Set up Alarm Push Notifications for your Hikvision IP Camera or NVR
February 8, 2025
Imagine getting a pop-up alert on your smartphone whenever your IP camera or Network Video Recorder (NVR) detects motion. Wherever you are, iOS or Android device, on WiFi, 3G or 4G, it doesn’t matter. It could be an indoor IP camera that you are using as a baby monitor, an outdoor security camera monitoring your backyard, garage or your office or an NVR monitoring multiple cameras. Welcome to the world of Push Notifications and we will show you how to activate them on your security system.
A push notification occurs when an app running in the background on your smartphone alerts you in the form of a pop-up alert or a badge in the notification bar. Your phone does not have to check in periodically with the camera or NVR to receive this notification (this is called a pull request); rather the alert is pushed to your phone from the camera or NVR – hence the term push notification.
Motion detection alarm push notifications are a very useful feature as you get an instantaneous alert on your mobile device much faster than an email alert can usually reach you (especially if you have turned on snapshot attachments).
A push notification occurs when a background app on your phone alerts you through a pop-up alert or a badge.
If you use Gmail, Yahoo or a modern email client on your smartphone, you can set up push alarm email alerts whenever your IP cameras detect motion.
You can set up both alarm email alerts and alarm push notifications simultaneously on each of your IP cameras if you do not use an NVR. So when you receive a push notification, you can either check your email alert or log into the camera to view a live video steam.
For this how-to, we will assume that you want to set up push notifications for a few IP cameras without an NVR. The following steps apply if you are using an NVR also, wherever a camera is mentioned you would apply the same step to your NVR instead.
Port Forwarding or DDNS?
When your phone is connected to your WiFi network at home, it knows how to reach the IP camera which is in the same network because the app is configured with your camera’s local IP address (such as 192.168.1.50). But when you leave your home and use a different method to connect to the Internet, such as your office WiFi or a café’s public WiFi, your phone can no longer reach the camera back home. This is where you need to do 1 of 2 things to let your smartphone connect to the IP camera back home:
Your router has an external public IP address assigned by your Internet Service Provider. Forward your camera’s ports to an external port on your router and these external ports are accessible from the Internet and thus from your smartphone. Now unless you have purchased a static IP from your ISP, your router’s public IP address will change ever few days or so. This means you will have to update the app on your phone accordingly each time – this is a hassle. Thankfully there is a way around this prickly problem, you can use a Dynamic DNS (DDNS) service to give your home network a friendly network name such as abcde.ddns.net which can be used to access your home network. We recommend the excellent free No-IP service.
OR
Use EZVIZ/Hik-Connect Cloud P2P which does away with port forwarding by using P2P technology.
We will explore the second option today: Using the P2P method.
At least one Hikvision camera such as the popular new LTS/Hikvision DS-2CD2042WD-I. Also see my list of recommended IP Cameras, if you are undecided on which camera to get.
Step-by-step Process
We assume that you have performed the initial setup of the camera and that you are able to access it through your web browser or video surveillance software.
1. In each camera:
Log into the web admin page.
In each of your cameras’ motion alert settings pages, make sure ‘Notify Surveillance Centre’ is checked. For example, Basic Event > Motion Detection
Network > uPNP should also be enabled.
Also go to Network > NAT and make sure: ‘Enable Port mapping’ is checked.
Network > Platform access should be checked. NOTE: You do not need DDNS enabled.
3. On your smartphone:
Download and install the iVMS-4500 HD app from the Android Google Play Store or iOS App Store.
Adding your cameras to the app.Click on the settings tab and select ‘Devices’.Click the + button at the top right to start adding your camera.Fill in all the fields. Use the IP address and server ports that you have configured for your camera. The default server port is 8000, so unless you have changed it yourself, you should use 8000. Save your setting by touching the save button at the top right.When you have added the first camera, the screen should look like this:
Add all your cameras one by one.
Go to the Push Notifications tab. You will see the cameras that you have added here with a toggle next to each one. Move each toggle to the right to activate alarm push notifications for each camera.
4. Test by setting off the motion detection.
5. You should see a notification like this within 1-5 seconds.
Congratulations, you have now set up alarm push notifications on your smartphone. Also, if you have set up the port forwarding rules correctly on your router, you should receive push notifications outside your local network as well, i.e on the Wide Area Network (WAN).
