Swann Wi-Fi Pan & Tilt Camera AlwaysSafe App User Manual

Swann Wi-Fi Pan & Tilt Camera

_**Always Safe App User Manual**_

Adding a Camera

If you have not already done so, connect the camera to power using the supplied USB cable and power adapter.

The camera will begin rotating as part of its startup sequence.

Once the camera has finished starting up, it will go into Wi-Fi configuration mode and guide you through the Wi-Fi setup process. Listen carefully and follow the voice prompts from the camera. You’ll need to connect your smartphone to the camera’s temporary Wi-Fi hotspot.

Open the AlwaysSafe app when prompted (your smartphone should now be connected to the camera’s Wi-Fi hotspot), then wait for the Setup box to be displayed as shown above. Tap OK then follow the on-screen instructions to configure your home Wi-Fi network settings for the camera. Once Wi-Fi setup is finished, the camera is ready to stream live video. Before using the camera any further, make sure to set the date and time. See “Setting Date and Time” on page 6.

Setting Date and Time

From the Devices screen, tap the Settings icon on the camera tile to access camera settings.

Tap the More button.

Tap Date & Time.

Tap Synchronize phone time. This allows the camera to automatically sync its date, time and time zone to the clock on your smartphone. You can also change how the date and time is displayed using the Date Format and Time Format options. If “Daylight Saving Time” is observed in your locale, turn Enable DST on then configure when DST starts and ends.

Setting up Email Alerts

From the Devices screen, tap the Settings icon on the camera tile to access camera settings.

Tap Email.

Make sure Enabled is turned on, then tap Email Settings.

Tap Add Sender. This lets you configure the email account that will be used to send email alerts about motion activity.

Tap SMTP Server to select your email provider.

Tap the name of your email provider–Gmail, Yahoo or Outlook/Hotmail. Server settings for these email services have already been preconfigured. Tap the Left arrow at the top left to return to the previous screen. If your email provider is not any of the above, tap Other.

If Other is selected, manually enter the SMTP server address and port number of your email provider. If you don’t know the details, contact your email provider or try googling first.
Tap Save at the top right once done.

Enter the Sender Name, Sender Email and Sender Email Password. The Sender Email is the email address that the camera will use to send alerts. Tap Save at the top right once done.

Tap Add Recipient. This lets you configure the email addresses that will receive email alerts.

Enter up to 3 email addresses that will receive email alerts. You can even send alerts to yourself; just tap Sender and the field will be populated automatically with the Sender’s email address. Tap Save once done.

Tap Email Content and select what to include in the email alerts. The following options are available: Text, Picture, Text with Picture (default), Text with Video (30 seconds long)

Tap E-mail Interval and select the time –30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes or 30 minutes–in between email alerts arriving in your inbox. If you’re getting too many emails, you might want to increase the interval to suit your situation.
Tap the Left arrow at the top left once done. A test email will be sent to the recipient(s) that you’ve specified.

Check your (recipient) inbox for the test email.
Not getting the test email?

• Check your sender email address and password as well as the recipient email address in the Email Settings.
• If using Gmail, look for a “Sign-in attempt was blocked” email from Google. You’ll need to review your Google account activity, then go to the Less secure app access section of your Google account and turn Allow less s ecure apps on to start getting email alerts.

Customizing Email Alerts Schedule

Go to the camera’s settings then tap Email.

Make sure Enable is turned on, then tap Schedule. If you haven’t set up email alerts yet, see “Setting up Email Alerts” on page 7.

By default, the camera is scheduled to send emails when motion events occur as shown by the blue time bars representing each day of the week. Do not edit the email alerts schedule if you want to receive emails about motion detection at all times.

To customize the email alerts schedule (i.e., when you want to get email alerts, instead of all the time), first choose the day of the week by tapping the time bar corresponding to the day that you want to customize.

To start creating the schedule for the day (Monday for this example), either:

• Tap an individual hourly bar, or
• Tap and drag across several hours for a longer time range.

After selecting the hour or hourly time range (shown with a green outline), select the type of action required.

• Alarm (blue): Send email alerts for motion events
• None (grey): Do not send email alerts for motion events.
  (Note: The camera will still record motion events but not send email alerts)

In the example above, “None” was the selected action for the hours between midnight and 7am. This means email alerts will not be sent during this time period (grey bars). Repeat the steps above to continue customizing the schedule for Monday. Tap Save at the top right once done.

The email alerts schedule is updated to reflect the schedule that you have created for Monday. You can create unique schedules for each day of the week. Simply perform the same steps as described.

