It sometimes works with WiFi but unreliably.
I don’t know if it’s the camera/security light that’s at fault (V-TAC) or this software, but the software doesn’t help. This is over a WiFi network. After much fiddling around with settings, I was eventually able to get the unit connected. You do have to wait quite a while for the thing to reboot and maybe another reboot and it connects. The unit’s not far from my access point but connections are incredibly unstable, virtually unusable in fact. To make matters worse, if you can’t connect to the unit, you can’t set anything up with it (light dwell times for example or manual override). Of course, this could be a WiFi issue that would be solved by using an Ethernet connection directly to my router. But that shouldn’t really be necessary and it’s why we buy wireless systems so we don’t have to. I might get round to testing that hypothesis some day. Meanwhile, let’s see if it actually activates its lights automatically as I set it to do before it disconnected again and I’ll report back.
So, reporting back as promised! Yes, provided you’ve set up your unit correctly, lights will be activated and recordings made (if you have a micro SD card fitted) regardless of connection. And provided you can establish a WiFi connection to your network, the software will work and is quite comprehensive. To stand the best chance of connecting, however, your best bet is to. Be up nice and close to your router and certainly before outside installation. Your mileage will vary with retaining that connection if your unit’s outside but your router’s inside. I lost the WiFi connection to my security camera as soon it was on an outside wall. My network simply doesn’t go through breeze block very well! It would probably still work with indoor installation but then this VTAC is intended for outdoor use. So i think a lot of us (including me) will be unable to connect and will have to use the ethernet option instead. If you don’t want to drill holes in walls for such cables, you can plug the unit into a powerline adapter on the same supply as your security lights and get a much more reliable connection. So to finish off, the reviews here are not flattering, but I don’t think we can just blame the app’s developer. The hardware its meant to control is simply not up to the job over WiFi. Switch to a wired connection (powerline will do)and you should be good to go.
So, reporting back as promised! Yes, provided you’ve set up your unit correctly, lights will be activated and recordings made (if you have a micro SD card fitted) regardless of connection. And provided you can establish a WiFi connection to your network, the software will work and is quite comprehensive. To stand the best chance of connecting, however, your best bet is to. Be up nice and close to your router and certainly before outside installation. Your mileage will vary with retaining that connection if your unit’s outside but your router’s inside. I lost the WiFi connection to my security camera as soon it was on an outside wall. My network simply doesn’t go through breeze block very well! It would probably still work with indoor installation but then this VTAC is intended for outdoor use. So i think a lot of us (including me) will be unable to connect and will have to use the ethernet option instead. If you don’t want to drill holes in walls for such cables, you can plug the unit into a powerline adapter on the same supply as your security lights and get a much more reliable connection. So to finish off, the reviews here are not flattering, but I don’t think we can just blame the app’s developer. The hardware its meant to control is simply not up to the job over WiFi. Switch to a wired connection (powerline will do)and you should be good to go.
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