Help With ASH21-V2 Camera Setup

Seth-11

Young grasshopper
Jul 16, 2025
30
17
Illinois
About 10 years ago when I first got interested in security cameras I noticed a common distinction between them, they all fell into two separate categories

1. The camera that was nonfunctional unless it was on the Internet connected to a server, usually in China, and could not function at all without a Internet connection

2. The camera that functioned perfectly over a LAN without an Internet connection.

And remember reading stories about how cameras that force you to connect to their server over the Internet can very easily view your camera feed at will, and there is nothing you can do about it, which I found a bit creepy, intrusive and unnecessary. Especially if the cameras are inside your home

So I began my journey searching for a brand that was fully functional over a LAN and had no need for an Internet connection. After extensive research, and rejecting the scores of cheap cameras like Wyze that won't function unless you log into their server, I found the perfect camera company at a reasonable price, Amcrest

I bought 4 cameras from them, and liked them so much I bought two more. In fact all of them still work flawlessly 7 years later, and have exceptional low light color vision. After moving the businesses to another location, I wanted another camera, and of course I choose a reasonably priced Amcrest

And to my surprise, the camera I bought, the ASH21-B-V2, was the antithesis of every other Amcrest camera I bought before. I tried for 2 hours to connect it to the Amcrest View Pro app and Tinycam Monitor Pro, to no avail. I reset the camera about 10 times, which should have reset the username and password to admin. But every time I tried to log in, it told me "wrong username or password".

So it appears it's necessary to set up a username and password on the Amcrest servers over the Smart Home app, and log in over the Internet before you can view your camera feed. And to top it off, you can't even use that process over your phone using your data connection. You MUST be on a WiFi connection with Internet accessibility. Which I do not have. At home and at work, my Internet is my phone

I've researched this, and everyone who has this camera says the same thing, you must log into their server over the Internet using their Smart Home app. This camera, as far as i can tell, can't function as a LAN security camera.

So to me, this camera is useless spyware, no different from Wyze and all of the other cheap cameras like it.

Question, is there any work-around that will allow me to get this camera up and running on a LAN network? (No Internet)

Worse case scenario, I spent $20 for a fake dummy camera. So it still has some minor value
 
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You happened to buy one of the few Amcrest that requires internet.

 
You happened to buy one of the few Amcrest that requires internet.


I was hoping there might be away to flash the firmware, but maybe not. It wouldn't be a total loss if I could at least connect to the server with my cellphone, but it's bizarre they won't let you do that. They force you to be on wifi Internet, which suggests they are purposely forcing you to be in the box they want you to be in.

I only spent $20 on it, at least it wasn't $200. It will be my dummy cam if I can't find a work-around
 
I think you might be able to initially set it up with internet to get a user/pw and then disconnect? I know one of their smart cams can do that. If you are willing to do that much.