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Camera
Monitor
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2021
2020
2019
New to the app that was recommended by my significant other. Having troubles however connecting the monitor (my phone) to the security camera (his phone). We are in two different states helping our parents during the pandemic.
Please add an option to connect camera via email or message link after selecting the monitor mode when first open the newly downloaded app from the google play store. May also include it in the invite friends link.
This should be achieved easily by "sharing" the camera. The owner of the camera can go to the camera settings and choose "Sharing overview". When there, click the "Plus" icon and send the invitation to whoever you want. You can send the invitation using email, WhatsApp, SMS or whatever After receiving the invitation, the person just clicks it and he will see this camera on his phone. If the application isn't installed on his phone, he will be taken to Play store first.
I am using the app on 2 old smartphones remotely on my allotment. One of the phones has a sim card the other uses Bluetooth to get full network connectivity from the linked phone. I have housed the phones in a purpose made, weatherproof, box with a solar panel, producing a maximum of 22V and 10 watts. Also, in the box, I have a solar charge controller with 2 USB connections to keep the phones charged and a 12V 7Ah battery. I am finding that the phones still consume power during the night when they are switched off, remotely, using the app.
Example; last night, when it was dark, I switched off both phones remotely. One of the phones was fully charged the other was 30% and charging. This morning the fully charged phone was at 20% and the other, 30% and charging, was at 65% and discharging and my 12V battery displaying discharged. Considering that phones only require 5VDC I'm not understanding why the battery is discharged.
Can you help me reduce the app power consumption?
I must say that originally the app was intended for exactly the same use as you describe. Concerning power consumption: the application consumes power significantly only when motion detection is turned on. So for your purpose, I would recommend to use a scheduler and setup motion detection not to work during night.
When motion detection is turned off, the application almost doesn't consume energy. So I think/hope that discharging of your phones isn't influenced by the Security Camera CZ application, especially when you turned the application off completely.
Please how do we use your application?
This application creates a home security camera from your old unused cell phone. You can then watch this remote camera using your personal phone.
To use this application, install it on two phones - one phone will be your remote camera which you will monitor using the second phone. After installation, run the application and login on both phones using the same account (email). And that is it. The app doesn't need any further settings; it works just out of the box.
How do I change my monitor phone to camera mode?
To change between mode, please go to the main menu (three dashes in the top left corner) and choose Logout. You will be taken to the welcome screen where you can login again and choose the other mode.
I won't use anymore my camera G4. How can I put it off the system?
To delete a camera, you don't want to use, go the camera settings (the gear icon) and almost at the bottom there is an option "Turn on | off | delete". First turn off the camera and then delete it.
I downloaded the app to Android. Where is the exe file so I can install the app on Win10 laptop?
You can use the basic functionality via web browser at address https://securitycamera.cz. When there, click "Web monitor (beta)" at the top of the page.
The camera that I was using as a monitor was stolen. My question: is there any way to reverse modes to see what my camera looks like from this phone? And possibly see who has it.
Switching between modes (Monitor -> Camera) cannot be done remotely, you would have to have an access to the phone, I am sorry.
Your system not accept my sign in credentials. It always says wrong password, but I think my password is correct!
You can reset your password, if you go to web page https://securitycamera.cz. When there, choose "login" in the top right corner and follow instruction how to reset the password.
Please include automatic video recording when motion is detected for the duration + 10 seconds so that one may later review the video and present good evidence as images can become blurry, making video a good option to have.
Originally I built this application for use in outdoor where it was important to have very high resolution of images at the expense of frame rate and sound. Also all other similar applications on the market record short videos, so I thought it could be nice to have something different. Simply - who wants video, he can download any other app. Who wants high resolution still images, he can download this my app.
Why is there no camera sound?
This is because the application, contrary to all other similar apps on the market, records detected motion as a series of still images, not as a video. Still images have an advantage (contrary to video) that they have very high resolution of the image. I am announcing this at the Google Play store as clear as possible that this app takes stills and not video...
I am using your App using a Samsung S4 as camera und my Blackberry Key2 as Monitor. All was fine so far, but since I bought your App the function "Turn off when I'm nearby" is not working anymore. I switched it off and on, even reinstalled the App, but still not working.
The purchase didn't influence the function "Turn off when I'm nearby". The problem lies in the technical background of this function, which uses native Android function that reports when a phone reaches some area. Unfortunately, due to strong power saving behavior, this function doesn't always works as expected, sometimes it has a delay and sometimes it doesn't announce reaching the area. I know about this issues, but I cannot do much with this, since it is native Android behavior. The function "Turn off when I'm nearby" will start to work again by itself. I hope that the Android guys will fix it soon.
