Why Does the Hik-connect App Say Network is Unstable?
If you’ve been using the Hik-connect app to monitor your home security cameras, you may have noticed the “network is unstable” error message. This error can be frustrating since it interrupts your view of what’s happening at home or work.
Why does the Hik-connect app say the network is unstable? The network is unstable error message refers to your phone’s internet connection. The Hik-connect app tried to connect to your security cameras and failed because your internet connection is too slow. If the internet signal is not strong enough, it can result in pixelated video or the “network is unstable” error message.
You can do a few things to troubleshoot and improve your connection. Let’s see what we can do to correct this.
Close any apps that are running in the background
This includes apps like Facebook, YouTube, and Netflix. Any apps running in the background can use up your phone’s memory and internet bandwidth.
Most of us let apps run in the background all the time, but this can slow down our phone and internet connections. Close any apps you’re not using to improve your phone’s performance.
Then re-open the Hik-connect app for a new connection. You should view your cameras now if your network connection is strong enough.
Perform a speed test to check your mobile internet connection.
- You can test your mobile internet speed by going to www.speedtest.net
- Press the Go button to begin the speed test and wait for the download and upload test to complete.
- Once the test is complete, the internet speed results will be displayed in megabits per second (Mbps).
We’re mainly concerned with the download speed right now. The upload speed doesn’t matter.
The higher the download speed, the faster your connection to your security cameras.
Depending on the resolution and the number of cameras you are trying to view, you may need a minimum of 10-20 megabits per second of bandwidth available to establish a connection with your security cameras.
A speed lower than ten Mbps may be enough to view your cameras, but you may have to view only one camera at a time instead of trying to view multiple cameras on a split-screen.
Try to connect over a WiFi connection.
If you have a strong WiFi signal available in your area, try connecting to the internet over a WiFi connection.
This will help avoid any potential network congestion that may be happening on your mobile phone data plan.
- Your phone’s mobile data might be too weak to stream the video feed from your cameras, especially if you only have one or two signal bars.
- Even if you have full signal strength on your phone, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there is enough bandwidth available to stream multiple video feeds.
When connected to WiFi, you will rarely get the network unstable error unless you have multiple apps running in the background or you’re too far from the router.
What if I can’t improve my internet connection?
Often you’re limited to whatever network connection that’s available to you whether WiFi or mobile data.
You can do a few things if the network connection is unstable when using the Hik-connect app.
As mentioned before, first close any apps running in the background on your phone. These apps can slow down your phone’s performance by using up the memory and internet bandwidth.
View your security cameras in standard definition.
- The Hik-connect app lets you view your security cameras in standard definition (SD) or high definition (HD)
- The standard definition (SD) is a low-resolution feed that can be viewed even if you don’t have the best cell reception.
- The high definition takes up more bandwidth and can cause network instability issues on a mobile phone data connection.
- If you’re having problems connecting, try viewing the camera in standard definition.
The standard definition feed will use less bandwidth and may help improve your connection.
Try to view only one camera at a time.
- By default, when you open the app to view your cameras, all cameras will start to load.
- If you are having trouble connecting to more than one camera, try viewing only one camera at a time.
- This will help reduce the amount of bandwidth the Hik-connect app needs to use to stream the video feeds.
These are some tips to help improve your network connection when using the Hik-connect app. If you’re still having problems connecting to your security cameras, contact our support team for help.
Check your home internet connection.
Your security cameras are connected to the internet through your router.
If you’re having trouble connecting to your security cameras, your home internet connection may be a problem.
- First, test your home internet connection speed.
- You can do this by going to a website like www.speedtest.net and clicking on the Go button.
- This will test the download and upload speeds of your internet connection.
- The upload speed is important because you will not be able to connect to your security cameras from the mobile app without a good upload speed from your router.
- The minimum upload speed from most internet service providers is about 35 megabits per second (Mbps).
- If your upload speed is lower than 35 Mbps, you may not be able to connect to your security cameras using the mobile app.
If you have a lot of devices connected to your home internet, you may want to consider upgrading your internet plan for faster upload speeds.
If you’re having trouble connecting to your security cameras, it may be because your home internet connection doesn’t have enough speed to support the video feed.
Contact your internet service provider for more help.
Conclusion
If you’re having trouble connecting to your security cameras, you can do a few things to improve the connection. First, close any apps running in the background on your phone as they can slow down your phone’s performance. You can also try viewing the standard definition feed of the camera or only view one camera at a time. If you’re still having problems, test your home internet connection speed to see if you need to upgrade your plan for faster upload speeds.
