Network equipment

Watchpost can keep routers, switches, radio bridges, UPS units and other network equipment alongside cameras in the device list. An equipment entry stores its address and access interfaces. It has no video channels, archive or device-settings forms in Watchpost, and it never joins Live.

The dedicated equipment form is available on Mac, iPhone and iPad. Android can create equipment rows through Add several devices, but does not offer the same equipment editor or interface-access panel.

Add an entry

On Mac, switch to Devices and choose Devices → Add Network Equipment… (⌥⌘N). On iPhone or iPad, open Devices → Add → Add Network Equipment…. The registry must be unlocked.

Fill the address and at least one access interface. Choose the type and site, then enter a name and credentials if needed. Without a name, the form uses the type and address, such as Router · 192.0.2.1. Use the equipment’s address at the site when a site route provides the connection.

Add saves the entry without testing the login. Watchpost then checks address availability where the route permits it. The credentials stay in Watchpost; saving the form does not change the equipment’s own login or configuration. Cancel closes the form without saving it.

Set access interfaces

Each interface has a scheme and a port. Choose Add Interface to add another, or use its minus button to remove one. Keep at least one interface. The form requires ports in the range 1–65535; identical scheme-and-port entries are kept once when saved.

Scheme	Default port	Open action
HTTP	80	Open a web page in the system browser
HTTPS	443	Open a secure web page in the system browser
SSH	22	Hand an ssh:// link to the system’s registered app
Winbox	8291	Store the interface; Watchpost has no Open action for it

Changing the scheme changes the port if it is empty or still equals the old scheme’s default. A custom port stays as entered. Review it after changing the scheme.

Order matters: a direct or VPN availability check uses the first interface. The form has no drag-to-reorder control; set the intended first interface in the top row. Removing a row leaves the others in their existing order.

Find equipment on Mac

The new-equipment form has a network-search panel. Choose Scan Network to start it; opening the form alone does not scan. Reopening it can show results from the previous search in the same app run. Check their age and scan again when needed.

The search looks for device announcements and open web, SSH and Winbox ports on this Mac’s networks, including common alternate web ports 8080 and 8443. It does not sign in or write settings. A device outside those networks can be entered by address.

Select a found equipment row to fill its address and detected interfaces. Watchpost changes the type only when the returned information suggests one; for example, RouterOS suggests a router and a TL-SG… model suggests a switch. Verify the choice. The name, credentials and site remain yours to fill.

A camera or recorder in the results is marked Add via Add Device. Use Add a device for its video connection. To inspect a result, double-click it or choose What Was Found at This Address. Identify Again refreshes that address’s identification without a login. An empty search result does not prove that no equipment exists.

Open an interface and copy the password

Select the equipment in the Mac registry, or expand it in the iPhone/iPad device list. Its access panel lists the saved interfaces. Open is available for HTTP, HTTPS and SSH when the current connection path supports opening them. The system app may still ask you to sign in; Watchpost’s link does not include the stored password.

Copy Password asks you to confirm ownership through the system authentication prompt before copying it. The button is unavailable when there is no saved password. See Storage and app lock for local protection, and Transfer devices for the export options that control credentials.

Understand availability and hub limits

The registry status checks whether a port accepts a connection. It does not verify the user name, password or equipment functions.

Through a hub, Watchpost uses the first saved interface whose port the hub permits. A custom web port or an SSH-only entry may have no eligible check. A router’s own interface also depends on whether the site’s router setup allows that access. If there is no permitted target, Watchpost does not perform a check; that is not evidence that the equipment is off.

Opening an interface is a separate limitation: the current Apple apps do not hand a hub-relayed equipment link to the browser or SSH app. They show Not through a hub yet where applicable. Direct access and a VPN that makes the device address reachable can offer Open. A successful hub availability check does not remove this restriction.

Edit, duplicate or remove

Choose Edit… in the equipment menu to change its saved fields. The Mac editor omits the search panel. Save updates the registry and refreshes availability; Cancel leaves the saved entry unchanged.

Duplicate… opens a new-equipment form with the type, interfaces, credentials and site copied, while leaving the name and address for you. On Mac, Clear in the new form resets its fields and keeps the selected site.

Removing an equipment entry uses the registry’s confirmation. It removes the saved entry from Watchpost without reconfiguring the physical device.