You have a digital video recorder (DVR) or network video recorder (NVR) recording and storing all your surveillance footage while you want to access their video recorder remotely over the internet from a mobile phone, web browsers or a computer at another location outside your home.

So how do you connect NVR/DVR to the internet and set up or configure them for remote viewing or access outside your home network?

Could You View or Access a DVR/NVR Remotely

DVRs/NVRs are normally equipped with standard processors and embedded operating systems; however, many old analog DVRs don't have the ability to connect it to the internet for remote viewing.

DVRs/NVRs that have a built-in network capability can be accessed over the internet remotely or outside your home network on a computer, desktop video surveillance software, phone apps or web browsers.

How Do You Connect a DVR/NVR to the Internet

If a CCTV DVR or NVR don't have a built-in WiFi support, then you have to run internet cable (CAT 5 or CAT 6 Ethernet cable) to connect your DVR or NVR to the internet via the router.

Connect DVR/NVR to the Internet

Of course, by using another WiFi router/access point as a wireless bridge, you could connect a CCTV DVR to your router wirelessly.

How Do You Set Up or Configure a CCTV DVR or NVR for Remote Viewing

To connect a DVR/NVR to the internet or configure a DVR/NVR for remote viewing, first and foremost, connect your DVR/NVR to your network router either via Ethernet cable or wirelessly.

Network–enabled DVRs could be configured for remote viewing. Port forwarding is the key to remote viewing and remote access. By forwarding ports (HTTP port and Server port) on your DVRs and your router, you punch a hole in your home network firewall and allow access to the video stream remotely from outside of your home network (also known as LAN).

Port forwarding works when you want to view live video feeds or footage on NVRs over the internet on web browsers like IE, FireFox or Google Chrome web browser.

Alternatively, you could use NVR viewing software, video surveillance software or ONVIF supported third-party video management software to view your NVRs remotely, such as Blue Iris, Milestones, or ZoomMinder.

To view your NVR on a viewing software, video management software or mobile apps remotely, one of the simplest approaches is to connect the NVR to the internet and view footage remotely via account login or via UID, a unique a unique ID number registered and integrated at the developer level, such as Reolink NVRs.

Depending on different models, users can use NVR's IP address to log into the NVR viewing software.

Connect NVR to the Internet via NVR Viewing Software

View Reolink NVRs on Reolink Client or mobile phone app, normally, is effortlessly easy; all you need to do is to log in your NVR account (name and password) and access NVRs for remote viewing and video playback.

How to Connect Wireless IP Cameras to NVRs Wirelessly

Chances are you don't have a wireless security camera system with an NVR with built-in WiFi capability.

While you have a PoE wired security camera system with a PoE NVR, more often than not, you are placing a wireless security camera in a remote location where you couldn't or hard to run a network cable to your PoE NVR.

In such case, users could use your WiFi router act as a bridge to connect your WiFi IP cameras to your PoE NVR wirelessly without running network cables at all.

While doing so, make sure both of your wireless security cameras are connected to your router wirelessly and your NVR is connected to your router via Ethernet cable.

Connect Wireless Security Camera to NVRs

47 thoughts on “How to Connect a DVR/NVR to the Internet & Set Them Up for Remote Viewing

  1. Bob says:

    I hand no trouble with my old computer and nvr 10s –then I bought a new computer and lost everything. How can I get my nvr onto my new computer?

    • Olivia says:

      Hi, Bob, please confirm that you have put your new computer into the same LAN that you are running. You can try to download client offered by the NVR's manufacturer if it is available or other trusted third-party viewers to watch live view on your new computer. Hope this would help.

    • Olivia says:

      Hi, Wade, the answer is definitely yes. For Argus 2, you only need to enter your unique ID number (UID) and password to add the camera to the app. For PoE cameras on the NVR, please connect your NVR to network router via Ethernet cables or wirelessly. Then by entering your NVR account and password on the app, you can see PoE cameras on the NVR. Hope this would help.

  2. dddienst says:

    My NVR keeps asking me to install a plug-in. I do and restart, but it just tells me to do it again. I tried firefox, chrome and edge browsers...

  3. Chady _ says:

    I use jennov nvr with wireless cameras. The software they asked.me to use was called IP Pro3. It uses the concept of UID or cloud ID. Problem is, it only connects via 4G on my phone. Tried many wifi options none.worked

    • Olivia says:

      Hi, Chardy, please check if your currently using WiFi works well by visiting other websites. Also remember to update the firmware of the software and your security system as well to see if it works.

  4. Alex k says:

    Is it possible to connect POE cameras to the POE NVR wirelessly through a POE switch? Looking to put the cameras in the barn and NVR in the house 350 ft away.

  5. Jake M says:

    Will the NVR work with the RLC-511W if they are linked to separate wifi networks. We want to set up a RLC-511W on an office building and use the office wifi for the camera, but then set up the NVR at a different location on a separate network. If we do this will the NVR be able to record, provided the wifi connection is capable?

