I have five (yes, 5 and don’t ask me why) D-Link Wireless HD Network Camera DCS-5222L at home.  I’ve been using the MyDLink Lite Mobile App to view the camera when I’m not at home.

Recently, after upgrading to the latest version of the MyDLink Lite Mobile App, I start to get errors (See below) when trying to view the video streaming from the D-Link Wireless HD Network Camera DCS-5222L.

This error existed for 3 out of 5 of my cameras so I “concluded” that the issue is due to the updated mobile app.  For the other 2, the video stream were fine when I ran them over my local WiFi.  Sadly, I was busy with work and didn’t have time to troubleshoot this issue until yesterday.  Finally I had the time and chance to sit down and really test and think about what else could be contributing to the errors.

I login into the D-Link Wireless HD Network Camera DCS-5222L directly to verify on the settings of the network camera.  What I got was a blank screen instead of a live feed from the video.

Comparing the status of the camera with that of my working ones (luckily I didn’t upgrade the firmware of all five cameras), I noticed that the problem cameras are all running Firmware Version 2.10.12.  Then it dawned to me that there has been a prompter by the MyDLink Lite mobile app about the availability of a new firmware for the camera and I must have upgrade the problematics ones.

I decided to downgrade the firmware of one of the D-Link Wireless HD Network Camera DCS-5222L just to prove that my hunch is correct.  As usual, I check out the available versions on the US Global D-Link support site, making sure I select the correct hardware revision (B is my case) accordingly.  Seems that the latest version on the US site is still 2.03.  Hmm.. why is this so..

Going back to the D-Link Singapore support site, weirdly, I can only find the version 2.01 of the firmware for the D-Link Wireless HD Network Camera DCS-5222L.

Going back to the Main Page for the D-Link Singapore Support, somehow, the Latest Update section shows that firmware version 2.03 is available for the D-Link Wireless HD Network Camera DCS-5222L Revision B1.  Nevertheless, I decided to use this version since it’s found in the local support site.

Just a side track, when clicking on the link to download the firmware version 2.03, I realised that the links to download were mixed up between the version 2.03 for Rev B1 and version 1.13 for Rev A.  To download version 2.03, I would need to click on the link for DCS-5222L Firmware v1.13 Rev A. Hence do check your downloads’ content before proceeding with the firmware updated on your device.

Updating the firmware for the D-Link Wireless HD Network Camera DCS-5222L is pretty straight forward.  Just go to the admin console of the camera, click on “Maintenance” and select “Firmware Upgrade” (Downgrade in this case).  The downloaded file from the D-Link Support site is actually a compressed zip file so you will need to extract out the contents before proceeding with the process of updating the firmware.

After selecting the uncompressed bin file, select “Upload” to start the process of updating.

The uploading should take less than a minute and once completed, you will be prompted to wait for 180 seconds before the page will reload itself to access the camera.

Another thing to note is that it is recommended that you should update your firmware using a LAN cable connected to the D-Link Wireless HD Network Camera DCS-5222L instead over WiFi.  This is to reduce the risk of bricking the device due to a broken firmware file when uploading over WiFi.  After the page reloads, you should check the status of the device to make sure that your firmware is correct and every settings is still intact.

True enough, after I reverted to the firmware 2.03 for the D-Link Wireless HD Network Camera DCS-5222L, the live feed video is back when I access the camera via WiFi.  Similarly, the live feeds also work when I access it via the MyDLink Lite mobile app.

I’m glad that everything is back online after all the cameras’ firmware were reverted.  Only irritating thing is that the MyDLink Lite mobile app still prompts me to upgrade the firmware of my D-Link Wireless HD Network Camera DCS-5222L cameras which I’ll need to select “Later” to avoid history from repeating.

Nevertheless, I’ve let D-Link Singapore Support know about my findings and hopefully they will pull will find and correct the problem with firmware version 2.10 for the D-Link Wireless HD Network Camera DCS-5222L and in the meantime, stop the prompt for firmware upgrade on the MyDLink Lite mobile app.