How do I reset a forgotten password on a Hikvision NVR?

Locked out of your Hikvision NVR? Here's how I get customers back in

Every month or so someone calls me in a bit of a panic — they've gone to check their cameras and the password just won't work anymore. Sometimes it's been changed by someone else in the house, sometimes it's just been long enough that nobody remembers what they set it to. Either way, the instinct is to assume the system's broken or that you need an engineer out. Usually you don't.

I put together the graphic below with the four methods I actually use on jobs, in the order I try them — easiest first, working down only if the one before it doesn't apply to your setup.

Why I always start with email recovery

If you set up a recovery email when the system was first installed, this is genuinely the fastest fix — click "forgot password" on the login screen, check your inbox, done in under a minute. The catch is it only works if that email was configured at setup, and the NVR needs to actually have internet access. Worth checking the network light on the unit before you assume it's failed.

SADP is the one that solves it most of the time

If email recovery wasn't set up — which, honestly, is most of the systems I get called out to — the SADP tool is the next move. It's Hikvision's own free utility, and it works by scanning your local network for connected devices. Plug your computer into the same network as the NVR (Ethernet, not WiFi — SADP is fussy about that), open the tool, find your NVR in the list, and there's a "forgot password" option right there. You'll go through a quick verification step, set a new password, and reboot the unit.

The one thing that trips people up: if the NVR doesn't show up in the SADP list, it's almost always a network issue — wrong subnet, WiFi instead of cable, that sort of thing. Not a broken device.

Physical reset — mostly older kit

Some of the older Hikvision units, particularly the DS-7600 and DS-9600 series, have a small recessed reset button on the back or underside. If there's no visible button, it's worth checking the manual — some have jumper pins inside the casing instead. This one's more fiddly and model-specific, so I'd only reach for it if the first two don't apply.

Factory reset — only if you're stuck

This is the one I try to avoid, because it wipes everything — settings and recordings both. If you've got footage on there you actually need, back it up first if you can still get to it any other way. If you can't, and the footage matters, that's the point where it's worth getting someone local to have a look rather than risking a wipe you can't undo.

Embedded content

One thing I tell every customer once they're back in: set up that recovery email straight away. It's a two-minute job and it's the difference between a one-click fix next time and a proper headache.

If you're in Halifax or the wider Calderdale area and want a hand getting back into your system — or want it set up properly in the first place so this doesn't happen again — you can reach me through cctv.services.