The first step to port forwarding is to determine which ports you need to open. You should able to tell by reading the documentation that applies to your Swann product, or by simply having a look through the network configuration menu of your Swann system.

Our systems will use, by default, one or more of the following ports:

The next step is to open those ports. In order to have a port forwarding setup that will keep working, it is important to ensure that the IP address of the DVR inside your Network will remain fixed so that the port forwarding rules are not invalidated.

You can either set a static IP address (Static LAN IP) on the DVR instead of relying on the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) of your router or, if your router permits it, you can reserve a LAN-IP address for the DVR through the settings of your router. Some routers call it a Static IP allocation, some call it an IP reservation.

If you know how to set up a Static IP address on your recorder or if you have already successfully done so, please go ahead directly to the port forwarding step.

A simple way to set up a Static IP address on the recorder is to look at the network information that your router has given to the recorder and then modify it slightly. You will find that in the network configuration menu of your recorder.

1) Take note of the IP address (IPv4) of the DVR when it is on DHCP mode.
2) Take note of the Gateway address (this is the address of your router on the network).

You will notice that there are 4 sets of up to 3 digits per address, separated by 3 dots.
The 3 first sets of digits for the IP address (IPv4) and the gateway are the same. Only the last set of digits is different. It is important that it remains so.

When you choose your Static IP for the DVR, keep the same 3 first sets of digits the same as they were when on DHCP mode. Then choose a number between 200 and 254 for the last set of digits of the IP address. This should in most circumstances ensure that you are not going to create an IP conflict later since it will almost certainly be outside the DHCP pool that the router uses when it automatically assigns addresses to other devices connected to your network.

Keep the Gateway address the same as it was when on DHCP mode. This is basically the address of your router, and we need to preserve this if you want to connect to the DVR from outside the network.

Keep the Subnet Mask exactly as it was on DHCP as well.

The preferred DNS (DNS1 or primary DNS) should be the same as the gateway address.
We normally suggest to set the alternate DNS (DNS2) as 8.8.8.8 (008.008.008.008).
This is a DNS server provided by Google as a free public DNS. This will ensure that your DVR can communicate with the Internet Addresses optimally.

Port Forwarding:

Now that the DVR has a LAN IP that is configured to remain constant, it is time to access the router and to set forwarding rules on it. The ports will be forwarded to the LAN IP address of the DVR.

You should already have the address to access your router through your browser. It is basically the gateway address that you have found on the DVR.

Type that address in the address bar of your Browser and this should bring the login page of your router.
You should know the credentials to access your own router. If you do not, it is possible that it is recorded on a label on the router. If you cannot find your router credentials, contact your router supplier.

All routers are different, so it's near impossible to include in one single guide how port forwarding is done on thousands of different routers. You should refer to the documentation that came with your router for the exact method for port forwarding on your particular router.

If you are unable to find the instructions for your router, or you are unable to configure the ports, please contact your router supplier for more information.

After having applied the port forwarding rules on your router, you should check that the ports have been correctly opened.

To see if your ports are already open, we advise you to visit a website such as www.canyouseeme.org from a computer that is connected to the same network as your recorder.

You can use the port checker tool of that site to check whether or not your ports are open.
The IP address displayed on this website is the one provided to your router by your Internet Service Provider (WAN IP).

Upon clicking test port, it will either say 'success' or will inform you that the tested port is not yet accessible.

If your ports are already open, you can skip a bit of text and go straight to the remote access section.

If the ports are still closed, keep in mind that many routers need to be restarted before new settings start working. Many router have a restart or reboot button in their maintenance or system page. If you cannot find it you can switch it off and switch it back on . Most routers have a on/off switch. If yours do, it is best to use it. Otherwise, you might want to resort to unplugging its power cord and then reconnecting it a few seconds later.

Give it a few minutes to restart and then test once more whether the ports are opened.

If the ports are still closed, then you may have a complex network configuration, and you will need to contact your router supplier for support.

Remote Access:

Once all the ports are open, you should already be able to access the DVR remotely .
However, keep in mind that many Internet Providers give their customer a Dynamic IP address.
This means that your IP address might sometime change , sometimes sooner than later.

If your Public IP is a dynamic IP or If you are unsure whether your Public IP is static or dynamic, we advise to set up a DDNS address first. Go straight to the DDNS setup section.

