Do you support my camera?
So you have probably looked at our supported cameras page and don't see your camera in our list.
There are several types of cameras we support, some that have a complete automated install on Vanquish such as Axis, Sony, Foscam and webcams and others that require a couple of extra steps to setup (D-Link, Trendnet, Hikvision, etc)
There are 2 main things you are looking for in your camera specifications:
- FTP - Vanquish uses the FTP to transmit the video or images. Check that your camera supports FTP of either images or video.
- A stream, either RTSP or MJPEG - You can then add a camera in Vanquish that is either Generic H.264 (for an RTSP stream) or Generic MJPEG.
1) How do I port-forward my camera?
You can read our port-forwarding guide here.
2) Can I switch plans at anytime?
Sure. When you switch from one plan to another we'll apply the change immediately and automatically pro-rate any pricing differences.
3) Is there a contract term?
No. We offer monthly plans with no contract term. Note -- all our plans auto-renew until you cancel. You simply pay as you go and are free to cancel at anytime. There are no refunds after 30 days.
4) What payment methods do you accept?
We accept Visa and Mastercard. We use a global 3rd party payment partner who processes all our transactions.
5) How do your recording storage limits work?
Our storage limits refer to the number of days we keep your media. If you have a 7 day plan, any recorded media from the last 7 days will be saved. Same for the 14, 30, 60, and 90 day plans.
6) Do you sell cameras? Where do I buy cameras for this service?
We do offer cameras although we allow our customers to purchase the camera of their choice while we remain focused on developing a cloud service. You can view our list of supported cameras which also provides Amazon links if you wish to buy some online.
7) What's the difference between a webcam and IP camera?
We use the term "webcam" to describe computer cameras that are connected (or built-in) to your PC/Mac. These are the cameras commonly used for Skype and other applications. IP cameras are standalone devices that normally connect over WiFi, also commonly referred to as "Network Cameras".
8) What if I don't see my camera listed on your website?
No problem, just contact our support team and we will let you know if it works with our service. Or better yet, just try our free plan and see if it works!
9) Can I connect Vanquish to my DVR/NVR system?
No. We connect directly to the camera over the internet and do not support connection to a local DVR or other network-attached storage.
10) Can I download recordings from my cloud account?
Yes, all our paid plans include the abiliy to download individual recordings.
11) Is there an easy way to delete older recordigs I don't want saved anymore?
Yes, you can delete any individual media file. Note that we automatically delete any media older than your storage limit so we take care of this for you.
12) What kind of support do you provide?
You can find content to get more familiar with our capabilities by looking at our tutorial's page, our knowledge base, and you can always support.
13) I don't see my camera listed. How can I determine if you support it?
We support any IP camera that supports MJPEG/H.264 streaming and has an FTP client for recording uploads. If you're not sure, the best thing is to contact our support team or just try our Free Plan and test your camera out first.
14) Why am I only seeing images being uploaded to my account? Don't you support video recordings for every camera?
Not necessarily -- it depends on the camera. For webcams, Axis and Foscam H.264 cameras (FI98* model numbers) we support video recordings. For all other cameras, if the camera can upload video clips via FTP (instead of images), we can support it. Many customers are surprised their camera only uploads images on a motion event rather than a video clip so be sure to verify this in your camera documentation.
15) I already have this free app with my camera, why do I need Vanquish?
Most free apps provided with cameras are "viewer apps" only -- meaning you can view a single or small number of connected cameras. Vanquish provides this functionality, plus the ability to store recorded video in the cloud (we call this cloud storage), an easy-to-use interface to manage and review your clips, all within a single app to manage all your devices. These features go well beyond the apps provided by camera manufacturers.
16) Do I have to port forward my camera?
You will most likely need to port-forward your camera through Vanquish. This isn't required if you're using an Amcrest, webcam or for newer Foscam "P" cameras, but for most other IP cameras it is. We've provided a port-forwarding guide that explains how to do this.
Keep in mind that if you want to access your camera (with or without Vanquish) from outside your network, this will be a necessity. If you simply want to use our cloud storage feature and FTP videos or images, this is not a requirement.
If you still want to use Vanquish without port forwarding and take advantage of cloud storage follow these steps:
- When you add your camera with the Vanquish add camera wizard go to step 2 called Network.
- Instead of filling in the network information, press the Skip button. This will mean you won't be able to get a Live View of your camera but you can still save motion events.
