[All cameras] Using APIPA makes it easy to find VIVOTEK cameras

Super Admin
01 May 2026
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QUESTION

Using APIPA makes it easy to find VIVOTEK cameras
 

ANSWER

Introduction

VIVOTEK cameras support a function named APIPA for easy installation. APIPA is short for Automatic Private IP Addressing. By default, the APIPA will assign the device a random IP address in the range 169.254.x.x and a Class B subnet mask of 255.255.0.0. While VIVOTEK Installation Wizard 2 (IW2) or Shepherd is running, it will also assign the computer a random IP address in the range 169.254.x.x. Therefore, the computer can use Installation Wizard 2 (IW2) or Shepherd to detect VIVOTEK cameras easily, no matter what network settings the cameras are set to. In this document, we will show you the disadvantages of a camera that doesn't support APIPA and the benefits of a camera that supports APIPA.

Camera without APIPA
     Installation Process
  1. Assume there is no DHCP Server in the network environment                                                                                                                                    rtaImage_-_2021-05-09T163942.144.png
  2. Because the Camera doesn't support APIPA, it can only use the default IP address, e.g., 192.168.0.99.
  3. Your computer can not connect to 192.168.0.99 directly.
  4. You have to set your computer's IP address to 192.168.0.x to be able to access 192.168.0.99.rtaImage_-_2021-05-09T163945.518.jfif
     
Camera with APIPA
     Installation Process
 
  1. Assume there is no DHCP Server in the network environment                                                                                                                                  rtaImage_-_2021-05-09T163949.278.png
  2. Because the IP Camera supports APIPA, it has another IP address, such as 169.254.x.x, even though there is no DHCP Server.
  3. While the computer is running the Installation Wizard 2 (IW2) or Shepherd, it will also be assigned a random IP address 169.254.x.x.                                                                                                                 rtaImage_-_2021-05-09T163952.905.png
  4. Because the PC and camera are both in the same subnet (169.254.x.x), the users can search and configure them with IW2 or Shepherd.
    rtaImage_-_2021-05-09T163956.076.png
    rtaImage_-_2021-05-09T164004.001.png
 
Benefits - Easy Installation! No matter the settings of the camera, users only need to build the physical connection between the camera and computer, and then they can use Installation Wizard 2 (IW2) or Shepherd to detect and configure the camera easily.
 

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