If your know that your Public IP address is Static (you may want to call your ISP to verify) then you are ready to access the System remotely.

Computer access with a browser:

If your Swann Product has a Web port or a HTTP port, you should be able to access it remotely through your Web Browser with an address in the following format:

http://PublicIP:webportnumber

The Public IP is the IP address given to your Internet Connection by your Internet Service Provider.
You can see that address on that status page of your Router or you can also see it from sites such as www.canyouseeme.org or www.whatismyip.com if you access the site from a computer connected to the same router as the Swann recorder.

For example, if the http port number is 85 and the Public IP is 99.99.99.99, you could access your system through a browser with that address: http://99.99.99.99:85

(Note that Internet Explorer may be the only browser supported depending on the product that you have)

Computer Access with the software:

To access the Swann Product with the computer software that would have come with your product (if there was any), you will typically need to use the server port which more often than anything will either be 8000 or 9000.

For example, if the server port is 9000, you would put the following in the login screen of the software:

Address: 99.99.99.99
Port: 9000
user: admin (by default)
password : the admin password of the recorder

Computer Access with a smartphone app:

Most of our Swann systems have mobile access capability. Some of the older models are not equipped with this feature, or support phones that are no longer current.

First you must ensure that your Swann system supports mobile access and if so, which app you need to use.
You also need to know what port you will need to use.

See from the documentation whether you need to use the server port or a special mobile port such as 18004 on some systems.

Typically the port to use for mobile access is either 8000 or 9000.
Only on rare instance would you be able to use a web port to access the Swann device with a mobile app.

You will typically enter the following information in the device setting page of the app.

Device Name : choose_any_name_you_like
Address/ Host /Server: Address: 99.99.99.99
Port: 9000
user: admin (by default)
password : the admin password of the recorder
Channels: number of channels on your recorder (this is sometimes not entered, but automatic after saving the information)

DDNS Setup

If the IP is to change and you then do not know what new IP address the Network Infrastructure of your ISP has assigned your Internet connection, then you will then be unable to access your system remotely until you find out what new address you have. Again, you could find the new address from websites such as www.canyouseeme.org or www.whatismyip.com but this is not best way to go . If you have a Dynamic IP address, we recommend you to set up a DDNS Domain Name. Both the Domain Name and the Public IP address are considered to be an Internet address. While the principles of DDNS are quite complex, one can make use of it quite easily. It is hardly more complex than browsing the World Wide Web from your personal computer everyday.

You can make it so your Public IP address has a domain name linked to it. The DDNS services provided by www.dyn.com are easy to use, inexpensive and are widely supported by a number of routers. Please visit their site for more information on setting up a DDNS account.

How to access the System Remotely with a DDNS address :

Computer access with a browser:

(Internet Explorer may be the only browser supported depending on which product you have.)

If your Swann Product has a Web port or a HTTP port, you should be able to access it remotely through your Web Browser with an address using the following format:

http://<dyn.com hostname>:webportnumber or http://<dyn.com hostname>:httpportnumber

for example, if the http port number is 85 and the domain(host) name is mydvr.dvrdns.org, you could access your system through a browser with the URL: http://mydvr.dvrdns.org:85

Computer Access with the software:

To access the Swann Product with the computer software that would have come with your product (if any), you will typically need to use the server port which more often than anything will either be 8000 or 9000.

For example, if the server port is 9000 and your domain(host) is mydvr.dvrdns.org, you would put the following in the login screen of the software:

Address: mydvr.dvrdns.org
Port: 9000
user: admin (by default)
password : the admin password of the recorder

Computer Access with a smartphone app:

Most of our Swann systems have mobile access capability in addition to access from a PC, however, some of the older systems don't provide this feature with current handsets.

First you must ensure that your Swann system supports mobile access and if so, which app you need to use. You also need to know what port you will need to use.

Check the system's documentation to determine if you need to use the server port or a special mobile port such as 18004 on some systems.

Typically the port to use for mobile access is either 8000 or 9000.

You will typically enter the following information in the device setting page of the app .

Device Name : choose_any_name_you_like
Address/ Host /Server: Address: mydvr.dvrdns.org
Port: 9000
user: admin ( by default )
password : the admin password of the recorder
Channels: number of channels on your recorder (this setting can be automatic depending on the device)