- Vanquish will provide FTP credentials for you to setup motion detection in your camera interface.
17) What type of camera do I have? MJPEG or H.264?
Typically older cameras are MJPEG cameras where newer ones have H.264 support. Your camera's documentation should let you know what you have. Some support both. Typically it is better to use H.264 as it has better compression thereby saving you some bandwidth, however you can't beat the responsiveness on a Live View with MJPEG cameras. Whatever you have make sure to follow the guides appropriately. Either MJPEG or H.264.
18) Do I need a static IP?
No, it's not necessary. If your IP changes frequently you can use a service like DDNS. Often that is provided as a free service from your camera. See some details here.
19) Failure to play the selected media
Common issue to play any media on your timeline. Reasons are typically corrupt video or images sent from the camera. Usually meaning outdated firmware on your camera. Some tips found here might help.
20) What are the supported mobile devices?
iOS - 9.x, 10.x, 11.x
Android - 5.x, 6.x, 7.x, 8.x
21) What are the supported web browsers?
Latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Safari.
Do you have customer service?
Of course! Our friendly and knowledgeable customer services reps are available to answer your questions 24/7/365.
Not Getting Recordings?
When you setup your camera with Vanquish the whole goal is to get motion detection events. So you should see events in your Timeline. They can either be images or videos depending on your camera's capabilities and/or your personal preference.
How you setup motion detection events on your camera depends on the model.
- Amcrest/Foscam/Axis/Sony/Hikvision/Vivotek we can automatically configure your camera with "Auto Setup". This is where we write settings on your camera during the Vanquish add camera wizard to enable motion detection.
- Other cameras (D-Link, Trendnet for example) require you to take action and setup motion detection in the camera's interface. This depends on the model but typically involves 3 steps. See section 3 of the of this guide.
After setting this up on your camera if you are still not getting motion detection events in your Timeline here are some things you can check.
1. Ensure that your cameras are ON. Click on your "Username" menu and look for your current display message. "Turn Events Off" means that Global Motion Detection is enabled, this is what you want. "Turn Events On" means that your Global Motion Detection is disabled, you don't want this. These setting affects all cameras simultaneously.
Motion Detection can be turned on/off on a per camera basis as well. Click on the arrow to the right of the camera in the Timeline and choose "Edit". Make sure that "Motion Detection" is selected in the Recording Mode (or with a business plan: Event Triggers has Motion Detection selected).
2. Reconfigure your camera connection. From the Timeline page, click the dropdown arrow to the right of the camera, select "Edit" and click the "Reconfigure Connection" button.
3. Check your camera's connectivity. Can you go to the internal IP of the camera without problems?
4. Update the firmware! There is a reason your camera has released new firmware. Bug fixes. So make sure you get the latest and update.
5. If you used Auto Setup with a certain camera type, try removing your camera from Vanquish and adding it again. This resets the settings required for Vanquish.
6. Vanquish relies on motion events sent from the camera. Every camera has system logs. Does it show motion events recently?
7. Did your IP change recently? Take a look at some essential networking tips. Often DNS is the culprit as it can't resolve to Vanquish's servers.
Not Getting Motion Alerts?
There could be a couple of reasons to why you're not getting email or push notifiction alerts on mobile.
1) Notifications for motion alerts are turned off
Select the camera that you are having issues with in the Timeline. Click the arrow to engage the menu. Select "Edit".
The box below should appear.
- In the "Notifications", ensure that you have a checkmark beside "Motion Detection.
- Make sure that "Motion Detection" is set to "ON".
- Use the "Test Connection" button at the bottom of the page to quickly test the camera integrity.
2) No Email is Setup to Receive Notifications
Flash vs HTML5 video player
In general support exists for the latest browsers and includes:
- Chrome (recommended)
- Firefox
- Microsoft Edge
- Safari
One thing to keep in mind is what type of player you'll use to view your video events and live view.
When you log into your account you may not notice but you could be presented with one of two different video players.
- Flash player
- HTML5 player
By default we use the Flash player where we can. If you have Flash installed and enabled then it's the most optimal experience. Flash has real time streaming (less lag) and a number of other features such as player controls and audio that is lacking in HTML5.
Because we all know that Flash is slowly going away in the web world we have HTML5 as the fallback player. We will detect if Flash is disabled and immediately load the HTML5 player.
