Multiple IP3M-956E Cameras do not recognize a variety of uSD Cards.

[samckernan]

Greetings People,

I was hoping someone might be able to help me with an issue I'm having.

I'm currently running 14 Amcrest cameras (9ea IP3M-956E, 4ea IP2M-842E, and 1ea PTZ IP2M-848E) to a Blu-Iris server. I'm pretty happy with that and all the cameras. No issues to speak of from the cameras until now.

I finally got around to attempting to install micro SD cards in a couple of the cameras. I'm not having any luck.

I tried some San Disk 64G Extreme Pro microSDXC UHS-1 cards (multiple). There's no Class 10 indication. I tried to format it FAT32, but the only options were ExtFAT32 and NTFS. I tried some 3rd party formatting apps and supposedly formatted it to FAT32, but I'm not confident that it really worked. After powering down the camera and installing the card, this is what happens. When I log into the web interface to the camera and go to >Setup >Storage >Destination, it only shows PATH, FTP, and NAS. SD-CARD does not show up.

I tried some other San Disk 64G microSDXC UHS-1 cards. These cards have a Class 10 indication. If I recall I had the same issue as above with formatting. Same as above, when I log into the web interface to the camera and go to >Setup >Storage >Destination, it only shows PATH, FTP, and NAS. SD-CARD does not show up.

I tried yet another card, a 32G San Disk Ultra microSDHC UHS-1 Class 10 card. When I went to format these cards, FAT32 was an option. I picked that and formatted it. It indicated that it formatted successfully. Same as above, when I log into the web interface to the camera and go to >Setup >Storage >Destination, it only shows PATH, FTP, and NAS. SD-CARD does not show up.

Some other details:

I tried the above with multiple of the same cards (all new) and also in mulitple cameras (IP3M-956E).

The firmware is the latest in all the cameras.

After formatting all the cards, I tried writing to and reading from the cards (in the card reader not in the camera) and it was successful.

I always powered down the camera prior to removing or installing the microSD card into the camera.

Finally, with the last 32G Class 10 card installed into the camera, I even did a factory reset to the camera. After re-configuring the camera, and then checking to see if it "sees" the SD card, I was still disappointed that when I go to >Setup >Storage >Destination, it still only shows PATH, FTP, and NAS. SD-CARD does not show up.

I'd sure like to get this to work. If anyone has any ideas. I'd sure appreciate it.

Thanks in advance...


sam

[jack7]

I think you are out of luck.
The Amcrest webpage does not mention a sd card.
This is a review on that page:

John D.
Verified Buyer
4 star rating
03/02/18
IP3M-956E
Review by John D. on 2 Mar 2018review stating IP3M-956E

Camera was very easy to set up using a POE switch. Was easy to find on my network using the Amcrest network utility. Built in web page config has a wide variety of useful settings. The iOS app is easy to use. Took one star off because there’s a Micro SD Card slot on the camera that you can’t use!

[CronoBandit]

I’m agreeing with Jack7 – you might be SOL. Here’s another consumer testimonial :

“There is a micro-SD slot on the camera's motherboard. It is noticeable once you remove the plastic dome. The slot is not mentioned in any Amcrest documentation (at least none that I have found) so I don't even know if it is functional.” - Tim, April 8, 2017

This is not uncommon in electronics manufacturing - it is cheaper to tool-up on as few PCB designs/variations as possible, even if it means to press-out the higher-end board to supply lesser models.
So likely the issue is, that your camera model shares the same physical PCB run with a cameras that do support an SD card, yet your lesser model specifically does not support it.

Additionally, having “SD-CARD” clickable in the web GUI or not has little to do with detecting the card’s presence, because on my camera (different model), even with my card out, that menu choice still appears - and reports “no card”.