Most Wi-FiAmcrest Smart Home devices have a communication distance of up to 164ft (open field) however if you notice the device is going offline regularly or becomes unresponsive your network and the location of the device may play a huge role in its ability to function properly. For more information on location and how it affects a Wi-Fi device, please refer to the information provided below.

Location: How far is the device is from the wireless router.

• Larger distances can be affected more by interference and be susceptible to connection issues. This can cause the hub to go offline which will also affect the sensors.
• Actual distances can vary drastically by the type of router. If connection issues arise, then a Wi-Fi extender should be considered.

Range Limiting Factors

Reflection: The signal reflects back.	Scattering: The signal scatters back into multiple new signals.	Refraction: The signal bends as it travels through an object (e.g. glass window).	Diffraction: The signal changes direction as it passes around an object.	Attenuation: The signal strength weakens as it passes through an object.

Wi-Fi signal strength decreases as it passes through different types of material. Try to position your wireless camera and receiver where the signal does not pass through metal or concrete blocks, which can significantly reduce signal strength (as shown in the information provided below).

Plastic & Wood: 10 – 30%

Brick: 30 – 50%

Concrete Cinder Blocks: 50 – 70%

Metal & Metal Cladding: 70 – 90%

Note: Signals that must pass through wet or moist materials (e.g. shrubs and trees) may be significantly reduced.

Using Amcrest Smart Home Products with Amcrest View Pro

The device will need a hard drive installed to view recorded events. The recordings can be downloaded using the Amcrest View Pro app if you would like to download the recording to a mobile device, the Amcrest Surveillance Pro software, or using a web browser like Internet Explorer.

Please note, some web browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, etc. may not be applicable in this process as it requires the use of a plugin if accessing from a browser.

Download a Recording Using Amcrest View Pro

For more information on how to download events using the Amcrest View Pro app, please refer to the information provided below.

Step 1: Open the Amcerst View Pro app and access your camera.

Step 2: Tap on the main menu icon (  ).

Step 3: Tap on Playback.

Step 4: Tap on the ( + ) icon.

Step 5: Select a channel that you would like to view and allow the recordings to load in the interface. Tap on the record type option to select a record type (All, Regular, Alarm, Motion, Smart) and tap Start Playback.

 

Note: Scroll through the playback timeline to select a specific time or event if needed.

Step 6: While the event is playing, use the manual record icon (  ) or the manual photo (snapshot) icon (  ) to retain the event to your app. If you are manually recording an event, tap the manual record icon again to stop the recording.

Note: All manually retained events will be saved into the My Saved Files folder located in the main menu of the app.

Step 6: Tap on the main menu icon (  ) again and tap on My Saved Files.

Step 8: Tap and hold the selected file located in the folder that you want to download.

Note: All manually recorded video events will be stored in the video folder (). If you took a manual snapshot, click on the snapshot icon (  ) to access the snapshot menu. If you would like to select all recordings, tap on the select all icon (  ).

Step 9: Tap on the download icon (  ) to download the file to your mobile device.

All any permissions requested to download the file. The file will then begin downloading to the photo/ gallery on your mobile device.

Download a Recording Using the Amcrest Surveillance Pro 

Recordings in the playback menu can be downloaded (exported) using the Amcrest Surveillance Pro software. To download the free software click here.

For more information on how to add a device into Amcrest Surveillance Pro click here

Step 1: Open the Amcrest Surveillance Pro software and click on Playback.

Step 2: Select your device from the device menu and click on the Time option to display the calendar

Note: If a recording is present the date will have a blue dot. Enter the start and end times of the recording and click Search.

The Event menu will display all events located on the microSD card for your selected device from the date range entered.

Step 4: Choose a recording from the records menu. Please note, if you do not want to trim the recording, click on the export icon  to begin downloading.

Trimming a Recording

If you would like to trim the recording before downloading it, click on the scissor icon (  ). You will notice a start and end duration displayed for the selected recording on the time bar. The first red bar will be the start time and the second red bar will be the end time of the event. Use your mouse to drag the red bars and modify them to a specified start and end time.

Click on the scissor icon again to begin exporting the file.

Step 5: Click on Browse to choose a destination folder for your recording, then click on the Export Format dropdown menu and select MP4. Click OK.

Note: Since the default format is ASF it is highly recommended to choose either AVI or MP4 to view your recording.

The recording will begin to download.

Once the recording has finished downloading, click on the Downloaded tab. In the Downloaded tab, click on the Folder icon to access the recording.

The recording can be played on the default media player of your computer.

Download a Recording Using a Web Browser

The Playback or Search menu allows you to view recorded data retained in the system. This includes recording types such as regular, motion detection, (MD), Alarm, etc.

Step 1: Open Internet Explorer, and access the web user interface (web UI) for your device. For more information on how to access the web UI, click here.

Step 2: Click on Playback or Search.

Step 3: In this menu, you will notice a calendar, if events are available for this day a small dot will be visible underneath the day. Select the date from the calendar and click on the File List option.

Step 4: Select a recording from the file list. Note the start and end times of the recording and click on the scissor icon.

Step 5: Enter the start and end time of the recording into the video clip (scissor icon) interface and click the Save icon.

Choose a path that you would like the recording to download to and click OK. The recording will download to your computer using the specified path.

How to Filter AI Recordings in the Playback Menu (AI NVR)

Standalone AI cameras may not be able to differentiate between AI record types. To filter and display these recordings it is highly recommended to use an Amcrest AI NVR that supports this function.

Amcrest AI NVRs utilize four record types in the playback menu, “Regular” (green) which supports 24/7 continuous recordings, “Alarm” (red) which displays external alarm events (if applicable), “Motion” (yellow) which displays motion detection events, and IVS (blue) which displays AI events detected by the system. Please note, if you are using face detection, the IVS record type maybe indicated in the playback menu with a “F” next to the IVS record event.

Note: To view AI recordings it is highly recommended to use the Smart Search option located in the AI menu. For more information on using the smart search menu, click here.

To filter between different recording types in the playback menu, use the record type selection banner at the bottom of the interface.

The device will be set to display all recording types in the file list. To display only AI recordings in the file list, deselect the All checkbox and enable the IVS checkbox only. Click on the File List icon to display the record types.

For more information on how to download the recordings, click here.

How to Use the Smart Search Menu (AI NVR)