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[tlombardo]

I just bought a 932L and I'm trying to work through the MAC Wizard to get it going. The manual states to first plug the ethernet cable into the camera and an available port on my wireless router. Unfortunately, my router is an Apple Airport Express and there isn't an open port on it. Is there a workaround for this? I was hoping the camera would just find my network without any cables. Could I plug my ethernet cable directly into my computer (which I would need to activate that port and turn my airport off) to configure through the Wizard, and then switch back to wireless afterward...or would it pick up the wrong settings that way? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

TL

[JavaLawyer]

You have an interesting dilemma. The DCS-932L requires Internet access during the setup process, which would be unavailable if you plugged the camera directly into your computer.

I have successfully setup the DCS-932L without a wired connection. While other times I've tried and failed - the results have been very inconsistent.  One issue you may encounter with a pure wireless setup is the DCS-932L may not be able to find the mydlink site, in which case you may be forced to find a wired alternative.

You can attempt to set-up the DCS-932L directly through wireless, there shouldn't be any harm to the camera by trying.

[tlombardo]

By trying through wireless, are you saying that I should see if the Wizard finds the camera without it being plugged in via ethernet?

[JavaLawyer]

Yes. I am fairly certain the Wizard will find the DCS-932L with a wireless setup. However, you may encounter problems when the Wizard tries to register the DCS-932L with mydlink. You'll find out if it works when you attempt the setup.

Keep in mind that the mydlink registration is NOT something you can retroactively setup after the camera is working. You can not login to the DCS-932L web interface or login to the mydlink website to register the camera. You must use the Wizard. So if the Wizard is unable to complete this part of the process, you'll need a wired connection.

Try the setup. It will either succeed or fail.

[tlombardo]

I didn't get very far. Plugged the camera into the power outlet with no ethernet connection. The light on the front stays red. I opened the Wizard and my camera didn't show up. Did I do something wrong?

[JavaLawyer]

When you start the Wizard, you should be provided with directions to manually connect the camera to your router via WPS by holding down the button on the rear of the camera for > 5 seconds (until the blue light appears) AND then adding the DCS-932L to your router device list (either through a WPS button on your router or through the router web interface). These two steps must be completed within 60 seconds of each other.

Did you see these instructions? Did you attempt to complete them?

[tlombardo]

The Wizard for Mac doesn't give me that option. I do see the instructions for it in the manual that came with the box. I assumed that was only for PCs, but I'll give it try later. I don't believe my Airport Express has a WPS button. I'll need to figure out how to log into the web interface to activate it. I'm just afraid that I will mess up my web settings. Any recommendations for other wireless cams in this class that don't need to be wire activated?

[JavaLawyer]

If you login to your router, you should see an option to add a wireless device. The router should then present you with different encryption methods for adding the device, WPS should be one. Performing this step on the router and camera will allow the two device to handshake and establish a connection.

[JavaLawyer]

Any recommendations for other wireless cams in this class that don't need to be wire activated?

Here's a post for an alternative brand/model another former DCS user purchased. You'll need to evaluate this camera on your own merits as I have no experience with Foscam:

Just a follow up:

I purchased this Foscam: http://www.amazon.com/Foscam-FI8918W-Wireless-Camera-Viewing/dp/B0046710G6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310086178&sr=8-1

It was incredibly easy to set up for wired and wireless viewing in and out of my network, produces a far better picture than the DLink and has more features--it can pan and tilt and has IR for night viewing.

I should have started with this cam.  I won't be buying DLink again.  I would recommend this camera for anyone struggling with their DCS-930L.  You do need to know how to log into your router to set up port forwarding, and you will need a free dyndns.com account if you would like to view the cam from outside your network.

[tlombardo]

I'll check my router manual to see how exactly to log into it. It was plug and play so I've never had to do so. Thanks for your help.

[JavaLawyer]

I'll check my router manual to see how exactly to log into it. It was plug and play so I've never had to do so. Thanks for your help.

Best of luck. . . and see my prior post regarding other camera options.

[tlombardo]

I can't figure out how to log into my Airport Express like I used to do with my old wireless router. I guess this one is going back to the store Thanks again.

[JavaLawyer]

Understood. If you were to take the D-Link installation instructions by the letter, your router is technically incompatible since wired setup is not possible.

[tlombardo]

Is the ethernet connection just to activate and register the device? If so, could I do that at another location and then bring my camera back home to function in my network? Or does it only work in the network where activated?

[JavaLawyer]

Yes, no, and perhaps.

Unfortunately, the Wizard is required to register the DCS-932L on mydlink. To convolute matters even further, you have to configure the entire device from scratch using the Wizard to get to the mydlink registration, which is the last step in the process. There's no way to jump to the end.  So, if you register the camera on another network, the camera will be registered on mydlink, but won't function on your home network. Catch-22.

In theory you could take the registered camera home, manually negotiate the handshake between the camera/router, and access the camera web interface via the IP address in a browser. In practice, if you try this procedure, there is a good chance the DCS-932L will de-register with mydlink or won't function properly, bringing you back to where you started.

Additionally, as no technology is perfect, there are numerous circumstances that may occur that will necessitate reconfiguring the camera from scratch or re-registering with mydlink.