Foscam FI8910W White 2-Pack Pan & Tilt Wireless IP Camera with 9dbi Antennas

I was a little hesitant at first to purchase "budget" wireless IP cameras, as I've heard/read many horror stories, and noticed there are some people on Amazon remarking that many of the positive Foscam reviews are bogus. But I decided to take a chance on these, after reading a favorable tech review.So far, I've found that the cameras are easy to setup, and work pretty much as advertised. My home network setup consists of a DSL gateway modem, a Linksys main router, and 2 Linksys bridge-repeaters (created from older wireless routers), all flashed with DD-WRT.There is a small trick or two that you need to keep in mind during setup, and knowing this can make the process much less frustrating. Here are some tips, less all the excruciating detail, which you might find useful:1. Plug the camera into your ROUTER using an ethernet patch cable - do NOT plug it into your desktop or laptop computer.2. Install the IP Camera tool from the included disk or download it from the Foscam site ([...]) FIRST! There are versions for Windows and Mac.3. Start the IP Camera tool, give it a few moments, and it should find the camera. Click the link in the popup window, and your admin screen to the camera interface should load in a browser.4. From here you can setup the features of your camera. I found that one easy way is to use the UPnP (universal plug and play). This worked very well for me. Using UPnP, should aid in identifying your camera to your router.5. I don't see any reason why you should NOT set a static *internal* IP address, and I think the DHCP option is kind of ridiculous. Having a static internal IP will allow you to ALWAYS find your Foscams when connected to your home network - make a bookmark. With DHCP, these internal IP numbers can change.6. If you are installing the two camera (or more) set, decide on unique PORT NUMBERS for each camera. You will be connecting remotely to your home network through a single IP address (a public, external one), so having a port number for each will make it easier to connect to the right camera and for forwarding.7. Port forwarding - I think a lot of people get confused on this step, but it is essential if you want to operate and view the cameras from outside your home or business. On my setup, I did forwarding for the relevant camera ports I selected on my DSL gateway, and main router. Doing the same on repeaters will probably be a good idea as well, if you have them.8. Once you *think* you have the ports forwarded correctly, use an online tool like "canyouseeme" ([...]) to verify. Basically, navigate to the site with your web browser while on your home or business network, and it will pre-populate the IP address field of your home network (the external public one) in the correct field. Enter each port number and hit the test button. This will tell you if the port is truly open.9. When you test your camera for internal network viewing (using the internal IP address you setup in the beginning), remember to concatenate the port numbers for each camera. So if your camera's internal IPs are something like 192.168.0.2 and 192.168.0.3, with port numbers of 8090 and 8091 respectively, you would enter: 192.168.0.2:8090 and 192.168.0.3:8091 in your browser URL bar.10. For testing REMOTE camera operation, don't try to do it inside your home network, as it will probably hang on you, since you are coming FROM the same IP address your are trying to connect TO. Use a connection outside your home using the external IP address (determined from canyouseeme or other), with the port numbers concatenated onto the end for each respective camera. OR, if you have something like a VPN, connect to that, so the address you are coming FROM is different than your actual home IP address.PROS:Good picture, reliable panning motion, decent reception and range, IR for night vision, presets (excellent), included mounting arm/bracket, and price.CONS:No zoom or built in record functionality in the included software.Overall, I think this is a really nice setup for the price, and should tick the boxes for the average person.No zoomUpdate #1: I've been using two of these for about 3 months now, and they still haven't disappointed me. I purchased the Blue Iris software package from Foscam LCC here on Amazon, and that is by far the best solution for multi-camera real-time monitoring, as well as recording. Mine are setup to record short clips based on motion, and they have been working pretty much flawlessly. We decided to expand our security and I was happy enough to order a second set of two.Update #2: Bought and installed 2 more of these and they are still all working great. Foscam has released firmware and web GUI updates for this model, and I DEFINITELY recommend you download and install them. It improves the functioning of the camera, and provides better security and interaction for the browser interface (the login screen comes up now before the camera information is displayed as with the previous version). I now have 4 of these, and one outdoor Foscam IP camera. Overall I have been very pleased.

The worst experience money can buy. I now understand the low price on this so called camera. The vendors sell this to the consumer, the consumer finds out that it does not work and finally gives up and sends it back to the vendor where they now are stuck with a useless product that technically is used, then they have to lower the price just to get another consumer to take a shot at this purchase. This is not the vendors fault, as they are offering a product in good faith, but one that does NOT perform as advertised.I purchased this set of cameras about a week ago, and the vendor delivered on time and it came undamaged. As I unboxed the cameras, I was eager to set them up and add this to check in on the pets, or if there were a false alarm from the security system.Day 1Unpacked cameras and read booklet that came with the product, they suggested installing the software first so I loaded the disk that came in the box. As luck would have it, as the driver and software went to install, the installation was blocked due to an un-published digital signature on the installation. I now have to figure out how to circumvent this. After a two hour ordeal I was able to convince Windows that it was safe and to allow the software install. After the software install took place I followed booklets guidance to start the set up process. I was able to get as far as setting up the wireless portion, but no image could be seen.Day 2I decided to pick up where I left off and kept trying different configurations and settings with no results. After a while I noticed a setting for WPS (wireless protected setting) so I used that and after the install I was able to view the cameras on my desktop.Day 3I now have to work on the remote access portion of the install, and here is where the nightmare begins! The booklet suggests to go to a DNS hosting site and register for a free DDNS address, so that you can access the cameras remotely or something of that nature. Utterly confused by this step I proceed to look at forums, or any information I could gather on this subject. After that I went on to watch countless YOU TUBE videos on how to install this thing. The problem was that the video used older software and it did not align well with the software I had.Day 4I decide to attempt to do the DDNS and port forwarding (another foreign concept to me) and follow one of the videos on YOU TUBE. I came close but no success, still getting network errors and no luck with remote viewing. After a few hours I call it a night.Day 5Frustrated and soured on this product I give in and call the 800 number expecting someone to answer in a reasonable amount of time, NOT!! The recording tells you where you are in the call cue, but lies about the expected wait time, so their 10 minute wait was really 30 (Yes, I timed it!) After someone came on and I was finally able to understand them, they asked for permission to log in to my PC remotely to set this up, I agreed since I figured he would have the same luck as me. after a brief 10 minutes he got the port forwarding thing set right, and he claims he could see me remotely. I asked him to help me set up the Android app on my phone and after a few minutes I could see the cameras on the phone.Day 6I decided to take the app for a test drive, it worked great within my own network, but what about remotely, after all the experts did set this up for me and claim it was working. I go down to the local Starbucks for coffee and to use the Wi-Fi with the app. I should have known there would be a problem. I decided to try using 4G data, but it could not communicate or log in to the cameras, 3G was a total waste of time, so I went to another hot spot to test this with the same results. I tried this connection at work and the same thing, when I returned home the cameras were able to be accessed and viewed on the home network. This defeats the whole purpose of having this setup.After 6 days of frustrating events, one long wait on tech support, countless YOU TUBE videos, and online forums I finally had a big smile return to my face as I watched the UPS guy carry the box with the items to be returned.Lesson to be learned, you get what you pay for, but if you choose to try this product thinking you might have better luck with it, let me same you a few days of frustration by suggesting that you unbox the item, plug it in and call the 800 tech support. At least you will be 4 days ahead in the deal.