Hik-Connect app download for Android and iPhone, and how to log in

Get the app from the store on your phone. Search for Hik-Connect and pick the one marked for End User. Hik-Connect for Teams is a different, business version for chain stores, offices and other places with many users. For a single recorder, you want the End User app.

• Android: open Google Play and search for Hik-Connect. The listing is named Hik-Connect - for End User, and the web address of the listing ends in id=com.connect.enduser. Google Play shows the developer as Hik-Connect. The listing says the app is designed to work with devices such as DVRs, NVRs, cameras, video intercom and security control panels.
• iPhone: open the App Store and search for Hik-Connect. Pick Hik-Connect - for End user, published by Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., Ltd. The App Store lists it as free and says it needs iOS 16.0 or later.
• iPad and Mac: the same App Store listing shows the app for iPad (iPadOS 16.0 or later) and for Macs with an Apple M1 chip or later (macOS 13.0 or later). On a Windows PC, use iVMS-4200 instead.
• Hikvision's own page for the app is on hik-connect.com, and Hikvision runs its own app store at appstore.hikvision.com. Hikvision's short link for the iPhone app, appstore.hikvision.com/0yGe, opens the same App Store listing.

An APK is an Android installer file. Sites that offer a Hik-Connect APK are not Hikvision, and you cannot tell what has been changed inside the file. The app holds the login to your cameras, so we do not link to any APK site. Do not install a file that was sent to you in a message, or one you found by searching for hik connect apk download.

If you cannot use Google Play, for example because your phone has no Google services, Hikvision has its own route. Hikvision's US support site tells Android users to go to appstore.hikvision.com to get the app. Hikvision's help for its app store gives three ways to install.

• Scan the QR code on the device's box, on its quick start guide or on its screen with your phone, then follow the prompts to download and install Hik-Connect.
• Open appstore.hikvision.com in your phone's browser, find the app, tap Download and follow the prompts when it finishes.
• Open appstore.hikvision.com on a PC, click Download to show a QR code, scan it with your phone, then tap Install.
• Your phone may warn about an unknown app, because it did not come from Google Play. Hikvision's help says to make sure you downloaded it from appstore.hikvision.com, then tap Install.
• If Android blocks the install, Hikvision's help says to turn on Unknown sources in the phone's security settings. The menu names differ between phones. Hikvision's words are: "We recommend that you turn off Unknown Sources after completing the App installation."

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Hik-Connect asks for three different things at different moments, and they are not interchangeable. Mixing them up is an easy way to get stuck.

The first is your Hik-Connect account, which you create yourself. The second is the recorder's own password, set when the recorder was activated. The third is the device verification code, which the app asks for when you add a recorder.

• Hik-Connect account: your phone number, user name or email, plus your password. This is what you type on the app's login page.
• Recorder password: the one set when the recorder or camera was activated. Hikvision's Q&A says this is the admin password the app asks for when you unbind a device.
• Verification code: a code stored in the device. The app asks for it when you add the device. Hikvision's manual says it also works as the encryption password for video and pictures if you switch encryption on.

The first time you open the app, it asks you to select a country or region. Pick the country where your recorder is. Hikvision's manual warns that a wrong choice makes live view, playback and alarm notifications fail, and that the choice cannot be changed afterwards.

Then you can register an account, or tap Visitor Mode to start without one. Visitor mode is not password protected, and your devices only show on that one phone or tablet. A registered account lets you log in on different phones.

• 1. Tap Login, then Register, and agree to the terms.
• 2. Enter your mobile phone number or your email address, and tap Get Security Code.
• 3. Enter the code you receive, then create a password. Hikvision recommends at least 8 characters, with at least three of these kinds: capital letters, small letters, numbers and special characters.
• 4. Tap Finish. Next time, log in with the same phone number, or tap Login by User Name or Email.

Hik-Connect reaches your recorder through Hikvision's cloud. So the recorder needs an internet connection, and Hik-Connect has to be switched on inside it. If it is off, the app offers to switch it on while you add the device and asks you to create a verification code. You can also switch it on from the recorder's web page: Configuration, Network, Advanced Settings, Platform Access, then tick Enable.

If the device is not activated yet, the app asks you to set a device password first, and your phone has to be on the same network as the device for that step. Adding by IP address or domain also works, and Hikvision says it streams faster. But the manual says devices added that way do not send alarm notifications to the app, so use the QR code or serial number if you want alerts.

• 1. In the app, tap the plus button and choose Scan QR Code. The QR code is usually on the label on the back of the device. Use the flashlight button if it is dark.
• 2. If the code will not scan, tap to add the device manually, choose Hik-Connect Domain, type the serial number and search. Hikvision says a serial number is usually nine digits, or one letter followed by eight digits.
• 3. Tap Add on the result page, then enter the verification code.
• 4. Tap Finish. Your recorder appears in the device list.

Check these in order. Hikvision's own pages differ a little by device type.

