KVMS Pro and KVMS Pro Lite: download it and add your CP Plus recorder

KVMS is the name CP Plus gives to its software for Windows PCs. Older manuals, videos and shop pages call it KVMS Pro. The version CP Plus lists on its own software page today is KVMS Pro Lite, version V1.0, and that is the one to install. CP Plus describes it as software that lets you add several devices and see all your cameras on a single screen.

CP Plus's own recorder manuals point to it. The DVR manual says you can use KVMS Pro Lite to log in to the recorder, and the NVR manual says the same about KVMS Pro. CP Plus lists no separate download for the full KVMS Pro. If your dealer gave you KVMS Pro, ask which version it is, because the steps below are written for KVMS Pro Lite.

It is Windows software. CP Plus's release note lists Windows 7, 8, 10 and 11, and the installer is the 64-bit kind. The page lists no Mac version and no phone version. On a phone you use gCMOB (Android) or iCMOB (iPhone). Our guide to gCMOB for PC explains how the phone app and the PC software fit together.

Go to cpplusworld.com. Open Support, then Download, then Software. Under Orange you will see KVMS Pro Lite. Click its download icon. The file is a single installer (.exe) of about 69 MB, and CP Plus puts a release note next to it.

Only download it from there. Sites that offer a 'KVMS Pro for PC' file of their own are not CP Plus, and you cannot tell what has been changed inside the installer. If you cannot find the file, write to CP Plus support at support@cpplusworld.com.

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• A 64-bit Windows PC. To check, open Settings, then System, then About, and look at System type.
• Your recorder's serial number, or its IP address and port. The serial number is on the sticker on the recorder. It is also on the recorder's own screen under Main Menu, Network, InstaOn, where the QR code sits under Device SN. The IP address is under Main Menu, Network, TCP/IP, and the port is under Main Menu, Network, Port.
• The recorder's username and password, the same ones you use in gCMOB. The username is usually admin. Your installer set the password.
• For the serial number method, the recorder must be online. For the IP address method, the easy case is a PC on the same network as the recorder.

These steps follow CP Plus's KVMS Pro Lite manual. Screens can differ a little between builds.

• 1. Run the installer you downloaded. Pick a language, tick that you agree to the software agreement, choose where to install it and click Install.
• 2. If Windows asks about its firewall, allow KVMS Pro Lite on your private network. If you block it, it cannot reach your recorder.
• 3. Click Finish with Run KVMS Pro Lite ticked. Agree to the software license agreement and the privacy policy.
• 4. Set a password for the software. It must be 8 to 32 characters and use at least two kinds from capital letters, lower case letters, numbers and special characters. This password protects the software on your PC. It is not your recorder's password.
• 5. Set the security questions. They are how you reset this password later, with Forgot password? on the login screen.
• 6. Leave Auto Login switched off on a PC that other people use. CP Plus's own security tips say to turn auto-login off on a shared computer, and to use a username and password for KVMS Pro Lite that you do not use anywhere else.

Use this when the PC is not on the recorder's network, or when you want the connection to survive a change of IP address. It works for recorders that support InstaOn, CP Plus's cloud connection, and it needs no router changes.

• 1. On the recorder, go to Main Menu, Network, InstaOn. Tick the box to enable it, press Apply and check that the status says Online. The recorder needs internet for this.
• 2. In KVMS Pro Lite, open Device Manager on the home page, then click Add.
• 3. For Method to add, choose SN. Type a name for the recorder, its serial number, and the recorder's username and password.
• 4. Click Add. Or click Add and Continue to add this one and keep the window open for the next.
• 5. Check that the recorder shows as online in Device Manager.

Use this when the PC and the recorder are on the same network, such as the same router or switch.

• 1. In Device Manager, click Add.
• 2. For Method to add, choose IP. Type a name, the recorder's IP address, the port, and the recorder's username and password.
• 3. The port is 25001 by default on CP Plus recorders. The number on your own recorder's Port screen is the one that counts.
• 4. Click Add, then check that the recorder shows as online.

If you do not know the recorder's address, let the software look for it. Auto Search is the right choice when you want to add devices in batches within one network range, or when you know the range but not the address.

• 1. In Device Manager, click Auto Search.
• 2. Set the range of network segment that covers your recorder, for example 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.254, and click Search.
• 3. Tick the devices you want and click Add. Enter the login username and password, then click OK.
• 4. The software logs in to each device once it is added. If login works, the status is online. If not, it shows offline.
• From the same list you can also change a found device's IP address with Modify IP, or set up a new device with Initialization. Our CP Plus IP Finder guide covers finding and changing addresses in more detail.

When the recorder shows online, open live view from the home page and bring up its cameras. If many cameras on one screen stutter, open the menu icon at the top right, choose System Config, then Monitor Setting, and set the default stream type to Sub Stream. The sub stream is the lighter one, and watching it does not change what the recorder saves.

• Offline after adding by serial number: check that Main Menu, Network, InstaOn on the recorder says Online. A recorder with no internet can be added, but it stays offline.
• Offline after adding by IP address: the address, port, username or password is wrong, or the address has changed. Check the recorder's TCP/IP and Port screens again. If the PC is on a different network, add the recorder by serial number instead.
• Wrong password or locked out: the software wants the recorder's password, not the KVMS Pro Lite one. On many CP Plus recorders five wrong tries in a row lock the account for about 30 minutes. Wait, then try once with the right password.
• Auto Search finds nothing: the range you set must cover the recorder's address, and the PC must be on the same network. Check that Windows has not blocked the software in its firewall.
• Forgot the KVMS Pro Lite password: click Forgot password? on the login screen and answer your security questions. This is separate from the recorder's password, which your installer or CP Plus support can help with.
• The installer will not run: KVMS Pro Lite is 64-bit software, so it needs a 64-bit version of Windows.