Support

FAQ

• videocamHow many cameras can I use?

  You can use as many cameras as you like!
  
  However, more cameras mean more video processing, so you may experience performance issues if you add more cameras than your computer can handle.

• videocamWhat should I do if the app or my computer is running slowly?

  Oh no! We never like to hear that. Several things could be contributing to the slowdown.

  1. Try lowering the FPS setting on each of your cameras. Depending on your use, as little as 1 FPS may be suitable for your use.
  2. Do you have Show motion enabled on cameras in the dashboard? This toggle is only really intended for initial setup of the camera to test different motion thresholds and will result in lower performance if left on.
  3. Are you always running Motion Defense in the foreground? While in the foreground, your computer will continue to draw the videos to your screen, taking up GPU resources. Try closing it to your task bar and letting it do its thing!
  4. Check your computer's memory usage. Motion Defense has not been fully optimized yet and could take up to 100 MB of memory per camera depending on resolution and framerate.

  Still not sure why it's running slow? Let us know.

• videocamWhat kinds of webcams are supported?

  Just about any webcam should work. In fact, any usb camera with UVC support should work.
  
  It's impossible for us to test every camera out there, so feel free to let us know if your camera worked or not.

• videocamWhat other kinds of cameras are supported?

  Motion Defense has been tested with H.264, MPEG-4, Motion JPEG, and JPEG streams, but it should accept any video your typical web browser can play.
  
  Have something different or is something not working right? let us know.

• videocamHow do I find the URL for my IP/network camera?

  First, you may want to check the owner's manual for your camera to see if it's listed. If you can't find it there, we recommend trying to find it on iSpy's website. It's often something like http://192.168.X.X/video.cgi, where 192.168.X.X is the local network address of your camera.
  
  Still can't find it? Maybe we can help.

• notificationsHow can I limit the number of alert notifications I receive from the app?

  In the notification settings, change the minimum time between emails sent to the minimum number of seconds between alert notifications you wish to receive. E.g., if you want to limit alerts to once every 5 minutes, you would set the value to 300 (5 minutes x 60 seconds).

• notificationsWhat kinds of notifications are supported?

  Right now, only SMTP email notifications are supported. SMS and webhooks are coming in the near future though!

• notificationsWhy do I get an 'Error sending notification (self signed certificate in certificate chain)' notice when sending a test notification

  Some antivirus software like Avast can cause this issue. If you're using Avast, this issue can be fixed by doing the following:

  1. Open Avast and click Settings > Active Protection > Mail Shield > Customize
  2. Click on the SSL scanning tab
  3. Uncheck the Scan SSL connections box and click OK

  Try sending a notification again. If that didn't solve your issue, let us know.

• devicesHow do I view my cameras remotely?

  Just enable remote viewing in the app, and then visit the IP listed in the app from any modern browser or smart phone.
  
  Unfortunately, uPnP isn't yet supported (we're working on it), so you may need to manually open and/or forward ports on your router for viewing from a device that isn't connected to your home network.

• devicesWhy can I view my cameras from home, but not while away or on a cell phone?

  It sounds like your router isn't properly set up. We're working on making this easier, but for now, you'll need to manually open and/or forward the ports the app is using on your router.
  
  Need help? Maybe we can help.

• photo_libraryAre my photos backed up anywhere?

  Your recent photos are stored on the computer that Motion Defense is running on, but we don't have automatic offsite backups available yet, but it's coming soon!
  
  If you enable notifications though, you'll have a copy of photos taken from detected motion sent to your inbox.

• OS XWhen is the OS X version coming?

  Hopefully, very soon! Really want it today? Let us know.

• UbuntuWhy don't I see any tray icon in Linux?

  The libappindicator1 package is required for the tray icon to work. On ubuntu, you can install the package from a terminal with:
  
  sudo apt-get install libappindicator1
  
  Note: you may need to restart after install the libappindicator1 package.