Support

Write to support@webcamuplink.com. It helps to include your Webcam Uplink and macOS versions, your NVR and its version, and what you expected to happen.

Lost licence key

Enter the email address you paid with on the lost-key page, and we'll email every active key bought with it. It usually arrives within a minute; check your spam folder too. If nothing comes, write to us from that address. App Store purchases have no key: see restoring purchases.

Camera and microphone permission

The first time Webcam Uplink starts the camera, macOS asks whether it may use the camera and the microphone. Choose Allow for both. The microphone is only needed if you send audio to your NVR.

If you chose Don't Allow, the app shows a banner with a button that opens the right settings. Or open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Camera (and Microphone) and turn on Webcam Uplink. The camera starts by itself once access is granted.

Local Network permission

Webcam Uplink talks to devices on your own network: your NVR, and your MQTT broker if you use Home Assistant. If macOS asks whether Webcam Uplink may find and connect to devices on your local network, choose Allow.

If you chose Don't Allow, or your NVR can't find the camera, open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Local Network and turn on Webcam Uplink. Without it, discovery by your NVR and the connection to your MQTT broker can fail.

Approving the virtual camera

The virtual camera, “Webcam Uplink Camera”, lets FaceTime, Zoom and other apps use the same camera. It's a system extension, so macOS asks you to approve it once.

Make sure Webcam Uplink is in your Applications folder. macOS installs system extensions only from there.
In Webcam Uplink, open Settings and, under Virtual Camera, choose Install / Update.
When the app says the camera needs approval, choose Open System Settings, or open System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions. Under Camera Extensions, turn on Webcam Uplink Camera.
If the app says a restart is needed, restart the Mac.
In your video app, choose Webcam Uplink Camera as the camera.

On Free, the virtual camera and the NVR feed don't run at the same time: you use one or the other. With Pro, both run together.

Adding the camera to your NVR

Open Webcam Uplink's window from the menu bar. It shows the camera's RTSP and ONVIF® addresses and the password, each with a copy button. The user name is ptzbridge. For your first camera, unless you changed them, the ONVIF port is 8000 and the RTSP port is 8554. Each camera you add has its own ports, shown in the window.

We haven't verified every NVR yet: the compatibility table says which are tested. If a step below differs on yours, tell us.

Before you start

Keep the Mac and the NVR on the same network. Automatic discovery doesn't cross VLANs or subnets; on another subnet, add the camera by its address.
If you turned on the IP allowlist in Webcam Uplink's settings, add the NVR's address to it.
If the macOS firewall is on, make sure Webcam Uplink may accept incoming connections (System Settings › Network › Firewall › Options).
A Mac you put to sleep, or a laptop with its lid closed and no display attached, stops the stream until it wakes.

UniFi Protect

Use Protect 5.0 or later; PTZ and audio for third-party cameras need Protect 7.1 or later.
Turn on Protect's discovery of third-party cameras, then wait for Webcam Uplink to appear among the devices ready to adopt.
Choose Adopt and enter the user ptzbridge and the password from Webcam Uplink.

Synology Surveillance Station

Open IP Camera and choose Add.
Search the local network for the camera, or enter the Mac's IP address by hand with ONVIF® as the brand and the ONVIF port (8000 for the first camera).
Enter the user ptzbridge and the password, then finish the wizard.

Blue Iris

Add a new camera and choose Find/inspect.
Enter the Mac's IP address, the ONVIF port (8000 for the first camera), the user ptzbridge and the password.
Blue Iris reads the stream addresses from the camera. Check that it found the main stream, then save.

Other NVRs and players, such as Frigate or VLC, can use the RTSP address directly. The compatibility table shows what we've tested and what we expect to work.

Watermark, 720p or PTZ not moving

Those are the Free tier's limits. On Free the stream is 720p at most, with a small “Webcam Uplink Free” watermark in a corner, and your NVR shows PTZ controls that don't move the camera. Pro removes all three. After you activate Pro, the watermark goes at once; the higher resolution starts the next time you start the camera. The terms list everything Free includes.

Licences and refunds

Activating: paste your key in Settings › Licence and choose Activate. Use the same key on every Mac your licence covers.
Refunds within 30 days of buying, no questions asked: write to support@webcamuplink.com from the address you paid with. The refund policy has the details.

Mac App Store: restoring purchases

If you bought Pro in the Mac App Store edition, it belongs to your Apple ID, and there's no licence key. To use it on another Mac, or after reinstalling:

Make sure you're signed in to the App Store with the Apple ID you bought Pro with.
Open Webcam Uplink and choose Restore Purchases where Pro is offered in its settings.

Refunds for App Store purchases go through Apple: ask at reportaproblem.apple.com. We can't refund them ourselves, but we're happy to help with anything else at support@webcamuplink.com.