Skip to main content

EasyN WiFi Camera Firmware Upgrade

I wanted to upgrade the firmware of my EasyN WiFi camera.  I just like to keep my firmware up to date.  I am sure it is a security sieve no matter what firmware I have on it.

Of course, the EasyN web site is apparently dead.  EasyN was just a brand slapped on many devices.  So I went to another brand that looked like it once sold the same camera - Foscam.  And their lame, broken, and apparently deprecated web site seemed to offer firmware that might be compatible.

In general, these anonymously made cheap internet devices are an unholy mixture of cheap manufacturing and abysmal, dangerously insecure software with no promises of any kind of quality.  Still, they have been extraordinarily inexpensive. The manufacturers would sell a lot more cameras if they merely open-sourced the entire software side of it.  But I digress.

So Internet lore told me that I could jam the Foscam firmware on this thing, as long as the middle two numbers of the version number were the same.  So my version number of my EasyN was 4.37.2.43, and so as long as I found wifi cam firmware with a version number in the form of X.37.2.Y, where Y is greater than 43, I'd be upgrading.  Nice!  That same Internet myth said that the first digit was the vendor (with "4" being, apparently, EasyN, and "11" being Foscam).

I went to the Foscam web site and managed to find nothing, but a deeper digging through Google helped me find firmware called "11.37.2.65", which is evidently 22 versions newer than what I had on my camera.  And then I proceeded to follow the upgrade docs.

There are two firmware components: the system and the UI.  You update them independently.  So I followed the procedure and upgrade the system firmware first.  That seemed to work, but when I'm done it is clear that the old UI firmware doesn't work with the new system.  Hm.  So I get this "firmware error" message and I think I've just pretty much ruined the camera.  After all, I'm going to throw it out before going through any laborious process to de-brick it.

It turns out that the upgrade process is an unholy mess.   You can't mix and match the System and UI firmware or else you could brick things.  But there is no way to upgrade without a little mix and match.

Then I get the great idea that maybe I can get the UI firmware update page to reload.  After all, the camera is apparently booting and connecting to my WiFi network, so something is really working there.  And so then I manage to rediscover the UI update page in all it's mis-spelled glory:     http://192.168.x.x/maintance.htm

So I update the UI firmware, and get more errors: "NaN" and other weirdness appears on a sparse page.  Bummer.  But I am smart enough to wait, assuming that a firmware update it actually cranking away in the background.  And a few minutes later, the Foscam UI appears.  I guess I was right.

But then the camera still seems totally broken, with lots of errors and crashing of the UI.  So the final smart idea was to do a hard reset via that magic push button on the bottom of the camera.  After that, a newer and likely just as insecure and unstable UI appears, and my dangerous risky-cam is back in action, ready for network compromise.

And there you have it.  That's how you waste an hour updating a junky wifi cam with anonymously produced firmware.

Popular posts from this blog

Fixing a SodaStream Jet, part 1: Disassembly Guide

I've had my SodaStream Jet for years, and once in a while something has gone wrong. Disassembly is the first step to repair.  Start with this article to see how to disassemble the SodaStream, and then once you have that down, scroll through my other articles to see how I repaired specfic SodaStream problems. SodaStream Jet Disassembly Guide Tools Required Flat head screwdriver Phillips head screwdriver 1. Remove the Carbonator.  Duh. 2. Remove the black panel lever The front big black tilt lever needs to be removed first. Removing this panel is tricky, but it isn't impossible. Looking up at the bottom of the black panel, there are two tabs, one on the left and one on the right. These tabs fully secure the panel in place. The trick is to use a flat-head screwdriver under the plastic to gently lever the tabs out of the way.  Note in the pictures how I approach these tabs with my screwdriver.  I usually release the left side first, and then I release ...
Read more