• The label: the serial number is on the label of the device and on its box. Hikvision's manual says the verification code is usually on the label too.
• The recorder's screen: on a DVR or NVR, the serial number is under Maintenance, System Info, Device Information. The verification code is under Platform Access in the recorder's network settings.
• The device's web page: log in with the device's user name and password. For a network camera, the serial number is under Configuration, System, System Settings, and the verification code is under Configuration, Network, Advanced Settings, Platform Access. Hikvision's installer help says that, for a network camera, this page is the place to read the code.
• The eye icon: on the Platform Access page, click the eye icon to show the code instead of dots.

If the app refuses the code or says adding failed, go through these.

• Read the code from the device itself. On the Platform Access page, click the eye icon and compare it with what you typed.
• Change the default code. Hikvision's Q&A says that, for security reasons, you should change the default verification code on the device and then add the device again with the new code. Do it on the device's web page, under Platform Access.
• If the app asks for an encryption password when you open live video, that means the verification code. It is not your account password or the recorder's password.
• If the app says the device cannot be added to a cross regional platform, Hikvision says the device firmware is old and the device is registered to another server, or you chose the wrong region when you made the account. Update the firmware and check the region.

Offline usually points to the recorder's network, not to your account. Hikvision's US support site lists these checks.

• Check that Hik-Connect is ticked Enable under Platform Access, and that the recorder has power and its network cable is in.
• Check the recorder is getting internet. If its address is set by hand, make sure it is in the same range as your router and has the right gateway. On a recorder, the network test on its screen can ping the gateway and the DNS server.
• Set the preferred DNS server to 8.8.8.8. The alternate can be your internet provider's DNS, the gateway, 8.8.4.4 or 1.1.1.1.
• Restart the recorder.
• If a firewall sits in the way, Hikvision lists ports 6002, 6800, 8555, 9010 and 9020 as ones to keep open. A router can also block a recorder under its blocked devices list.
• Update the firmware. Hikvision's Q&A says some older devices call this feature Cloud P2P and need the latest firmware to work with Hik-Connect.
• No Device Found: check the serial number, that Hik-Connect is switched on in the device, that the device works on your local network, that the network reaches the internet, and that the gateway and DNS settings are right.
• Error 99999: Hikvision says this means a poor network. Try a different network on the phone.

A device can be added to only one Hik-Connect account. If the app says it already belongs to another account, that account has to let go of it first. On the result page, tap Unbind Device. Hikvision's manual says your phone and the device must be on the same local network for this, and the app asks for the device password and a code shown on the screen. Hikvision's Q&A adds that you cannot unbind over mobile data.

If you want another person to watch, share the device from the app instead of adding it to a second account.

This is your account password, not the recorder's. You can reset it yourself.

If it is the recorder's password you forgot, that is a different reset. Our Hikvision SADP tool guide covers the official way.

• In the app: on the login page tap Forgot Password. Choose to reset by user name or email address, or by mobile phone number, and enter it. Tap Next, enter the verification code sent to you, then enter and confirm a new password and tap Submit.
• On the website: Hikvision's US support site describes the same reset at www.hik-connect.com. Choose Forgot Password, enter the email address or phone number you registered with and the picture code, then the security code that is sent to you.
• Account does not exist: if you registered with a phone number, Hikvision's Q&A says to type the whole number with the country code in front.
• No code arrives: check your spam folder, and do not tap the button many times.

These come from Hikvision's own support pages. If a device shows offline, use the offline section above first.

• Alerts only arrive when the app is open: Hikvision US support says to turn on push notifications for Hik-Connect in your phone's settings.
• No alerts at all for one recorder: if you added it by IP address, the manual says it does not send alarm notifications to the app. Add it again by QR code or serial number.
• Alerts stopped or the notification schedule has gone: Hikvision's support site says that on firmware V5.03.020 and newer the notification schedule is no longer supported. It says to use the Group Arming/Disarming function instead.
• Live view stops after five minutes: Hikvision US support says this limit is intentional, to reduce cellular data use. For longer viewing it suggests adding the device in the app by IP or domain with port forwarding. Port forwarding makes your recorder reachable from the internet, so ask your installer before you do it.
• Live view, playback and alerts all fail: check the country or region you chose the first time you opened the app. Hikvision's manual says a wrong choice breaks all three and cannot be changed afterwards. Ask Hikvision support or your installer.
• You could see your cameras before and now you cannot: Hikvision US support says it depends on how the device was added. If it was added by QR code or serial number, its Platform Access is offline, so follow the offline steps above. If it was added by IP address, check the address has not changed and, if you go through ports, that they are still open.
• The app will not install on an old phone: the App Store listing needs iOS 16.0 or later.

Hik-Connect is a phone app. On a Windows PC, Hikvision's iVMS-4200 can use the same account. Click the cloud icon at the top right, accept the notice and log in with your Hik-Connect user name and password. Devices added through Hik-Connect then show with the connection type Cloud P2P. Our iVMS-4200 guide covers the download and the setup.

Hikvision's US support site also describes a Hik-Connect website at www.hik-connect.com, where you can log in and add a device by serial number.