Setting up a MicroSD Memory Card

Insert a microSD memory card into the microSD card slot on the back of the camera, with the gold contacts facing down, until it clicks into place. To ensure smooth performance and plenty of space for recording motion events, we recommend using a fast memory card (class 6 or higher), with at least 16 GB of capacity.
Note: We do not guarantee compatibility with microSD cards from all manufacturers. Only use good quality microSD cards from well-known manufacturers.

From the Devices screen, tap the Settings icon on the camera tile to access camera settings.

Tap the More button.

Tap Storage.

Before using a microSD card for the first time, you’ll need to format it. Tap the Format button. The camera will format the memory card and restart automatically for the memory card to take effect.

When the camera has finished restarting (i.e., the camera stops rotating), the installed microSD card is ready for use. You can view the microSD card’s total capacity and the amount of space currently used to store the camera recordings.

Sharing Access to your Camera

From the Devices screen, tap the Settings icon on the camera tile to access camera settings.

Tap the Share button.

A QR code containing your camera’s UID data is displayed. Important: Only share this code with the people you trust completely to have access to your camera, for example, a close family member.

On your family member’s smartphone, download the latest version of the AlwaysSafe app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Once installed, open the app and tap + icon at the top right of the screen.

Using your family member’s smartphone, scan the QR code of the camera that is being shared (on your smartphone) as shown above.

To log into your camera, provide your camera’s admin login password (this is the password created during the Wi-Fi setup wizard), then tap the Login button. Note: A Guest account can also be created (via Settings > More > User Management > Add Users) to provide limited access to your camera such as Live View and Playback only.

Your camera can now be accessed at any time from your family member’s smartphone using the app.

Devices Home Screen

(1) Configure app startup settings, view general information about the app, and more.

(2) Add a camera manually by scanning the QR code.

(3) Displays all of the connected cameras on your network (i.e., router).

(4) The camera name. You can change this by going to Settings > Info.

(5) Manage the camera’s settings such as the motion detection sensitivity, email alerts, microSD storage, and more. To learn about the camera settings available, see “Device Settings Screen” on page 23.

(6) The camera preview window. Tap anywhere on the window to start live view from the camera.

(7) Quickly start live view of the last watched camera. This is useful when you have more than one camera installed.

Live View Screen

(1) Tap to return to the Devices home screen.

(2) Select multiple cameras, if available, to view live video simultaneously or on separate video windows.

(3) Tap to unmute/mute the live video. If more than one camera is streaming using the multi-camera window option, only audio from the highlighted (blue) camera is heard.

(4) Tap to stop/start live video from the camera.

(5) Tap to capture a snapshot. Photos are automatically saved to your smartphone’s internal memory–look for the “AlwaysSafe” folder via the file manager app on your smartphone.

(6) Tap to start recording the live video. Tap again to stop recording. Recordings are saved to your smartphone’s internal memory–look for the “AlwaysSafe” folder via the file manager app on your smartphone.

(7) Tap to change the video stream quality between Fluent (smoother movement) and Clear (higher quality). Note: If streaming in “Clear” quality, only live video from one camera will be streamed on a single window at a time.

(8) Tap to change the color setting of the camera – Color, Black & White or Auto.

(9) Tap for a landscape (full screen) display of the live view window

(10) Tap to enable the talk function. See “Live View Screen: Using Two- Way Talk” on page 21.

(11) Tap to enable pan & tilt controls. See “Live View Screen: Using Pan & Tilt Controls” on page 19.

(12) Tap to access the Playback screen where you can search and review motion detection recordings from the camera. See “Playback Screen” on page 22.

Live View Screen: Using Pan & Tilt Controls

Tap the PTZ button at the bottom of the screen.

Pan and tilt the camera using the joystick. Drag and release quickly for incremental movements, or drag and hold for continuous pan or tilt. You can also set your camera to automatically pan for 60 seconds by tapping the Auto icon. To stop automatic panning at any time, tap the Auto button again. Do not manually pan or tilt the camera with your hands. Doing so will damage the camera.

Live View Screen: Saving & Calling Preset Positions

You can save multiple camera viewpoints as preset positions to call upon later. To define a camera position, pan/tilt the camera to the desired position, then tap the Mark button and give the preset an appropriate name.

Preset camera positions that have been saved are displayed at the bottom of screen. Simply tap a position to move the camera’s view automatically to the marked position.

You can delete preset positions by tapping the icon.

Tap a preset position to delete it. Tap Done once you’ve finished.

Live View Screen: Using Two-Way Talk

Tap the Talk button at the bottom of the screen.