Until HTML5 completely catches up, we recommend enabling Flash.
To enable Flash varies per browser. Consult the browser documentation on instructions. As an example a very quick process for Chrome (assuming Flash is already installed) is to click on the secure lock to bring up the flash menu.
Select Flash and change to "Always allow on this site". That will force Flash to always load.
To check if Flash is working, just right click on the live view (after it's loaded) and you should see the Flash settings available.
Note: For MJPEG cameras the only option is to use the Flash player, otherwise you will get a message that the "Live view is not supported" message.
Not Getting Live View?
Live View isn't working? Are you getting a "Cannot connect" message? Here's a few things to look at in order to make things right:
1. Where do I even start?
If your camera isn't a Foscam P2P, Amcrest or Axis O3C model; in order for the "Live" button to work, you'll need to have the camera port forwarded. Read our support article, if you're not sure where to start. It's not as intimidating as it seems! All routers have some variation of a "Virtual Servers" (or "Port Forwarding") list. You need to find out through your camera documentation if your camera requires HTTP or RTSP ports forwarded or both. Most of the time the default RTSP port is 554 and the default HTTP port is 80. These need to be routed to an external port. Take a look at the screenshot from this D-Link router to get an idea of what this area may look like on your router, then go to portforward.com to find out where to find this area on your router:
2. Great the default ports are 80 and 554; how do I know what IP my camera is on?
Typically the camera will use a dynamic IP. So it will randomly assign a private IP (not to be confused with your external IP). Otherwise you can assign it (we recommend this). You would need to manually assign your camera an IP address. This IP address would be - assigned by you - to a port in your Virtual list (see #1). In your own private network, you have your own private IP addresses. They likely start with 192.xxx.xx.xx or 10.xxx.xx.xx. On a lot of cameras you'll see a "Test" button to ensure that the address is not in use.
3. So, what and where is my camera documentation?!
Good question! The short answer is that you likely had - at least - a quick start guide and a CD packaged with your camera. It's likely on that CD. Also, do a Google search for your camera model and the word "manual". Easy!
4. How do I know that my port is open?
The idea is that the port needs to be accessible outside of your network. You'll need to know your external IP Address. Type "What is my IP address" into a Google Search bar in order to find out. Use the Open Port Check Tool to find out if it's working! If the result is "closed" this would mean that we don't have access to your "Live" camera feed.
5. My port is closed! What do I do?
Well, don't panic! Is your network down temporarily? Can you browse the web? Did you double-check that you followed you did everything in step 1? Start with the basics - reboot your camera. Reboot your router. More importantly, make sure your camera is on! Maybe your external IP Address has changed (see step 4). If that's the case, you'll need to adjust the settings on the camera accordingly. Look into DDNS as a workaround! Maybe your camera manufacturer offers a free DDNS service. If not, there's plenty of options out there.
6. Okay "Live" sort of works but it's always timing out on me!? What gives?
We'd like everyone to be able to view their respective cameras "Live" until the end of time, however, it is resource intensive and uses your bandwidth. To save those resources we provide a 10 minute timeout. You'll have to click "refresh" to start it back up again.
7. And about those webcams...
Keep in mind that your webcam must be manually started. If the host computer is restarted - for example, after Windows Updates are applied - the webcam must be started again by logging into Vanquish and clicking on the webcam within the Timeline and choosing "Start Webcam". If this isn't done, you will not be able to connect "Live".
Timeline FAQ
1. How do I add or edit my cameras?
All the camera controls are now available from the new camera list. To edit a camera, click the dropdown arrow next to the camera name. An edit option will appear. To add a camera, select "Add Camera" from the bottom of the camera list.
2. How can I watch multiple live streams?
By default we show multiple cameras at once. You can even move them around and resize them to get the layout you prefer. Save that layout so it becomes your default view.
3. How do I start a webcam?
The "Start Webcam" option is now available from the camera list dropdown menu.
4. Where did Global Motion Detection go?
There is a new option from the main dropdown menu called "Turn Cameras Off" or "Turn Cameras On". This will disable recording and motion notifications for all cameras.
5. How do I modify my Motion Detection (MD) Area?
If your camera supports MD area, these controls are now available by selecting the "gear" icon in the top-right corner of the main media player. When you click the gear icon, a "Motion Detection" menu option will appear that will open the MD controls.