I tried to share the camera with a family member and it is not possible. I am using a PC with Google Chrome and when I try to access the link I receive an error 404 - Page not round - The specified file was not found on this website.
I must say that I probably didn't test invitations on PC, so yes, there may be a bug. I will test it and fix as soon as possible. Meanwhile, your family member can accept the invitation on his/her personal phone. As soon as he/she accept the invitation on the mobile phone it will be possible to open the application on a PC.
I have been not using Google services for a while and I mainly use Nextcloud as my private cloud. Is it possible to sync to Nextcloud instead of Google drive?
At this moment the application cannot record o nextcloud.com. If there will be more requests from other users, I could add this feature in the future.
I was wondering how the server and client can communicate even when they are out of range of the Wi-Fi.
Both devices (camera and monitor) must be connected to internet... if they are not, the devices cannot communicate to each other.
The camera can detect and record motion even when not connected to internet, but in this case you will not receive notification about detected motion. In this case, the camera records detected motion on local memory.
I have been using your app for almost a year now and since a couple of weeks I seem to cannot overcome issue with it. I tried this on 3 different mobiles with different Android OS versions, tried factory resets on each of the phones etc. and all have same result when phone I acting as a camera.
After several hours of working then app feed is frozen, notifications are frozen and when you try to view live stream from the camera, monitor phone connects to camera phone but shows black screen and no notifications etc. On camera phone you can’t access preview, same black screen is shown. Once I reboot the camera phone and launch your app, everything works for a couple of hours and then I have the same issue.
I would appreciate advise as I’ve payed for non-add version and I do like your app. With this issue I can’t use it as it simply does not work anymore.
The behavior you describe shouldn't appear and normally the app works just fine. Does this really happen on all 3 devices?? If so, I would guess that the problem will be in your "monitor" device, because it isn't probable that 3 devices would have the same problem. Please could you reinstall the application on your monitor device? And also restart that phone. I hope it will help.
I got it to work and it's great for daylight but the night vision is so grainy that I can't see anything. I need it for night as well!
The camera does what it can, but when the scene is totally dark, the camera cannot produce a good image. The problem is that Android phones don't have real night vision (like special one-purpose cameras), so the night vision is just a simulation. If there isn't at least a little bit of light, no cell phone camera (and no cell phone application) can produce a nice image.
I need to know what could be the reasons why the "motion detection" is being turned off. Before I thought it was because Google drive was full. I released it and it went fine until yesterday when it started to deactivate again. And the phone has good empty space.
The only reason for motion detection to stop can be the amount of images taken per one day - there is a limit of maximum 3000 images per day. When this limit is reached, the motion detection stops. But you would receive a warning after 2000 images, that you are reaching the limit. So my question is - don't you store more than 3000 images per day?
I cannot install the app on my old Samsung S6. It doesn't show that phone as an optional device. App shows it's installed but it's on my new S10.
It should be possible to install this app on Samsung S6. This application support even Samsung S3. Can you go to Google Play store on your S6, install the application Security Camera CZ, run it, login using the same account you have used on your monitor device and choose Camera mode? Then this S6 should be visible as a new camera on your monitor device.
I use GSM network on my camera smartphone. I mean how I can see how much money is available on my cell bill? If there is not enough money on the account, my operator will stop internet connection. So it will be great to see my balance to prevent connection problem between camera and monitor.
Your money balance should be visible from other apps, most probably from the app of your operator, where you should see your money balance and thus amount of remaining data.
Unfortunately, Security Camera CZ application cannot see your money balance and report it.
Many people use old smartphones as cameras so try to optimize or differentiate new versions for smartphones with low resources or old Android versions.
Streaming in real time doesn't work anymore on all my phones (S4 GT-I9295, SM-J120FN, GT-I8200 etc.). All Apps were updated and as Monitor I use the S6 Edge.
Night vision doesn't work anymore on a GT-S6310N, there is only a grey image.
It would be nice If I could quickly download/share a folder that has more than 100 pics. If I like to do that I have to select every single image. Is there another solution?
Concerning live video on older devices - please try to turn off HD video (in camera settings) on these devices.
At this moment, 100 pictures are maximum for sharing/downloading at one time. I will think about some option to download all images at one click.
