# ArcTools — IP Camera & NVR Field Toolkit

> IP Camera & NVR Field Toolkit (iPhone/iPad app by Justin Bowman.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/arctools/id6761849242 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Justin Bowman](https://appshunter.io/developer/1833628977)
- Category: Utilities, Business
- Price: Free
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 14.0 · 57 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-04-13
- Data updated: 2026-04-16
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/arctools/id6761849242/reviews.md

## What is ArcTools?

ArcTools is the essential field tool for security system installers. Discover, configure, test, and stream IP cameras and network video recorders directly from your phone — no laptop required.

**Discover Devices Instantly**
Scan your local network to automatically find all IP cameras and NVRs using WS-Discovery and SADP protocols. ArcTools identifies device brands, models, and firmware versions automatically.

**Live Video Streaming**
Stream live video from any camera on your network with support for Main, Sub, and Third streams. View NVR channels individually with real-time playback.

**Full Device Configuration**
- Image tuning (brightness, contrast, saturation, sharpness, WDR)
- OSD / camera name overlay setup
- Video encoding settings (codec, resolution, frame rate, bitrate)
- Time and NTP synchronization
- Smart event setup (line crossing, intrusion detection)
- Motion detection zone editor
- Network configuration (IP, subnet, gateway, DNS)
- PTZ controls with live video and preset management

**NVR Dashboard**
View all channels at a glance with online/offline status, camera names, and IP addresses. Monitor HDD health and capacity, PoE port status, and recording schedules.

**Multi-Brand Support**
Works with Arcdyn, Hikvision, Uniview, and any ONVIF-compatible camera or NVR. Automatically detects the device protocol (ISAPI, LAPI, or ONVIF) and uses native APIs for the best experience.

**Built for Installers**
- Per-device and global credential management
- Connection status and authentication monitoring
- Device reboot and activation support
- Real-time event monitoring
- Secure credential storage using platform encryption

**Privacy First**
All data stays on your device and local network. No cloud, no analytics, no tracking. Your camera credentials are encrypted using iOS Keychain.


## Version history (last 2 releases)

### 1.0.1 — 2026-04-15

New Features
NVR Channel Dashboard — NVR detail screen now displays connected channels in a grid with live snapshot thumbnails for each channel, including channel name, status, and IP.
VPN Detection Warning — App now detects active VPN connections and warns the user that local network features (camera discovery, streaming) may not work. Check runs at startup and again on every network scan, so users are notified even if they enable a VPN mid-session.
Fixes & Reliability
LAPI / Uniview Snapshots — Fixed snapshots not loading on Uniview IPC and NVR channels by correcting the LAPI snapshot URL pattern and digest auth handling.
RTSP Frame-Capture Fallback — When all HTTP/ISAPI/LAPI/ONVIF snapshot endpoints fail, the app now extracts a single frame from the RTSP sub-stream as a last-resort thumbnail. This is required for:
IP cameras with no HTTP snapshot endpoint exposed
Third-party ONVIF cameras added to a Uniview NVR (channels the NVR cannot proxy snapshots for)
VPN False-Positive Fix — VPN detector now requires a routable IPv4 address on the tunnel interface, eliminating false positives from iOS/macOS background utun interfaces (Handoff, AirDrop, AWDL) that persist after disconnecting a VPN.

### 1.0 — 2026-04-14

No release notes.

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-04-16.*