CCTV Cameras and Viewing over the Internet: Why the Camera Feed Won't Open on Your Phone, How to Make Access Reliable and How to Avoid Turning Your Cameras into a Window for Strangers

A shop owner on holiday wants to make sure everything's fine. Parents check how the nanny is getting on with the baby. A dacha owner looks to see whether the gate is snowed in. Remote viewing is one of the main reasons people install CCTV. And one of the most common complaints is "it works on site but won't open on my phone" or "the video lags and keeps cutting out". There's also the opposite problem, which people discover too late: cameras with default passwords, open to the internet, can be watched by strangers. Let's look at how remote access works and how to make it reliable and secure.

How cameras become reachable from the internet

• The manufacturer's cloud service. The recorder or camera connects to the manufacturer's server, and the phone app receives video through that server. It's the simplest method: nothing needs configuring on the router, and it works even without a public address. The downside is dependence on the manufacturer's server and the need to trust it.
• VPN. The phone connects to a secure tunnel into the home or shop network and sees the recorder as if it were right there. The safest option: the recorder isn't visible from the internet.
• Port forwarding. A port to the recorder is opened on the router. It works, but the recorder becomes visible to the whole internet, and if its software is outdated or its password weak, it gets hacked. We don't recommend this method without good reason.

Why it won't open on your phone

• Shared NAT at the provider. Many providers, especially mobile ones, don't give a unique public address. Port forwarding and VPN won't work then; you need cloud access or a static address.
• The address has changed. If the public address is dynamic and changes, an app set up for a specific address stops connecting.
• The recorder has lost its cloud connection after a router change, a Wi-Fi password change or a change to network settings.
• An outdated app or firmware incompatible with the current version of the cloud service.
• Wrong network settings on the recorder: gateway, DNS, or an address from a different range after a router replacement.

Why the video lags

When you view over the internet, the video travels from the cameras to you, so it uses the upload speed at the home or shop end. Many plans have upload far lower than download, and on mobile internet it's unstable too. Several high-resolution cameras can easily exceed the available speed. The solution is to set up an extra lower-resolution, lower-bitrate stream for remote viewing, while keeping the full-quality main stream for recording on site. It's also important that cameras and the recorder are connected by cable rather than over weak Wi-Fi.

Camera security

Cameras and recorders are among the most frequently hacked devices on the internet. The reasons are always the same: default passwords nobody changed, firmware not updated for years and open ports. Hacked cameras are used for snooping and are also recruited into botnets to attack other systems. The basic rules:

• A unique long password on the recorder and each camera, with separate accounts for viewing.
• Updated firmware on the recorder and cameras.
• A separate network for cameras, with no guests or home devices connected to it.
• Access through the manufacturer's cloud with two-factor protection or via VPN, with no open ports.
• Cameras in living spaces only with privacy in mind, and with the option to switch them off.

Recording when the internet drops

Remote access is only for viewing. Recording should happen on site, to the recorder's drive or a memory card, and not depend on the internet. If cameras work only through the cloud, recording stops when the internet goes down. The recorder and router should be connected to a UPS so a short power cut doesn't interrupt recording and connectivity. It's also useful to set up phone notifications when the cameras lose connection.

What our technician does

1. Checks the cameras, recorder, router and the type of connection to the provider.
2. Chooses the remote access method: the manufacturer's cloud, VPN or a static address.
3. Changes default passwords, updates firmware and closes dangerous open ports.
4. Sets up video streams to suit the upload speed, a separate network for the cameras and a UPS.
5. Connects the app on the owners' phones and tests viewing over mobile internet and notifications.

A real example

A shop owner in Didube hadn't been able to view his cameras from his phone for several weeks — ever since the provider replaced the router. On top of that, the recorder's log showed logins from unfamiliar addresses in other countries: a port had been open on the old router, and the password was still the default. Our technician reset and updated the recorder, set new passwords, moved the cameras to a separate network, closed the port forwarding and set up cloud access with two-factor protection. A lighter stream was configured for phone viewing, so the video now opens quickly even over mobile internet.

Call a technician

If your cameras won't open on your phone, the video lags or you're not sure they're secure, we'll come to any district of Tbilisi around the clock. Learn more on our CCTV, router setup and network troubleshooting pages.