Can I connect a second camera? If yes, how?
You can have as many cameras you want. Just install the application on another phone, login using the same account (as on your monitor/viewer device) and choose CAMERA mode. A new camera will appear on your monitor device. Repeat this for each new camera you want.
I'm trying to add a second camera with a Nokia Lumia 520 but I can't do it: Google store can't be accessed and when I try to access directly from PlayStore, it tells me that Security Camera CZ is already installed.
I cannot download or access the App from the Nokia Lumia 520... despite connecting with the same account.
May be it is because the Nokia is too old - the application supports phones with Android version 4.1. Please try to check the Android version of your Nokia...
It doesn't stop recording.
It can happen that even when the motion in front of the camera stops, the notifications that are already "in the air" continue to come to the "monitor" device. But the camera doesn't record any more motion.
When camera records motion, it is always indicated by a small yellow icon in the top left corner of the preview from the camera.
Hello, I am sending you this email to inform me if there is any way to install it on an older mobile. According to instructions to reuse old mobiles, when I want to install the app, it tells me that the version is not compatible. In addition, I would also like to know if the version exists on the iPhone.
The application can be installed on Android phones since version 4.1, older phones and neither iPhone aren't supported, sorry.
You can watch your cameras on iPhone via web browser on address https://securitycamera.cz (using the Google Chrome browser).
I noticed that when dawn and dusk, that is, when there is a change in ambient light, the camera needs to be readjusted because its aperture does not adapt to new light data. This results in me seeing a very bright picture when it dawns and a very dark picture when it gets dark.
Concerning the dawn/dusk - quality of images depends very much on the camera device itself, because the application uses automatic exposition control. May be with another phone the pictures would be better.
I've been watching your program for several years now and I'm constantly shocked by you. I constantly throw it away and try it again a year later. Now I tried again and your application is still very poor. It lacks any interesting functions and features – it almost cannot do anything. Are you guys going to improve the app finally?
The application is currently in version 2.2.0. There were these improvements and new functions over the last one year:
Timestamp in images.
More siren sounds.
Support for vertical (portrait) images.
Option to set focus manually.
Added recording of vertical video during a live feed.
Huge improvement of night vision.
Camera can be swiped to turn it off and on.
Improved notifications.
Days with alarms can be marked and deleted at once.
New option to store images to Google Drive.
Improved sound processing in live video.
Cameras are accessible via PC.
Video can be prolonged.
Connecting to camera is faster.
Improved behavior when camera is out of Wi-Fi.
Siren when motion detected.
When purchased video is prolonged to 30 minutes.
Turn motion detection off when being nearby the camera.
Notification about battery can be switched off.
Account can now be created also without Google login, just using username and password.
HD video.
Remote video and audio recording.
Time scheduler for motion detection.
Battery overheat detection.
Night vision and torch mode.
Video zooming.
Camera not responding to remote “turn on” command.
If the camera doesn't respond to a remote command to turn on, please check the following:
1) If the camera device is plugged into electricity (to a charger)
2) Check if the camera and monitor devices are connected to Internet and the connection is stable - I would recommend to restart all devices including the Wi-Fi router
3) Please also note that some old devices that are full of old applications can turn off the security camera application by itself, due to insufficient system sources (processor, memory etc.). In this case, cleaning of the camera device from old apps (or even making a factory reset of the device) should help.
My Itel A16 plus camera not saving photos detected motions and camera does not respond to automatic night mode.
Please setup a little bit bigger "squares" in the camera settings - Detection area. Instead of the maximum value 16x12, try to setup something like 5x5, or whatever you want. Then try the motion detection again and let me know if it doesn't help. Please note that the camera needs some light to work properly. It doesn't detect motion when there is too much dark.
What is the red circle icon in the top left corner?
The red circle means that the camera has no free disc space (camera is full). In this case, the camera automatically deletes old images in order to make a free space for new images. So you are losing history. I would recommend to add an SD card to the camera or switch the camera to store images to Google Drive.
I solved the problem by restarting the phone used as a camera. I've had to do it a couple of times. It would be great if the camera phone could be restarted from the monitor phone.
Restart of the camera phone from the monitor would be nice, but unfortunately this is not possible on Android phones (unless they are "rooted").
Hi could you fix freezing in low light conditions? It used to work, but not anymore. When the light is low, the camera tries to focus and then just freezes.