Macintosh: Upgrading an eMac

It's been a long time since I wrote this article, but the fact remains: The good old eMac can still be useful if you take the simple steps to keep it as good as it can be.  All can run Tiger, and most can run Leopard - great operating systems for their day with a bit of useful life.  This article describes the procedure I used to upgrade my old eMac, including: Replacing the internal hard disk with a large capacity drive. Increasing the memory for performance Upgrading the operating system Here I'm upgrading a 700 MHz eMac, but the procedure and tasks for upgrading other eMac models should be almost identical. Upgrading versus Replacing My sister's eMac is of the 700 mhz variety, with 256 MB of memory. The machine seemed to be getting "slower", and the original 40 GB disk was becoming jammed packed with photos and iTunes, and within a few months she'd be out of disk space. There were two options to address the problems: upgrade the eMac, or go o...
Read more

Sodastream Carbonator Leakage, Usage, and Weight

SodaStream 60L "Carbonator" CO2 cylinders have a specific weight when empty, plus about 410 or so grams for the CO2 they should have when they're "full".  A little while ago I went to buy a replacement Carbonator from my local hardware store. The dealer pulled a new Carbonator out of the box and sensed it was lighter than usual.  He put the "light" Carbonator in the "empty" pile and sold me a different one.  At that moment I concluded that it would be smart of me to weigh both new and empty SodaStream carbonators.  Here are the results. Weighing a SodaStream Carbonator - for both Science and Consumer Protection.       The dealer told me that sometimes the carbonators leak after they leave the SodaStream filling facility.  That means there could be an opportunity for customers like me to get ripped off! The SodaStream cylinders I buy claim to have a net product weight of 410 grams - and that means that a full Soda Stream Carbonator shou...
Read more

Fixing a SodaStream Jet, Repair #2 - Broken Fill Button

My Soda Stream Jet's fill button broke, which means I can not longer carbonate water by pressing the pushbutton. This caused all sorts of grief in my household. Here is how I managed to repair my Jet to give it another 10 years of life (hopefully). First, a look at the button The fill button on the top of the SodaStream is actually a simple lever. Pressing down on the button moves a pin that does the actual work of pressing open the Carbonator's valve. Unfortunately, the axis point is fairly thin and can see a lot of stress. That's where my Soda Stream button cracked. [ I think the usage tip here is "don't over-press the button like a gorilla, it doesn't do anything but put high stress on the button."] Cracked levering point of the button The Pesky Lever Retaining Pin The Fix It was pretty easy for me to replace the button: Take off the back of the Soda Stream and remove the carbonator. Push out the the button lever's steel retaining pin. This takes qu...
Read more

Excellent DD-WRT Router for Me: Netgear WNDR3400 / N600

My WiFi performance was suffering, and so I decided to do something about it and upgrade my router. When I say my WiFi performance was suffering, I really mean it:  I live in a large high-rise apartment building and there are 100+ WiFi access points visible from my home office.  All of the contentious traffic was severely curtailing my WiFi reliability.  I was lucky to get 1 Mbit/second throughput.  Sometimes I was lucky to stay connected even with my WiFi router in the same room. I decided it was time to go for 5 GHz, which is a WiFi band which is used less frequently and which has a tougher time traversing walls.  And of course I wanted DD-WRT support.  The set of features I was looking for included: Trouble-free DD-WRT support 5 GHz 802.11n Support Simultaneous dual band capability Inexpensive.  Maybe even cheap.  For me this means under $50.  Under $35 is even better! It sounds like an easy task to bring all this together: A...
Read more

MacBook: burnt out magsafe connector repair

My MacBook (A1342 model from 2009-2010) stopped working, thanks to a cheap knockoff magsafe charger. The magsafe connector looked burnt with heat-distorted melted plastic and some black carbon surfaces.  Plugging in the charger resulted in no lights and no action.  My MacBook was dead. First I tried to clean up the connector with some Q-Tips, tooth picks and solvent, but that did little, as seen in this "after" picture (below).   The heat generated by the aftermarket charger permanently deformed and distorted the MacBook's magsafe connector.  Clearly the damage was significant. Burnt Magsafe Connector - Replacement Required! Looking at iFixIt , I determined that it would not be difficult to replace only the magsafe connector with the right tools.  I hoped and prayed that the problem was isolated to the connector assembly and not the logic board. I bought a replacement magsafe connector assembly (available from Amazon) for under $20 and started to rep...
Read more

Other Posts

Show more