Tap the Mic button to start talking. To stop talking at any time, tap the Mic button again.

Playback Screen

(1) Tap to return to the Devices screen.

(2) Tap to select a different camera, if available.

(3) Tap to unmute/mute the video.

(4) Tap to start playback of all motion events for the day starting from the first selected motion event in the motion event history timeline below.

(5) Drag the marker along the timeline to quickly skip forward or back to a specific point in the clip.

(6) Tap the corresponding icon to start/stop video playback, capture a photo, start/stop clip recording, change video stream quality, or maximize the video window to full screen (landscape view).

(7) Tap to open the calendar and change the date to search for motion events.

(8) Tap to exit Playback and return to Live View.

(9) History of motion events showing the time of occurrence and the length of the recording. Scroll left or right to see more. Tap once to select and playback the motion event automatically. Tap the selected event (blue border) again to display the Download screen where you can download a clip of the recording to your smartphone. The maximum length of the clip that you can download is limited to 30 seconds. Use the Start and End markers to alter the duration to just the portions of the recording that you need. For long recordings, you can repeat the same step to download another 30- second portion of the recording.

(10) Drag left or right to show motion event history from a particular period of time. Highlighted parts in blue represent when the camera recorded motion activity.

Device Settings Screen

(1) Tap to edit the camera’s name and view technical details such as network connection and system hardware status.

(2) Tap to generate a QR code that will allow you to share access to the camera with other people. To learn how, see “Sharing Access to your Camera” on page 14.

(3) (For compatible Swann DVR models only) Tap to enable or disable push notifications on your phone.

(4) Tap to view the Wi-Fi network that the camera is currently connected to. You can also connect the camera to a different Wi-Fi network, if available. The camera supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi networks.

(5) Tap to access more system settings for the camera such as date & time, video standard and user management.

(6) Tap to adjust image and video display settings.

(7) Tap to adjust the motion detection sensitivity. You can also customize up to 4 time periods for the day and assign different sensitivity to each time period as well as create masking zones to ignore motion activity occurring in certain parts of the scene.

(8) Tap to configure recording schedules and customize the times and days in which the camera is allowed to record videos to the microSD card when motion is detected. NOTE: For the Record settings to be made available, the camera must have a microSD memory card installed. To learn how, see“Setting up a MicroSD Memory Card” on page 12.

(9) Tap to configure the camera’s built-in siren function including the alarm schedule and enable the camera to sound the siren when motion is detected. The siren will stop automatically about 10 seconds after complete absence of motion in the scene.

(10) Tap to set up and configure email alerts so you can be easily notified when motion is detected. To learn how, see “Setting up Email Alerts” on page 7.

Device Settings Screen

(11) You can disable audio completely in the video stream. Leave this setting ON to listen to and record ambient sound.

(12) You can disable the camera’s built-in infrared LEDs completely. If you disable this setting, make sure there is enough ambient light to obtain a good image during the night.

(13) Tap to delete the camera from the app. To also ensure your camera is completely removed from your network, you should perform a camera factory reset. Simply press and hold the Reset button on the camera for 10 seconds with the supplied reset pin tool.

Device Settings: Display

(1) The camera preview window will reflect real-time changes made to the display settings here.

(2) If the camera is mounted upside down, you can flip the camera’s video, including any future motion recordings, right side up by tapping the Rotation button. If you need to flip the camera’s video back to its original orientation, tap the Rotation button again.

(3) Tap to change the position of the camera name in the video window. You can also choose to hide the camera name, if necessary.

(4) Tap to change the position of the date and time in the video window. You can also choose to hide the date and time, if necessary.

(5) Advanced image settings. Scroll left or right to display more available settings. Tap to expand and make adjustments to the image setting.

• Anti-flicker: If lights are flickering in the video, try changing the refresh rate to either 50Hz (Australia/UK), or 60Hz (North America).
• Exposure: By default, the camera sets the appropriate exposure values automatically according to the surrounding lighting environment. You can also choose the exposure level of the camera based on predefined conditions. Select Manual to adjust shutter range and gain value of the camera manually for exposure compensation, if, for example, the image appears too dark (underexposed) or too light (overexposed) during daylight deepen ding on the scene.
• White Balance: By default, the camera sets the white balance automatically according to the surrounding lighting conditions so that the most natural reproduction of color tone can be obtained in the image. You can select Manual to adjust the gain (amplification) of the red and blue channels according to your preferences.
• Day and Night: Change how the camera handles color and manages the transition from daytime to nighttime and vice versa. In the Color mode option, the camera does not operate the infrared LEDs at all (even at night). This mode can let you to capture color night images and videos, provided the scene has ample ambient light available (for example, a lit porch light). Without sufficient lighting, however, the scene will appear dark and objects may not be clearly visible.
• Backlight: Change between Backlight and Dynamic modes to improve image clarity and capture better object details in high contrast and extremely bright and dark scenes.
• 3D DNR: Digital Noise Reduction (DNR) is a method by which noise is digitally removed from the image. Noise is most commonly seen in low-light conditions. The default mode is On.