So your camera freezes in low light conditions? I haven't heard about such a problem yet. Please would you try to switch from auto-focus to manual focus? You can find focus settings in "Advanced..." section. Please let me know if it doesn't help. Also, would you send me the email address that you use as a login to the app, so I can check your background app's profile?
I'm testing the app... At first, everything was ok, but then I changed the storage to Google drive and the camera stopped detecting movements. Did I make a mistake? When I activate a live session, how can it be saved and downloaded?
That must be some coincidence... Switching to Google Drive cannot influence the motion detection, I am almost sure. Please try to check if Motion detection switch is on, Scheduler is off and "Nearby" function is off... Then it must work.
When you record live video, the recordings are saved locally to your monitor device, to a standard folder "Videos". So it is not save anywhere in a cloud, it is saved only locally to your phone (monitor).
It seems that I'm losing connection a lot while at work but I'm only about 5 miles away. Why?
In fact, real distance from your camera device doesn't matter. The most usually there are problem in the phone (camera of monitor) itself or with the Wi-Fi router. Please would you try to restart all devices (turn them off and then back on) and also your Wi-Fi router (the same, unplug it from electricity, wait 10 seconds and then plug it back in).
Why my camera doesn't connect and show live video?
If you cannot connect the live video, there will be most probably some internet connectivity issue. To connect the video, the Wi-Fi signal must be at least "good" and the internet connection stable. Please check if both devices (camera and monitor) have a good internet connectivity.
Video quality keeps getting worse and worse during the live feed session.
This is because the camera is trying to reach and keep frame per second ratio at 20 frames per second. If the light condition or the camera's hardware performance is low, it degrades resolution to "help" the camera to take vide at higher frame rate.
The motion detection option in setting is turning off automatically.
This happens when the limit of 3000 images per day was reached. Please setup your camera to take less images than 3000 per day.
I've been using this application for a long time but lately the camera phone that records stops after 10 minutes and there is no way to turn it on remotely. Can you tell me why?
There can be several reasons for such a behavior. Please check the following:
1) The camera device is plugged into electricity (to a charger).
2) Check if the camera and monitor devices are connected to Internet and the connection is stable.
3) I would recommend to restart all devices including Wi-Fi router.
4) Please also note that some older devices that are full of old applications and other stuff can turn off the security camera application by itself, due to insufficient system sources (power, memory etc.) - may be this will be your case?
Why I can’t view my cameras live?
If you cannot connect to the camera, there will be most probably some problem with internet connection of the camera or monitor devices (or both). Please try to restart both devices and the Wi-Fi router. This should solve the problem.
I don’t know what went wrong, it worked perfectly at first, now I am having an issue. Camera suddenly shows off on the monitoring app (like red signal) even though internet is available and after that only it detects motions and captures it. When the device comes online and when I try to view it stops on loading like connection to the camera. So, I have to restart the phone or reinstall the app and it works for like some hours then again the same problem. Is this the app issue or something is wrong with the phone?
It seems, that the Android device (camera phone) shuts down the application. The most usual reason for this is that the phone runs on low resources (memory, processor) - I would recommend to clean the phone from old apps and other stuff. Even better is to make a factory reset (attention, this will delete everything from the phone). Also note that it is important to have the phone plugged into electricity.
Can I delete images of motion in groups? Can I extend the length of the motion?
"Can I delete images of motion in groups?": Yes, just long press on an image to mark it. You can double long press on an image to mark the whole group. Then delete all marked images at once.
"Can I extend the length of the motion?": Yes, by buying the app, the video will be prolonged to 30 minutes (10 in free version) and the motion detection history will be prolonged to 30 days (15 in free version).
Is it possible to record video surveillance with saving to a memory card or go to the cloud?
Please note that the app records motion as still images. You can store these images to Google Cloud if you want - you can do this in camera settings.
Concerning videos - when you manually record video, the recording is stored locally to your monitor device, so it doesn't make much sense to store it elsewhere.
It does not work. I put a phone as a camera and another as a monitor but the monitor does not give me access to the camera.
If the camera doesn't work, please check:
1) If the camera device is plugged into electricity (to a charger)
2) Check if the camera and monitor devices are connected to Internet and the connection is stable
3) You can restart all devices including Wi-Fi router
4) Please also note that some old devices that are full of old applications and other stuff can turn off the security camera application by itself, due to insufficient system sources (power, memory etc.)
Please try the above and let me know.
My monitor phone was stolen. Is there any way to locate it?
Unfortunately, stolen monitor device cannot be located by this application.