Troubleshooting
If you do not get push notifications when the motion alarm is set off, try the following:
Make sure the account you are using to set up the camera in iVMS-4500 HD is an administrator account.
Uninstall the iVMS-4500 HD app, re-install the app and then try the setup steps above.
If you face any problems or difficulties, please tell us through the comment field below. We love hearing from you!
I am Daniel and VueVille is where I document my DIY smart home journey. I focus on 100% local-processing and local-storage because that’s the only way to secure my family’s safety and privacy. Oh and I don’t like monthly subscriptions!
Hi. at first thanks for the helpfull guide.
i have an issue with the push option since months.and just couldnt fix it.tried with different cameras and firmware. its like this:
i can receive push for motion alert.but not for intrusion and line cross. strange thing is that i Can receive emails for those.
so the cam sees the event.
all ports are open. background app is enabled. used admin account. can watch on phone live view. alarm option in settings is enabled.
also opened port 554
What could you suggest me ? waiting for ur reply
Did you manage to resolve the issue with “line crossing” and “intrusion detection” not receiving push notifications?
For a while i was able to get push notifications of lc&id, but after a while i noticed they weren’t firing anymore. I guess with fiddling with network or settings i managed to break this functionality. But i would really like to receive push notifications.
I noticed that in the log of the camera the events are being logged, but don’t get pushed to ezviz or my iPhone. I did select “triggerchannel” and “notify surveillance center”.
If you were able to resolve the issue… Any help would very much be appreciated.
Hi thanks and glad you find the guide useful! Have you performed step 2.2 as described in this guide for each of the motion detection types? You have to separately go into the Line Crossing and Intrusion Detection setup pages and select the “Notify Surveillance Centre” and “Trigger Channel”. Let me know how it goes.
Happy new year. Would you believe it,I have finally got the cameras to work on my iphone when I have an alarm state. My only problem now is the phone lets my know it has detected a problem it doesn’t make an audible -I have to keep looking at it.
The other issue is the alarm only works when I am at home in contact with my Wi-Fi. I went on holiday to Victoria which is about 600 KLs away and I never received anything.
Any ideas.
Regards Larry
Hi Larry,
Happy to hear it is working. Are you still having the problem of it not working outside your WiFi network? Even though you said you didn’t go down the port forwarding route but chose the EZIZ route, the problem you describe is a classic port forwarding issue where the camera or NVR cannot reach you phone outside your local network (WiFi). Are you sure you are using EZVIZ and not port forwarding?
Hi. I did not try to sort things out yesterday-we had 41.7 degrees. You may not believe this but I have spent about 20 hours sorting this out. Here is where I am at-
When I press live view I can see all my camera actions When I move down to
When I move down to Devices I am presented with a diagram of a recorder and my name “Larry” When i press this I get a screen which says” Device Management”. This has my ip address port number user name etc..When I touch the + I get a small screen with -Manual adding ,scan qr code Wi- fi configuration and on line device.
When I go to alarm, I am presented with a screen which says at the bottom-set alarm notification. When I touch this I have a screen with a diagram of a DVR followed by my name and a slide button which says -not supported by this device.
Picture and video does not do anything.
EZVIZ screen. I have logged into this successfully and a camera screen pops up with a red line going through it. I have tried putting this up to the bar code on my cameras to no avail. I then press the little screen with the pencil going through it and a new device screen pops up.I put my serial number and it says “this device does not exist”
I am really frustrated because I am about to go on leave and everything is ok from looking at the cameras but the push alarm does not work. Has it worked for anyone else. I would really value your assistance with this one.
Hi Larry,
It sounds like your NVR either does not support Push notifications or this feature is not enabled in the NVR setup. If you refer to the user manual of your NVR, it should tell you what you need to do. This article above details enabling push notifications at the camera end, not the NVR end.
What’s the model number of your NVR?
Hi Guys
I have been finishing the last touches for port forwarding using EZVIZ cloud p2p. Everything went ok until it asked me for my username and password. I tried putting in my email address and password but got a message back stating it could not recognise my username and password. Any ideas?
Hi Larry,
If you use EZVIZ cloud P2P you will not need port forwarding at all. That’s the advantage of using the EZVIZ option.