(6) Tap to adjust video quality settings related to the Fluent and Clear video streams. The following settings are available:

• Resolution The video resolution to be used.
• Frame Rate(fps) The speed at which the images from the camera are refreshed. The higher the frame rate, the smoother the movement of people and objects will be, however, images displayed may appear delayed and the audio may get out of sync when talking to the camera over a slow or congested connection. Reducing the number of fps can potentially improve the data-rate per frame and lower the amount of bandwidth required by the camera.
• Max Bitrate(kbps) The maximum data rate that can be utilized by the camera to stream video. The higher the bitrate, the better (finer detail and sharper) the quality of the streaming video but a good, strong and fast internet connection with adequate bandwidth will be needed.

NOTE The preconfigured Clear and Fluent video quality settings are optimized for streaming video over a typical fast internet connection. If you experience streaming problems, for example the camera’s video is stuck loading or not playing smoothly, this may be due to your internet connection speed being inadequate or not having the proper bandwidth to support the required video quality. Try modifying the video quality settings described above such as selecting a lower bitrate and frame rate for the video stream that you’ll be using. This will reduce the amount of video data being transmitted resulting in a more consistent, steady stream with slightly lower resolution. You can also contact your internet service provider regarding your slow internet connection and get help to increase the bandwidth.

Device Settings: MD Settings: Sensitivity

(1) Tap to adjust the sensitivity level of the motion detection.

(2) Tap to cancel changes and return to the previous screen.

(3) Tap to turn on or off customized sensitivity levels for different time periods in a 24-hour day. See “Device Settings: MD Settings: Sensitivity Schedule” on page 28.

(4) Tap to save changes made to the motion detection sensitivity level and return to the previous screen.

(5) Drag the slider up or down to adjust the all day motion detection sensitivity level between 1and 50, with 1 being the lowest sensitivity and 50 being the highest. The lower the sensitivity level, the more movement is required to trigger an event. As every home environment is unique, so we recommend experimenting with the sensitivity level to find what works best for you.

Device Settings: MD Settings: Sensitivity Schedule

(1) Tap to turn on or off customized sensitivity levels for different time periods in a 24-hour day. If off, the all day motion detection sensitivity level is used.

(2) Tap to cancel changes and return to the previous screen.

(3) Tap to save changes to the motion detection sensitivity schedule and return to the previous screen.

(4) Tap the highlighted (blue) end time of the first, second or third time period to define the time periods in a day (24-hour format). The end time of the first period, for example, 06:00 as shown above, will also be the start time of the 2nd period and so on.

(5) Tap to adjust the motion detection sensitivity level for the corresponding time period by dragging the slider up or down between 1 and 50, with 1 being the lowest sensitivity and 50 being the highest. The lower the sensitivity level, the more movement is required to trigger an event.

Device Settings: MD Settings: Motion Zones

(1) Tap to block out or mask certain areas in the scene from motion detection (i.e. camera will ignore motion activity).

(2) Tap to cancel changes and return to the previous screen.

(3) Tap to save and return to the previous screen.

(4) The drawing area. Blue shaded parts indicate the areas where the camera will not monitor for motion activity.

(5) Tap to use the Pen tool. Drag your finger over the drawing area to highlight the parts of the scene where you do not want the camera to monitor for motion activity. Note: You can only use the Pen or the Eraser tool at a time.

(6) Tap to use the Eraser tool. Drag your finger over existing highlighted areas to remove (unshaded) them from the drawing area. Note: You can only use the Pen or the Eraser tool at a time.

Device Settings: Record: Record Settings

NOTE: For the Record settings to be made available, the camera must have a microSD memory card installed. To learn how, see “Setting up a MicroSD Memory Card” on page 12.

(1) Motion detection recording is enabled by default.

(2) Tap to configure how motion events are recorded to the microSD card.

(3) Whether to allow the camera to overwrite the oldest video files on the microSD card when memory space is insufficient. Leave this setting ON so that the camera can continue to record new events but make sure that you regularly transfer to a computer (via a memory card reader) or another storage device before any video file gets deleted automatically.

