Device settings

Device settings shows the options the device keeps itself: time, recording, encoding, events, network and users. Watchpost reads each part from the device. For configuration blocks, you review the changes before writing, and Watchpost saves the old values first. Clock synchronization, user management and immediate restart send separate commands. User management attempts to keep a copy of the user list; it does not provide a complete account backup. Automatic-maintenance fields use the normal configuration review.

Open the settings

On the Mac, select the device and choose Device Settings… (⌥⌘,), or pick the same item in the device’s menu. The settings open in their own window, titled with the device’s name. On iPhone and iPad, the item is in the device’s menu on the Devices tab, and it opens the same sections.

Xiongmai, Hikvision and ONVIF devices have settings. So do Hik-Connect devices: their settings go through the cloud account, and they need no address. Dahua devices and network equipment have no settings in the app.

If the device doesn’t answer, the window says Can’t Reach the Device, with Try Again.

What the sections are

The list on the left groups the sections. The names below are the Mac’s. Hikvision devices have their own set of sections for the same options. ONVIF cameras show fewer of them.

Group	Sections
Device	Information, Date & Time, Channels, IP Channels, Channel Mode
Recording and Video	Recording, Snapshots, Encoding, Image, OSD and Privacy Masks
Events	Motion Detection, Human Detection, Intelligent Analysis, Camera Tampering, Video Loss, Alarm Inputs, Alarm Outputs, Disk Events, Network Events
Network	Address and Ports, Access and Protocols, E-mail, FTP, Alarm Server, Cloud and DDNS
Service	Maintenance, Users, Log, Advanced Editor

Detailed instructions: Device information and time, Recorder channels, Recording schedules and Video, image and privacy masks. Continue with detection and analytics, alarms and actions, address and protocols and network services. The guides explain differences between protocols and platforms.

Change and write

Edit a field, and a bar at the bottom of the section says how many changes are waiting: Changes: N – not yet written to the device. These configuration-field edits have not reached the device yet. Clock synchronization and mail/FTP tests send immediately; Show in Grid switches save the app’s own visibility immediately. Discard does not undo these actions. Discard drops the changes. Apply… (⌘S) opens the review.

The review is titled Write the Changes to the Device?. It lists each change with the old value and the new one. Some changes come with a warning:

• A change to the channels makes the recorder reconnect to the cameras of the changed channels. Their live video and recording may pause for a few seconds.
• A change to the channel mode makes the recorder restart. The channels the new mode doesn’t have stop showing and recording.
• A change to the network settings can cut the app’s contact with the device if the new address or port is wrong. Then the settings can be restored only from the device’s own monitor, or by a reset.

Write sends the changes. The app then attempts to read the block again and shows the operation result. Check for errors or a restart requirement. ONVIF can also report values the device did not apply. If the follow-up reading fails, verify the block after restoring the connection.

Backups

Before each configuration-block write, the app saves the previously read values as a backup. It does not make a fresh reading immediately before writing. The review says so. In the Advanced Editor, Restore from a backup lists the backups by date and time. A restore goes through the same review as any other change. Without backups, the list says No backups yet.

Configuration snapshots and device files

On Mac, configuration snapshots compare supported configuration blocks with a device reading or another saved entry. The history includes backups of individual blocks. A snapshot can have unread blocks; it does not guarantee a complete copy of every setting on the device.

Device configuration files keep the manufacturer’s original file for restoration with its own tools. This separate feature is available for Xiongmai and directly connected Hikvision devices on Apple platforms.

Advanced Editor

The last section, Advanced Editor, shows every block of the device as the device gives it, with each field. Use it for options the forms don’t show. The same review and the same backup apply. A dot marks a block with unsaved changes. Blocks available only for inspection carry a read-only label; Watchpost also prevents editing certain fields within writable blocks. Reload from the device reads a block again.

Check the review before you write. A value changed in the wrong place can stop recording or cut the device off the network.

On Android

Open the device menu on Devices and choose its settings. Xiongmai offers Information, Date & Time, Maintenance, Users and Advanced Editor. Hikvision and ONVIF open a list of configuration blocks in the advanced editor; they do not yet have the same set of forms as the Apple apps.

Review configuration-block changes before writing them. Backups and restoring a block are available from the editor. Hik-Connect settings are not yet available on Android.

See Advanced editor and backups for block selection, reload, drafts and restoring a saved block.

For device accounts and commands that send immediately, see Device users and Device log and maintenance.