  6. Svajunas Milijonas says:

    Hello, I have problems to view from my phone. If my phone is connected to same home WiFi then I can view on my phone, but when I go outside of my house can't view on the phone. What the problem? Is h. 256.h nvr

    • Olivia says:

      Hi, there, please check the firewall settings of your router to see if it has blocked eternal access to your security cameras. Hope this helps.

  7. Olivia says:

    Hello, Allan, in your case, your DVR system can't connect to the WiFi remotely and a cat 5 Ethernet cable is required. Hope this helps.

  8. Paul Elkins says:

    how can i hook my swann dvr to internet when router is at the other end of the house , its not practical to run ethernet cable but i would love to use the app and view cameras remotely

    • Olivia says:

      Hi Paul, you may add a network jack to the wall which is next to your DVR. Or, you may buy an Ethernet switch to help manage the cable. If you are not sure which switch or injector is perfect for your DVR, it is best to consult the support team of your security camera brand. Hope this helps.

    • paytonn says:

      i know this is a month old, but i use Netgear powerline adapters to connect my equipment at opposite ends of the house. you plug one into an outlet near the router, and ethernet cable to it. Then plug the other in an outlet near the other device, and ethernet cable to that. in my case, it works extremely well. Note that because we're sending video streams, you should not try to get by with the cheaper ones. i use the 2000mbps version.

    • Olivia says:

      Hello Ricky, after connecting your surveillance cameras to your WiFi network or router, you may access your cameras via the security camera viewing app on your smartphone. You may test if you can access the cameras when your phone is connecting to the WiFi network and 4G data. If yes, your cameras are connected to the Internet. Hope this helps.

  9. Randy Bettinger says:

    Been using a RLC-511w for 1 month, added to my RLN8-410-E. Wireless camera stopped connecting. Plugged in with Ethernet cable still won't connect. Reset to factory defaults, connected via Ethernet, still cannot connect to camera. I removed microSD card and tried all over again. Still cannot connect. Please help!

  10. Olivia says:

    Hi Ber, you may check out the firewall settings in your router and see if you have enable to block external access. If yes, disabled it and you will be able to access your system when your phone is connected to another WiFi or cellular network. Hope this helps.

    • Olivia says:

      Hi there, it is best to confirm if your security cameras work with the cloud service that you have mentioned. For example, Reolink Cloud service is for video footage storage only and you may not use it for remote view. Hope this helps.

  11. Ahmad Raza says:

    Hi there, Thanks for this information. Can we access the videos stored on NVR hard drive using some programming language ?

  12. Olumide Olaniregun says:

    i already configured the NVR and viewed on phones but after restarting to put in hdd it started giving me an offline mode. Its viewing and recording buh i cannot view on phones again. what do i do?

  13. Gary SS says:

    I have an H.264 Wireless NVR System and was able to connect it successfully and view on IP Pro App as well able to monitor the cameras from a monitor connected directly to the system. I would like to know how using IP Address if not mistaken can I access remotely via the web and off the home wifi and network. Do I need to set a static IP in order to do so and if yes, how is this best accomplished. Thank you. Gary

  14. Minoo says:

    Hi, I am able to connect with my DVR using XMEye by logging in on the website. Is it possible to view the cameras via desktop app? I've tried to use cms – entered IP adress from website, login, password, port and it doesn't connect at all

  15. Shashi Kiran says:

    NVRs IP address is 192.168.1.x, The gateway is 192.168.1.1.
    How can I view it from outside world over the net ? from my home or office ?
    I want to know the equivalent of the internal network IP – what is it in the outside world ?

  16. Olivia says:

    Hello Yaseen, you need to connect the NVR to one network connection only. If your NVR is connected to a router or PC as network connection via a PoE switch, you cannot connect the NVR to another router. Please send us a detailed NVR connection diagram or specify the connection with more details so we can help out. Thanks.

  17. Jim Burns says:

    Can I hook up my NVR to a wireless bridge? My router is too far away to run the cable from the NVR to the router. Also the wireless bridge will be much closer to the cameras
    Thanks

    • Olivia says:

      Hi Jim, you may use a PoE switch or a mini router in between the NVR and router since an NVR cannot work on WiFi. You need to connect the NVR to a PoE switch or router with a network cable. Hope this helps.

  18. Olivia says:

    Hello Tony, to connect your NVR for remote viewing, you need to connect your NVR to a router with Internet access directly. If this won't help, you'd better contact tech team from the NVR brand for further assistance. Hope this helps.

  19. Mick Br says:

    I had my NVR RLN8-410E connected through a wireless bridge due to not having internet available in the the NVR location, I it worked quite well and I could access the NVR remotely with no problems, but was quite slow, I have now moved the NVR to a better location that is beside the main router, trouble is it after plugging in the ethernet cable to the router it will not connect to the internet, connecting it back up to the wireless bridge works fine.
    I havetried the troubleshooting steps below after connecting the NVR directly to the router.
    Re-started the NVR with no success.
    Re-started the router also with no success.
    Deleted the NVR from the remote viewing app, no success.

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