NVR firmware update experiences

[Raptor]

I've had some issues recently with an NVR firmware update on an NV4108E (20170704 version). The NVR became unstable after the update. I've since acquired an NV4432E NVR and have noticed that the firmware version is over one year old. I've considered updating the firmware to 20170704 version but am a little gun shy after the 4108E issue. I generally don't update just to update, but have been experiencing some slowness for images to display in the viewer app. Further the feeds are also slow to update. I've been looking at the network, the viewing devices and the cameras.

Has anyone had any positive or negative experiences updating an NV4432E to the latest firmware version? /TIA

[WilliamA]

I just upgraded a NV4432E and it became unstable. I reset the NVR to default settings after the upgrade. I managed to re-add all the cameras but I'm experiencing really bad Playback performance. I'm very upset. Before the update, playback used to be smooth from the app and web interface. Now playback is slow and skips on the web interface and I cannot use the app to playback video.

[WilliamA]

I downloaded a recording and when I playback the recording there are a number of gaps in the recording. This is a 32ch NVR with only 7 3MP POE Amcrest cameras attached to it. Performance should be great. Amcrest has not posted the change log for the new firmware.

Can someone from Amcrest tell me if the previous firmware version posted on the Amcrest site is the original firmware the NVR was shipped with?

Is there any specific procedure to rollback to a previous version?

[Raptor]

Ok, so no responses as yet. It's been just a day ...

So, seeing as I was having camera response issues, amongst others, with only the new NVR as the change in the configuration I decided to try a factory reset. No improvement. Despite my prior bad experience with updating the firmware on my (recently) prior NVR I decided to bite the bullet and try again. The current firmware installed was about 1.5 years old so I installed the newest version, as mentioned in my OP. The firmware installed without incident.

However, I was experiencing the same EXACT issues I had with the prior NVR post firmware update. Sluggish web interface with the NVR, camera configurations not loading, some cameras active, some not. With some diagnosing I determined that the camera configurations not loading was random. A specific camera might load once, but not the next time. The Remote section was excruciatingly slow to find, load, delete, or refresh cameras. Again, an unacceptable and unusable camera system.

I then tried deleting the Remote entries, shutdown and disconnected the Ethernet cables and rebooted, and then tried connecting the cameras one at a time, ensuring that each would load before connecting the next. This seemed to work (and the web interface was more responsive). I was finally able to get all cameras to install correctly. At least for the time being. I dare not try rebooting yet to see if I'm back to square one. My takeaway, after updating the firmware the internal networking is hosed and the NVR system is consumed trying to do anything requiring communication, and typically gives up.

Note, my original issue with the new NVR seems to have improved somewhat (with limited testing) but the cameras are not as responsive as they were with my prior NVR BEFORE updating to the latest firmware.

In conclusion, though I am not absolutely certain I think there is something seriously wrong with the newest firmware updates for the NV4108E and NV4432E NVRs. I am considering trying to downgrade the 4432 just to see if that adds to the diagnostic data. IMO, Amcrest needs to do more exhaustive testing on these firmware updates and consider pulling them until they have done the testing.

My .02

[Raptor]

I downloaded a recording and when I playback the recording there are a number of gaps in the recording. This is a 32ch NVR with only 7 3MP POE Amcrest cameras attached to it. Performance should be great. Amcrest has not posted the change log for the new firmware.

Can someone from Amcrest tell me if the previous firmware version posted on the Amcrest site is the original firmware the NVR was shipped with?

Is there any specific procedure to rollback to a previous version?

I believe the prior version on their site (20160426) is the version that was loaded on my recently purchased 4432 prior to my firmware updating today.

[WilliamA]

I am having the same issue of cameras randomly not loading after a reboot.

[rayleaf]

Raptor et AL..... I posted "NV4108E Remote playback issues dated Aug16,2017" and now am suspecting my issue is due to the latest firmware update on my nvr. I have received zero feedback from Amcrest or others on my issue for a solution.

Can anyone in this posting by Raptor please comment if after your firmware update have you experienced remote playback issues also.....thanks

[WilliamA]

Amcrest, please provide feedback. Let us know if this issue is been investigated/worked on by the engineers. This is affecting 3 of my NVRs (NV4108 and NV4432e). We need prompt resolution.

[Raptor]

I am partially amending my reported issues. I still think there are serious issues with current NVR firmware, but I've determined an issue I was having with responsiveness of camera display on the Viewer Pro app. Apparently while trying to diagnose the issues I was experiencing I setup one of my internal cams to record via a third party NAS I have. After setting up the NVR (several times) trying to figure out the firmware issues, I'd set up the NVR to record the same camera. So for several days both devices were recording the one camera. Once I disabled recording on my NAS the Viewer app camera displays and streaming updating improved quite a bit. This is not the cause of the NVR issues I've experienced (for one thing the internal cam was not in the mix at the time) but my Viewer issue has improved.

P.S. Let's be patient and understanding. It could be several days or longer before we receive any responses from Amcrest. They seem to be located in Houston, TX. which is currently experiencing a pretty bad natural disaster from Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey. The flooding is horrendous. I hope all are well and safe in SE Texas.

[Raptor]

New update 09/18/2017:

I received a refurbished NV4108E via the RMA process, though unfortunately it did not include a hard drive, which I had sent in with the malfunctioning NVR. I sent in what I had received, and expected the same in return via RMA. Amcrest RMA Support did subsequently ship me another hard drive after I sent another email. Unfortunately what I eventually received back was a sub-standard Seagate drive (ST2000VM003) known for many, many problems (copious complaints on Amazon about this drive) instead of the WD Purple drive I had sent in. I've contacted RMA again to see if they will resolve this for me. As I told them I think Amcrest has good products, but these shortcuts hurt their brand.

Unfortunately the truly sad news is that the replacement NVR, with the same suspect firmware installed, is experiencing the SAME EXACT problems I reported with my original unit. The NVR is unstable and it is difficult to impossible to add cameras. The browser hangs, then crashes and you have to reboot the NVR to try again (different browsers, same result). The firmware is the problem and needs to be fixed immediately. They need to take down the current firmware from their site and stop allowing people to download it. Amcrest needs to acknowledge this problem and deal with it. Pronto!