(4) Whether to allow the camera to start recording to the video clip approximately 4 seconds before an event. Leave this setting ON to get additional footage showing the scene prior to the motion event.

(5) Tap to select the amount of time–15 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute–that the camera should continue recording to the video clip after the complete absence of motion in the event.

Device Settings: Record: Schedule

(1) Tap to manage the recording schedule and customize the times and days in which the camera is allowed to record to the microSD card when motion is detected. By default, the camera is scheduled to record motion detection events at all times.

(2) You can customize the recording schedule for a particular day of the week by tapping the corresponding time bar.

Device Settings: Alarm Sound

(1) Tap to enable or disable (default) the camera’s built-in siren function. If enabled, the camera will sound the siren when motion is detected. The siren will stop automatically about 10 seconds after complete absence of motion in the scene.

(2) If enabled, tap to manage the alarm schedule.

(3) You can customize the times and days in which the camera can sound the siren when motion is detected by tapping the corresponding time bar.

Device Settings: Email

(1) Tap to enable or disable (default) email alerts. If enabled, the camera will send you an email alert when motion is detected.

(2) If enabled, tap to configure settings for email alerts such as the details of your email server settings, recipient email addresses, frequency of alerts, and more. To learn how, see “Setting up Email Alerts” on page 7.

(3) Tap to customize the email alerts schedule. You can, for example, schedule the camera not to send email alerts during certain hours at night. To learn how, see “Customizing Email Alerts Schedule” on page 10.

Device Settings: More Settings

(1) Tap to change the camera’s admin login password. You can also create additional users to share camera access with guests. Note: If the password has been changed, you’ll be prompted to log in to the camera again with the new password.

(2) Tap to synchronize the date & time and time zone on the camera to the clock on your smartphone, change the date and time formats, and turn DST (Daylight Saving Time) on or off.

(3) Tap to view details about the installed microSD card, including the total capacity and the amount of free space remaining. You can also format the memory card to completely erase all video recordings.

(4) Tap to change the video standard between NTSC (broadcast format used in North America) and PAL (broadcast format used in Australia/UK), if you’re having display issues such as flickering lights.

(5) (For advanced users) Tap to configure your FTP server settings and enable motion event clips from the camera to be transferred to your FTP server periodically.

(6) Tap to configure how the camera upgrades the firmware. By default, the Auto Upgrade option is ON so that the camera can automatically download and install any firmware update when available. Firmware updates are periodically released for the camera to improve features and functionality including bug fixes. If you prefer to manually update the camera, simply turn Auto Upgrade OFF.

(7) Tap to factory reset the camera to the default settings. Previously configured settings such as Wi-Fi and email alert settings will be lost. After the camera has been factory reset, it will need to be set up again.
Note: You can also factory reset the camera by pressing the Reset button on the camera for 10 seconds with the supplied reset pin tool.

(8) Tap to reboot the camera. If you are having difficulties with your camera, try rebooting it. A simple reboot can often fix connectivity issues quickly.

Adding a Camera via Ethernet

If, for any reason, you’re having trouble joining the camera to your Wi-Fi network using the assistance of the camera’s Wi-Fi configuration mode, try connecting first with Ethernet.

Connect the camera to your Wi-Fi router using the included Ethernet cable.
Note : You will not hear instructions from the camera when the Ethernet connection is being used.

Open the AlwaysSafe app, and wait a moment for the camera to be detected. Once displayed, tap the camera preview window which will show “ Uninitialized device “.

Create an login password then confirm the login password. This password enables you (as the admin) to securely access and manage the camera.
Tap the Next button to continue.

Enter a name for the camera (for example, you can name it after its intended location in your home). If “Daylight Saving Time” is observed in your locale, turn Enable DST on then configure when DST starts and ends.
Tap the Next button to continue.

Select your Wi-Fi network from the list of available nearby networks that the camera has found.
If your Wi-Fi network name is hidden, you’ll need to manually enter your Wi-Fi network information by selecting Manual Input.

Enter the password for your Wi-Fi network, then tap Save to pair the camera to your Wi-Fi. Note: Your Wi-Fi network password is case sensitive, so enter it exactly the same as it was created or as found on your router. Use the toggle to ensure that you have entered your Wi-Fi password correctly.

Once the camera has paired to your Wi-Fi, you will receive a confirmation. Tap the Finish button. You can now unplug the Ethernet cable and move the camera to the desired location–as long as it is within range of your Wi-Fi router, the camera will automatically reconnect.

Frequently Asked Questions

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© 2019 Swann Communications
MALWAYSSAFEAPP
APP VERSION: 4.14.2.0

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