Device address, ports and protocols

Open Device Settings and choose Address and Ports. The Apple apps offer network forms for Xiongmai, Hikvision and ONVIF. Access and Protocols contains additional Xiongmai and ONVIF controls. Android edits supported network blocks in the advanced editor.

Before writing an address change, make sure you can reach the device locally if the connection fails. Record its current address and control port. Network writes can interrupt video and recording connections, including those used by other viewers.

Address and DNS

Turn on Get the address automatically (DHCP) to let the router assign an address. The manual address fields then become unavailable. For a fixed address, turn DHCP off and enter an unused address on the correct network, with the appropriate mask and gateway.

Protocol	Address form
Xiongmai	Wired interface’s IPv4 address, subnet mask and gateway; host name, MAC display, primary and secondary DNS
Hikvision / HiWatch	First interface’s IPv4 address, subnet mask and gateway, DNS fields and MTU where reported
ONVIF	First interface’s manual IPv4 address and prefix length, gateway and DNS; DNS can also come from DHCP

A prefix length of 24 means mask 255.255.255.0. DNS resolves server names used by the device, such as its mail or time server. A correct DNS server cannot compensate for a wrong gateway.

Some Xiongmai cameras offer address adjustment to the recorder’s network. When enabled, a recorder finding the camera in a different subnet may change its address. This switch is not an instruction to update Watchpost’s saved device address.

These forms do not provide a selector for every interface on a multi-interface device. Check the manufacturer’s interface for other network adapters.

Which port Watchpost uses

Connection	Settings and control	Video
Xiongmai by address	DVRIP, labeled Control and video	RTSP where available, with DVRIP as another transport
Hikvision by address	HTTP for settings and events	RTSP
ONVIF	HTTP for settings	RTSP
Hik-Connect account	Through the account	Through the account

Hikvision’s SDK service port differs from its HTTP port. Changing one does not mean you have changed the other. On Hikvision, the form offers an enable switch for HTTPS where reported; on ONVIF, it keeps HTTP and RTSP from being switched off here.

Xiongmai’s Access and Protocols includes the RTSP server and port, ONVIF password checking, the legacy mobile port and its IP filter. Watchpost does not use the legacy mobile-monitoring port. Disabling RTSP or changing its port can break video for other players and recorders even if Watchpost finds another transport.

Keep Require the password over ONVIF enabled where offered. Turning it off lets programs on the network obtain ONVIF video without a password. If you enable the IP filter, ensure the device allows the address from which your connection reaches it. A hub or routed connection may arrive from a different address than your computer’s. A nonempty allowed list restricts connections to its entries; blocked entries deny access.

Write and reconnect

1. Finish or discard pending edits in other sections. Use the New Address clears the settings window’s draft state when it reconnects.
2. Choose Apply…, inspect the changed blocks and select Write. The app saves the previously read values as backups first.
3. If the device requests a restart, wait for it to return before switching.
4. Where Watchpost offers Use the New Address, select it to update the saved device address/control port and reconnect. The app keeps using the old address until this action.
5. Check settings and live video again. Also check any recorder, hub or other viewer that uses the changed endpoint.

The offer to switch follows a successful write response. If the address changes before the device replies and the write ends in an error, the app may have no offer even though the device moved. Verify the actual address before retrying. Several blocks can succeed independently; there is no automatic rollback.

DHCP does not give Watchpost a predictable new address to follow. Find the device again with the local network search in Add a device or the router’s lease list, then correct the existing entry’s address. Avoid creating a duplicate just to recover the connection.

A saved device address and a site route are separate. Updating the former does not prove that a hub mapping or fixed route has changed to match. With Hik-Connect, the app uses the account rather than the local address and ports; a wrong network configuration can still cut the device off from that cloud.

A block backup helps restore values only while you can reach the device. If the new configuration cuts off access, recover a local connection or use the manufacturer’s recovery procedure first.

For UPnP port mapping, vendor cloud and DDNS, see Device network services.