Question about Xiao Fang Hacks

SmiTTy on 21/10/2017 - 00:24

Like most ozbargainers, I've got myself a xiaomi xiao fang camera on one of the recent sales.
Im using the camera as a baby monitor , so its not continuously on. I plug it in when i need it an disconnect when its not needed.

I've played around with the xiao fang hacks and managed to run the hack successfully. My question though, is once i disconnect the camera and reconnect it , does that mean I need to go through the whole process again (including going to the web interface, starting all scripts etc) in order to start the rtsp feed ? If so, im wondering if its really worth it when I can just view it from Mi Home app

Secondly, when I received the camera it worked perfectly. But now i constantly have issues connecting through the app. The blue light at the back blinks a lot, and Mi Home app tries to connect (or even when it does connect, every few mins it'll try to connect again) , to the point that its becoming unusable (which is why im considering reapplying the hack)
I haven't made any changes to the camera

any guidance would be much appreciated.
thanks.

Computing IP Camera Xiaomi

Comments

  • Xetrok on 21/10/2017 - 01:21

    I can't connect with the app while hacks are enabled, I'm not sure if I'm meant to be able to or not but yeah.

    • whatisk on 21/10/2017 - 05:31

      You will not be able to use the hack and the Mi Home app at the same time. It's one or the other. With the hack enabled I used TinyCam initially but now have it connected to my Synology NAS.

  • dcuksuop on 21/10/2017 - 02:11

    I haven't tried the hacks. I use the cam to live stream to check in on my dog, and the app works well for that. I had some connectivity issues past few days, it's been fine today. The app and camera uses servers in China, and the connectivity issues coincided with China's National Congress meeting…

    • furythree on 24/10/2017 - 01:01

      i have the alarm setting turned on for this camera and there are videos being recorded in the "video record" menu

      where are these files being stored? in china? i didnt put an SD card in one yet somehow its storing all this footage? is there a limit or do i have to delete files?

      • dcuksuop on 24/10/2017 - 11:59

        yep, china servers. I never deleted any files, don't know how far back they go.

        • furythree on 25/10/2017 - 12:47

          btw would you know why you need to use the older version of the apps?

          if you cant use the app and the fanghacked camera at the same time, why do you have to stick with the old version?

        • dcuksuop on 25/10/2017 - 14:02

          @furythree:

          You're confusing app (what's running on your phone) vs firmware (what's running on the camera). Fanghacks runs on the camera, on top of the firmware, but only works with old version of firmware.

        • furythree on 25/10/2017 - 23:35

          @wkapri: no i actually mean app
          if you read the install guides they mention that you should stick with the v4.0.11 of the mi home app

          but i cant understand why

          i know that newer versions of the app block access from their servers to intl users regardless of server location

          but i havent had the issue using the play store version (which is not the "latest" version but still newer than the 4.0.11)

          http://bobbyromeo.com/technology/xiaomi-smart-1080p-wifi-ip-…

  • whatisk on 21/10/2017 - 05:40
    +1

    Once you've installed the hack, as long as you keep the SD Card in the camera it the hack will remain enabled even when power to the camera is turned off and back on. It will retain whatever the settings were prior to it being turned off.

    I think the blinking blue light means it's hasn't connected to the wifi as yet/there is poor signal. I haven't experienced the issue myself.

    If you are happy with the app, there is probably no need to use the hack. I wanted RTSP so I could use it with my Synology NAS and Surveillance Station. Also keep in mind if you are going to use the hack, I believe the latest firmware you can use is 3.3.0.56 so don't update to anything newer than that via the Mi Home app. If you do you will need to downgrade the firmware before the hack will work.

    • skrep on 21/10/2017 - 10:10

      +1

      I would recommend investigating the issue that it is not connecting to your wifi. This most likely isn't the hack that's the problem.

      Try running through the setup again for wifi and play around with it to see if you can replicate the same issue without the hacks by turning it off and on again.

    • SmiTTy on 23/10/2017 - 11:16

      Thank you, thats exactly what i needed to know. I've reapplied the hack and powered off/on and its working perfectly. Thank you

      Re the blinking blue light , im pretty sure its relating to the cloud server. There doesnt appear to be anything wrong with my wifi, other devices can connect to the internet and with each other … and nothing has changed since when it was working. In any case, with the hack + tinycam app, its working great now.

      Cheers!

  • myusername on 21/10/2017 - 11:44

    what are the benefits of these xiao fang hacks?

    i've just purchased a couple so pretty curious to find out.

    Or does anyone have any tips to share?

    • SmiTTy on 23/10/2017 - 11:20
      +2

      as i understand it, the way the camera works is it connects to the server on the cloud (in china).
      When you launch your mi home app, it connects to the server and shows you the image on your camera. There are some concerns around potential privacy with the cloud residing in china. Note that these are just concerns people have raised, i dont think they have been validated as an actual threat. Plus I've had connectivity issues of late which is one more thing you need to rely on.

