Back up Hikvision & HiLook to the cloud

Where FTP lives on Hikvision depends on the device: an IP camera or NVR has it in the browser; a Turbo HD DVR does not — and on most Turbo DVRs it is not in the local menu either. Get this right first: it decides whether FTP is the route at all.

Which are you setting up?

• Hikvision / HiLook IP camera, or an NVR that has an FTP page → web interface. Follow the steps below.
• Hikvision / HiLook Turbo HD DVR (DS-7100/7200/7300 HQHI/HGHI, K/K1, and HiLook equivalents) → FTP is usually not available. Jump to the DVR section for the routes that work.

IP camera / NVR (web interface)

1 · Get your login card

CloudBox dashboard → Cameras → add a site, write down the 24-word recovery kit. The card:

2 · Enter it on the FTP screen

Open the device's web interface and go to Configuration → Network → Advanced Settings → FTP (on firmware around V5.8.4 it moved under Configuration → Event — menu labels move between firmware versions — verify the exact wording on your device).

• Server Address ingest.cloudbox.biz · Port 21 · User/Password from the card, Anonymous off.
• Directory Structure: Save in the child directory, Parent = Use Device Name, Child = Use Camera Name (or No.). Any choice works; this surfaces the camera clearly.
• FTPS/encryption if the screen offers it; otherwise plain FTP is fine.

Press Test (login check only), then Save.

3 · Make events actually upload

Configuration → Storage → Schedule Settings → Capture: enable event-triggered capture. Then Configuration → Event → Motion Detection: enable per camera, set the arming schedule, and under Linkage Method tick Upload to FTP. Save.

Turbo HD DVR: FTP is not the route

These DVRs have no FTP in the browser, and we have not found one in the local menu either. Hikvision's DVR user manuals for the DS-7100/7200 HQHI/HGHI K1/K2 line list FTP only for firmware upgrade (Maintenance → Upgrade), and the motion linkage actions are Full Screen Monitoring, Audio Warning, Notify Surveillance Center, Send Email and Alarm Output — there is no “Upload to FTP”. Hikvision's own “capture pictures and upload to FTP” guide is written for cameras, not DVRs. Recent firmware (the DS-7104HQHI-K1 from V4.30.210, for example) also runs Hikvision's newer EUI menu with Easy and Expert modes, so older screenshots will not match what you see. If your DVR's local menu does have an FTP upload page, tell us the path and we will add it here.

What works instead for a Turbo DVR:

• Email snapshots — works today, nothing to buy. The DVR's Email tab (Configuration → Network → Advanced Settings → Email) sends event pictures on motion. Point it at Guardian with the site login and the site's own receiver address; every attached picture is sealed on arrival and filed by channel. On this DVR family use port 25 with Enable SSL unticked — the recorder upgrades the connection with STARTTLS by itself, so it is still encrypted. Ten minutes: the email guide.
• A small LAN bridge — a Raspberry Pi, or a NAS or PC running motionEye or Blue Iris — records each channel's RTSP stream (rtsp://user:pass@<dvr-ip>:554/Streaming/Channels/101 for channel 1; 201, 301… for the others; x02 for the sub-stream), detects motion itself, and uploads clips to Guardian over FTP with a location of /camera-N per channel. Works today; needs a device on your LAN.
• USB export from the local menu (Playback → clip → Export) for the occasional evidential clip, then upload it under /camera-N/ with any FTP client.

Confirm

Trigger motion and press Test connection on the site card. Then Decrypt & save one file to confirm your recovery kit opens it. If Test never leaves “waiting for login”, check the recorder's DNS (Configuration → Network → Basic) and that outbound port 21 is not blocked. More in troubleshooting.

Questions

I can't find FTP anywhere in my Hikvision DVR's web interface.

That is expected on Hikvision Turbo HD DVRs — the browser UI has no FTP page, and Hikvision's own DVR manuals show none in the local menu either (FTP appears only for firmware upgrade). We confirmed the web side on a real DS-7104HQHI-K1. These DVRs generally cannot push over FTP; see the DVR section for what works instead — the Send Email route works today — and if your local menu does have an FTP upload page, tell us the path.

Hikvision NVR or IP camera — where is FTP?

In the web interface at Configuration → Network → Advanced Settings → FTP. On firmware around V5.8.4 it moved under Configuration → Event. Real NVRs often have no FTP page of their own — in that case configure FTP on each IP camera instead, since FTP is commonly a per-camera feature.

Does Hikvision upload video or pictures to FTP?

Snapshots (JPEG) only. Hikvision's native FTP does not send .mp4 or .dav clips — it uploads event pictures at the capture interval you set. A burst of stills per event is still a useful off-site record; if you need moving video, Hikvision FTP is not the way to get it.

Don't confuse 'Upgrade by FTP' with footage backup.

Maintenance → Upgrade may mention FTP — that is for pulling firmware from an FTP server, nothing to do with uploading footage. It will not back anything up.

Does this work with HiLook and Annke?

HiLook is Hikvision's budget line and behaves the same: Turbo DVRs = usually no FTP upload at all; IP cameras/NVRs = web FTP. Annke is mixed — newer 'Annke Vision' gear is Hikvision-based (web FTP under Network → Advanced), but some older Annke is Xiongmai-based (local Main Menu → NetService → FTP). Branch on the interface you see, not the badge. See the OEM guide.

The DVR's FTP Test passes but nothing arrives.

The Test only checks the login. Set a capture schedule, arm motion per channel, and tick Upload to FTP as the linkage — all three. Then trigger motion and press Test connection in the Cameras tab.