For HomeAssistant (HA) version 2025.12.2 and later, the best way to connect a Hikvision camera is actually not the old integration whose name contains Hikvision, which mostly only shows alarm status and cannot show video, but the ONVIF protocol.
A plain-language explanation:You can think of ONVIF as the Mandarin of the camera world. Hikvision has its own dialect, a proprietary protocol, and HomeAssistant may not understand it fully. But as soon as you make the camera speak Mandarin by enabling ONVIF, HomeAssistant understands immediately. Not only can you see the video directly, it also automatically discovers the motion detection alarms you set up in the camera.
Below is a detailed beginner tutorial based on version 2025.12.2. The most important step is actually on the camera side, so please read step 1 carefully.
Step 1: Get a Mandarin certificate on the Hikvision camera backend (enable ONVIF)
Many beginners get stuck here, because Hikvision disables ONVIF by default, and the ONVIF account and password are separate from the camera login account and password.
- Log in to the camera in a computer browser: Enter the camera IP address in the browser address bar, for example 192.168.1.64, and log in with the administrator account and password.
- Find the settings entry: Click Configuration in the top menu, then Network in the left menu, then Advanced Settings, then Integration Protocol.
- Enable ONVIF:
- Check Enable ONVIF.
- Here is the key point: click the Add button below to create an ONVIF user dedicated to HA.
- Username: we suggest ha_admin, and do not confuse it with the camera login account admin.
- Password: set a password only you know. We suggest plain letters and digits rather than overly complex symbols.
- Permission, also called user type: choose Media User / Operator / Admin. We suggest choosing administrator to avoid insufficient permissions.
Click OK to save.
Sync the time to avoid pitfalls:Go to System, then System Settings, then Time Settings. Make sure the camera time matches your HA time, and ideally enable NTP on both. A time mismatch will cause authentication failures.
Step 2: Claim the camera in HomeAssistant
Once step 1 is done, your camera speaks Mandarin. Now go back to HA and add it.
Open the integrations page:In the HA left menu click Settings, then Devices & Services.
Add an integration:Click the + Add Integration button in the lower right corner.
Search ONVIF:Type ONVIF in the search box and click the icon that appears.
Fill in the information:A dialog will appear. If you are lucky, HA has already discovered your camera and you can just click Submit. If it was not discovered automatically, fill it in manually:
Host: enter the camera IP address, for example 192.168.1.64.
Port: default is 80. If it does not work and you have not changed anything, some older Hikvision models may use 8000 or 8080, but in the vast majority of cases leave it blank or enter 80.
Name: give the camera a name, for example Front Gate.
Username:
Note!
Enter the ONVIF username you created in step 1, for example ha_admin, not the admin you use to log in to the camera.
Password: the ONVIF password you set in step 1.
Finish:Click Submit. If there are no errors, HA will ask you to assign the discovered devices, the main stream, sub stream, and various sensors, to rooms. Just click Finish.
Step 3: Put the video on your dashboard
- Go back to the HA Overview page.
- Click the pencil icon in the upper right to edit the dashboard.
- Click + Add Card in the lower right corner.
- Search for Picture Glance or Picture Entity.
- In the Entity field, select the camera entity you just added, usually named something like camera.damenkou_main_stream.
- You should now see the video, typically a still image that refreshes every few seconds, and clicking into it shows the live stream.
- Note: if you want low-latency live video, it is recommended to set the view mode in the card settings to
Common failure scenarios and first aid (Troubleshooting)
- Problem A: it keeps saying Authentication failed or Unable to connect.
- Cause 1: you used the camera login password instead of the ONVIF user password. Go back and check step 1.
- Cause 2: in the Hikvision security settings, Illegal Login Lock is enabled. Go to the camera backend, then System, then Security, then Security Service, temporarily turn off Enable Illegal Login Lock, or reboot the camera to unblock it.
- Cause 3: authentication type issue. On the Integration Protocol page of the camera backend, if you see ONVIF Authentication or Web Authentication options, make sure Digest/Basic or Digest is selected, trying to stay compatible with Basic.
Problem B: you can see the video but it is very laggy, with a delay of ten seconds or more.
- This is normal. HA native streaming has latency.
- How to optimize: in the HA integration, find this device and make sure Substream is checked as the default preview, because a 4K main stream is too large and Wi-Fi cannot keep up.
- Alternatively, check Preload stream in the card.
Problem C: ONVIF simply refuses to be added.
- Alternative plan: use the Generic Camera integration.
- When adding an integration, search for Generic Camera.
- Still Image URL: http://admin:password@IP:80/ISAPI/Streaming/channels/101/picture
- Stream Source URL (RTSP): rtsp://admin:password@IP:554/Streaming/Channels/101
- (Note: here you use the admin account and password you log in to the camera with, not the ONVIF ones.)
Following this tutorial, 99 percent of Hikvision cameras can be connected to Home Assistant 2025.12 within 5 minutes. Good luck!