Coming to your issue, it seems you are unable to log into your EZVIZ account. I assume you created the EZVIZ account through the iVMS-4500 HD app itself (under the cloud tab)? If so, there should be a ‘Forgot password’ option within the app, try resetting your password first. If you created the account at the EZVIZ website (http://www.ezvizlife.com), see if you can login from your computer. You want to make sure you are using the right account name and password.
If none of this works, try creating a new account at http://www.ezvizlife.com, then add your camera either using the auto-scan or by using the camera’s serial number. Of course, first make sure that you have followed all the steps in the article other than the port forwarding part. Hope this helps,
Cheers
Hi
The technicians have just left. How frustrating-they threw out the boxes the cameras came in therefore I cannot scan in the serial numbers. I went into the menu and found these serial numbers DS-2CD2332 and [edited] and [edited]. When I put in the only 9bit number i get the message “the device does not exist” Any ideas?
Thanks Larry
[Serial numbers removed for user’s safety]
Hi Larry,
Make sure the serial number you found is the same as that printed on your camera itself – it will be identified as ‘SN:’. I edited out your serial numbers as this information can be misused on the Internet. Yes, you can add more than 1 camera. I have not tried this recently but I will give it a go and come back to you.
Hi
How are things where you are? It is going to get close to 40 here in Mt Gambier and will be possibly over 40 tomorrow .The technician loaded iMVS-4500 and not iMVS-4500 HD on my android phone. Is there a difference? On the iMVS-4500 I can get the cameras photos up but that’s all. I only just noticed there were two types of apps.
Regards Larry
Hi Larry,
Here in the UK its unseasonably warm for winter, we had 16 deg C yesterday which is like springtime! I think the iVMS-4500 is best for phones whereas the HD version is a must for a tablet. Also the iVMS-4500 Android app page doesn’t mention push notifications which the HD version has for sure. The technician must have been more comfortable with iVMS-4500. Is everything working as expected? Do you mean there is no live-view feature to see the video from each camera?
Hi
Thank you for your really valuable help. I am now able to log in successfully. When I touch the + sign right side of screen I come up with a camera view and when I tough the little box with the stroke through it I come up with a screen which asks for a serial number (9-bit) then says search. I have not entered the serial number yet because I am waiting on the installing technician to give them to me . I could not find autoscan. Will I be able to put in more than 1 camera-I have 6.
Cheers Larry
Hi. at first thanks for the helpfull guide.
i have an issue with the push option since months.and just couldnt fix it.tried with different cameras and firmware. its like this:
i can receive push for motion alert.but not for intrusion and line cross. strange thing is that i Can receive emails for those.
so the cam sees the event.
all ports are open. background app is enabled. used admin account. can watch on phone live view. alarm option in settings is enabled.
also opened port 554
What could you suggest me ? waiting for ur reply
Hi Ozcel,
Did you manage to resolve the issue with “line crossing” and “intrusion detection” not receiving push notifications?
For a while i was able to get push notifications of lc&id, but after a while i noticed they weren’t firing anymore. I guess with fiddling with network or settings i managed to break this functionality. But i would really like to receive push notifications.
I noticed that in the log of the camera the events are being logged, but don’t get pushed to ezviz or my iPhone. I did select “triggerchannel” and “notify surveillance center”.
If you were able to resolve the issue… Any help would very much be appreciated.
Hi thanks and glad you find the guide useful! Have you performed step 2.2 as described in this guide for each of the motion detection types? You have to separately go into the Line Crossing and Intrusion Detection setup pages and select the “Notify Surveillance Centre” and “Trigger Channel”. Let me know how it goes.
Happy new year. Would you believe it,I have finally got the cameras to work on my iphone when I have an alarm state. My only problem now is the phone lets my know it has detected a problem it doesn’t make an audible -I have to keep looking at it.
The other issue is the alarm only works when I am at home in contact with my Wi-Fi. I went on holiday to Victoria which is about 600 KLs away and I never received anything.
Any ideas.
Regards Larry
Hi Larry,
Happy to hear it is working. Are you still having the problem of it not working outside your WiFi network? Even though you said you didn’t go down the port forwarding route but chose the EZIZ route, the problem you describe is a classic port forwarding issue where the camera or NVR cannot reach you phone outside your local network (WiFi). Are you sure you are using EZVIZ and not port forwarding?