6. Where can I control Pan-Tilt (PT)?
If your camera supports PT, these controls are available by selecting the "gear" icon in the top-right corner of the main media player. When you click the gear icon, a "Pan-Tilt" menu option will appear that will open the PT controls. This is the same as the Motion Detection Area above.
HTTPS Support for Axis, Foscam and Sony Cameras
On all cameras where Vanquish is sending configuration commands directly to the device, Vanquish offers the option to use an encrypted HTTPS communication channel. This feature will enhance the privacy of the communications between your device and our servers. It is highly recommended you enable this option when setting up your camera.
Here a few things you need to know.
- This feature is available for Axis, Foscam and Sony cameras.
- This option is enabled by default when you first add the camera, next to the HTTP port field.
- This option is available in "Auto Setup" mode since this is the only mode when we are sending configuration commands directly to the camera.
- You can always edit the camera and enable HTTPS after initial setup.
- When this option is enabled, you must provide the camera's HTTPS port not the HTTP port. This will require checking what port your camera has assigned for HTTPS.
- You also need to port forward the correct HTTPS port.
- The type of encryption used is either TLS or SSL, depending on the specific camera model.
Pan and Tilt
If your camera supports our Auto-Setup configuration - and depending on it's individual abilities - you can control the Pan & Tilt feature through Vanquish.
Click on your camera in the Timeline, then select the settings "cog". From here, choose Pan and Tilt.
Use any of the positional arrows to align your camera as needed. Press the Reset button to set the camera to it's default position. After you've chosen a desired position, you can set that as the default position by clicking the Set Home button.
Keep in mind that not every camera supports this feature.
Audio Support
The Vanquish platform supports the AAC audio format for use on our web and mobile applications. Not all cameras support this standard so audio support is dependent on the hardware you are using with Vanquish.
Whitelisting your IPs
Updated: Dec. 23, 2018
Note: This is a significant change from the Sept. 8th update.
This is not necessary unless you block outgoing traffic or if you want to secure your network even further you can whitelist these IPs:
General:
54.243.204.214
54.173.10.190
54.161.80.193
34.235.159.247
54.197.233.26
54.145.217.216
54.236.34.197
54.197.19.24
34.205.41.253
52.90.84.108
52.205.249.244
18.214.36.97
18.234.199.200
52.87.207.248
100.26.242.65
34.238.40.245
Motion Recording:
18.206.155.230
18.208.184.99
18.212.165.32
34.205.172.111
52.3.229.218
18.215.117.210
18.214.36.254
18.204.23.246
54.81.41.215
34.201.39.144
Motion Recording queue:
34.201.9.214
Notifications:
34.206.1.131
35.171.193.248
107.23.79.251
34.205.84.184
52.73.205.253
34.200.248.123
54.174.136.58
35.171.161.129
54.164.86.235
34.227.108.230
54.175.153.147
34.230.47.240
Continuous Recording:
23.20.73.165
54.152.138.184
54.166.26.162
54.234.125.66
54.89.146.1
54.89.253.53
54.162.69.202
34.201.127.157
54.165.255.160
18.206.126.37
54.80.240.161
18.206.254.112
18.233.224.164
35.171.160.65
54.152.81.60
54.165.115.135
174.129.191.91
52.90.75.54
52.202.13.104
18.212.52.62
34.203.247.203
Axis cameras only:
107.22.79.84
54.209.125.240
34.239.117.68
184.72.202.171
107.22.151.62
18.233.10.126
54.211.115.222
18.233.0.123
34.227.148.162
Axis direct connect (Admin Portal only):
18.208.197.239
Axis camera connection:
54.208.36.188
54.144.179.12
P2P cameras (i.e. Amcrest):
18.207.200.126
54.164.114.80
54.210.149.7
107.23.233.106
52.90.88.253
52.73.140.90
54.88.9.177
52.91.65.92
34.207.171.69
54.226.164.99
34.239.46.47
34.201.217.96
54.89.234.2
54.234.211.130
35.174.1.24
54.234.100.16
35.173.130.159
34.235.162.123
P2P cameras (i.e. Amcrest) Live View:
54.162.224.230
54.224.109.50
P2P cameras (i.e. Amcrest) configuration:
18.214.26.128
54.89.248.8
Foscam cameras only:
54.237.11.247
Please note that these IPs are subject to change. Check back here to verify your list.