      The Xiao fang hacks enables an "RTSP" feed on the camera, basically allowing you to connect directly to the camera and stream what its capturing. I think the down side is you can't record and use rtsp at the same time (happy to be corrected)

      I used this guide to help me through it , along with the github website for resources (i found the readme/support guide on github a little difficult to follow)

      http://bobbyromeo.com/technology/xiaomi-smart-1080p-wifi-ip-…

      good luck :)

      • myusername on 23/10/2017 - 12:03
        +1

        awesome thanks heaps for this it's just what i was looking for :-)

  • oz-stef on 21/10/2017 - 20:28

    I can't use than hacks, I upgraded the camera firmware #facepalm

    • SmiTTy on 23/10/2017 - 11:22
      +1

      you can still downgrade.. if you want to use the hack.

  • bargaino on 05/12/2017 - 17:17

    I bricked my xiaofang cameras a while ago. But fixed now.

    Have just connected a serial cable (3 wires to a USB serial dongle), and once the soldering was done, it only took a few minutes to fix.
    Just had to log in using a terminal emulator (root password ismart12) and edit the fang_hacks config file. It even has 'vi' installed !

    The problem seems to be that I did not have "Wireless Client" mode working properly.
    But a few more tries, and it all seems to be working now. No china server needed, just connect my security camera program direct over the LAN.

    Will install them under the eaves, and see how reliable they are.

    Anyone else hacking these?

  • whatthecrappin on 30/12/2017 - 16:45

    how do you use the win32 tool? I formatted my sd card first - ensured no partitions
    then using the tool I selected the img and the usb drive. it created 2 partitions. 1st partition had data - 2nd partition had nothing? the site shows the data should be here? when I exited the app, windows then tried to format the 2nd partition?

    • CyberMurning on 30/12/2017 - 17:18

      What you done is correct. 2nd partition isn't visible by window I think.

      Just choose no when window ask to format, then proceed to the next step of hacking. (follow the bobby Romeo guide)

  • whatthecrappin on 30/12/2017 - 17:44

    ok, tried it, but still getting - site cannot be reached. I'm using the right ip address (checked the mac address against the dhcp address allocated in the router)

    I tried the /hello.cgi and /status - both have the same site cannot be reached :(

    are you able to at least ping yours? (Mihome works, so I know its on the network)

    starting to wonder if its the firmware I'm on

    found this so might try a downground…………
    https://github.com/samtap/fang-hacks/issues/256

    • CyberMurning on 31/12/2017 - 10:32

      Make sure firmware is 3.3.0.56 if not then downgrade to it. I was able to downgrade but takes hours to read internet and trials. Just follow and have a lot of patience

  • whatthecrappin on 31/12/2017 - 18:24

    well I downgraded, and then applied the hack!
    RTSP didnt seem to work, so I click ran the cloud manually
    20-rtsp-server then started (still cant connect to it though)

    do your logs appear like this? I'm not convinced its loaded all the hacks successfully
    Contents of /tmp/hacks.log:
    Thu Jan 1 08:00:05 GMT 1970 - /etc/fang_hacks.sh: Executing script (enabled: 1)
    Thu Jan 1 08:00:05 GMT 1970 - /etc/fang_hacks.sh: Waiting for cloud apps…
    Thu Jan 1 08:00:09 GMT 1970 - /etc/fang_hacks.sh: iCamera is running!
    Tue Oct 11 00:00:24 GMT 2016 - /etc/fang_hacks.sh: Boa webserver is running!
    Tue Oct 11 00:00:24 GMT 2016 - /etc/fang_hacks.sh: CGI scripts not found in /media/mmcblk0p1/bootstrap/www!
    Tue Oct 11 00:00:24 GMT 2016 - /etc/fang_hacks.sh: Failed to find hacks in /media/mmcblk0p2/data!
    mount: mounting /dev/mmcblk0p2 on /media/mmcblk0p2 failed: No such file or directory
    Tue Oct 11 00:00:24 GMT 2016 - /etc/fang_hacks.sh: Failed to find /media/mmcblk0p2/data!
    Sun Dec 31 15:01:40 GMT 2017 - /media/mmcblk0p1/snx_autorun.sh: Running (device: mmcblk0p1)

    well vlc does connect to it - so it must be working :)

    thanks for you help!

    Now to try and take one step further and get the NVR to record…..

  • whatthecrappin on 02/01/2018 - 10:03

    progress! have managed to get it to record on movement to ispy

    now to learn how to edit scripts on the camera so it autoloads…………….

  • CyberMurning on 02/01/2018 - 11:59

    hi i have this xiaofang, hacked and up running okay - i opened the port etc, i can access via wifi and 4G using tinycam.
    the issue is (via wifi and 4G) when i first open the liveview, it was okay but within seconds the frame rate will drop from 50 to 20 then 10 , 5 and then zero then the feed stopped.

    anyone know why?

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