How to use the Hikvision SADP tool to find, activate and reset a device

Hikvision describes SADP as software for searching the online devices in the same network. It shows each device's information, and lets you activate the device, edit its network settings and reset its password. You do not need to know a device's IP address to find it, because SADP lists the address for you.

SADP only sees devices on your local network. It does not find devices over the internet.

Download it from hikvision.com: Support, then Tools, then HiTools, then SADP. Only download it from there. Any other site offering SADP, including sites that call themselves official, is not Hikvision.

One change to know about. On that same page, Hikvision says SADP no longer receives updates from April 2026. It recommends HiTools Delivery instead.

HiTools Delivery includes SADP's functions: device discovery, one-click activation, network configuration and password resets. It adds batch jobs such as firmware upgrades. SADP is still listed for download.

We describe SADP here because Hikvision's own manuals and reset guides are written for it. If you use HiTools Delivery, the same jobs are there.

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• A Windows PC on the same local network (the same subnet) as the device.
• The device powered on and connected to that network.
• For a device you already use, its admin password. SADP asks for it before it changes network settings.

Open SADP. It searches the subnet by itself and refreshes about once a minute. You can also click Refresh. The list shows each device's type, IP address, port, gateway and status. A device that has been offline for more than three minutes drops off the list. To keep a record, select the devices and click Export to save the list as a CSV file.

A new Hikvision device stays inactive until you create a password for its admin account. You cannot log in to it properly, or change its IP address, until then. SADP shows these devices as inactive in the Status column. Write the password down and keep it somewhere safe.

• 1. Tick the device marked inactive in the SADP list.
• 2. In the Activate the Device panel, type a new password and type it again to confirm.
• 3. Use at least 8 characters, mixing upper case letters, lower case letters, numbers and special characters. The device checks the strength and refuses weak passwords.
• 4. If the panel offers it, tick Enable Hik-Connect and create a verification code. You need that code to add the device to the Hik-Connect app later.
• 5. If the device supports it, SADP also reminds you to export a GUID file, set security questions or add a reserved email address. Do this now. These are what let you reset the password yourself later.
• 6. Optional: on an NVR with inactive cameras plugged into it, fill in the Channel Password box to activate those cameras through the NVR.
• 7. Click Activate.

Not on current devices. Hikvision introduced activation in 2015, starting with camera firmware 5.3.0, and moved its other products over after that. Since then there is no default password. A new device is inactive until you create one, and a device that is reset to factory settings goes back to inactive.

Older devices are different. Hikvision's US support site says cameras on firmware 5.2.0 or lower did not need activation, and one that is reset to defaults goes back to the password 12345. Hikvision's own manuals say that password is for first login only and must be changed. If an old device still uses it, change it now, and update the firmware if Hikvision has a newer version for your model.

If you do not know the password of a device that is already active, do not look for a list of passwords. Use the official reset below.

Change the address after activation, because SADP only edits the network settings of active devices. The SADP manual notes that after activation the device address is set to 192.168.1.64, so you may need to change it to match your network.

• 1. Select the active device in the list. Its network settings open in the Modify Network Parameters panel on the right.
• 2. To let your router choose the address, tick Enable DHCP. Both the device and the router have to support it. Otherwise type the IP address, subnet mask and gateway yourself, and give each device its own address.
• 3. Type the device's admin password in the Admin Password box.
• 4. Click Modify.
• To set several devices at once, select them, enter a start IP address and SADP numbers them one after another, for example 10.16.1.21, 10.16.1.22 and 10.16.1.23. The devices need the same admin password.

Hikvision only supports resetting a password through its own routes. Which ones you see depends on the device and its firmware, so select the device in SADP, click Forgot Password, and the window shows what that device supports. The PC and the device must be on the same local network.

Self-service routes work if you set them up when you activated the device. You can answer the security questions you saved, use the GUID file you exported, or verify through the email address you reserved. On the device's own login page, Hikvision also lists a route through your Hik-Connect account, where you scan the QR code on the device with the Hik-Connect app.

If you set up none of those, the route is Hikvision technical support. If an installer set up your system, ask them first. Hikvision gives installers a quicker route through its Hik-Partner Pro app.

• 1. Select the device in SADP and click Forgot Password.
• 2. Click Export to save the request file, or save the QR code image.
• 3. Send the file or QR code to Hikvision technical support, with a photo of the label on the device. Hikvision asks for the label photo with the request.
• 4. Hikvision replies with a file or a key. In SADP choose Import File or Input Key, add it, then type a new password and confirm it.
• 5. Optional: tick Reset Network Cameras' Passwords if you want the cameras plugged into an NVR to get the same new password.
• 6. Click Confirm. If a try fails, SADP shows how many attempts are left and, at the limit, how long the device is locked.

For some old devices, Hikvision support sends a security code when you give them the device's serial number. Entering it in SADP restores the old default password, and Hikvision's manual says you must change that password straight away.

We only cover Hikvision's official routes. Ignore videos and sites that claim to unlock a Hikvision device another way.

• SADP shows no devices: check the PC and the device are on the same local network, the device has power and the cable is in. A device that stays offline for more than three minutes drops off the list.
• The password is refused during activation: it is too weak. Use at least 8 characters and mix letter case, numbers and special characters. Passwords such as 12345678 or admin are not accepted.
• You cannot change the IP address: the device has to be activated first, and you have to enter its admin password.
• The Forgot Password window asks for something you do not have: the options depend on the device. Use the Hikvision support route above.
• Locked out after wrong tries: SADP shows the attempts left and the locking time. Wait for it to end before you try again.