valid results.
2. Or you may have set up your remote address with a DDNS address, but the DDNS address is not being updated by a client.
The DDNS address that comes with the camera that looks like “ab1234.myfoscam.org” uses the camera as the update client. Login to the camera’s web interface and check that the DDNS service is running.
If you have setup a DDNS address through NO-IP, or DynDNS or other DDNS providers, you must have a client configured to update the address with your current IP. Foscam cameras can update this and most modern router’s can also update your DDNS address. If you haven’t setup an update client, your IP address probably changed and your DDNS address is now pointed at an old IP address. Log in to your DDNS account and check if the IP is current. Then setup your router or camera to update the service.
“How do I setup email motion alerts on my Foscam camera?”
Please see this: http://foscam.us/blog/foscamipcameras/email-motion-detection-picture-alerts/
“My Foscam would connect remotely and locally before, but now I can’t see my Foscam at all.”
You may have set up your camera without giving it a static IP address. Because of this, the camera’s local IP address may have changed. This prevents the app from connecting locally. This would also throw off your port forwarding settings and break the remote connection.
Use the IP Camera Tool or Equipment search tool that came on the CD with the router. If you don’t have the software, it can be downloaded here:
For Windows: http://foscam.us/downloads/SearchTool_Win_v1.0.0.5.zip
For Mac: http://foscam.us/downloads/SearchTool_Mac_V1.0.0.3.zip
Check if the IP address for your camera is different than what you have for the local address in the app. If that is the case, this is the problem. Change your camera’s IP address to static and then reconfigure the port forwarding settings in your router to match the new local address.
Set your camera’s IP to static.
“I switched internet providers and now my Foscam cameras don’t work.”
or … “I got a new router and now my Foscam cameras don’t work.”
This problem occurs because the cameras were configured for and with the old router or modem.
For the cameras to work, they need to be able to connect to the Wi-Fi network of the router. If you get a new router, the Wi-Fi network name and password is often changed as well. In addition to that, the router’s subnet may be different. On the old router the subnet might be 192.168.1.x and on the new router it could be 10.0.1.x and vice versa.
If the subnets are the same, you may be in luck. Just change the new router’s network name (SSID) and password to match what you had on your old network. Then restart the cameras. If the subnets are the same on the new and old router, the camera should connect again locally.
If the subnets are different, it will be harder to connect again. First try changing the router’s network name and password to match your old one. Then use the IP Camera Tool or Equipment search tool that came on the CD with the router. If you don’t have the software, it can be downloaded here:
For Windows: http://foscam.us/downloads/SearchTool_Win_v1.0.0.5.zip
For Mac: http://foscam.us/downloads/SearchTool_Mac_V1.0.0.3.zip
When you bring up the search tool and the camera was able to connect to your router, it may appear in the list and have a “subnet error” or “subnet mismatch.”
You will need to update the camera’s network configuration so that it is on the same subnet as your new router.
To find your new router’s current subnet, connect to the new router’s Wi-Fi with your iPhone or iPad. Then go to the settings app and select Wi-Fi. Tap the info button next to the connected network and it will show you the router or gateway that it is connected with. The first three digits separated by periods, is your subnet.
Common subnets are:
192.168.1.x
192.168.0.x
192.168.2.x
10.0.1.x
Your camera needs an IP address on the new subnet outside the router’s DHCP scope. The DHCP scope is a group of addresses that your router assigns to devices that connect to your network that don’t need a static IP. The device requests an address when connecting and the router gives the device an IP address out of this pool of addresses. Look at your iPhone or iPad network settings again. You may notice that it’s IP address ends in .102 or .201. or .15 What is important here is the approximate range of the number. If the number is in the hundreds, avoid the hundreds for your cameras new IP. If the iPhone has an IP in under 100, avoid under 100 for your new IP.
For instance, if I saw my iPhone had an IP of 192.168.1.15, I would choose an IP for my camera such as 192.168.1.222 to avoid the DHCP scope. If my iPhone had an IP such as 192.168.1.202, I would choose an IP for my camera such as 192.168.1.55. To know for certain, refer to your router’s manual or the DHCP configuration page in your router’s settings.
Once you have determined an IP for you camera, update it through the IP Camera Tool. Right click the device and choose network settings. Set your IP to your determined IP and fill out the rest of the information like so:
Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0
Router or Gateway: 192.168.1.1
DNS Server: 192.168.1.1
Where “192.168.1” is the first three numbers of your subnet. Most routers (gateways) typically have the IP address ending in “1” so that is what we use above.
Once that is set, enter your username and password for the camera and choose OK. The camera should reboot an connect with the network again and show up in the search tool under the newly assigned IP address.
The above will only solve the problem of getting the camera’s local connection working. The port forwarding settings that allow the remote connection to work aren’t configured in the new router and will need to be configured again.
Open Foscam Pro and choose edit cams. Tap “Edit Camera” then tap the camera to edit. Find and remember the remote port. You now have all the information you need to set up port forwarding in your new router.
To set up port forwarding for your new router, you will need to know:
The camera’s local IP.
The camera’s local Port.
Your remote port.
Sometimes the remote port and the local port can be the same. Some routers require they be the same, many do not.
Please see our setup guide here for setting up the port forwarding: Setup Port Forwarding
“My HD Foscam camera has pan,tilt, and zoom but the app isn’t giving me that capability.”
Open Foscam Pro. Tap edit cams, then select “Edit Camera” then select your camera with the problem.
Tap the test button under the local or remote address. Wait for the test to finish and tap done. This will refresh the app’s discovery of your camera capabilities.
(If you have suggestions for the Foscam Pro iPhone app or iPad app, please let us know).