How to Reset a Hikvision or Dahua NVR

In Depth

In Depth

Locked out of your Hikvision or Dahua NVR, or setting one up again? This guide explains the manufacturer-supported ways to recover the password, the difference between a reboot, a restore and a factory reset, and how to bring the recorder back into service.

Four different jobs that people call "reset"

Be clear which of these you need. Mixing them up is how footage gets lost.

If you only forgot the password, password recovery is the right tool. A full factory reset is the last resort.

Warning A reset, and especially initialising (formatting) the hard disk afterwards, can erase settings and recorded footage. If the recorder holds footage you may need as evidence, export it to a USB drive first, while you can still log in, or ask a professional to do it.

Password recovery: what Hikvision supports

Hikvision's official password reset page describes four self-service methods, and notes that not every device supports all of them. The Forgot Password link on the login screen shows which ones your recorder offers.

• Hik-Connect (account verification). Works only if the recorder was already added to a Hik-Connect or Hik-Partner Pro account. You scan a QR code with the app that owns the device and receive a verification code.
• Reserved email. Works only if an email address was set beforehand. You scan the on-screen QR code with Hik-Connect (or export it to USB and email it, as the manual describes), and a code arrives at the reserved email.
• Security questions. You answer the three questions set during activation.
• GUID file. A file exported from the recorder in advance. The NVR manual describes importing it from the web browser login page. Hikvision's release note for K-series NVRs says a GUID file stops being valid after the password is changed.

If none of these was set up, Hikvision's page describes a supported route through its technical support team: you export an XML file, QR code or reset string from the device (for example with Hikvision's SADP or HiTools Delivery tool on the same network, or iVMS-4200) and send it with a photo of the device label. Support then decides whether to issue a reset code. Expect to prove that the recorder is yours.

For Tanzania, Hikvision's Contact Us page lists its Africa office in Nairobi, Kenya, with technical support at support.mea@hikvision.com and an online support form. Hikvision also notes that after-sales support applies in the country or region where the product was bought, so your local distributor or installer is often the first step.

Tip On some recorders (76Q-series, K-series and K-series with AcuSense on firmware V4.75.000 or later), Hikvision offers a Password Hints function that may help you remember the original password first.

Note On newer Hikvision K-series firmware, the recorder forces you to set at least one recovery method at activation. Do it, and write down where you put the GUID file.

Password recovery: what Dahua supports

Dahua's NVR user manual (V2.4.2) describes password protection set during initialisation: a reserved email address and security questions. On the login screen, the forgot password icon leads to three reset modes:

• Email: a security code is sent to the linked email address.
• QR code for binding device: you scan the code with the DMSS app and get the security code there.
• Security question: only offered if the questions were set in advance.

Dahua's manual notes that the system collects details such as the email address, MAC address and serial number for the reset. After the new password is set, the recorder offers to synchronise it to connected cameras. Accepting usually saves you re-entering each camera's password.

Dahua's manual also describes a reset button on the mainboard, but says it is available on select models only, and using it means removing the cover. The NVR4108HS-8P-4KS2/L datasheet shows no reset button on the rear panel and does not say whether there is one inside. If your Dahua NVR has no recovery method set up and no button, contact Dahua support through your distributor. For Tanzania, Dahua's Contact Us page lists its Africa region, which covers Tanzania, at dh.africa@dahuatech.com. Dahua does not publish what proof it asks for, so have the serial number from the label and your proof of purchase ready.

Restore defaults versus factory defaults

Both brands offer more than one restore option, and the names matter.

Hikvision (NVR user manual, Maintenance > Default):

• Restore Defaults: resets everything except network settings and user accounts.
• Factory Defaults: resets everything, including network and accounts.
• Restore to Inactive: returns the recorder to the inactive state so it must be activated with a new password.

Dahua (NVR user manual, Main Menu > MAINTENANCE > Manager > Default):

• Default: resets everything except network settings and user management.
• Factory Default: resets all configurations.

The menu restore needs an admin login, so it is not a way round a forgotten password. For a messy configuration, the partial option is the safer first step: the recorder keeps its IP address and users.

After the reset: setting the recorder up again

A recorder that has been fully reset behaves like a new one. Hikvision calls the first step activation; Dahua calls it initialisation. Both require a strong admin password before anything else works, and both then run a start-up wizard covering network, cameras, storage and the cloud service.

• Network. Give the NVR a fixed address in your router's range, or reserve its DHCP address. Hikvision's manual lists the default address as 192.168.1.64 and Dahua's as 192.168.1.108, which will not suit most networks.
• Cameras. Cameras on the recorder's built-in PoE ports are normally found automatically. Cameras on an external switch must be on the same subnet. Cameras that were reset too must be activated or initialised first.
• Recording. Check the schedule. Hikvision's manual says continuous recording is applied by default; confirm it on your unit and add motion or event recording if you use it.
• Remote viewing. Use the official app (Hik-Connect for Hikvision, DMSS for Dahua) rather than router port forwarding. See how to view CCTV on your phone safely.

Keep a configuration backup

Both manuals describe exporting the configuration file to a USB drive (Hikvision: Maintenance > Import/Export; Dahua: Main Menu > MAINTENANCE > Manager > Import/Export). Importing it later restores your settings, and the recorder reboots afterwards.

Tip Store the admin password, the GUID file (Hikvision) and the configuration export somewhere safe and separate from the recorder.

What Extrion does not do

Unofficial "password generators", "super passwords" and backdoor tools circulate online. Extrion does not use them. They can damage firmware, they work around protections meant to stop thieves using stolen recorders, and using them on equipment you cannot prove you own may be unlawful. We use only the manufacturer's supported methods, and where those fail we go through the official support channel with the owner's proof of ownership.

When to call Extrion

If you need footage exported before a reset, cannot recover the password through the official methods, or want the system rebuilt with documented passwords, recovery methods and a configuration backup, our CCTV team can help. Contact us with the recorder's model and serial number from the label.

This guide is general information. Procedures, product features and firmware change, so check your own equipment's documentation before you start.