Support
Good news: you probably don't need to change anything. If you have a Hikvision or Dahua recorder on the same network as your Mac, the app finds it by itself.
The app talks straight to your recorder. Nothing goes through anyone's servers, not even ours.
Need help now? Email support@chivigo.com. See Get in touch for what to include.
If something doesn't work
Start here. The first one catches out more people than all the others together.
| What you see | Why, and what to do |
|---|---|
| Your password is right, but signing in fails | The password is longer than your recorder can store. See Password length. |
| “Recorder not found” | macOS needs your permission first. Allow it, and the app finds the recorder. If you said no earlier, turn it on in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Local Network. |
| “Wants the password sent without protection” | A recorder setting. See Password safety. |
| The app asks about a certificate | That's normal, and it only happens once. |
| It asks about the certificate again | Something changed. Read Secure connection and certificate before you approve it. |
| The times are wrong | Your recorder's clock. See The recorder's clock. |
| One camera stutters or goes black, but looks fine on its own | That camera's Lighter picture. See One camera stutters. |
| A camera won't play when several others are playing | Your recorder can only play so many at once. See How many at once. |
| No events, or only motion | See Person and vehicle events and When motion counts. |
| None of the above | See Get in touch. |
Settings that matter
These are usually set right already. They're here for when something isn't, with where to look on your recorder. Menus differ between models, so for the exact steps see your recorder's manual.
The recorder's clock
Look under the recorder's system or time settings.
The app shows every time in your recorder's own time. If the recorder's clock or time zone is wrong, so are the times in the app, and the app can't fix that for you.
Check this one first: a wrong clock doesn't look like an error, just like a wrong answer.
Turn on automatic time (often called NTP) and daylight saving time, and the recorder keeps its clock right by itself.
Person and vehicle events
Look in the recorder's AI or smart detection settings, for each camera.
The app can only show people and vehicles if your recorder spots them. Otherwise events still show up, as plain motion.
On a Hikvision recorder, this needs cameras with AcuSense.
On a Dahua recorder, turn on Smart Motion Detection (SMD) for each camera, with Human and Vehicle ticked.
Careful: switching a Dahua recorder to “AI by Recorder” can turn Smart Motion Detection off. Check it afterwards, because no events come in while it's off.
When motion counts
Look in the recorder's motion detection settings and its recording schedule.
Recorders only watch for motion during the hours in their schedule. Outside those hours, there are no events to show.
A Dahua recorder has two schedules, and either can stop events: the Video Detection Period and the Smart Motion Detection schedule. Make sure both cover the hours you care about. (The camera's own schedule doesn't matter here.)
In the recording schedule, turn on Motion and Intelligent as well as General, so the recorder keeps the video that goes with each event.
Secure connection and certificate
Look under the recorder's network settings.
Some recorders only allow secure connections. The app notices and switches over by itself.
The first time, it asks you to approve the recorder's certificate: the recorder's way of proving it is your recorder. Recorders make their own, so only you can say it's right.
It shows a short code, the fingerprint. Your browser shows the same code for the same recorder, if you want to compare. Approve it once and the app remembers it.
If it asks again out of the blue, something changed on the recorder. A firmware update or a reset does that, which is fine. If neither happened, don't approve it until you know why.
Video needs RTSP
Look under the recorder's network settings, near the other connection settings.
Video reaches the app through a setting called RTSP. It's on by default. If it's off, you see your cameras and events, but no video.
You don't need to set any port numbers: the app reads them from the recorder.
Password safety
Look under the recorder's network or security settings, near the web options.
A recorder can ask for your password in a safe way, or in a way that anyone on your network could read. If yours uses the unsafe way without a secure connection, the app won't send your password.
Look for a setting called Web Authentication and choose “digest”, or turn on HTTPS. Either one fixes it.
Password length
Look under user management, in the recorder's system settings.
This one costs people an evening. Recorders limit how long a password can be, and some quietly accept a longer one without saving it properly. After that, nothing you type works, in the app or on the recorder's web page.
On the recorders we tested, the limit is 16 characters. The app shows your recorder's limit on the sign-in screen. Sure your password is right, but it still won't work? This is almost always why.
One camera stutters
Look under that camera's own video settings, not the recorder's.
Recorders keep two versions of each camera's picture: the best one and a lighter one. When you watch several cameras, the app uses the lighter one.
If a camera's lighter picture is set very low, it can stutter in the grid while it looks fine on its own. The app then switches it to the best picture by itself. To fix it for good, raise that camera's lighter picture quality on the recorder.
How many at once
Recorders can only play back so many cameras at the same time; ours manage eight. If you ask for more, the app tells you which camera couldn't play.
Keeping a clip, or someone watching a recording on their phone, counts too. So if a camera won't play and nothing looks wrong, something else is using the recorder.
What the app never changes
The app never changes your recorder's setup. It can't change a setting, add or remove a user, restart the recorder, delete a recording or change your cameras.
One exception, and only when you do it: a camera that can move. It moves only while you hold an arrow, and its saved positions only change when you save, move or delete one. The app asks first.
So if this page suggests changing a setting, you make that change yourself, on your recorder. That's on purpose: something that watches your home shouldn't change itself.
And nothing leaves your network: no account, no cloud, no tracking. Details are in the privacy policy.
Which recorders work
Hikvision and Dahua recorders on your local network. Tested with the Hikvision DS-7604NXI-K1/4P(D) and the Dahua DHI-NVR4104HS-P-EI.
Using an OEM brand? Many recorders built on Hikvision or Dahua hardware may also work. The free version is the way to find out before you buy.
Does yours work, or not? Tell us the model (see Get in touch) so we can grow the list.
Requires macOS 15 or later and a Mac with Apple silicon.
Pro version
The app is free with one camera per recorder: live view, playback, the event timeline, search, bookmarks, snapshots and the Library.
The Pro version is a one-time purchase. It adds all your cameras at once, keeping clips on your Mac, and tags and notes. No subscription, no account, and Family Sharing is included.
- Buy: Chivigo NVR Viewer menu › Upgrade to Pro…
- New Mac, or bought it on another one: open the same window and click Restore Purchase.
- Payment and refunds are handled by Apple. Ask for a refund at reportaproblem.apple.com.
Get in touch
Email support@chivigo.com. Please tell us:
- your macOS version,
- the app version (Chivigo NVR Viewer menu › About Chivigo NVR Viewer),
- the make and model of your recorder.
Two things in the app help us help you. You see everything before anything is sent:
- A report about your recorder. On the Recorder Page (⌘⇧R) you can send us a report about your recorder: what it is and what the app saw, with no video and nothing personal.
- A diagnostics file. Help › Diagnostics for Support collects what we need. Turn on logging, make the problem happen, then create the file and attach it to your email.
Privacy questions: privacy@chivigo.com.
Hikvision is a trademark of Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., Ltd. Dahua is a trademark of Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co., Ltd. Chivigo is not affiliated with, associated with, or endorsed by either company.