You can try out Alarmhandler by emailing an image recording by hand. To do so, follow these steps

• Add a new camera in the Alarmhandler app
• Turn Alarmhandler ON
• Prepare a mail using your normal mail program. Attach a jpeg image or short mp4 movieclip of max 1MB. It does not matter what you put into the title or body of the mail. Then send the mail to the address listed for the camera you just added, see the Alarmhandler app under the settings cog to the right of the camera on the home screen
• Our servers will normally receive and process the image within one minute after you send it. When this has happened, the app will get a push message and inform you there’s been activity detected by the camera

When connecting your IP camera, it’s easiest if you use the WPS buttons to do so. However, if you can’t find a WPS button on the router or WPS does not seem to work, then follow these  steps to connect the IP camera to the house’s wireless network:

• Place the camera next to your router and connect it to the router with the included network cable. You may unplug the cable and move the camera later on.
• After some seconds a connection LED on the camera switches to green, which indicates that the camera is connected to the network

Your camera is now on the network and you can continue the with IP camera configuration.

Once you have your camera attached to your local network and added a new camera inside the Alarmhandler app , you are ready to setup the the IP camera configuration. The following is a set of generic instructions, but based on user inputs we’re also adding guides for specific brands/models, see links at the bottom.

1. Identify what IP address your camera has on the local network. The easiest method for obtaining the IP address of the camera is to use a network scanning app like “Fing” that can be downloaded for free in Appstore and Google Play. Alternatively, you can log into your router and see what devices are connected to it. For detailed instructions for your router, see the documentation that comes with the router.
2. Once you’ve got the IP address, enter it in your web browser to configure the camera. You will be prompted for username / password. If you have not changed this yet, it will often be admin / admin or admin and an empty password.
3. Once you’re logged on to your camera in the web browser, find the configuration or settings section for the camera. Then enable the following:
   • Sound detection: this lets the camera can detect loud sound eg from a fire alarm. If possible, set up the camera to transfer video in case of sound detection. With video you can hear the sound and determine what is triggering the alarm, eg a fire alarm. This cannot be done if you only transfer images. Specify the format to MPEG4 (H.264). If the camera does not support video transmission, choose image transfer instead (see Motion Detection)
   • Motion detection: if the camera detects motion in the visual field, while the alarm is on, then set it to transfer images to Alarmhandler. Specify the camera to transfer single images with a frame rate of one image / sec. This is the best way to ensure that the camera will transfer data immediately after detecting motion. Delaying transmission to eg 10 seconds and then transferring a video is a really bad idea, as this gives a thief time to find find the destroy the camera before it has had time to report the break in.
   • 24/7 monitoring: the camera should continually try to deliver data at sound or motion detection. Our servers determine whether to save images and video, as it knows about the alarm is on or not.
   • Mail transfer: specify your own mail server name and port, encryption, mail address and credentials for your mail account. Perhaps you use gmail, then search the FAQ for gmail to learn more. In addition the camera must know the recipient address. We’re receiving recordings for your camera on a special email that should be specified o the camera. You can see the email in the Alarmhandler app under Settings – Estate settings – Camera settings.
   • Wireless network: If you have your IP camera cabled to your router, you need to setup the wireless network information on the camera before you unplug the cable between the camera and the router. To do so, enter the SSID and password for your network on the camera.

There is often a “test connection” button, try this out – but remember to turn Alarmhandler ON before doing so – otherwise our service will reject connections from the camera. See also How do I check if the IP camera is correctly hooked up?

Camera specific guides:

• Configure D-link camera

As of March 20 2017, Alarmhandler is available in Appstore and Google Play in the following 48 countries:

Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Lichtenstein, Luxemburg, Malta, Macedonia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States and Turkey.

Let us know if your country is not on the list, we do localisations based on the number of requests we get.

False alarm is when you after a period of stabile operation get alarms without any appearent reason. When you get a false alarm, the video or images clips received show no motion and sound. The camera should not be sending video/images if there’s no motion or sound, so it means the camera has stopped operating properly. Most IP cameras today work without problems for months, but will at some time need to be restarted. The cure is normally to power off-on and the detection will work again.

Also see What should my camera settings be?