Hi. I did not try to sort things out yesterday-we had 41.7 degrees. You may not believe this but I have spent about 20 hours sorting this out. Here is where I am at-
When I press live view I can see all my camera actions When I move down to
When I move down to Devices I am presented with a diagram of a recorder and my name “Larry” When i press this I get a screen which says” Device Management”. This has my ip address port number user name etc..When I touch the + I get a small screen with -Manual adding ,scan qr code Wi- fi configuration and on line device.
When I go to alarm, I am presented with a screen which says at the bottom-set alarm notification. When I touch this I have a screen with a diagram of a DVR followed by my name and a slide button which says -not supported by this device.
Picture and video does not do anything.
EZVIZ screen. I have logged into this successfully and a camera screen pops up with a red line going through it. I have tried putting this up to the bar code on my cameras to no avail. I then press the little screen with the pencil going through it and a new device screen pops up.I put my serial number and it says “this device does not exist”
I am really frustrated because I am about to go on leave and everything is ok from looking at the cameras but the push alarm does not work. Has it worked for anyone else. I would really value your assistance with this one.
Regards Larry
Hi Larry,
It sounds like your NVR either does not support Push notifications or this feature is not enabled in the NVR setup. If you refer to the user manual of your NVR, it should tell you what you need to do. This article above details enabling push notifications at the camera end, not the NVR end.
What’s the model number of your NVR?
Hi Guys
I have been finishing the last touches for port forwarding using EZVIZ cloud p2p. Everything went ok until it asked me for my username and password. I tried putting in my email address and password but got a message back stating it could not recognise my username and password. Any ideas?
Hi Larry,
If you use EZVIZ cloud P2P you will not need port forwarding at all. That’s the advantage of using the EZVIZ option.
Coming to your issue, it seems you are unable to log into your EZVIZ account. I assume you created the EZVIZ account through the iVMS-4500 HD app itself (under the cloud tab)? If so, there should be a ‘Forgot password’ option within the app, try resetting your password first. If you created the account at the EZVIZ website (http://www.ezvizlife.com), see if you can login from your computer. You want to make sure you are using the right account name and password.
If none of this works, try creating a new account at http://www.ezvizlife.com, then add your camera either using the auto-scan or by using the camera’s serial number. Of course, first make sure that you have followed all the steps in the article other than the port forwarding part. Hope this helps,
Cheers
Hi
The technicians have just left. How frustrating-they threw out the boxes the cameras came in therefore I cannot scan in the serial numbers. I went into the menu and found these serial numbers DS-2CD2332 and [edited] and [edited]. When I put in the only 9bit number i get the message “the device does not exist” Any ideas?
Thanks Larry
[Serial numbers removed for user’s safety]
Hi Larry,
Make sure the serial number you found is the same as that printed on your camera itself – it will be identified as ‘SN:’. I edited out your serial numbers as this information can be misused on the Internet. Yes, you can add more than 1 camera. I have not tried this recently but I will give it a go and come back to you.
Hi
How are things where you are? It is going to get close to 40 here in Mt Gambier and will be possibly over 40 tomorrow .The technician loaded iMVS-4500 and not iMVS-4500 HD on my android phone. Is there a difference? On the iMVS-4500 I can get the cameras photos up but that’s all. I only just noticed there were two types of apps.
Regards Larry
Hi Larry,
Here in the UK its unseasonably warm for winter, we had 16 deg C yesterday which is like springtime! I think the iVMS-4500 is best for phones whereas the HD version is a must for a tablet. Also the iVMS-4500 Android app page doesn’t mention push notifications which the HD version has for sure. The technician must have been more comfortable with iVMS-4500. Is everything working as expected? Do you mean there is no live-view feature to see the video from each camera?
Hi
Thank you for your really valuable help. I am now able to log in successfully. When I touch the + sign right side of screen I come up with a camera view and when I tough the little box with the stroke through it I come up with a screen which asks for a serial number (9-bit) then says search. I have not entered the serial number yet because I am waiting on the installing technician to give them to me . I could not find autoscan. Will I be able to put in more than 1 camera-I have 6.
Cheers Larry