Customer Reviews

D-Link Wireless G Internet Camera

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

D-link really needs to figure out why this camera locks up all the time. Their knowledge base only says to unplug it and plug it back in when it locks up (so D-Link obviously knows this is a problem). Sure enough, that does the trick, but when it locks up while you're accessing it remotely from the internet (i.e. you're simply not home to unplug it and reset it), you're out of luck -- camera is dead until you get home to fix it. This maddening problem really ought not to exist in a 400 dollar camera.

I was just called to a new client site last week that has 11 of these cameras installed. Of the 11, half at any given time will drop off the network and/or lock up. He was continually calling his exiting tech guy who performed the install to reset them and eventually called me in because he wasn't getting in his own words "what he paid for".

I've used netstumlber and a few other apps to verify the wireless network health, which in my opinion is very good. At the farthest point, I am still receiving 92% signal with a non-enhanced Linksys router. Other devices on his network are problem free; the issues are isolated to the cameras.

Short of recommending the client box them and send them back for a refund, I've emailed DLink for any opinions or aftermarket "fixes". They are running the latest firmware. I've tried to pick a few up on E-Bay to at least test them in a controlled environment, but spending $400 per camera when there are obvious problems would not be something I would be willing to invest in. It would be something I would be interested in since if they do work as promised, I could recommend them to future clients.

My credentials, ex-NYPD officer and instructor, CCNP/CCDP CISSP, have a 10+ year networking business serving major Brokerage houses in Manhattan and have a smaller business auditing networks, recommending network security, and wireless solutions.

I will follow-up if Dlink provides an actual solution. AIM is my username above if anyone has jumped this hurdle.

Purchased this webcam about 9 months ago. It was difficult to setup but once I got it working it is really quite amazing. I also experienced the frequent lock ups which would require unplugging the webcam in order to reset it - a problem if you have this installed in a remote location. DLink has released a new downloadable (www.dlink.com) firmware upgrade for the webcam. Since I have installed this firmware release (ver 1.02), I have not had any lock up problems. For the price, this webcam has the best feature set out there.

I'm on my second DCS-5300G. I sent the first one back because it was locking up all the time. The replacement is also locking up, I guess I'll have to send it back too. I would avoid this camera, at least until they fix the problems. When it works, Video quality and features are OK.

Pros: Excellent image quality. Pan tilt and zoom fetures are cool. Has motion detection and email alerts, which I have not used.

Cons: Camera locks up, power cycle required. Setup software is horrible as it does not even detect the camera. Manual configuration is required. Call your mom for tech support rather than Dlink.

I had a very rough start with this camera. Once I had the camera set up I was having a major problem with the video feed stopping while viewing it remotely. Pan and tilt was still working, just no video. I would have to refresh the web browser every 15 seconds to let it reconnect. This camera works 100% of the time when I view it from its private IP address on my network, which led me to believe it was not a hardware problem but rather a config issue since the problem only occured when viewing the camera outside of my network. Called tech support, instead of getting support I was told to replace the camera. So I took matters into my own hands and basically reset defaults in the camera web interface a few times and reset defaults with the pinhole reset about 10 times in a row. I threw the Dlink quick start quide and CD out the window and reconfigured the camera by logging into the camera directly. The video lock up problem appears to be resolved, but the other day while I was playing with the camera remotely while at work, the camera hard locked. It would not even reply to pings on my home network. I had to run home at lunch and power cycle it. I even took advice from these reviews to put the camera on a timer to reboot it every so often. The camera appears to be working great now.

Basically, the bottom line is do not buy this camera if you will not have the abilty to power cycle it. If this problem occurred every blue moon thats one thing, but it seems to happen quite frequently. Check Dlink support site for firmware upgrades that address this issue before buying. I bought this camera so my parents can watch the grandkids, so since it will not be in use all that much this camera is perfect for my needs even with the defect. If I needed a 24x7 security camera (which is really what this is, not a baby monitor) this would be going back to the store. If you do buy this camera, make sure where ever you buy it has hassle free exchanges or refunds.

I have owned 2 of these cameras over the past few years. The pros: Great features, easy set up, good video quality. Cons: After a while the Pan dies, then the tilt, then the fan starts to make a lot of noise then the cameras just dies. Both cameras died the same way. I have 3 high quality commercial grade cameras that have worked well before and continue to work flawlessly. I would NOT ever buy one of these cameras again.

Camera is easy to set up. Video is of acceptable quality, but Sound quality is good. However, I cannot utilize the microphone and sound monitoring feature from my office because my employer only allows http to get through the network. I'd highly recommend this camera. However, it just stopped panning after about 13 months of very light use. That is, tilting up/down is still working but panning left/right does not. Support is terrible because I could hardly understand the English spoken by tech support. Further, tech support couldn't help figure out what is wrong. It seems that it will have to be sent in for repair and it will cost pretty pennies.

I've had this camera for about 3 months now. Use it to check in on my pets when I travel. It does lock up once in a while but not so often that it bugs me. I tend to unplug and move it around the house so maybe that helps as well. I couldn't get the camera console to work in a web page that I designed. D-Link support was no help. Mac support would also be nice. Other than that I like it.

I have this camera now for 4 weeks and it works great. Installation was pretty easy if you know a little bit about your own wireless network.
The camera takes good pictures and did not use to much space on your hard drive. The motion detection is hard to adjust but works, you may get some files with nothing on it. Price for this product is a little bit to high but I would recomend it to a friend.

I just received this camera 3 days ago, and when it is working it is great, but you do have to reboot it about every 2 - 3 hours. I wish I had read these reveiws before purchasing this expensive camera.
I will probably send the one I have back to where I purchased it, but it sounds like this is a problem with the camera's program and not that I happened to get a lemon. My first D-Link camera was the DCS 2100+ and I never had to reboot it. I thought I was upgrading to a better camera and not more problems.